They moved deeper into the valley where the light folded in heavy layers, thick enough that every step felt like walking through warm breath. The air hummed beneath their feet. The ground no longer behaved like earth. It responded to them. Each footstep brightened the soil for a moment before fading again.Selene walked ahead of the others. The soft glow under her skin had not dimmed. It pulsed like a heartbeat that did not belong to her alone. Every few steps, her fingers twitched, reacting to voices only she could hear. The echoes had become quiet, but they were not gone.Kaelen stayed close, watching the horizon and her in equal measure. His movements were defensive without being controlling, as if he knew he could not stop her path, only shield it when he had to. He glanced toward the shifting patterns of light. They moved like rivers under glass, bending themselves around Selene’s presence.Lyra and Kian kept a steady pace behind them, guiding the soul that had not yet chosen a n

Selene did not move at first. She only stood there, staring into the eyes of the figure who knew her without needing a name. The light around them shifted more slowly now, like it was keeping its distance, afraid to interrupt something ancient.The figure’s outline flickered again, more defined with every breath she took. The shape of their face was familiar, not in memory but in recognition as if this was someone she had been missing without even knowing.Selene forced air into her lungs. “Do you know me?”The figure tilted their head the way someone might when meeting a friend after a long absence. “I did once. Before the world broke.”Their voice carried warmth and something older than time. It steadied her even as it shook something inside her chest.Selene took a single step forward. The ground under her foot glowed in response, forming a gentle ripple across the surface. When she spoke again, her voice felt smaller than she expected.“Are you from the world that ended… or the on

The first sound was subtle, almost too soft for Selene to catch. A thin break in the stillness, like the world exhaling through cracked stone. She stepped closer to the ridge without thinking. The Echo didn’t stop her, only watched her feet press into the pale dust.The valley below shifted again. This time louder. Not violent. More like a warning that had been waiting for centuries.Selene didn’t blink.The air thickened around her, carrying a faint heat that brushed her skin. The kind that came from something waking up, something that had been storing power for far too long.The Echo tilted its head. “It remembers you.”Selene swallowed slowly. “How? I’ve never been here.”“You have,” the Echo answered. “Not as you are now.”Selene felt the meaning settle into her bones. Not a revelation. More like confirmation of a fear she had never spoken aloud.The ground in the valley cracked in one long, sharp line.Selene stepped back without meaning to.The Echo’s voice stayed calm. “Do not

The path narrowed as they moved deeper into the valley.Selene could feel it the same way she felt her own heartbeat. A pull in her chest, steady and warm, like invisible fingers were guiding her toward something she had touched once and forgotten.The ground under their feet glowed brighter with every step.Kaelen stayed close on her right. Lyra stayed close on her left. The Echo walked slightly behind them, silent, watching the world react to Selene like it knew her name better than she did.The valley widened.Light gathered along the walls in slow, rippling waves. It was beautiful, but not in a peaceful way. It felt alive. Aware. Focused on her.Lyra nudged Selene gently. “Your breathing changed again.”“I’m fine,” Selene said quietly.Kaelen didn’t speak, but she felt him listening to her breath the same way Lyra did.They kept walking.The glow intensified until it painted their shadows across the ground in long, trembling shapes.Selene hated how familiar it felt.Not comfortin

Selene held on to both of them without thinking.Her hands felt cold even though Kaelen’s grip was firm and warm. Lyra stayed pressed against her side, steadying her with a tense focus that made her arms tremble. None of them spoke at first. The light behind Selene slowly dimmed, shrinking back into the pool at the valley floor like it was hiding after being exposed.Her legs wobbled and she leaned into Kaelen when her balance slipped. He didn’t loosen his hold. His breathing was uneven, sharp, as if he had been fighting through something she hadn’t seen.Lyra finally spoke, her voice low. “You were gone for too long.”Selene swallowed hard, still staring at the ground because she couldn’t trust her vision yet. “I didn’t leave. It pulled me in.”Kaelen’s grip tightened around her arm before he forced himself to ease it. His jaw flexed as he looked down at her, and for the first time, the calm he always kept so tightly around himself was cracked.“What did you see in there?” he asked q