Elara’s breath caught in her throat.
The tall figure stood motionless at the end of the muddy trail, half-hidden by the darkness.
Its face was impossible to see beneath the hood of its long black coat.
It simply pointed toward Blackwood Forest.
Then…
it vanished.
Not by walking away.
Not by running.
One moment it was there.
The next, the rain fell through empty air.
“What did you see?” her grandmother asked, hurrying to the door.
“There was someone outside.”
Her grandmother looked through the glass.
The porch was empty.
Only the muddy footprints remained.
She unlocked the door carefully and stepped outside.
The rain had almost washed the footprints away, but one thing remained untouched.
A small wooden box rested on the porch.
Neither of them had seen it before.
Elara picked up the box.
It was surprisingly light.
The lid was carved with the same ancient tree symbol that appeared on the journal.
“There wasn’t a package here this afternoon,” she said.
Her grandmother nodded nervously.
“I know.”
“Should we open it?”
The older woman hesitated.
“…Yes.”
Inside lay only two things.
A silver key.
And a folded piece of parchment.
Elara unfolded the note.
The handwriting was elegant but unfamiliar.
The forest remembers every promise.
Return what was stolen before the next full moon.
The first key belongs to the Chosen.
There was no signature.
Only the same tree symbol stamped in dark green ink.
“What was stolen?” Elara asked.
“I don’t know,” her grandmother admitted.
“But someone clearly believes you do.”
She picked up the silver key.
It was old and unusually cold.
Tiny vines were engraved along its shaft, ending in the shape of a leaf.
When Elara touched it, another vision flooded her mind.
She stood in Blackwood Forest.
Only…
it wasn’t the forest she knew.
The trees were taller.
The sky glowed silver instead of blue.
People dressed in old-fashioned clothing hurried along the hidden trail carrying lanterns.
At the center of a clearing stood a massive oak tree unlike any tree Elara had ever seen.
Its trunk was wider than a house.
Its branches stretched high into the clouds.
A little girl placed her hand against the bark.
Golden light spread through the roots.
Then a deep voice echoed across the clearing.
“The Guardian has accepted the promise.”
Everything shattered into darkness.
Elara stumbled backward, clutching the key.
Her grandmother caught her before she fell.
“You had another vision.”
Elara nodded, breathing hard.
“There was a giant tree…
and people…
they were protecting it.”
Her grandmother’s expression changed.
“Describe the tree.”
“It was enormous.
Its roots glowed like rivers of gold.”
The older woman’s hands trembled.
“I thought it was only a legend.”
The next morning, Ashwood felt different.
People whispered as they walked through town.
Store owners stood outside their shops instead of greeting customers.
Even the church bells rang an hour late.
Something was wrong.
When Elara reached school, Noah was already waiting near the front gate.
“You look like you didn’t sleep.”
“I didn’t.”
“You won’t believe what happened.”
He handed her his phone.
A local news article filled the screen.
MYSTERIOUS SINKHOLE DISCOVERED INSIDE BLACKWOOD FOREST
According to the article, a group of hikers had discovered a huge circular hole deep within the forest that morning.
Police had sealed off the area.
Witnesses claimed strange glowing roots could be seen at the bottom before the entrance collapsed.
Glowing roots.
Elara remembered the vision.
The giant tree.
Its roots.
Could the sinkhole be connected?
That afternoon, Elara, Noah, and her grandmother gathered around the old journal.
Spread across the table were newspaper clippings, faded maps, and family photographs.
One map caught Noah’s attention.
“Wait…”
He pointed to a hand-drawn circle in the center of Blackwood Forest.
“This isn’t on any modern map.”
Her grandmother looked at it quietly.
“It used to be.”
“What do you mean?”
She opened the journal to a page Elara hadn’t noticed before.
Tucked inside was a brittle map nearly a century old.
At its center, written in elegant ink, were two words.
The Heartwood.
“The giant tree from your vision,” Elara whispered.
Her grandmother nodded.
“My grandmother believed every path in Blackwood Forest eventually led there.”
“Then that’s where we need to go,” Noah said.
Her grandmother looked at both of them, her eyes filled with worry.
“If you go searching for the Heartwood…”
“…the Keeper will know.”
The room fell silent.
Outside, the wind began to howl.
Somewhere beyond the town, deep within Blackwood Forest, a low horn echoed through the trees.
It was ancient.
Mournful.
And it sounded only once.
The journal, lying open on the table, turned a page by itself.
A new sentence slowly appeared in shimmering golden ink.
The Chosen has accepted the First Key.
The trial begins at sunset.