Dawn broke in streaks of blood-orange and violet as Arjun and his companions stepped into the threshold of the Silvan Vale—a forbidden forest that looked as if time itself had forgotten it.

  Massive trees stood like titans frozen mid-stride, their roots twisted into shapes resembling screaming faces. The air felt thick, not with fog, but with memories—the kind that whispered your name when no one else was speaking.

  Raaka glanced around uneasily. “I don’t like trees that breathe.”

  “They don’t breathe,” Yumi whispered, her fingers tightening on her scroll pouch. “They remember.”

  Ayra unsheathed her blade, eyes scanning every shadow. “We’re not alone in here.”

  > [New Territory Discovered: The Forest of Echoes]

  Warning: High karmic resonance detected. Caution advised. Memory bleed possible.

  Arjun stepped forward, guided by the invisible tug in his chest—the mark of the Fractured Souls that had been etched into him in Sarnav. The further they walked, the more the forest pressed in on them, not physically, but spiritually.

  Each step made him feel as though he were walking into the heart of someone else’s regret.

  Hours passed.

  Time unraveled.

  At one point, Arjun heard his mother’s voice call his name—not as it was now, but as it had been when he was just a boy in the orphanage of Bharava. He froze.

  “Arjun... come home.”

  The others didn’t hear it.

  The forest was trying to pull him in. Separate him. Break him.

  He pressed forward.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  It wasn’t until nightfall that they found the first soul.

  She was hanging from a tree, but not by a noose. Roots had wrapped around her gently, holding her upright as if in eternal prayer. Her eyes were open—pale silver and unblinking.

  Raaka approached cautiously, but before he could speak, the woman moved.

  Her lips cracked open.

  “You should not be here, Heir of the Throne.”

  Arjun stepped forward. “You know me?”

  “I know your burden. I carried it once. Before I broke.”

  She raised a trembling hand. “Will you listen to my truth?”

  > [Fractured Soul Detected: The Weeping Flame]

  This soul chose rebellion and was condemned to memory. Hear her truth to bind or free her spirit.

  Arjun nodded. “Speak.”

  The trees around them went silent.

  The wind stopped.

  The sky above turned deep indigo, and the forest became a stage for her story.

  “I was named Kalyara of the Third Era,” she began. “Born in the city of Vael, raised as a Keeper of the Ninth Flame. When the gods demanded we burn our libraries to prove our loyalty, I refused. I took our knowledge, our language, and I ran.”

  Her voice cracked with emotion. “They cursed me. Said I would burn without fire, cry without tears. I have done both for two thousand years.”

  Arjun’s hands clenched. “What do you want from me?”

  “Justice,” she whispered. “Or peace. You must choose.”

  > [Karmic Choice Presented]

  1. Bind her soul to serve you as a guardian of forbidden knowledge.

  2. Free her soul and break her curse, allowing her to pass on.

  3. Walk away. Let history stay buried.

  Arjun looked into her eyes and saw pain—but also strength.

  “I will not be like the kings of old,” he said. “I will not build my throne on chains.”

  He reached out and touched her hand.

  “I free you.”

  Light exploded from her chest as roots fell away. Her body lifted into the air, dissolving into thousands of golden sparks.

  > [Karmic Trait Gained: Flame of Memory]

  You now hold the essence of Kalyara’s defiance. Ancient knowledge lost to the world is yours to recall in times of need.

  The forest sighed.

  A breeze swept through, gentler now. Lighter.

  Arjun turned to his companions.

  “That was one soul.”

  Ayra nodded. “How many more?”

  “Eight,” he said. “There were always nine.”

  That night, they camped under an ancient tree whose bark was etched with forgotten prayers. The silence wasn’t oppressive anymore—it was mournful. Respectful.

  Raaka passed Arjun a bowl of stew. “You really think freeing them will change the world?”

  “I think... healing the past is the only way to change the future,” Arjun replied.

  Yumi sat across the fire, her eyes distant. “Then we’re going to need more than firewood. We’re going to need faith.”

  Ayra watched Arjun closely.

  “You’re growing into the role.”

  “What role?”

  “The one you never asked for.”

  He gave her a tired smile. “Maybe. But someone has to carry it.”

  Above them, stars broke through the thick canopy, like eyes finally opening.

  And in the deepest part of the forest, eight more souls stirred.

  They had waited long enough.