Rielun's POV:
Rielun did not wake to voices.
He did not wake to hands shaking him, or to the forest, or to the guardians calling his name.
He woke to light.
Silver light.
Cold, soft, pulsing like a heartbeat.
He was lying on smooth stone, the air thick with the scent of moss and moonlight. Roots spiraled upward around him, glowing faintly, forming a chamber that felt impossibly vast and impossibly intimate.
The Hollow's Heart.
But not the real one.
A memory.
A place between life and death.
A place the Hollow remembered.
Rielun pushed himself upright, breath trembling. The chamber hummed around him — a low, mournful vibration that made his bones ache.
He heard whispers.
One voice, deep and broken, echoing from far away.
Another, soft and welcoming, like a lullaby.
And beneath them both…
Silence.
The Moon's silence.
He swallowed hard. "Where… am I?"
The chamber answered with a pulse of light.
And then he saw it.
A silhouette stood at the far edge of the Heart — tall, broad‑shouldered, trembling. A silver pendant glinted against its chest. Its hands shook at its sides, as if afraid to reach for him.
Rielun's breath caught.
He didn't know this person.
He didn't know their name.
He didn't know their voice.
But his soul knew them.
A grief he couldn't explain tightened in his chest.
The silhouette took a step toward him.
The chamber flickered.
Meanwhile, in the real world
Rielun's body lay limp on the forest floor.
Sylas knelt beside him, hands glowing faintly as he tried to steady Rielun's pulse. "He's slipping—he's slipping, I can't—"
Aeris was shaking, fingers tangled in Rielun's shirt. "Come on, come on, breathe, please—"
Rowan forced himself upright despite the pain, refusing to leave Rielun's side. "What's happening to him?"
Noctis's shadows wrapped around Rielun like a cocoon, trembling violently. "He's gone somewhere I can't reach."
Elias pressed a hand to Rielun's chest, face pale. "I can't sense his spirit. It's like he's… not here."
The realization hit all of them at once.
Rielun's memories could kill him.
The forest screamed.
Trees bent inward, their branches cracking. The sky darkened to bruised violet. The ground split open in jagged lines, black sap bubbling up like blood.
A howl tore through the Hollow — not animal, not human, something in between.
The corrupted half of the Hollow — the guardian's grief — surged in panic.
The Oracle is remembering.
The Oracle is slipping away.
The Oracle is dying again.
Creatures stirred in the shadows, restless and afraid.
The Hollow wanted him back.
It wanted him safe.
It wanted him alive.
It wanted him dead.
It didn't know the difference anymore.
Silver mist rose from the ground around Rielun's body.
The crescent symbol on the stone glowed brighter, humming with soft, protective magic. A gentle pull tugged at Rielun's unconscious form, as if trying to draw him toward safety.
Elias stared, wide‑eyed. "The Haven… it's trying to reach him."
Sylas shook his head. "So is the Hollow."
Aeris whispered, voice breaking, "They're fighting over him."
Back Inside The Memory
The silhouette stepped closer.
Rielun's heart pounded. His breath shook. His hands trembled.
He didn't know why he felt like crying.
The silhouette knelt in front of him — slow, reverent, as if approaching something sacred. Its hand lifted, hesitating in the air.
Rielun whispered, "Do I… know you?"
The silhouette trembled.
A sound escaped it — not a word, not a breath, something between a sob and a prayer.
Then the hand touched Rielun's cheek.
Warm.
Familiar.
A heartbreak he didn't understand bloomed in his chest, sharp and aching.
Rielun's eyes stung.
His hand rose on instinct, reaching toward the shadowed face, fingertips brushing the silhouette's jaw—
The chamber cracked.
Light split.
Shadow surged.
The memory trembled violently.
And then—
A whisper tore through the Hollow.
Broken.
Grieving.
Echoing from the depths of corruption.
"Little Moon…"
The nickname hit him like a blade.
The memory shattered.
He gasped, body jerking upright.
Tears streamed down his face before he even understood why. His chest ached, his breath shook, and the echo of that voice — that name — clung to him like frost.
Aeris caught him instantly. "Rielun—Rielun, hey, look at me—"
Sylas steadied him.
Rowan reached for him.
Noctis's shadows curled around him protectively.
Elias pressed a hand to his back, grounding him.
Rielun choked on a sob he didn't understand.
"I… I heard someone," he whispered. "Someone who knew me."
The forest went silent.
The Hollow listened.
The Haven glowed.
And far, far away, something in the dark whispered again—
"Little Moon…"