The light that appeared before them after the Labyrinth collapsed was not the end of the path but merely the beginning of a new one. They stepped forward—and the space around them changed.
Before them stretched the Lake of Forgotten Echoes. Its waters were not ordinary—they did not reflect the sky or trees. Instead, shadows of the past swirled in its depths. Anyone who looked into this water saw the memories they had tried to forget.
— We have not finished the trial yet, — Emiren said quietly, feeling something tremble deep inside his mind.
— This place… it doesn’t just show the past, — murmured Watery, carefully studying the reflections. — It pulls it to the surface.
Flamen knelt beside the water and touched its surface. In that instant, a figure appeared before him—tall, with fiery hair and dark eyes that burned with the same flame as his own.
— Brother… — he exhaled.
— You left me… — the whisper rippled across the lake.
Flamen jerked back.
— It’s an illusion, — he said, trying to steady his voice.
— No, it’s your memory, — Empty replied.
The shadowy figure of Flamen’s brother did not disappear. It stepped forward, rising straight from the water, as if emerging from the depths of forgotten memories. Behind him, like ghosts, other figures began to surface.
— This is not just a lake, — Emiren realized. — It is a trial of acceptance.
The Past Awakens
Watery saw before him a woman with storm-colored eyes. Her image flickered like light struggling to break through a tempest.
— You forgot me… — her voice was filled with pain.
— I… — he reached out, but his fingers passed through the shadow.
Emiren looked around and saw that each of them was facing their own past. But the more they engaged with these echoes, the stronger they became. The lake pulsed, as if trying to pull them back into their own memories.
— If we don’t stop this, we’ll be lost, — he said firmly.
— But how? — Flamen asked, trying to look away from his brother’s eyes.
— We must accept what was and let go.
The Final Choice
Emiren stepped forward and approached the water. There, in the reflection, he saw himself—but younger, weaker, someone who did not yet know he was a Creator.
— I am afraid… — whispered the young voice.
— I know, — Emiren replied. — But fear should not define us.
He knelt and dipped his hand into the water. The memory dissolved like smoke.
Flamen took a deep breath and met his brother’s gaze.
— I cannot change the past, — he said, — but I can carry it with me.
His brother’s figure faded into the light.
Watery closed his eyes and whispered:
— Thank you for being here.
The woman disappeared like a wave breaking against the shore.
Leaving the Lake
The lake changed. The water became calm, clear. They no longer saw echoes of the past—only their own reflections.
— We did it, — Empty murmured.
Before them, a new path appeared, leading into the unknown.
— The third trial awaits, — said Emiren, and they moved forward.