The Echos of You

Chapter 12 part 6

The forest didn't end.

It just... opened.

One moment they were wrapped in trees and whispers - the next, they stepped through a wall of mist and into something silent and vast.

A clearing stretched out before them, perfectly circular.

Too perfect.

The grass here was gray. Not dead - just drained, like color had been bled from it. At the center stood a stone altar surrounded by floating shards of broken mirrors, each one suspended in the air like they were caught mid-shatter.

Maya froze.

The tug in her chest pulsed again - stronger now.

"She's close," she whispered.

Adrian scanned the space, his shadows tightening protectively. "This isn't just a clearing. It's a holding zone."

"For what?" Maya asked.

"For memory. For pain. For... her."

He gestured toward the shards. Maya moved slowly, cautiously, approaching one of the floating mirror pieces. In its reflection, she saw herself.

But not just herself.

Behind her - bound, half-conscious - was Lena.

Tied to a stone slab. Eyes open. Watching her.

Maya's breath hitched.

"Lena-"

Adrian stepped closer. "Careful. That's not her. That's what they want you to see."

"I know," Maya whispered. "But she is somewhere near."

She turned in a slow circle, her hand raised - feeling for the trail. This time, the pull didn't come from ahead.

It came from beneath.

Her eyes dropped to the altar.

"There's something under it," she said.

Adrian moved to her side, his voice low. "If we go down there, we don't come back out the same."

Maya stepped forward anyway.

"I'm not here to stay the same."