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**Heart of the Grove – Steps into Twilight**
The air was heavier now. Every breath tasted of ancient moss and tingling mana. Lumi narrowed her eyes as she stepped cautiously alongside the others, her gaze flicking from tree to tree.
*Something's off. Not dangerous… but layered. Like a puzzle waiting to snap shut if you move wrong.*
Brann led the way, muscles still tense from his trial. Kael followed with silent steps. Elira and Lumi walked together near the rear—though neither trusted the calm.
"Think the forest is finally done testing us?" Lumi asked, hand casually resting on a dagger hilt.
Elira chuckled softly. "You say that like it ever really stops."
*She's too calm,* Lumi thought. *That flower she picked… it changed her. Her aura feels like those will-o'-wisps now. Gentle but ready to burn.*
Elira, sensing the tension beside her, glanced at Lumi from the corner of her eye.
*She's always watching. Always two seconds from violence. And yet… it's like she's waiting for permission to care.*
Lumi raised an eyebrow. "Staring won't make me talk about my feelings, you know."
"No, but it's fun watching you squirm."
They both smiled—tiny, fleeting things—but genuine.
---
**Within the Spirit Garden – Unexpected Choice**
The stone path opened to a strange space: a circular grove filled with silver-stemmed plants and softly glowing pods. The trees here leaned inward, their branches interwoven above like a cathedral.
At the center was a floating orb—twisting with both spirit light and physical vines.
Kael stepped forward. "Is this… the heart of the trial?"
A soft, melodic hum answered him. It wasn't threatening. It was... waiting.
Suddenly, Elira stepped forward, the flower on her staff glowing again. The orb responded with a low chime.
Brann moved to block her. "Woah, hold on. What are you doing?"
"She's being called," Lumi said, surprised at the calm certainty in her voice.
*Why do I trust her so easily? This should be a red flag. A huge, glowing, vine-covered red flag.*
The orb pulsed again, brighter.
Elira's thoughts spun. *It wants me to remember… something not from this life. Not quite. Something older… deeper…*
Without warning, the orb split into two streams of light—one racing to Elira, the other veering to Lumi.
"Wait, what?" Lumi's eyes widened.
The light struck her chest—not painfully, but with a jolt. A vision unfolded behind her eyes: ancient battlefields, forest spirits weeping, and two figures—one with golden wings, the other cloaked in silver mist—standing side by side against the darkness.
---
**Within Lumi's Mind – Fragmented Echoes**
*Who… were they?*
Her heartbeat thundered. For a split second, she felt wings on her back. Not real, but memory-shaped.
*I was there. Or someone like me. What the hell is happening to me?*
When the vision faded, she stumbled, and Elira caught her arm.
"You okay?"
"…Yeah," Lumi said hoarsely. "Just saw a previous life where I was apparently a glowing murder-angel. Totally normal."
Elira smiled faintly. "Join the club."
---
**Outside the Grove – Yuki's Perspective**
Perched high above in the canopy, Yuki's tail curled tighter as he observed the light infusions. His spiritual senses crackled with warnings—and curiosity.
"They were chosen," Sylvaeria said beside him. "This place remembered them."
"Not remembered," Yuki said, eyes narrowing. "It *recognized* them."
*And that changes everything.*
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