CHAPTER 14 — The One Who Walks Without a Shadow
The tremor began as a low hum—a vibration so faint that only the roots beneath Elara's feet seemed to notice. But then the air thickened, the forest dimmed, and a cold wave swept through the clearing as if the sunlight itself were retreating.
Riven's hand went to his blade instantly.
Eli stepped in front of Elara without thinking.
The Warden raised a massive arm, the runes along its body igniting like burning amber.
"Elara," Riven said, voice tight, "what do you sense?"
She closed her glowing eyes.
The forest spoke to her now—directly, clearly—its voice a thousand whispers braided into one. It trembled with fear.
"It's… close," she murmured. "Too close. And it's not alone."
The earth quivered again.
And then everything fell silent.
No wind.
No rustling leaves.
No birds.
Not even breath.
A figure stepped into the clearing.
At first, it looked like a smear—like the air itself was being erased where it walked. Light bent around it, distorted and warped. Only when it came closer did it begin to take shape.
Tall.
Humanoid.
Wrapped in a swirling cloak of shadows that never touched the ground.
But the most terrifying part—
It had no shadow of its own.
Riven whispered, "No… it can't be."
Eli backed up until he collided with a root. "What is that thing?"
Elara stared, her chest aching with recognition—this was the presence she'd felt in the Heart's memories.
The intruder.
The destroyer.
The thing that had shattered the forest's core.
Its voice drifted forward, soft, sharp, and utterly wrong.
"Elara."
It spoke her name with unsettling familiarity.
Eli stepped in front of her again, fists clenched. "Stay back!"
The figure didn't even look at him.
"Elara," it repeated. "You've taken what was not meant for you."
Elara met its gaze—or where its eyes should've been. All she saw was shifting darkness.
"You're the one who broke the Heart," she said. Her voice didn't shake this time. The seed's power pulsed through her veins like fire. "You're the reason the forest is dying."
A soft hum.
"Dying?" the figure echoed. "No. Evolving."
Riven's grip on his blade tightened. "Don't listen to it."
The figure tilted its head slightly. "Riven. The failed protector. How long has it been?"
Riven flinched.
Eli looked at him sharply. "It knows your name?"
Elara's heartbeat fluttered. "Who are you?"
The answer drifted like cold smoke.
"I am the Echo of the Void."
The trees behind it wilted. Leaves curled into black dust.
The Warden roared, runes blazing, and slammed a massive fist toward the intruder.
The blow passed straight through.
Not because the creature dodged.
But because the Warden's arm simply phased through it, like pushing through a nightmare.
The Echo lifted a hand.
The Warden was thrown backward with a deafening crash, roots exploding under its massive body.
"Stop!" Elara shouted.
The creature's faceless gaze turned to her. "You wield the Heart's fragment. A shard of what I broke."
"Why?" Her voice cracked. "Why destroy something alive? Something ancient?"
"Because it stood in the way," the Echo whispered. "And so do you."
The ground shook violently. Shadows burst outward like spears, aiming straight for her.
Riven moved first.
He didn't think. He didn't hesitate.
He threw himself in front of her.
The shadow spears struck his body and flung him across the clearing. He hit a tree so hard the crack echoed.
"Riven!" Elara cried.
Eli sprinted toward him, fear twisting his face.
The Echo drifted closer. "The protector bleeds again. How fitting."
Elara's hands glowed, golden light spiraling upward from her palms like swirling fireflies. "You won't hurt them."
"You cannot fight me," the Echo murmured. "You are newly born. Unfinished."
Elara lifted her hand.
And the forest responded.
Roots burst from the ground, glowing gold, whipping toward the Echo.
But before they could strike, the creature raised a hand.
Everything froze.
Time.
Movement.
Even the roots.
The golden vines hung suspended in midair.
Elara staggered. "What… are you?"
"I told you," the Echo said. "I am evolution."
The forest's voice inside her screamed in pain. The roots trembled. Leaves shriveled. The ground cracked.
The seed within her pulsed desperately.
"Elara…" Riven rasped from the ground, forcing himself up though blood dripped from his mouth. "Run."
Eli yelled, "No! She's not running!"
The Echo raised its hand again.
A wave of shadow surged toward Elara, tearing the earth open.
She lifted both hands, golden light erupting into a blinding shield. The impact shattered the ground, sending shockwaves through the clearing.
Pain tore down her arms. Her knees buckled.
The shield cracked.
"Elara!" Eli screamed.
She pushed more of the seed's power through her body. Golden flames burst from her fingertips and the shield brightened again.
For a moment—just a moment—the Echo faltered.
"The Heart…" it hissed. "It lives too strongly within you."
The shadows recoiled.
Elara gasped. "You're afraid."
The Echo froze.
The air around them shuddered.
Then—
A low, cold laugh.
"Not of you. Of what you may become."
Eli pulled Riven to his feet. The Warden staggered back into the clearing, cracked but alive.
"Elara," Riven whispered, his voice hoarse. "You can't beat it. Not yet."
The Echo lifted its hand again.
"You will break, as the Heart did."
Elara's glow dimmed. Her arms trembled. The seed inside her flickered like a dying ember. She couldn't take another hit.
But then—
A deep rumble shook the earth.
Not from the Echo.
From beneath Elara.
A golden light burst outward, tearing apart the cracked ground, spiraling around her feet. The roots glowed brighter than ever, weaving themselves into armor—wrapping her arms, chest, and legs in living vines that pulsed with ancient power.
The forest was protecting her.
"No…" the Echo whispered—its voice the closest to fear she had ever heard. "Impossible."
Elara lifted her head.
Her eyes blazed fully gold, bright enough to illuminate the clearing like a second sun.
"You can't kill the Heart," she said, voice echoing powerfully, not entirely her own. "Because it chose to live."
The forest roared.
Light detonated outward.
The Echo stumbled backward, its shadow cloak shredding under the blast. A distorted, inhuman scream erupted from it as the golden wave ripped through the clearing.
When the light faded, the Echo was gone.
Not dead.
Not defeated.
But gone.
Riven collapsed to one knee, shaking.
Eli fell beside Elara, pressing his forehead to hers. "Are you okay? Can you hear me?"
She breathed hard, sweat dripping down her face. "I… I think so."
The Warden bowed to her. "Chosen. The Echo will return. You must prepare."
Elara swallowed hard. "I know."
The forest whispered inside her—warning, trembling, aching.
This was only the beginning.