ECHOES OF THE FORGOTTEN ISLE

BENEATH THE ROOTS

Perfect 😈

Chapter 5 

The storm passed before dawn.

Not because it stopped—because the island let it.

Kael could tell. The way the air shifted wasn’t natural. The jungle’s sounds returned, soft and hollow, as if mimicking calm instead of living it.

He hadn’t slept. Couldn’t. The mark still pulsed faintly beneath his sleeve, warm and alive.

It hummed in rhythm with the heartbeat of the island.

Reeve’s gruff voice broke the silence.

“Pack it up. We’re moving out.”

No one argued.

They were too scared to.

Mira’s eyes were red from crying, Elara was pale but steady, and Reeve’s jaw was locked tight—like a man trying not to believe in ghosts.

Kael led the way through the fog. The jungle had changed again overnight—paths that existed yesterday were gone, replaced by thick roots and walls of vines.

“Compass is useless,” Reeve muttered. “North keeps turning.”

“Then we follow that,” Kael said.

He pointed through the mist.

A faint blue glow pulsed between the trees.

It wasn’t sunlight. It was deeper, like light bleeding through the ground.

Elara adjusted her satchel, suspicion in her eyes. “You’re sure that’s not another hallucination?”

Kael didn’t look at her. “You saw it too, didn’t you?”

She hesitated. “Yeah. I did.”

They followed the light.

The jungle thickened. The trees grew denser, their roots gnarled and twisted, like veins reaching for something buried deep below. The glow brightened as they moved, guiding them to a clearing where the earth had cracked open into a wide sinkhole.

Mira crouched near the edge. “It goes deep…”

Kael stared down. The faint blue light flickered from somewhere far below—moving, alive.

Reeve scanned the rim. “There’s a way down. Old stonework here. Could be ruins.”

Elara knelt beside him, brushing moss from a carved stone pillar. Symbols ran along its surface spirals, circles, and the same runic pattern as Kael’s mark.

She looked at him. “These aren’t random. This is a passage.”

Kael’s voice was low. “It’s calling.”

Reeve frowned. “You mean it’s calling you.”

Kael didn’t deny it. He tied his rope to the nearest root and started descending.

Reeve cursed under his breath but followed. Elara came next. Mira hesitated at the edge before joining.

The deeper they went, the colder it became. The walls shifted from soil to stone—black and wet, covered in glowing inscriptions. The air was heavy, filled with the scent of old rain and something metallic.

Their flashlights flickered.

Mira whispered, “Feels like the air’s alive.”

Elara ran her fingers along the carvings. “These depict… a sealing ritual. Look—this figure here. The same markings. The same symbol.”

Kael turned his light toward the mural.

A tall man stood at the center of the carving, surrounded by spirals of fire and hands raised in prayer.

His face was blank—worn away by time.

But his stance was familiar.

Kael stepped closer. “That’s me.”

No one spoke.

The air trembled—softly at first, then stronger. The walls vibrated as a low hum filled the chamber, echoing like distant thunder.

Mira gripped Kael’s arm. “It’s happening again.”

Reeve raised his rifle. “Back up. Everyone back”

The floor gave way.

They fell into darkness.

Kael hit the ground hard, rolling onto cold stone. His flashlight skittered across the floor, its beam illuminating a vast chamber beneath them—pillars of black rock, massive roots curling from the ceiling like serpents frozen in time.

Water dripped rhythmically somewhere distant.

Elara groaned, clutching her shoulder. “Everyone alive?”

“Barely,” Reeve grunted. “Mira?”

“Here!” she called faintly from behind a fallen slab.

Kael stood, his knees shaking slightly. The mark on his arm glowed again, brighter than before, casting eerie shadows against the walls.

Elara noticed. “It’s reacting to this place.”

Kael nodded. “We’re close.”

They moved deeper into the chamber. The carvings on the walls became more intricate faces twisted in agony, fire swallowing figures whole, and at the center of it all, a massive door carved from obsidian.

The same spiral symbol was etched across its surface.

Reeve approached cautiously. “Is this… a tomb?”

Kael didn’t answer. He stepped forward. His mark began to throb painfully, every heartbeat syncing with the faint pulse of the door.

Elara watched in awe. “It’s like it recognizes you.”

Kael raised his hand. The glow from his skin reached toward the spiral, and for a brief moment, the entire chamber came alive with light.

Symbols on the walls ignited in blue fire. The ground trembled.

Mira shouted, “Kael, stop!”

But it was too late.

The door cracked open.

A rush of wind exploded outward, cold enough to knock them off their feet. The light went out instantly. In the sudden darkness, something moved—slow, deliberate, heavy.

Whispers filled the air.

Not voices this time memories.

 You failed once, Guardian.

You brought the darkness here.

Kael gasped, clutching his head. Visions flooded his mind—flashes of a temple burning, screams, and his own reflection covered in blood.

He saw the same door. He saw himself sealing it—using the same mark, the same light.

But something had gone wrong.

Something had escaped.

When he opened his eyes, the chamber was still. Only the faint blue glow from his arm remained.

Reeve’s voice trembled. “What the hell was that?”

Kael’s breathing slowed. “The door wasn’t meant to open. Not again.”

Elara stepped closer. “Then why did it react to you?”

Kael looked up at her. His eyes glowed faintly, the same shade as the markings. “Because I’m the one who locked it the first time.”

The silence that followed was heavy.

Reeve’s voice dropped low. “You expect us to believe that? That you’re—what—some kind of immortal guardian?”

Kael’s tone was cold. “I don’t care what you believe. But whatever’s behind that door isn’t human. And now it’s awake.”

Mira pointed toward the crack. “Look!”

Thin black smoke leaked from the gap between the stones, curling upward like veins. The ground around it began to corrode—roots dying instantly where the smoke touched.

Elara backed away. “It’s spreading.”

Kael’s mark pulsed in warning. “We need to reseal it. Now.”

Reeve scoffed. “With what, your glowing tattoo?”

But Kael was already moving. He placed both hands on the stone, focusing on the energy that burned beneath his skin. The mark flared, blinding blue light filling the chamber. The smoke shrieked, recoiling back into the crack.

The whisper came again—this time softer.

 You can’t contain what you are.

Kael shouted through gritted teeth, “Stay down!”

The light surged. The seal reformed. The door went silent once more.

When it was done, Kael collapsed to his knees, breathing hard. The glow faded from his arm, leaving only a faint burn where the mark had been.

Elara knelt beside him. “Kael… what are you?”

He stared at the door, eyes distant. “Something the island doesn’t want me to remember.”

Reeve lowered his weapon, silent for once.

Mira’s voice trembled. “If that thing wakes up again what happens?”

Kael looked up slowly. The faint hum of the island echoed through the stone, deep and steady.

“It won’t wake,” he said quietly. “Not tonight.”

But in his mind, the whisper lingered.

 You sealed it once.

But this time… it will seal you.