Chapter 13: Chapter 11: Echoes in the Ruins

Luna’s boots crunched on the damp forest floor.The air smelled of wet moss and something old — like secrets buried for centuries.They were close now.

Close to the ruins Zeph had discovered, hidden deep beyond Velmora’s eastern cliffs.Her pendant was warm against her chest.

Almost restless… like it wanted her to keep going.Zeph walked ahead, his cloak catching on low branches.

He wasn’t smiling like usual — instead, he looked tense.“You sure about this?” he asked, glancing back.

“This place feels… wrong.”Luna nodded, even though her stomach was uneasy.

“I need to know what’s calling me.”The trees opened up to reveal a huge, crumbling stone archway wrapped in vines.Strange carvings peeked through — waves, swirling wind — worn down by time but still… alive.

Luna felt like the symbols were watching them.The air gave a soft hum, matching the faint vibration of her pendant.Zeph pointed.

“Look. That’s not normal.”Luna stepped closer.

A glowing circle with jagged lines flickered on the stone… then vanished like smoke.“That’s the same mark you saw before, isn’t it?” she asked.Zeph nodded, one hand on his dagger.

“Yeah. Cult stuff. They don’t stay long in one place.”Luna touched her pendant, its warmth pulsing.

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“Why here? What are they after?”“No idea,” Zeph muttered. “But this place is old.

Maybe older than Velmora.

Maybe even older than the Elemental Kings.”They stepped through the archway.The air instantly grew cold.Inside, the ruins were a twisting maze of broken walls and collapsed floors.

Moss covered almost everything.Stone carvings showed figures with flowing hair — like Keolora — and others with fierce, stormy eyes like Caelion.“These… are the Elemental Kings and Queens,” Luna whispered.Her pendant pulsed faster, pulling her deeper into the ruins.In the central chamber, she found a cracked stone slab.

On it was a carving of a figure holding a moon-shaped pendant.Her pendant.Zeph’s voice was soft.

“Luna… that looks like you.”She shook her head.

“No. This place is ancient. That’s impossible.”But it did look like her.The figure’s eyes almost glowed, just like hers under the Blood Moon.She touched the stone.A sharp jolt ran through her.

Like she had just triggered a memory that wasn’t hers.A voice filled her head.

Not in her ears — inside her bones.“You’re not ready.”Her blood ran cold.It was a man’s voice.

Cold. Sharp. Familiar.Her father’s voice.She turned quickly.

“Did you hear that?” Her voice shook.Zeph looked confused.

“Hear what?”The pendant burned hot.The strange cult mark appeared again on the stone slab…

and vanished just as quickly.Luna’s knees weakened, but Zeph caught her.“Stay with me,” he said firmly.“It was him,” she whispered.

“My father. He’s… alive.”Zeph’s jaw tightened.

“Then we’ll find out why he’s hiding.

But right now, we leave.

Before more of those symbols show up.”Luna took one last glance at the carving.The pendant’s hum softened…

but her father’s voice still echoed in her mind.Cold. Certain.Whatever he wanted — it was tied to this ruin.

And to her.As they walked away, the wind stirred behind them.

Whispering through the stones.It sounded almost… like it was saying her name.