Rafe stepped through the door, and it sealed behind him as if it had never existed. The mist thickened, heavier now, almost liquid. It pulsed faintly, like something breathing around him. And for the first time, Rafe understood:
The Path had layers.And each layer existed for one person.
This one belonged to Mara.
He inhaled slowly and walked forward. The mist curled away from him, opening a narrow trail. But the air grew colder—sharp, almost metallic—like he had entered a place where memories were not welcome.
The ground solidified beneath him: rough dirt, broken stones, deep claw marks.
And then he heard it—
Crying.
Quiet.Shaking.Human.
Rafe froze.
"…Mara?"
The mist pulled apart.
And he saw her.
Mara was kneeling in the middle of a blackened clearing. Dust clung to everything. Scorch marks covered the surrounding trees. But the destruction wasn't what horrified him.
It was her.
She was filthy.Arms scraped.Hair unevenly cut, jagged like it had been hacked off.Clothes torn.Her small body trembling.
Her hands were pressed over her ears as she whispered, broken:
"I didn't do anything… please… I didn't do anything…"
Rafe's heart shattered.
"Mara!"
He tried to run toward her—
Chains of mist shot up from the ground, locking around his ankles.
"What—?! Let me go!"
The Path's voice whispered, calm and cold:
"She must face what she buried."
"You don't understand—!"
"She does."
Mara lifted her head slowly.
And Rafe realized—
This wasn't little Mara.Not the girl he knew today.
This was a memory.
A scar she had forgotten.
Her eyes were hollow.
"I didn't do anything…" she whispered again, voice trembling.
Shadows rose around her.
Not monsters.Not beasts.
Adults.
Five tall, faceless shapes formed in the mist, surrounding the girl. Their voices struck the air like blades:
"Thief.""Liar.""Bad blood.""Should've died.""Curse."
Little Mara flinched with each word.
Rafe pulled the chains until pain shot through his legs.
"STOP IT!"
The shadows ignored him.
They stepped closer, looming over her, poisoning the air with every accusation:
"No one wants you.""You deserve nothing.""You ruin everything.""You're a mistake."
Mara curled tighter, sobbing.
Rafe roared, voice shaking:
"SELENE—HELP—!"
Nothing.
He was alone.And Mara was alone with ghosts of her past.
The Path whispered:
"If you take her pain, she will never heal."
Rafe grit his teeth, trembling.
"I'm not taking it. I'm helping."
"Help is not fighting for her.""Help is letting her stand."
He looked at Mara—small, broken—and felt something twist in his chest.
"Mara… please… get up."
She didn't.
She couldn't.
One shadow raised its arm, preparing to strike her.
Mara screamed, covering her head.
Rafe pulled until blood warmed his skin.
"GET UP!" he shouted, voice cracking. "MARA, PLEASE—GET UP!"
And then—
Something inside her snapped.
She lifted her head.
Her eyes were not empty anymore.
They were burning.
Mara grabbed the shadow's wrist mid-strike. The figure froze.
She pushed herself to her feet, shaking—but not from fear.
From fury.
In a voice that thundered through the mist, she said:
"I didn't die."A step."I survived."
Rafe's breath hitched.
The shadows recoiled.
Mara stepped again.
"You didn't break me."
Again.
"You never did."
Again.
"And I will NEVER bow to any of you again."
Her hand glowed—crimson, raw—and she slashed the air.
A burst of red light cut the shadows apart.
They screamed—twisted—crumbled into dust.
Silence fell.
The little Mara turned toward Rafe.
And smiled.A small, tired, real smile.
"Thank you… for calling me."
Her form dissolved like mist under sunrise.
The chains binding Rafe shattered.
The Path whispered:
"She has crossed the forgotten.""Now find the last."
Rafe steadied his breath.
Lyn.
Her fear would not be like Mara's.It would be deeper.Older.And far more dangerous.
A new door appeared ahead.
Rafe ran toward it without hesitation.
The air grew colder.
The mist grew darker.
And the Path prepared its final test.