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CHAPTER 36 — Fractures in the Summoned Mind
The forest did not calm quickly.
Even after Echo vanished and the trees stopped twisting, the earth felt… wrong. As if the world itself held its breath, waiting for something Aren could not name.
Lirien stood completely still, her palm pressed flat against the soil. Her eyes glowed faintly as she listened—truly listened—to the world beneath her feet.
Aren watched her, chest still heaving. "What is it? Are they coming back?"
"No," she whispered. "Not the Hunters. Not the Mistwalkers. This disturbance is different."
A faint tremor rippled through the ground.
"Different how?" Aren asked.
Lirien opened her eyes slowly. "Aren… the world is afraid."
Those five words hollowed him out.
He had felt fear. He had watched Lirien pushed to her limits. He had seen forests scream and shadows come alive. But never—never—had he imagined the world itself could be afraid.
He rubbed his face, trying to steady his mind. "What exactly was she?"
"A fracture," Lirien said, stepping closer. "A broken piece of memory that shouldn't exist here."
"She said I left her behind."
"That is what fragments do—they cling to whatever emotion born them."
"She knew my name!"
Lirien hesitated.
Aren grabbed her shoulders. "Lirien. Tell me what's happening to me."
She gently took his hands and lowered them. "Aren… when the seed chose you, it opened your mind to the world. But it also opened your mind outward."
"Outward?"
"To whatever lies beyond this world. To wherever you came from." She took a slow breath. "Your memories are unstable. Cracked. And something slipped through."
Aren staggered back. "That girl—Echo—she's part of my mind?"
"Yes. Or she was."
He pressed a shaking hand to his forehead. Memories flickered behind his eyes—shadows, hallways, a small voice whispering his name—but each time he tried to grasp one, it dissolved like smoke.
"Why don't I remember her?" he whispered.
"Because your memories of your world are blurred," Lirien replied softly. "And whatever Echo is, she formed from the cracks left behind."
Aren clenched his fists. "She felt real."
"Fragments often do. They borrow shape from what you fear most."
"What I fear?" Aren echoed.
Lirien's expression softened—sympathy mixed with a fear she tried to hide. "The deeper your trauma, the stronger the fracture."
Trauma. The word hung heavy between them.
Aren swallowed hard. "You think my mind is… creating things? And forcing them into this world?"
Lirien shook her head. "No. Your mind cannot create what the world does not allow." Her gaze hardened. "Something else is amplifying the fractures. Something watching through the cracks."
A cold chill crept down Aren's spine.
"Watching… me?"
"Yes," Lirien whispered. "Echo is only the beginning."
The fog thinned enough to show a path ahead—a narrow trail framed by twisted trees. The air felt heavier, like a warning they were walking toward something inevitable.
Aren tried to steady his breathing. "So what do we do now?"
"We reach the Choir of Roots," Lirien said firmly. "It is the only place where the world speaks truth without distortion. If something is tampering with your memories, the Choir will expose it."
"And if something is watching me?"
"Then the Choir will reveal that too."
She stepped past him, but Aren hesitated.
"What if…" he swallowed. "What if I don't want to know what I forgot?"
Lirien turned to him. Her voice softened. "Aren… not remembering doesn't protect you. The fracture is already here. Echo found you. She will find you again."
"That's what I'm afraid of."
Lirien stepped closer until she was right in front of him. "Aren. Look at me."
He did.
"You are not alone," she said, pressing a hand to his chest. "Whatever you face in your memories, or whatever crosses into this world—I will face it beside you."
His breath caught.
For a moment, the world hummed. Not in fear, not in warning—but in quiet agreement.
Aren nodded, feeling steadier. "Okay. Let's go."
They started up the narrow path, roots twisting like steps beneath their feet. The forest slowly shifted from green to grey, the trees becoming pale and thin, like bones growing from the earth.
Minutes passed in tense silence. Then—
Aren stopped.
He felt it before he heard it—a faint whisper brushing the inside of his skull.
Aren...
His blood ran cold.
"No," Lirien said sharply, grabbing his wrist. "Ignore it."
But the whisper grew louder.
You left me again.
Aren clenched his teeth. "Echo… where are—"
"Aren!" Lirien snapped. "Don't talk to her!"
But it was too late.
He looked to his right.
And his breath stopped.
Echo stood between the pale trees, her small figure shrouded by dim light. Her head tilted slightly, hair dripping black water onto the soil.
But this time—
Her eyes weren't hollow.
They were full of tears.
"Aren…" her voice trembled. "Why are you running from me?"
Aren's heart twisted painfully.
"I'm not—"
"Yes, you are," she whispered. "Just like before."
Before.
Aaren felt something sharp and cold stab through his mind—
a door
a scream
a hand slipping from his—
He collapsed, gripping his skull.
Lirien rushed forward, but Echo spoke again, voice cracking.
"You promised you wouldn't leave me there."
Aren gasped. "Where—where did I leave you?!"
Echo didn't answer.
She only raised her hand toward him…
And the world shattered.
White light exploded outward. The forest bent and warped, melting into a shape Aren couldn't understand. A place he almost remembered.
Lirien grabbed him, shouting his name—
But the world dissolved.
And Aren fell into memory.
Or madness.
Or something in between.
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