The hollow was unlike any place Elara had seen. Bioluminescent roots wound across the ceiling like veins of light, casting dim turquoise patterns on the stone walls. The air was cool and still, carrying a faint scent of earth and something ancient—something watching.
Eli ran a hand along the wall. "Where the hell are we?"
"An echo hollow," Riven replied. He moved slowly, every breath tight with pain. "A sanctuary the Wild cannot breach."
Elara stepped beside him. "Are you hurt?"
"Nothing I can't handle," he muttered, though the blood on his shoulder suggested otherwise.
Eli scoffed. "You call that handling?"
Riven ignored him and touched the glowing roots gently. They pulsed faintly beneath his fingers, reacting to him.
Eli frowned. "Why does everything in this forest respond to you two? What are you hiding?"
Riven's eyes flickered toward Elara, then back to Eli.
"It's not something she asked for."
"But you understand it," Eli shot back. "So start explaining."
Riven hesitated—an unusual, almost unsettling silence.
Finally, he said, "The forest is alive. Not just with animals… but with will. It chooses certain people—rarely. Those who can hear it. Feel it. Command it."
Elara's pulse quickened.
"Like what happened with the vines."
"Yes."
"And you?" she whispered.
"Were you chosen too?"
Riven looked away. "I wasn't chosen."
Eli folded his arms. "Then what are you?"
"Claimed," Riven said softly.
"Taken in when I had nowhere else to go."
The words carried a weight Elara didn't fully understand.
"You mean… the forest raised you?" she asked gently.
Riven laughed bitterly.
"No. The forest doesn't raise anything. It uses. It shapes. It molds people until they fit its needs."
Eli's disgust deepened. "So it turned you into this… wild thing?"
Riven's eyes flashed dangerously, but he didn't respond.
Elara stepped between them.
"Stop. Please. Both of you."
Eli exhaled sharply and backed away, pacing.
Elara turned to Riven. "Why did the forest choose me?"
Riven hesitated again.
"Elara… the Heartroot recognized you before I did. You carry something the forest responds to. Something powerful."
"Am I in danger?"
"Yes," Riven said honestly. "Because the Wild wants you—and the hunter is only the beginning."
Eli shook his head. "This is insane. We should be finding a way out, not—"
Eli stopped mid-sentence.
Because the hollow walls began to glow.
Symbols—ancient, spiraling shapes—appeared on the stone, lighting up one by one in patterns that echoed the heartbeat of the forest. The ground vibrated softly beneath their feet.
"Elara," Riven whispered, "step back."
But the light was already gathering around her.
Eli lunged to pull her away—
But Riven held him back.
"Don't!" he hissed. "If you interrupt it, the hollow will collapse."
Eli struggled. "She's my sister!"
"And the forest marked her!" Riven snarled. "This is part of it!"
The glowing symbols converged on the floor beneath Elara, forming a circular pattern. The air shimmered, warping like heat over fire. Elara gasped as warmth surged through her chest—soft, pulsing, almost comforting.
A whisper brushed her ear.
"Chosen…"
Elara froze.
"Did you hear that?"
Riven's eyes widened. "What did it say?"
Before she could answer, a rush of images flooded her mind:
—The Heartroot glowing like a beating star
—Riven standing alone beneath a storm
—The hunter bowing before a shadowed figure
—Her own hands covered in light
—Roots spreading outward, touching everything
She staggered, overwhelmed.
Riven caught her, lowering her gently to the ground.
"Elara. Elara, breathe."
She clutched his shirt, trembling.
"The forest—it showed me something. Someone. A figure controlling the hunter."
Eli's eyes widened. "You mean it wasn't hunting randomly? Someone sent it?"
"Yes," Elara whispered.
"And whoever they are… they're coming for me."
Riven's expression hardened into something almost feral.
"They won't touch you," he murmured.
"I'll die before I let them."
Eli stepped forward, jaw clenched.
"So will I."
Elara looked between them—her protector and her brother, two forces that were never meant to coexist—and felt the weight of the forest settle around her.
Whatever was coming…
She wouldn't face it alone.
But deep in the hollow, the glowing symbols dimmed—
And a new one appeared.
A sigil shaped like a twisted root.
Riven's face drained of color.
"No," he breathed.
"Not that. Anything but that."
Elara touched his arm gently. "Riven… what does it mean?"
He met her eyes, fear raw in his expression.
"Elara… the forest didn't just choose you."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"It marked you as its successor."
The hollow went silent.
And far above, something howled.