The Evernight Forest did not attack again.
That, somehow, was worse.
Mist curled low across the ground, thick and pale, swallowing the broken clearing where the altar had once stood. Trees shifted slowly—too slowly to be natural—roots grinding beneath the soil as paths rearranged themselves behind the twelve Celestial Warriors.
No matter which direction Lyra looked, the forest no longer felt the same.
It felt… closer.
"Everyone stay within sight," Lyra said quietly. Her voice carried authority now, steady and unyielding. "No wandering. No chasing sounds. No following lights."
No one argued.
They moved forward in a tight formation, weapons still drawn, senses sharpened. The forest absorbed sound strangely—footsteps felt muted, breathing too loud. Even the air pressed against their skin, heavy with unseen intent.
Serena frowned, light staff glowing faintly. "The forest's pressure isn't hostile anymore."
Kael nodded, moon aether pulsing in calm, measured waves. "It's… probing. Like it's searching for cracks."
Emma clenched her fists. "Great. So now it's inside our heads."
"Not yet," Seraphina said softly from the shadows. Her violet eyes scanned the mist. "But it's preparing."
Lyra felt it too.
Not flames. Not danger.
Memory.
A whisper brushed the edge of her thoughts—so faint she almost missed it.
Lyra…
She stopped walking.
Orion immediately halted beside her. "You heard it."
She nodded slowly. "My name."
The forest darkened.
For just an instant, the mist ahead rippled—and Lyra saw it.
Ignis.
Not the ruined world of fire and ash—but the palace as it once was. Golden spires bathed in eternal flame. Warm skies. Laughter echoing through halls she had never consciously remembered… yet somehow knew.
Her heart clenched.
"Lyra," Orion said sharply, grounding her. "Look at me."
She blinked.
The vision shattered like glass, dissolving back into mist.
"I'm fine," she said, exhaling slowly. "But this forest… it doesn't create illusions randomly."
"It pulls from truth," Sofia said, her voice hushed. "From memory. From desire."
"And fear," Zane added quietly.
The path ahead narrowed into a corridor of ancient trees, their branches arching overhead like ribs. Faint reflections shimmered along the mist—too clear to be shadows, too distorted to be real.
Mia swallowed. "I don't like this part."
Rafael leaned closer to her, wind stirring protectively. "Stick with me."
Kai cracked his knuckles, lightning flickering once before settling. "So what—this is the second trial starting already?"
"No," Lyra said, her Phoenix Flame stirring uneasily. "This is the forest leading us toward it."
They walked on.
As they moved deeper, the whispers grew clearer—not louder, but more personal.
Emma stiffened suddenly.
"Did… did someone call my name?" she asked.
Before anyone could answer, a familiar voice echoed softly from the mist.
Emma…
She turned sharply.
Kai grabbed her wrist. "Don't."
Ahead of them, a shape formed—silver-white hair, sharp eyes, posture flawless.
Emma stared.
"…Me?"
The figure smiled. Perfect. Cold. Unblemished.
"The person you could be," the reflection said. "If you didn't rely on others."
Emma's jaw tightened.
The illusion dissolved as Serena's light pulsed instinctively, washing over the group.
"That confirms it," Serena said. "This forest isn't trying to kill us."
"It's trying to divide us," Orion finished.
Lyra clenched her fists.
"Which means the real danger," she said, "isn't what we see."
She turned to all of them—one by one.
"No matter what the forest shows you—faces, voices, memories—you do not act alone. We face this together, or we fall."
Twelve heads nodded.
Above them, unseen, the Evernight Forest shifted once more.
Far ahead, beyond twisting roots and silver fog, something flowed.
Not water.
Light.
Reflection.
The faint, distant sound of a current echoed through the trees—slow, hypnotic, endless.
Seraphina's eyes narrowed.
"…A river."
Lyra's Phoenix Flame flared once, sharp and warning.
"The second trial," she said quietly.
The River of Illusions.
And somewhere within its mirrored depths, the forest waited to see who they truly were.