The Ruins
Dust. Blood. Silence.
Aria's eyes fluttered open to find herself sprawled across shattered stone. The chamber was gone—collapsed into ruin, nothing but jagged walls and drifting ash.
Her heart seized.
"Damian—"
He lay beside her, his chest rising faintly, his skin pale as death. Blood seeped through his tunic where the Forgotten One's blow had struck.
Aria pressed her hands to the wound, panic clawing at her throat.
"No, no, stay with me. You're not leaving me again."
Damian's eyes cracked open, storm-gray and weak. His lips curved faintly.
"You're stubborn as ever."
Tears spilled down her cheeks..
"Shut up and breathe."
But even as she held him, shadows stirred among the rubble. The Forgotten One was not gone.
The Whisper in the Dark
A low laugh rippled through the ruins.
> You cannot kill what was never alive.
Aria froze. The voice slithered through the dust, everywhere and nowhere at once.
From the rubble, golden eyes flared. The Forgotten One rose, his body torn and cracked, but his presence darker, more suffocating than ever.
> "You think love will save you? Love is your curse."
Aria clenched Damian tighter, fury burning through her fear.
"No. Love is my strength."
She pressed her forehead against Damian's, whispering,
"Fight with me."
His pulse quickened beneath her hands. Their bond flared—weak, flickering, but alive.
The Forgotten One snarled, raising his arms. Shadows surged like a tidal wave, ready to crush them both.
The Escape
Damian forced himself upright, sword trembling in his grip. His voice was hoarse but fierce.
"Aria—when I tell you, run."
Her eyes widened.
"I'm not leaving you!"
"Do you trust me?"
Her heart broke at the desperation in his voice. She nodded, choking back a sob.
"Always."
His lips brushed hers—quick, fierce, like a promise. Then he spun, hurling his blade into the ground.
Runes exploded across the stone, light bursting outward in a blinding circle. The shadows recoiled, screaming.
"Now!" Damian roared.
Aria's body moved before her mind. She grabbed his arm, dragging him through the opening as the ruins split apart. Stone collapsed, shadows shrieked, and the world swallowed them in light.
The Forest of Echoes
When the light faded, they crashed into earth and leaves.
Aria gasped, blinking at the sky above—a sky filled with pale silver clouds. They lay in a forest unlike any she had seen, its trees black as obsidian, its leaves whispering with voices.
Damian coughed beside her, clutching his wound. His face was ghostly pale, sweat beading on his brow.
Aria tore fabric from her dress, binding him as best she could. Her hands shook, but her voice was steady.
"You're going to live. Do you hear me? You don't get to leave me."
His hand caught hers, weak but insistent.
"This place… it isn't safe."
As if to prove him right, the trees groaned. From the shadows between them, figures began to emerge—transparent, pale, their eyes hollow.
Aria's heart pounded.
"Spirits…"
Damian's jaw tightened.
"The Forest of Echoes. It feeds on memory. On regret. If we stay, it will tear us apart."
The First Trial
The spirits moved closer, whispering with voices she knew.
Aria, you failed me.
Her father's voice.
Why wasn't I enough?
Her mother's.
You should have chosen me.
The Forgotten One's.
Aria clapped her hands over her ears, trembling. "No—no, they're not real."
Damian's grip tightened on her wrist. His voice cut through the whispers.
"Look at me. Only me."
Her tear-filled eyes met his. For a moment, the whispers dulled. But the spirits pressed closer, clawing at their minds.
Damian staggered, blood dripping from his wound. His voice broke.
"They'll use what you fear most. Don't listen."
Aria's chest heaved. Her greatest fear… wasn't death. It was losing him. And the forest knew it.
One spirit stepped forward, wearing Damian's face. His gray eyes were cold, filled with contempt.
You'll watch me die again. And again. And you'll be the one who kills me.
Aria's scream ripped through the air.
The Fractured Heart
The false Damian smirked, stepping closer.
You've doomed him. Every lifetime ends with your weakness.
Aria's knees buckled. She shook her head, hands pressed to her ears.
"Stop… you're not real!"
Damian staggered forward despite his wound, his real hand gripping her shoulder.
"Aria, listen to me. I would die a thousand times if it meant finding you again. You are not my curse. You are my salvation."
The false image snarled, dissolving into shadow, but the voices of regret only grew louder. The forest shook, feeding on their pain.
The Choice
Aria dropped to her knees, overwhelmed.
Maybe the Forgotten One was right. Maybe she was the chain. Maybe Damian would be free if she let him go.
The thought cut deeper than any blade.
Her eyes burned as she looked at him—pale, bleeding, yet still standing between her and the darkness.
"Why won't you let me go?" she whispered.
His voice broke, raw and desperate.
"Because letting you go would be worse than death."
Something inside her shattered. The fear, the doubt, the weight of endless lives—she let it burn away.
She rose, fire blazing in her chest.
"Then we fight. Together."
The Awakening
Light flared from her palms, brighter than before. The forest recoiled, the spirits shrieking as if burned.
Aria's memories rushed into her—the lifetimes, the deaths, the choices. But instead of breaking her, they fused into strength.
She wasn't Evelina. She wasn't just Aria. She was all of them.
And she chose love.
The spirits dissolved into smoke, the whispers silenced. The forest groaned, its illusions crumbling.
The Forgotten One's Return
But the victory was short. A thunderous voice shook the forest.
> "You think you've won? This is only the beginning.
The Forgotten One materialized from the shadows, his form towering, his eyes burning gold. He raised his hand, and the ground split.
Damian swayed, nearly collapsing.
"Aria—run."
"No!" She grabbed his hand, holding him upright. "I'm done running."
Together, they faced the figure of hate and memory.
The Forgotten One's sneer was carved from rage.
> "Then die as one."
The forest exploded into chaos. Roots tore free from the ground, shadows speared through the air, and the sky itself split open.
Aria and Damian stood side by side, their hands entwined, light and steel blazing against the storm.
Her voice rang out, steady and defiant.
"We'll break this curse. No matter what it takes."
The Forgotten One's roar split the heavens as he unleashed his full power, swallowing the forest in darkness.
And in the blinding clash of shadow and light—
The world shattered.