The Tower King

The sun was barely piercing through the low clouds when Sora opened his eyes. He had slept in fits and starts, haunted by the memory projected the day before by the ancient heart. Despite the fatigue, something within him had refocused. He had the strange sensation of having found himself a little.

Before leaving Kael'Oran, he decided to look for Inaya. He found her near the village well, kneeling, hands immersed in the icy water. Her gaze rose as soon as she felt his presence.

" You are leaving. "She simply noted.

"Yes. I have to go." He replied.

She nodded, as if she had known it from the beginning. She slowly stood up again, wiping her hands on a section of her tunic. "You saw the heart, didn't you?"

Sora nodded. He added nothing. The images from the previous day still danced in his head like flames impossible to extinguish.

"You are not the first to follow this path." She said after a while.

Sora raised her eyebrows. "Another one came by?"

"Yes. Just a few days. He too arrived alone, like a shadow from the forest. He did not ask any questions. He did not show fear. He slept here only one night... then he left before dawn."

She paused, and her gaze darkened slightly. "He had that same sparkle in his eyes... A dangerous sparkle. Not like yours. Hers... was older. As if he had already survived things he shouldn't have seen."

Sora furrowed his brows. A hunch came up. "He had black hair? In battle, almost neglected? A casual look, but... as if he was observing everything. All the time."

Inaya looked up, surprised. "Yes. That's exactly it."

Sora felt a pinch in the hollow of his chest. "It was Jarek..."

She narrowed her eyes, staring at Sora with his white eyes. "Do you know him?"

"One could say that, yes. It is... complicated."

A small smile sprang up on Inaya's lips. "He is. But he left something behind him. An advice. Or maybe a warning."

She rummaged in a pocket sewn inside her sleeve and took out a piece of blackened leather, roughly trimmed, on which were engraved some words using a heated tip:

"Above all, don't doubt. Always have confidence in your abilities and you should succeed. - J."

Sora took the piece of leather between his fingers. The engraving was a bit clumsy, but he recognized the style well. Jarek always had this roundabout way of saying things: cryptic, almost mocking, but never without reason.

"He knew I would come," whispered Sora.

Inaya watched him silently. "Are you planning to follow his warnings?"

Sora put the piece of leather away in his pocket. "I'll see."

She smiles softly. "In that case, I don't think I have any other advice to give you."

Sora stared at her for a long time, then nodded.

She stepped aside slightly, as if to open the way for him. "Then go. And don't forget what the ancient heart showed you."

Sora thanked her with a nod, adjusted the grip of his cracked sword and set off again. The path left the village through a narrow opening between two rocky clusters, then plunged back into a part of the forest that he did not know, darker and quieter than ever.

As he walked, he thought of the blue light of the ancient heart, the memory it had shown him, and the words left by Jarek: Above all, don't doubt. Always trust in your abilities...

The trees were thickening around him. The path, already narrow, became almost impassable in some places, obstructed by roots, bramble and moss-covered stones. Sora progressed slowly, scanning the surroundings with his eyes, attentive to the slightest noise. He had not met anyone since his departure from Kael'Oran, and yet... a strange sensation persisted. As if he was not alone.

He stopped for a moment, placing his hand on a damp trunk to catch his breath. The silence weighed, and in this silence... a crack.

He turned around with a sharp gesture.

"I know someone is there." He said calmly. "You can come out."

A few seconds passed. Then a figure slowly emerged from a grove to his left, looking a bit embarrassed.

It was the young woman he had seen near the ancient heart. This time, he could clearly discern her. She walked with a hesitant step, a hand passing through her hair tied up in haste. She wore a brown coat a little too big for her, and a canvas bag that flapped against her hip.

"You follow me?" asked Sora, more surprised than aggressive.

She looked up at him. They were a light green, almost translucent. "Since you left the village, yes. I wanted to make sure you don't get lost."

He raised an eyebrow. She seemed more down-to-earth than he would have thought. More normal too. No strange speech or solemn tone. Just a girl a little older than him, who had decided to follow him.

"I manage very well on my own, you know." He replied, crossing his arms.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe. But you are going straight to a part of the forest that no one approaches without reason. And seeing your face, I bet you don't even know her name."

Sora raised an eyebrow. He didn't like to look ignorant. "And you, do you know?"

"Of course," she simply said. "This area is called the Woody Heart."

She paused, then added:

"It's not an official name, but here everyone calls it that. Because they say the forest used to 'beat' there in the past. Literally."

Sora cast a glance around him. The silence. The strange density of the foliage. This sensation that something was observing, while hiding. He understood the villagers' fears better now.

"And you, aren't you afraid to go there?"

She smiles softly. "Yes. But I'm used to it. And I didn't plan to go all the way. I just wanted to see how far you would dare to go."

Sora lowered his guard slightly. He had expected everything except this disarming honesty.

"What's your name?" he asked, more curious than suspicious.

"Elwen. And you, is it Sora, is it? The kids in the village talked about you last night."

He nodded, a bit surprised that we talked about him so quickly. "Are you from around here?"

"I grew up in Kael'Oran, yes. But I spend more time here than there. Let's say I prefer trees to people."

She cast a glance at the path he was following, then continued: "Do you really want to continue? The place you are looking for... it's not just a forest. It's an ancient place. And often, it doesn't give you what you want. It shows you what you need to see."

Sora lowered his eyes. He had already seen what the ancient heart could reveal. He wasn't sure if he wanted more.

But he nodded. "I have to go. I need to understand some things. And maybe over there... I'll find answers."

Elwen observed it for a few seconds, then slowly nodded. "So I accompany you a little. Up to the edge. After that, it will be up to you to decide if you continue."

She walked past him with a confident step, spreading a branch from her arm. Sora followed her, a little less tense, but his mind still alert.

They walked side by side, their steps muffled by the carpet of fallen leaves. The wind had risen, light, caressing the branches above them with an almost soothing rustle. Yet, something was amiss.

Sora stopped abruptly. "Did you notice?" he murmured.

Elwen stood still in turn, raising his eyes to him, an eyebrow raised. "What then?"

"There is... no noise. Not a scream, not a growl. Not a single monster."

She looked around them for a moment, as if rediscovering the forest through her eyes. "That's true." She said softly. "Not a single one."

He turned to her, worried. "It's not normal, is it? I mean... Since I arrived in this, the animals are everywhere. They are still waiting, hiding, attacking as soon as they feel something alive. But since I approached your village, I haven't seen a single one..."

"Here, it's different," she replied. "This part of the forest... it doesn't really belong to the world around. The monsters avoid it. Even the most daring."

"Why?"

Elwen gave a slight sigh, as if she were hesitant to say what she was thinking. "No one knows for sure. But some elders say that the heart of this forest was broken, long ago. As if something too old or too strong had been locked up here. Since... the forest has frozen. And the creatures smell like that. They know that this is not a place for them."

Sora furrowed his brows. "But we, can we go?"

She shrugged a shoulder. "We can. But you have to want to do it. The forest doesn't accept you if you just come out of curiosity. She doesn't attack you, but she... rejects you. Loses you. Sometimes falls asleep."

"And you, has she already rejected you?"

Elwen smiled, a little sad. "Yes. Once. I was younger. I wanted to enter alone. But I woke up at the edge of the trail, as if the forest itself had led me back to where I should stay."

They resumed the march. The trees seemed to be slowly narrowing around them, as if the path became a border. And yet, no feeling of danger really emanated from the place. It was more... a heaviness, a density, as if the air itself carried the memory of ancient things.

"Do you think that your friend... Jarek, is it? He went all the way?" Elwen asked, without looking at him.

Sora hesitated. "I don't know. But if there were anyone capable of going in there without being spit out, it would be him."

"It seems to impress you."

"He disturbs me." Sora corrected. "He is too comfortable, too... free. As if nothing could reach him. And at the same time, I am certain that he carries more weight than he wants to show."

Elwen nodded slowly, as if she perfectly understood what it meant. "Sometimes, the people who smile the most are those who hold their wounds the hardest."

They no longer spoke for a few minutes. The trail had narrowed further, lined with tall ferns and thick trunks with split bark. Sora felt his heart beat faster, without knowing if it was anticipation or a diffuse fear.

Elwen eventually stopped. She placed a hand on his arm. "We're almost there. Just there, beyond these trees, is an ancient circle of stones. The entrance is there."

Sora observed the place she was pointing to. The leaves seemed to vibrate slightly, as if pushed by a breath that only he did not feel. The air had become heavier, denser. And deep inside him, he felt something move. No fear. Not yet. But a consciousness. As if the forest, or what it contains, lived, pulsatingly.

"Do you want me to accompany you all the way?" asked Elwen, a little more gently.

Sora remained motionless for a moment in front of the circle of stones, his gaze fixed on the opening that opened between two mossy blocks. The air seemed to vibrate there, distorted as if by an invisible heat.

"You can come." He said without looking back.

Behind him, Elwen looked up, visibly surprised. "Are you sure?"

He simply nodded. "You came all this way. Might as well see what's at the end."

She joined him without saying a word, a slight smile at the corner of her lips. Both crossed the circle of stones.

Barely had they set foot inside, the world seemed to change.

The silence became even deeper. The light became cloudy, as if the sun's rays were filtered by an invisible mist. The muffled sounds of their footsteps seemed sucked into the air.

"It's strange..." Murmured Elwen. "I feel like my thoughts are becoming blurry..."

She staggered slightly, and Sora reached out to support her. She leaned against a rock, placing a hand on her temple.

"I... I think I'm tired... it's weird..."

"Are you doing well?"

She smiled faintly, but her eyelids were already heavy. "Just... a little rest... that'll be fine..."

And before he could answer, she had already sat against the rock, her breathing becoming regular, peaceful. Asleep.

Sora watched him, confused. She hadn't even struggled. Her body had given in like a candle that goes out in the wind.

But he always felt as awake. Alert, even. He closed his eyes for a moment, seeking in him the slightest trace of torpidity, drowsiness. Nothing. Not the slightest ounce of fatigue.

He furrowed his brows.

"What the hell is this? Why don't I feel that too?" he murmured.

A breath slipped between the trees. Not a natural wind. Something more subtle, almost... alive.

And suddenly, a light in front of him twisted.

A silhouette slowly appeared at the heart of the circle, formed by volutes of dark mist and iridescent reflections. She floated a few centimeters from the ground, feminine in her features, with luminescent eyes like dull moons. Filaments of black and blue energy rippled around his body.

Sora stepped back, his hand on the guard of his sword.

The silhouette stared at him, the expression neutral, almost curious.

"You are awake." she said in a whisper that echoed without echo.

Sora kept silence, on his guard.

"Why don't you sleep, too?" she asked. "This place extinguishes the lanterns of the Ushi. He puts to sleep those who carry his light."

Sora did not reply at once. He detailed the creature. It was not a monster. It was not an illusion. It was... something else.

"I don't have an Ushi," he finally says.

A long silence.

The figure tilted her head slightly, her features stretching into an expression of pure astonishment. "Really? That's what is... amazing. I didn't expect to meet you so early, Sora."