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**The Edge of the Hollowed Basin – Dawn**
The air was crisp, filled with a strange scent—something ancient and damp, like forgotten soil stirred awake. Mist coiled around the feet of the travelers as Yuki led the way down a narrow slope flanked by petrified roots. Behind him, Elira, Lirae, Kael, Brann, and even Shade moved cautiously.
"So let me get this straight," Kael said, squinting into the fog. "We're marching toward a place that your dragon-sense says is cursed, haunted, and most likely filled with spirit traps. For what, exactly? A nice scenic view?"
Yuki didn't turn. "I said the place is awakening, not cursed."
Brann muttered under his breath. "Which always ends well."
Elira, unusually quiet, walked beside Sylvaeria with her hand brushing the flowering vine growing around her wrist. "It's not just awakening," she whispered. "It's remembering."
Yuki's head tilted slightly, impressed. "Not bad. The forest's memories are layered, like rings in old bark. What lies ahead was once sacred… and then betrayed."
"Great," Kael sighed. "Haunted *and* heartbroken. Perfect vacation spot."
Lirae spoke suddenly. "There's another presence ahead. And… I know it."
Yuki narrowed his eyes. "Show me."
---
**Inside the Basin – The Ancient Altar**
They reached the basin—a sunken hollow, ringed by stone pillars that reached like claws toward the sky. A fractured altar sat at the center, its top cracked and weeping glowing sap. The ground thrummed faintly, pulsing in time with Elira's heartbeat.
Lirae stepped forward slowly. "This is where I was led in my dreams… where the roots called."
Shade growled softly, fur bristling. Not at danger—but recognition.
Yuki's eyes flashed. "Something's stirring. Not just memory—presence."
As if in answer, one of the stone pillars shuddered, and a low chime echoed through the air.
Then… she appeared.
From the side of the altar, between two gnarled root structures, stepped **Limit**—clad in a sleeveless hunter's coat of ethereal threads, a jagged blade strapped across her back. Her silver hair shimmered in the morning haze.
"Nice of you all to catch up," she said, tilting her head. "I was starting to think I'd get all the cryptic visions and none of the company."
Kael groaned. "Oh no. Not another one."
Yuki's tail flicked. "You."
Limit gave him a lazy wave. "Hello again, Yuki. You're taller now."
Brann blinked. "Wait… you *know* her?"
"Unfortunately," Yuki muttered. "She's persistent."
"I'm adorable," Limit corrected, walking toward the altar.
Elira stepped closer, her vine reacting with a faint hum. "She's… tied to this place."
Limit stopped at the altar and tapped it with her knuckles. "This was a shrine. Long before the forest became what it is now. Back when dragons ruled this land openly, and spirits were bound to bloodlines. This altar was for the Forgotten Kin—the ones erased when the balance shattered."
Sylvaeria floated forward. "You remember that?"
Limit's smile faded a fraction. "I was born in the ruins. Raised by echoes."
Yuki approached, his gaze intense. "You should've stayed hidden."
"I could say the same," she replied coolly. "But the seals are breaking, dragon. And your presence speeds them along."
Lirae looked between them. "What are these seals?"
Limit turned to her. "Locks on ancient mistakes. Some of which should *never* see light again. But I can't hold them forever. Not alone."
Elira frowned. "So you're not here to fight?"
"Oh, I *am*," Limit said cheerfully. "Just not yet."
Brann threw up his hands. "Great. Another vague prophecy warrior with a sword problem."
Limit grinned. "Better than being the guy whose only talent is swinging things hard."
Brann started to reply but was shushed instantly by Kael. "Let it go. You *will* lose this argument."
Yuki, meanwhile, stared at the altar, deep in thought.
**His Soulsovereign Core pulsed**, and faint glyphs glowed on the broken stone. Visions flickered—dragons in golden armor, humans kneeling in peace, spirits forming contracts in ceremonial dances. And then… fire, blood, betrayal.
"We're walking into a wound," he said quietly. "One that never healed."
Limit nodded. "Which means it still bleeds."
---
**Closing Scene – Beneath the Basin**
Far below the altar, past layers of soil and root and silence, something ancient stirred. Bound in ironwood and spiritstone, it flexed a phantom limb.
It had no name now. Only *hunger*.
And above, the seal cracked… just a little more.
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