---
**Moments After the Trial**
The crystal platform slowly descended, lowering Elira gently to the floor. The egg—or was it a heart?—glowed softly, as if acknowledging her presence.
Sylvaeria floated closer, peering into the light. "It's a Seed of Memory," she murmured. "A remnant of the forest's will… sealed away when the world forgot the spirits."
Elira tilted her head. "Is it… sentient?"
Yuki narrowed his eyes. "More than that. It *remembers*. And now, it remembers *you*."
"That sounds poetic," Elira said, blinking. "Terrifying, but poetic."
"Most things that glow and hum are," Sylvaeria offered dryly.
---
**As the Seed Activated**
The seed pulsed.
A beam of green-white light stretched upward, projecting an illusion—no, a memory. The chamber vanished, replaced by an ethereal forest. Trees reached the heavens, and dragons—winged, radiant, and wise—flew above an endless canopy alongside spirit-beasts of every shape and kind.
And in the center stood a younger version of Yuki.
Or perhaps… his progenitor?
He looked regal—serene. Beside him floated a spirit resembling Sylvaeria, though younger and adorned in richer spiritlight.
Yuki stared silently. "This… this is a memory of the First Pact. The beginning of the harmony between my kind and the forest spirits."
Elira whispered, "So the dragons… protected the spirits?"
"No," Sylvaeria said softly. "They *became* part of the forest. As guardians. As kin."
The memory shifted—flashes of war, fire, and steel. Humans in armor. Trees burning. Spirits fading. Dragons falling.
And then darkness.
---
**The Projection Ends**
Silence returned to the chamber.
The seed dimmed, embedding itself into Elira's chest as a faint mark—the **Verdant Sigil**—formed on her collarbone, glowing faintly with living light.
Yuki watched her, his expression unreadable. "You carry part of the forest's legacy now."
Elira looked down at herself. "Okay, but does this come with a handbook? Or at least a pamphlet?"
Sylvaeria chuckled. "Just follow your heart. And try not to touch any cursed rocks."
Elira groaned. "That was *one time*."
---
**Outside the Chamber**
As they climbed back into the upper grove, Yuki paused.
"Something's changed."
He touched the roots of a nearby tree.
It sang.
Not in words, but in feeling—a pulse of energy, of warmth and relief. The forest recognized Elira now… as one of its chosen.
"She's a beacon," Yuki said. "For better or worse."
Sylvaeria nodded. "Which means others will feel it too."
Elira looked uneasy. "So, you're saying I'm basically… a magical forest Wi-Fi hotspot?"
Yuki gave her a flat look. "If that helps you understand, yes."
---
**Final Scene – A Shadow Moves**
Far from the grove, in a clearing shrouded in mist, another adventurer stood.
She watched the sky, feeling the pulse in the air.
"Elira," she said softly, brushing dust from a silver badge. "You really did awaken something, didn't you?"
From the shadows, a massive wolf-like beast growled.
"Easy, Shade. We're not here to hunt… yet."
---