Chapter 8: The Door to Her Heart

The next morning, Luna and Riven stood at the mouth of an ancient temple hidden beneath a waterfall. Vines covered its walls. The stones hummed with whispers of souls long passed.

> "This is the entrance," Riven said, voice quiet. "But you must go alone."

Luna nodded, her hands clenched at her sides. She didn't fully trust him—not yet—but something inside her told her this was the path.

> "The Realm of Memory isn't like the others," he warned. "It doesn't test your strength. It tests your truth. You won't just see the past… you'll feel it. You may even lose what you thought was real."

Luna took a breath. "Then let's find out what's real."

She stepped through the stone arch.

And the world… changed.

---

Suddenly, she was no longer standing in the temple.

She was in a field of glowing flowers, beneath a sky of swirling stars. The air shimmered. Voices echoed around her, not loud, not angry—just present.

Memories.

Her first laugh.

Her first tear.

The night she watched the village children play… from behind a fence.

The day she fell and scraped her knee, and had no one to comfort her.

The first time she lit a candle with her fingers—and hid in fear afterward.

Then—her mother's lullaby, soft and fading.

> "My moonlight child, so brave, so still... one day your heart will break the hill..."

Luna turned, breath caught in her chest.

There, standing beneath a silver tree, was a glowing figure in white robes. His form flickered like smoke and starlight. His eyes held galaxies.

Elarion, King of Spirit.

> "Luna," he said, with a voice like both thunder and whisper. "You have come far."

She stepped forward, heart pounding. "I need your power."

> "No," he said gently. "You need yourself."

Suddenly, the stars above went dark. The ground below trembled.

And from the edge of the field came another Luna—a shadowed version, with red eyes and a cruel smile.

> "You think you're a hero?" the dark Luna sneered. "You abandoned Nia. You trusted Riven. You let people suffer while chasing crowns."

> "No," Luna whispered.

> "You doubt yourself," the shadow hissed. "You fear what you'll become. You carry the blood of the enemy. Admit it—you are just like him."

Luna fell to her knees, covering her ears.

> "You're wrong!" she cried.

> "Are we?" the shadow said, stepping closer. "We are the same."

Then—

A voice in Luna's heart.

Soft. True.

> "You are not her. You are not him. You are YOU."

And from deep within, Luna stood. Her eyes shone bright silver. The shadow lunged—

—but Luna raised her hand and said calmly:

> "I am not perfect. I make mistakes. I cry. I fall. But I get up. And I choose to fight."

Light burst from her chest, engulfing the field.

The shadow screamed, fading into the stars.

When the light dimmed, only Luna and Elarion remained.

> "You have faced your spirit," he said. "You have walked through memory… and come out whole."

He touched her forehead, and warmth bloomed in her soul.

> "I am yours now."

---

Luna opened her eyes back in the temple.

She was sweating. Shaking. But her heart felt clearer than ever.

All five elements now lived within her:

🌊 Water – peace

🔥 Fire – courage

🌪 Air – clarity

🌍 Earth – truth

💫 Spirit – self

Riven was waiting outside.

> "You made it," he said.

She nodded, unsure whether to trust the relief in his voice.

But as she stepped forward, something inside her froze.

A glimmer of dark magic pulsed from the edge of the forest behind Riven. A ripple in the air.

A watcher.

She wasn't alone.

And he knew she had awakened the final king.