The Pendant That Echoes

Chapter 19: The Pendant That Echoes

The dream clung to me like mist that refused to lift.

Even as the morning sun slipped through the window, even as Elara handed me warm bread and tea, even as Louie sat quietly beside me with a worried frown—I could feel her. Liora. The other me.

She wasn't just a dream.

She was… a warning.

And I couldn't ignore it.

Not now.

Louie reached into his tunic to pull something out—his pendant. The silver one he always wore. It was shaped like a crescent moon, simple but oddly mesmerizing.

I'd seen it a thousand times.

But now… it looked different.

Glowing faintly.

Pulsing—like it was alive.

I stared.

He noticed. "What?"

"Your pendant," I whispered. "It's glowing."

Louie raised an eyebrow and looked down at it. "It always does this when you're near."

My heart skipped. "What?"

He flushed. "W-well—not like that! I mean, I thought it was reacting to your magic or something. It's not dangerous! It's just… weird."

But something about it made my chest ache.

I reached out.

"Can I… hold it?"

He hesitated, then slowly unclasped it and placed it in my palm.

The second it touched my skin—

FLASH.

Memories—no, visions—slammed into my head like a tidal wave.

A battlefield.

A burning crown.

Louie—no, someone like him, with darker hair and golden eyes—holding the same pendant and saying…

"Find me again. No matter what body I wear. No matter how long it takes."

I gasped and dropped the pendant.

It hit the floor with a soft clang.

"Luna!" Louie shouted, catching me as I staggered back.

Elara stood frozen, her eyes wide. "That wasn't ordinary magic."

I stared at Louie. "You… You're not just Louie, are you?"

He looked confused. Hurt.

"What are you talking about? Of course I'm me!"

"I saw… you. Or someone like you. A long time ago. In a different life."

Louie blinked. "You're scaring me, Luna."

"I think we knew each other… before this life. Before I was Luna."

Silence.

Then Elara stepped forward, her voice unusually calm. "This isn't a coincidence. The pendant… the dream… Louie. Something's been set in motion."

Louie swallowed. "What does that mean?"

"It means the past is waking up," Elara said grimly. "And it's not just Luna's memories that are returning."

---

That night, I couldn't sleep.

I lay awake, holding Louie's pendant in my hands.

It was cold now.

Still.

But it hummed faintly… like a heartbeat echoing across time.

The words of the vision whispered again in my ears:

"Find me again…"

And I wondered—had I already found him?

Or was I just walking into the same heartbreak… all over again?

---

To be continued…