Chapter 5: The Heart's Memory

Chapter 5 – The Heart’s Memory

The words lingered in the air long after the altar fell silent—Welcome home, child of the crown.

Home. The word struck something deep inside me, something that felt both alien and familiar. My pulse pounded in my ears.

“I don’t—” I started, but my voice broke. “I don’t understand. What does it mean?”

The boy didn’t answer right away. He was staring at me as if I’d just sprouted wings—or horns. The silver in his eyes dimmed slightly, uncertainty flickering behind them.

“Only the bloodline could wake the Heart,” he said finally, voice low. “Only someone bound to the old magic… to the royal line.”

“I’m not—” I swallowed hard. “I’m not royalty.”

His gaze hardened. “The altar doesn’t lie.”

A deep tremor shuddered through the ground, dust cascading from the tangled roots above. The runes along the altar flared brighter, their light threading through the chamber like veins of fire. The air was heavy now—ancient, expectant.

The boy took a step back. “It’s recognizing you.”

“Recognizing me for what?”

Before he could respond, the air around the altar shimmered again. This time, it wasn’t just light—it was memory.

Figures formed within the glow—translucent, robed in gold and green. A woman stood at their center, her face shadowed but her presence commanding. Her voice echoed softly, as though carried from another world.

If you hear this, the crown has fallen. The forest sleeps. The last heir must find the Heart before the shadow consumes it.

My breath caught. “That voice…”

The woman turned her head, and for an instant, her face came into focus. My chest tightened. Her eyes—bright amber, flecked with light—were the same as mine.

The image flickered, then vanished, leaving only the faint hum of the runes.

I staggered back, shaking. “She—she looked like me.”

The boy’s expression darkened. “Then it’s true. You’re her descendant. The lost heir of Lysara.”

The name sent a chill through me. I’d heard it whispered in old stories—the fallen kingdom swallowed by forest and myth. A land of magic and betrayal.

“I don’t even remember—” I began, but a sharp sound cut me off.

A crack. Like a tree splitting under weight.

The boy turned toward the tunnel entrance. The roots there were twisting unnaturally, the fog beyond flickering with cold blue light.

“They followed us,” he muttered. “Damn it—they found another way in.”

I felt the pulse of the altar intensify beneath my feet, like it was reacting to the threat. The runes swirled faster, almost alive.

The boy drew a curved blade from his belt—one that shimmered faintly with runic light of its own. “Whatever happens,” he said, eyes on me, “don’t let them touch the altar. If they corrupt it, the forest dies.”

“How—how do I stop them?”

He hesitated. “You don’t. We do.”

The tunnel exploded inward. Bolts of blue fire tore through the chamber, striking the roots and sending embers of light cascading across the walls. Figures emerged through the smoke—armored, masked, their insignias glowing faintly with sigils I didn’t recognize.

The Nightfangs.

The boy leapt forward, moving faster than my eyes could follow, his blade cutting arcs of silver through the dark. Sparks flared where metal met magic.

One of the hunters turned toward me, raising a rune-carved spear. Instinct screamed before thought could form—my hand rose, palm out.

Light erupted.

Golden, wild, blinding.

The blast hurled the man backward, his weapon shattering as it struck the altar. For a moment, silence—then the runes flared brighter than ever, pulsing in rhythm with my heartbeat.

The boy stumbled to a stop, staring at me again, eyes wide. “You channeled it.”

“I—I didn’t mean to!” My hands shook, still glowing faintly with that same golden light.

The last of the Nightfangs retreated toward the tunnel, their commander shouting something I couldn’t hear over the roar of magic filling the chamber. Then, just as quickly as it had begun, it was over.

The altar’s glow softened, returning to its steady hum.

The boy sheathed his blade, still breathing hard. “You’re stronger than I thought.”

I looked down at my hands, the faint glimmer fading from my skin. “I don’t know what I am.”

He stepped closer, his voice softer now. “Then we’ll find out. Together.”

The ground gave a low rumble again—this time gentler, almost like a heartbeat. The roots shifted, opening a new path behind the altar, carved with golden light.

The boy glanced at it, then back at me. “The Heart wants you to follow. Wherever it leads… that’s where the truth is.”

I took a deep breath, the air thick with the scent of magic and earth. The memory of the woman’s eyes still burned in my mind.

I nodded. “Then let’s find it.”

Side by side, we stepped into the light—and the forest closed behind us once more.

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