Rielun's POV:
The doorway pulsed like a heartbeat as we stepped through, the Haven's light flickering weakly. The air thickened, humming with something ancient and expectant.
Sylas stayed closest to me.
Not touching.
Not crowding.
Just there — steady, quiet, grounding.
The Haven seemed to breathe as the chamber formed around us.
The room was vast and circular, filled with floating runes drifting like fireflies. A low vibration settled into my bones, resonant and unsettling.
Elias exhaled shakily. "This place… it's different."
Rowan nodded. "It feels like it's watching."
Aeris scoffed. "Everything in this cursed place watches."
Noctis's wings twitched. "This is a trial."
The runes brightened.
Then split — five streams of light shooting toward each guardian.
The moment the light touched them, they froze.
Eyes glazed.
Breaths hitched.
Bodies tensed.
They were seeing something meant only for them.
Sylas's jaw clenched. His hands curled into fists. His breath came in sharp, uneven bursts.
"Sylas…?" I whispered.
He didn't hear me.
None of them did.
The visions lasted only seconds — but when the light released them, they staggered like they'd lived a lifetime inside those moments.
Elias wiped at his eyes.
Aeris's hands shook.
Rowan looked pale.
Noctis's wings drooped.
Sylas…
Sylas looked shattered.
He stared at me like he wasn't sure I was real.
A glowing sigil formed on the floor — a circle of light with six points.
Five for the guardians.
One for me.
The Haven pulsed.
A voice — not spoken, but felt — echoed through the chamber.
Choose one to stand with you.
The air thickened.
Elias stepped forward immediately. "Rielun—"
Aeris bristled. "He doesn't need you."
Rowan swallowed hard.
Noctis looked terrified.
Sylas didn't move.
He just looked at me — eyes full of fear, longing, and something deeper.
"Please," he whispered, voice barely audible. "Choose who feels right. Not who feels loud."
My heart twisted.
The Haven pulsed again, urgent.
I stepped toward Sylas.
The sigil flared.
The chamber steadied.
The Hollow recoiled.
Sylas's breath caught — a soft, broken sound — and he reached out slowly, like he feared I'd vanish if he moved too fast.
His hand found mine.
Warm.
Steady.
Grounding.
The Haven glowed brighter.
The chamber folded inward, walls shifting until we stood in a smaller space — intimate, quiet, glowing with soft green light like the heart of a forest.
Sylas exhaled shakily. "Rielun… I saw you die."
My breath caught.
"I saw myself holding you," he whispered. "Too late. Too slow. Too helpless."
His voice cracked.
"I can't go through that again."
He stepped closer, hands trembling as he cupped my face gently, thumbs brushing my cheeks.
"You don't have to choose me," he murmured. "But I will always choose you."
The Haven pulsed warmly, approving.
I leaned into his touch.
"Sylas…"
His breath hitched — a soft, vulnerable sound — and he rested his forehead against mine. For a moment, neither of us moved. The chamber glowed softly, like it was holding its breath.
Then Sylas's hand slid to the back of my neck, warm and steady.
"Rielun," he murmured, voice barely audible, "you're the only thing that keeps me steady in this place."
I closed my eyes.
And Sylas kissed me.
Soft.
Slow.
Tender.
A kiss that felt like a promise whispered into the dark.
His lips brushed mine gently, lingering with a kind of reverence that made my chest ache. His thumb stroked my cheek as he deepened the kiss just enough to let me feel the emotion behind it — steady, grounding, quietly overwhelming.
When he finally pulled back, his forehead rested against mine again, breath unsteady.
"I'm here," he whispered. "As long as you want me."
The Haven glowed brighter, warm and approving.
For the first time since entering the Haven, I felt… safe.
A crack split the chamber wall.
Black sap dripped.
The Hollow's voice seeped through the fracture.
"Little… one…"
Sylas moved instantly — pulling me behind him, protective and fierce.
"Stay away from him," he growled.
The Haven reacted to Sylas's protectiveness, sealing the crack temporarily with a burst of light.
But the Hollow's whisper lingered.
A soft glow formed in the center of the chamber.
A memory.
The First Guardian stood before the Haven — shaking, desperate, eyes red with grief.
He pressed his hand to the Haven's core.
"Take anything," he whispered. "Take everything. Just bring him back."
The memory flickered.
The Haven's light dimmed.
The First Guardian's voice broke.
"Please…"
The memory cut off.
Sylas's hand tightened around mine.
"Rielun," he whispered. "He made a bargain."
My stomach twisted. "But what did he give up?"
The chamber darkened.