The path to the second Flame Beacon was carved through sorrow.
Aria and Kael travelled east, where forests whispered and rain never ceased. The locals called it The Weeping Glade, a place where lost souls wept through the trees, and where grief took root like vines.
As they stepped into the forest, a chill wrapped around them. The trees wept — not with leaves, but with droplets of silver mist, falling gently yet endlessly. The air was thick with sadness, as though the forest mourned something ancient.
Kael glanced at her. "This place... it tests the heart, not the body."
Aria nodded, feeling the heaviness press against her soul. The further they walked, the louder the forest cried. Echoes of forgotten names, sounds of chains rattling, and the wailing of unseen spirits filled the path.
Then they found it.
A circle of white trees surrounded a pond so still it reflected not the sky, but memories. In its center was the second Flame Beacon, flickering softly. But this time, it wasn't guarded by a creature — it was guarded by the truth.
Aria stepped closer, and the water rippled.
Visions exploded across the surface.
She saw her second brother — Caleb — kneeling beside their mother's grave, his face twisted in silent agony. He whispered something, over and over, but Aria couldn't hear it.
Then she saw herself — running from the house that day, abandoning Caleb when he begged her not to go.
Tears streamed down her face.
Kael tried to steady her, but the pond pulled her in.
---
Inside the memory-pond, time bent. Aria stood beside a young Caleb, his hands shaking, clutching an old scarf. They were both younger — maybe twelve. The day of their mother's funeral.
"I'm scared," young Caleb said, eyes filled with desperation. "Don't leave, Aria. Please…"
She remembered this. She had left. She didn't want to see death. She had run.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't understand."
Suddenly, the sky cracked open. Shadows rushed at her — regrets, guilt, pain. They tried to swallow her whole.
But Aria stood tall.
"No more running," she said, eyes glowing with blue fire. "I carry my guilt, but I will not be chained by it."
The shadows hissed, then broke apart. The sky above her cleared, and the vision of Caleb faded.
She awoke by the pond, soaked and shivering — but stronger.
The second Flame Beacon had flared brightly. And as before, it split into three — one shard entered her chest.
This time, the vision was of Caleb — lost in a tower of mirrors, calling her name but unable to see himself.
"He's trapped in his own guilt," she said. "But I can reach him."
Kael looked at her with respect. "You're stronger than you think, Aria."
She stood, her hand pressed over her heart where two flames now burned.
"One more to go."