The village of Elderwyn rarely celebrated.
Life was quiet, simple, and slow. But once a year, during the full moon of midsummer, even the soil seemed to smile.
The Harvest Festival.
Stalls of baked bread and honey-glazed berries filled the main path. Children wore flower crowns. Musicians played flutes carved from willow trees. Even the animals seemed calmer.
And Erik?He felt... unsettled.
Not scared. Just aware.
Something was shifting. He couldn't explain it. The air felt thicker. The light sharper. The laughter — distant.
"You feel it,"the soul said."Even if you don't understand it yet. The world responds to you now."
Erik walked beside Lia through the village square. She was tugging his hand toward the candy booth.
"Erik! Hurry, it's the pink one today!"
He smiled, nodding absentmindedly.
But then — he stopped.
Mid-step.
His eyes turned toward the old chapel.
It wasn't used anymore. Only birds nested there now.
But today… something pulsed inside it. Something... alive.
"Someone has entered," the soul whispered. "Someone who carries a mark of heaven."
⛪ Inside the Abandoned Chapel
Elder Elandir stood in the center, alone.
The altar was cracked. Dust layered every corner. But above him, on the stone ceiling, a thin golden line had appeared — glowing faintly like a crack in reality.
He looked up. Eyes calm. Voice even.
"I see you watching, High Ones. I see the seal breaking."
He placed a hand on his chest. A faint circle of light pulsed.
"I found him."
The crack above flickered — then faded.
🏞️ Later that evening…
Erik helped his father move wooden crates near the dance tents. Garrick whistled as he worked.
"You alright, son?"
Erik nodded. "Just... a strange feeling."
"That's called excitement," Garrick laughed. "Try enjoying it."
Erik forced a smile.
But the feeling hadn't faded.In fact, it was growing.
Every time someone passed him, he felt a flicker — like a faint vibration.
Fear. Joy. Sadness.He wasn't just seeing people anymore.He was feeling them.
As night fell and the moon rose, the festival began in full. Music played. Fires were lit in circular pits. Children danced, and elders told stories.
Mira and Lia sat on a blanket watching puppet shows.
And Erik wandered... drawn by instinct.
He stopped beneath an old tree, heart pounding.
"Something is coming,"the soul warned."Someone who carries truth in lies."
🌫️ And then he appeared...
Elandir stepped out of the fog-like dark near the trees. Alone, but his presence heavier than a crowd.
"Erik," he said.
The boy looked up, steady.
"There's a tale," Elandir began, "of a soul that vanished from the hands of gods and devils. A soul that defied both fate and form."
Erik didn't respond.
"Some say that soul would return one day — hidden, watching, waiting."
The air stilled. Even the sounds of the festival behind them seemed to fade.
Elandir knelt, eyes locked onto Erik's.
"I saw the signs. The mark. The silence."
Erik's hands tightened.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he whispered.
But Elandir smiled.
"You will. Tonight."
A sudden roar split the sky. Not thunder. Not fireworks.
A crack — like glass shattering across the heavens.
Everyone in the village turned.Necks craned. Eyes widened.
Above the chapel — the clouds had split open.A thin golden line pulsed across the night sky like a scar.
Children screamed. Elders dropped to their knees.Mira clutched Lia tightly. "Erik?!"
But Erik wasn't with her anymore.
He was standing at the center of the square — the light falling only on him.
And then… it happened.
From the heavens — something fell.
A bright, burning object — rushing down like a comet — straight toward the earth.
It wasn't a star.It wasn't divine.It wasn't demonic.
It was a message.
And it was coming for Erik.
He didn't move.
He just looked up as the world held its breath.
"You have been seen."