THE LAST EMBER CROWN 👑

THE LAST EMBER CROWN 3

Chapter 3: The Forest That Remembers

The ancient forest stood like a wall between the old world and the unknown.

Its towering trees reached so high that they blocked the morning sun, leaving the ground covered in a soft emerald glow. Strange blue flowers bloomed without sunlight, and silver vines twisted around trunks thicker than castles.

Kael walked beside Lyra in silence, Rowan's hammer strapped across his back.

"Have you been here before?" he asked.

Lyra nodded.

"Once."

"You don't seem happy about it."

"I'm not."

Kael noticed the sadness in her voice but chose not to ask.

Hours passed.

The forest remained unnaturally quiet.

No birds.

No insects.

Not even the wind.

Suddenly, Kael heard a whisper.

"Kael..."

He froze.

"Did you hear that?"

Lyra looked around.

"Hear what?"

"My name... someone called my name."

"There shouldn't be anyone here."

The whisper came again.

"Kael... follow me..."

Without thinking, Kael stepped away from the path.

"Kael!" Lyra shouted.

But it was too late.

The forest changed.

The trees shifted.

The path disappeared.

Kael found himself alone.

Mist rolled between the trees.

Then he saw them.

His village.

Ashvale stood before him, untouched by fire.

Children laughed.

The forge rang with the sound of hammers.

Master Rowan stood outside, smiling.

"You're late, boy," Rowan called.

Kael's heart pounded.

"Master...?"

Rowan held out his hand.

"Come home."

Kael took one step forward.

Then another.

Tears filled his eyes.

"I... I thought you died."

Rowan smiled gently.

"I never left."

Just as Kael reached him—

A silver blade flashed through the illusion.

Everything shattered like broken glass.

The village vanished.

Kael stumbled backward.

Lyra stood beside him, sword drawn.

"It wasn't real," she said.

Kael looked around.

There was no village.

Only the silent forest.

"You saw it too?"

"No."

"The forest shows each traveler what they want most."

Kael lowered his head.

"I wanted one more chance to say goodbye."

Lyra placed a hand on his shoulder.

"So did I."

Before Kael could reply, the ground trembled.

The trees bent as though bowing to something.

Heavy footsteps echoed through the forest.

One...

Two...

Three...

A gigantic creature emerged from the shadows.

It stood over twenty feet tall.

Its body was made of living wood covered in glowing emerald runes. Moss draped from its shoulders like a cloak, and branches crowned its head.

Its eyes shone with ancient golden light.

"I am Eldros," the giant said.

"Guardian of the Forest That Remembers."

Kael instinctively reached for his hammer.

"We don't want to fight."

Eldros looked at the Ember Seal on Kael's hand.

"The flame has returned..."

He knelt—a mountain bowing before a single human.

"For one thousand years... I have waited."

Before Kael could speak, a deafening roar echoed across the forest.

The sky darkened.

Hundreds of Hollowborn burst through the trees.

Their leader, a towering armored beast with crimson horns, stepped forward.

"We have found the Ember Bearer."

Eldros rose to his full height.

His golden eyes blazed.

"You shall not pass."

The forest erupted.

Roots burst from the ground, wrapping around the Hollowborn.

Lyra drew her sword.

Kael gripped Rowan's hammer.

The battle for the Forest That Remembers had begun.