The road from the Forgotten City had remained untouched for three thousand years.
No footsteps.
No travelers.
No light.
Only silence.
Tonight…
That silence ended.
A lone figure walked slowly through the ancient valley.
Broken chains dragged behind him, scraping softly across black stone.
Each step echoed for miles.
Not because of their weight…
But because the world itself remembered that sound.
— Above the valley…
Dark clouds gathered.
Lightning flashed silently across the heavens.
Yet no rain fell.
The mountains seemed to bow.
The rivers slowed their currents.
The forests whispered without wind.
Nature wasn’t afraid.
It was mourning.
The Sleeper had finally left the prison.
— Far behind him…
The enormous gates of the Forgotten City remained open.
The old Guardian stood motionless at their entrance.
His sword still rested in his trembling hands.
He had not attacked.
He could not.
Because the ancient prison itself had spoken only moments before.
“His punishment has ended.” For three thousand years…
The Guardian Order had believed they were protecting the world from a monster.
Now…
They no longer knew whether they had been guarding the world…
Or imprisoning its greatest victim.
— The Sleeper paused.
He slowly looked toward the sky.
Thousands of stars reflected in his mismatched eyes.
One crimson.
One silver.
For a brief moment…
His expression softened.
“I remember…” he whispered.
“…the stars.” Then…
A painful frown crossed his face.
Fragments of memory surged through his mind.
Children laughing beneath a giant silver tree.
Seven small hands joined together.
A promise.
A scream.
Fire.
Darkness.
Then…
Nothing.
He pressed a hand against his forehead.
The memories vanished once again.
Leaving only unbearable emptiness.
— Back in Eldervale…
The Warden suddenly stood upright.
His breathing had become steady again.
Kael released his shoulder.
“He’s moving.” The Warden nodded.
“Yes.” The Traveler looked toward the eastern mountains.
“Can we stop him?” The Warden answered honestly.
“No.” The Traveler’s face hardened.
“Then what do we do?” The old Guardian quietly replied, “We meet him.” — The Hunters exchanged uneasy glances.
The youngest Hunter spoke first.
“If the stories are true…” “…entire kingdoms disappeared before him.” Kael slowly shook his head.
“The stories were written by frightened survivors.” “They never asked…” “…why kingdoms fell.” Silence settled over the room.
No one had ever questioned the old legends.
— Inside the little stone house…
Aarav slept peacefully.
His breathing remained slow and gentle.
Outside his window…
The little white bird still watched over him.
Suddenly…
The bird lifted its head.
Its golden eyes looked toward the eastern horizon.
It chirped once.
A soft.
Melancholy sound.
Almost…
Like recognizing someone returning home after being lost for far too long.
— Far away…
The Sleeper stopped walking.
He had heard the bird.
Even across mountains.
Across forests.
Across impossible distances.
His eyes slowly closed.
A single memory surfaced.
A tiny white bird sitting upon the shoulder of a laughing child.
The child held out both hands.
“Don’t fly away.” The bird happily hopped onto the child’s head.
Everyone laughed.
Even…
Him.
A tear rolled silently down the Sleeper’s face.
“I knew…” “…that bird.” His voice trembled.
“But…” “…who was the child?” The answer remained beyond his reach.
The memory shattered once again.
Darkness returned.
Yet this time…
It could no longer erase the warmth that memory had left behind.
Somewhere ahead…
A child still remembered how to smile.
And for the first time in three thousand years…
The Sleeper wasn’t walking toward a Gate.
He was walking toward a memory that refused to die.
The night deepened.
Moonlight spread across the ancient road like a silver river, illuminating the lone figure who continued his slow journey toward Eldervale.
The Sleeper neither hurried nor hesitated.
Every step was measured.
Every breath carried the weight of three thousand forgotten years.
The broken chains dragging behind him no longer rattled.
Instead…
They dissolved into tiny silver particles before touching the ground.
The prison had released him.
The chains had chosen to remain behind.
— Far above the clouds…
The stars shifted once more.
But this time…
They did not gather above Eldervale.
They gathered above the Sleeper.
The constellations slowly rearranged themselves into a symbol unseen since the First Age.
Seven interlocking circles.
The Hall of Stars erupted into alarm.
One Keeper stepped toward the shattered Mirror.
“The Constellation of Reunion…” “It has appeared.” Another Keeper whispered, “It should only awaken when all Seven return.” The eldest Keeper slowly closed his eyes.
“Or…” “…when the world begins remembering what the Seven once were.” — Back in Eldervale…
The Warden stood beneath the ancient apple tree.
His silver eyes remained fixed on the eastern mountains.
He could already feel him.
Not the darkness.
Not the hatred.
The loneliness.
It stretched across the land like an endless winter.
Kael walked beside him.
For several moments…
Neither brother spoke.
Finally…
Kael broke the silence.
“I hated him.” The Warden didn’t look away from the mountains.
“I know.” “I blamed him.” “I know.” “I wanted him destroyed.” The Warden finally turned.
“And now?” Kael lowered his head.
“I think…” “…I blamed the wrong person.” — The old Guardian quietly listened.
Centuries of resentment had begun breaking apart in a single night.
Not through battle.
Through truth.
The Traveler tightened his grip around the First Blade.
“I don’t understand.” “Why would someone accept imprisonment for three thousand years?” The Warden answered softly.
“Because he believed…” “…the world deserved another chance.” — Inside the little stone house…
Aarav turned in his sleep.
His tiny fingers tightened around his blanket.
Then…
He smiled.
The dream had returned.
Not the Library.
Not the First Tree.
This time…
He stood inside a vast meadow beneath a sky filled with three moons.
Seven children were running through tall silver grass.
Their laughter echoed endlessly.
One little girl chased glowing butterflies.
Another child tried climbing a crystal rock and immediately slipped.
Everyone laughed.
Then…
A taller boy reached down and helped him back up.
No one mocked him.
No one left him behind.
They simply kept laughing together.
— Aarav happily ran toward them.
“Wait!” The children stopped.
One by one…
They turned toward him.
Their faces remained hidden by warm silver light.
Yet somehow…
He knew them.
He just didn’t know how.
The tallest among them smiled.
“We’ve been waiting.” Aarav tilted his head.
“For me?” The child nodded.
“For all of us.” — Before Aarav could ask another question…
The entire meadow shook violently.
The laughter stopped.
Dark cracks spread across the silver grass.
The three moons dimmed.
One by one…
The seven children instinctively reached for each other’s hands.
Except one.
The smallest child stood alone.
Watching the darkness approach.
The tallest child suddenly broke away from the circle.
He ran toward the smallest child without hesitation.
The others shouted desperately.
“Don’t!” “If you leave the circle…” “…you can’t come back!” But he never slowed.
He reached the frightened child.
Smiled.
Then took his hand.
The moment their fingers touched…
The entire dream shattered into blinding white light.
— Aarav suddenly sat upright in bed.
His breathing became uneven.
The little white bird immediately flew onto the windowsill.
The child looked at it.
“They lied.” The bird tilted its tiny head.
“They all came back.” Outside the room…
The Warden froze.
He had heard every word.
His hands began trembling.
Because only one person had ever broken the Circle beneath the First Tree.
Only one person had chosen to save a single frightened child instead of protecting himself.
The world had remembered him as the Sleeper.
But before that day…
His name had been something entirely different.
And for the first time in three thousand years…
The Warden was finally beginning to remember it.
The Warden didn’t move.
For the first time in three thousand years…
His heartbeat became unsteady.
Only one sentence echoed inside his mind.
“They all came back.” The words belonged to a child.
Yet…
They shattered a memory sealed by time itself.
— A cold wind swept through Eldervale.
The apple tree in the village square trembled softly.
Its silver blossoms drifted into the night.
None of them touched the ground.
Instead…
Each blossom floated toward Aarav’s little house.
The villagers watched in silent amazement.
The flowers circled the roof like tiny stars before slowly disappearing into the walls.
The old midwife whispered, “The house…” “…has been blessed.” — Inside…
Aarav climbed out of bed.
Barefoot.
Still half asleep.
The little white bird fluttered onto his shoulder.
Without waking his parents…
The child quietly opened the wooden door.
Outside…
The entire village was bathed in silver moonlight.
The Warden immediately noticed him.
“Aarav…” The child smiled.
“I couldn’t sleep.” The Warden slowly walked toward him.
“Why?” The little boy looked up at the endless stars.
“They’re singing.” The Warden froze.
The Traveler frowned.
“I don’t hear anything.” Neither did the Hunters.
Nor Kael.
Only the Warden understood.
Because long ago…
Before kingdoms…
Before war…
The stars had once sung to every child born beneath the First Tree.
That song had vanished with the First Age.
Until now.
— Far beyond the eastern mountains…
The Sleeper suddenly stopped walking.
His mismatched eyes slowly lifted toward the sky.
A faint melody drifted through the night.
It wasn’t carried by the wind.
It flowed directly into his soul.
He closed his eyes.
For one precious moment…
The darkness inside him became perfectly still.
A forgotten smile appeared upon his lips.
“I know…” “…this song.” The melody grew stronger.
With every note…
Fragments of his broken memories returned.
Children running.
Silver leaves falling.
Warm sunlight.
Laughter.
Then…
One face.
Blurred.
But smiling at him.
A gentle voice echoed inside the memory.
“If one of us falls…” “The others will bring him home.” The Sleeper instinctively reached toward the fading image.
“No…” “Don’t leave…” The memory dissolved before he could touch it.
— The earth beneath his feet cracked.
Not because of his power.
Because his heart had begun remembering.
The ancient darkness surrounding him reacted violently.
Black mist erupted from his body.
It twisted into monstrous shapes before dissolving into the air.
The Sleeper fell to one knee.
He clutched his chest.
“It hurts…” The darkness answered with thousands of whispering voices.
“Forget…” “Hate…” “Destroy…” The Sleeper squeezed his eyes shut.
“No…” For the first time…
He argued with the darkness living inside him.
— Back in Eldervale…
Aarav suddenly placed one tiny hand over his own heart.
His cheerful expression faded.
The Warden noticed immediately.
“What happened?” The child looked toward the eastern horizon.
“He fell.” The Warden’s breathing stopped.
“Who?” “The sad uncle…” Aarav whispered.
“He’s crying again.” — At that exact moment…
The silver mark on Aarav’s palm burst into brilliant light.
Not one beam.
Not two.
Three streams of silver light shot into the sky.
They crossed the heavens like shooting stars.
Every person in the village watched in stunned silence.
The lights didn’t scatter.
They traveled in one direction.
Toward the eastern mountains.
Toward…
The Sleeper.
— Far away…
The exhausted figure slowly raised his head.
The three silver lights gently surrounded him.
Not as chains.
Not as weapons.
As warmth.
The raging darkness around him began retreating.
The whispers grew weaker.
One by one…
They disappeared.
The Sleeper looked at the glowing lights with trembling eyes.
Then…
For the first time in three thousand years…
He spoke a name.
Not clearly.
Barely louder than a breath.
Yet the Warden heard it across the impossible distance.
“…Aarav…” The Warden’s eyes widened.
“No…” he whispered.
“He’s not calling to the Heir…” His voice trembled as an ancient realization dawned upon him.
“…He’s calling to his friend.” The name drifted through the silent night.
“…Aarav…” It was barely a whisper.
Yet every ancient soul connected to the First Age heard it.
The Warden slowly closed his eyes.
His hands trembled uncontrollably.
“He remembers…” Kael stood speechless.
“No…” he murmured.
“He remembers his promise.” — Thousands of miles away…
The Sleeper stood alone beneath the silver sky.
The three streams of light continued circling around him.
Each time they touched his body…
The darkness surrounding him retreated a little further.
The crimson glow within his left eye weakened.
The silver light inside his right eye grew brighter.
For the first time…
The two lights no longer fought each other.
They coexisted.
— The ancient darkness inside him wasn’t silent anymore.
It screamed.
Countless voices echoed from within his soul.
“You belong to us!” “Remember the hatred!” “Remember the betrayal!” The Sleeper slowly shook his head.
His voice remained weak.
“I…” “…don’t want to.” The darkness roared louder.
“HE ABANDONED YOU!” “THEY ALL DID!” The Sleeper clenched both fists.
Fragments of forgotten memories flashed before him.
Seven children beneath the First Tree.
A promise.
Laughter.
Then…
A child breaking away from the circle.
Running toward someone left behind.
No…
Not abandoning.
Saving.
The Sleeper suddenly opened his eyes.
“No…” he whispered.
“…he came back.” The darkness fell silent.
Just for a heartbeat.
— Inside the Hall of Stars…
Every Keeper watched the impossible unfold.
The youngest Keeper looked toward the eldest.
“The corruption…” “It’s weakening.” The eldest slowly shook his head.
“No.” “It is being remembered.” The younger Keeper frowned.
“What’s the difference?” The eldest looked toward the shattered Mirror.
“Darkness born from hatred can be destroyed.” “But darkness born from forgotten love…” “…can only disappear when love is remembered.” — Back in Eldervale…
Aarav quietly stepped away from the house.
The little white bird landed upon his shoulder once again.
The Warden immediately followed him.
“Where are you going?” The child looked toward the eastern mountains.
“The sad uncle is lost.” His innocent blue eyes reflected the moonlight.
“He can’t find the way.” Kael slowly knelt beside him.
“How do you know?” Aarav pointed toward his own chest.
“Because…” “It hurts here.” He gently touched his heart.
The entire village fell silent.
The Traveler looked away.
Even the Hunters lowered their heads.
A child…
Who had never met the Sleeper…
Could still feel his loneliness.
— The old Guardian slowly walked toward the ancient apple tree.
His weathered fingers rested against its trunk.
The silver blossoms began glowing once more.
One by one…
The roots beneath the village awakened.
Soft golden lines spread through the earth.
Across fields.
Across rivers.
Across mountains.
Not toward the prison.
Toward the Sleeper.
The old Guardian whispered, “The First Tree…” “…is showing him the road home.” — Far away…
The Sleeper looked down.
Golden roots of light slowly appeared beneath his feet.
They stretched endlessly across the land.
Not forcing him.
Inviting him.
He knelt.
His trembling fingers touched one glowing root.
The moment he did…
A forgotten voice echoed inside his heart.
A warm…
Gentle voice.
“If you ever lose your way…” “Just follow the roots.” “They always lead home.” A single tear rolled down his face.
Then another.
For three thousand years…
He had wandered without direction.
Now…
For the first time…
He knew where he needed to go.
He slowly stood.
The crimson flames around him faded another shade.
His next step was lighter than the last.
Not because the road had changed…
But because hope had finally begun walking beside him.
— Far beyond every Gate…
Beyond the Hall of Stars…
Beyond even the Empty Throne…
A pair of ancient golden eyes opened within an endless sea of white light.
Unlike every being awakened until now…
These eyes held neither sorrow nor fear.
Only quiet anticipation.
A calm voice echoed through eternity.
“The First Friend has begun returning…” A brief silence followed.
Then…
“Prepare the Second Trial.”