Rowan's POV:
The tear swallowed us before I could brace myself.
Light fractured.
Stone dissolved.
The Haven's heartbeat vanished.
When the world reformed, it wasn't a place — it was a wound.
A hall of broken pillars and drifting shards of light.
A space held together by grief and memory.
A place that felt like someone crying in the dark.
I rose first, staff in one hand, sword in the other. My magic hummed painfully against my ribs.
"Stay close," I said.
My voice sounded steadier than I felt.
Rielun stood slowly, Sylas steadying him with a hand glowing faintly green. Tiny blossoms bloomed along Sylas's wrist — a sign of strain. His healing magic was reacting to the memory's grief.
Aeris flickered into view beside us, wind curling around his ankles. "This place feels wrong," he muttered, voice tight. "Like the air's holding its breath."
Elias traced a glowing sigil in the air, eyes narrowing. "This is a memory. A broken one. The tear didn't take us to a location — it took us to a moment."
Rielun's breath hitched.
He was hearing something.
I saw it in the way his shoulders tightened.
In the way his eyes unfocused.
In the way his soul leaned forward.
The tear pulsed.
And then—
"Rielun…"
The voice wasn't mine.
It wasn't any of ours.
It was him.
The First Guardian.
Rielun swayed toward the sound.
Noctis moved instantly, shadows snapping around Rielun's wrist. "Don't go to him."
But Rielun didn't hear him.
He took another step.
Sylas's vines curled around Rielun's ankle, grounding him gently. "Rielun, breathe," he whispered, voice soft and ancient.
Aeris whipped a gust of wind across the floor, pushing Rielun back a half‑step. "He's being pulled!"
Elias's sigils flared. "He's answering!"
My heart clenched.
I stepped in front of Rielun, blocking his path.
"Rielun," I said softly, "look at me."
His eyes flickered, dazed. "Rowan… I—"
The memory surged.
The hall twisted.
Light warped.
A silhouette flickered into view — kneeling, shaking, whispering Rielun's name like a prayer.
The First Guardian.
Rielun's knees buckled.
I didn't think.
I just moved.
I caught him around the waist, pulling him back against my chest. My staff slipped from my hand, clattering across the stone.
"Rielun," I whispered, voice cracking, "don't go where I can't follow."
He trembled. "I'm not—"
"You are." My forehead pressed to the back of his neck. "I can feel you slipping. I've felt it before."
When he died.
The memory of it hit me like a blade.
Rielun turned in my arms, breath unsteady. "Rowan…"
I cupped his face with both hands — gentle, terrified, reverent.
"Stay with me," I whispered. "Just for this moment. Stay."
His eyes softened.
And I kissed him.
Not claiming.
Not demanding.
Not desperate.
Just… truth.
A kiss that held every unspoken word.
Every sleepless night.
Every moment I'd watched him slip through my fingers.
Warm.
Steady.
Heart‑deep.
He leaned into it.
And for a heartbeat, the world stopped collapsing.
The tear pulsed violently.
The First Guardian's silhouette flickered, reaching toward Rielun with shaking hands.
"You were never meant to return alone…"
The hall cracked.
Light shattered.
Black sap spilled through the fractures.
The Hollow's voice echoed through the collapsing memory.
"Little… one…"
Aeris blink‑stepped forward, wind exploding outward to shove back a wave of collapsing debris.
Elias slammed his palm to the floor, a ward‑circle flaring beneath us. "Rowan, anchor it!"
I tore myself away from the kiss, grabbing my staff with one hand and Rielun's wrist with the other.
"Everyone behind me!" I shouted.
My staff slammed into the ground.
Magic surged through me — too much, too fast — but I held on. A barrier of shimmering light erupted outward, holding the collapsing memory at bay.
Sylas knelt beside Rielun, vines wrapping around his arms, healing magic glowing bright. "Stay with us," he murmured, voice shaking.
Noctis spread his wings behind Rielun, shadows curling protectively around his legs. His eyes were glowing, dangerous.
Aeris darted around the edges of the barrier, wind slicing through tendrils of Hollow sap.
Elias's sigils burned brighter, stabilizing the barrier's edges.
The First Guardian's voice broke through the chaos.
"Find my heart… before the Hollow does."
The tear shattered.
Light exploded.
And the memory threw us back into the Haven.
We hit the ground hard.
The Haven's walls flickered.
The air tasted like smoke and grief.
The Hollow pressed against the edges of the chamber.
Rielun lay between Sylas and me, breath shaking.
I reached for him — not as a guardian, but as the man who loved him first.
"Rielun," I whispered, "I'm here."
His eyes opened — soft, tired, overwhelmed.
"I know," he breathed.
But the First Guardian's voice still echoed.
"Find my heart…"
And the Hollow whispered back.
"Little… moon…"