The Silent Echo

na stood at the edge of a clearing, the cool night air brushing against her skin. It had been days since her trial, but the weight of the experience still lingered, like a heavy cloak

ebearers, the one who held t

his posture tense. He hadn't said much since the trial, but his watchful eyes never lef

and steady. "You're wondering if you're truly ready for what's

at very thing, but admitting her fear felt like giving in.

her voice firm but tinged with uncertai

hing for something deep inside her. For a moment, there was a silence between them, filled only by the sounds o

g behind. You can choose to pretend that none of this matters, that the Keepers are someone else's problem. Bu

ting it were two different things. The Keepers weren't just a group of dangerous enemies; they were a force that threatened the balance

resolute, though her hands were still t

centuries. They were the ones who created the balance we're trying to protect. But they've become corrupted. They want to control the First Flame f

ng in response to her anger. "I won't let them," she whispered f

. The Keepers have already begun their search for you. They know you're alive. They know you're the last f

r was growing stronger, but so were the risks. The more she tapped into the First Flame, the more she felt its pull. It was like a

oice tight with a mixture of fear and

had seen things in his time, things that had shaped him into the person he was now. And she

flamebearers know of. It is where the power of the First Flame is most concentrated, where the flame itself resid

like something out of an ancient legend. But there was no mistaking the seriousne

e asked, her voic

dden, lost to time. The Keepers are searching for it too. But they don't know how to access its true

. The Heart of the Flame. She had no idea where it was, or how she was supposed to fi

ow. "I will be with you every step of the way. I will help

t be easy. The Keepers were relentless. And no matter how much she trained,

Lena said, h

would be dangerous, and Lena knew that there were things about the First Flame, about her own past, that she still didn't u

, but Lena was deter

urney

nt, save for the occasional rustle of leaves and the soft call of an owl in the distance. It was as if the land itself was holding its breath, waiti

ces of the people she loved, the faces of the shadows that had haunted her trial. She saw the Keepers, their cold eyes

night as they set up camp. The question hung

dable. "We have to," he said simply. "Th

he had no idea what lay ahead, or how they would find the Heart of the Flame. But one

he journey was far from over. The Keepers' shadow was still