The forest beyond the altar was dead quiet. No wind. No birds. Not even the rustling of leaves. It was the kind of silence that pushed inward — not just against the skin, but the mind. Even the trees looked wrong here. Not broken or twisted — just... hollow. Like their purpose had been emptied.
Lucy walked near the front, scanning the ground carefully. Her fingers occasionally brushed the hilt of her blade, but her thoughts weren't on weapons. They were on the look in Frank's eyes after he stepped out of the altar — that flicker of something he hadn't meant to say, hadn't meant to feel. I remember... being him.
Frank hadn't spoken since.
Tom walked beside him, keeping an eye out, not just for danger — but for change. Something was shifting inside Frank, and Tom could feel it. Not darkness. Just pressure. A memory fighting to be let in.
Peter was up ahead with Kitty, who now radiated light even when she was silent. Something about her felt more real since her awakening. More solid. She walked without hesitation, and even the trees seemed to part just slightly for her.
Susan walked near the rear, glyph scanner humming faintly in her hand. "We're reaching a convergence," she said. "All these glyph lines — they're intersecting again. This isn't random."
Jack frowned. "You mean, like a trap?"
"No," she said. "A focus point."
They reached a bend in the path where the trees grew close together, forming a narrow corridor barely wide enough for one person at a time. Frank took the lead now, moving slowly.
That's when it happened.
It started with a voice.
Not a whisper this time. A real voice.
And it came from behind them.
Tom turned instantly. "Who said that?"
Everyone froze.
No one answered.
Frank clenched his jaw. "It said my name."
Peter drew his blade. "Who's there?"
But the forest didn't respond.
The voice came again — soft, deep, like it was wrapped in velvet.
"You remember me, don't you?"
Frank's breathing sharpened.
Susan scanned the space behind them. "Nothing. No glyphs. No physical trace."
Kitty whispered, "It's inside."
Frank turned toward the group. "It's not a hallucination. It's real. I know that voice."
Lucy stepped closer. "Who is it?"
Frank didn't answer right away.
Then he said quietly, "Velmorith."
Peter stepped forward. "How? He hasn't even shown himself yet."
Tom narrowed his eyes. "He doesn't need to. He's in our minds. And Frank's... he's closer to him than the rest of us."
Frank didn't deny it.
The path narrowed again. They kept moving, faster now, but with every step, the forest felt more surreal. The trees began to bend unnaturally, forming spirals instead of trunks. Shadows hung in the air like curtains, unmoving.
Then Jack stopped.
"I… can't remember my name."
Everyone turned.
His eyes were wide, breath uneven.
Susan rushed to him. "Jack—?"
He looked at her, genuinely confused. "I know your name. But I can't find mine."
Lucy reached for his arm. "It's okay. It's just Velmorith's reach. You're strong enough to hold it off."
Jack shook his head. "No. It's not like I forgot. It's like... it was never there."
Peter stepped forward. "We need to get out of this corridor. Now."
They broke into a sprint.
The path twisted downward, then opened into a vast basin filled with fog. But the moment they entered, Jack collapsed to his knees.
Tom caught him. "Stay awake. Stay here."
Frank turned sharply. "He's testing us."
Kitty looked at the fog. "No — he's trying us."
Lucy moved to Jack, pressing both hands to his temples. "Look at me."
He blinked. "I… I remember a garden. You and me and the blue scarf you wore. That's real. That's mine."
Susan nodded quickly. "Anchor to it. Grip it."
Jack closed his eyes.
And then — slowly — his breathing steadied.
"I'm okay," he whispered.
They stayed there in silence for a long moment.
Then a laugh echoed through the fog.
It was calm. Polite. Hollow.
Frank turned toward the sound. "Come out."
The fog swirled — but no body emerged. Just a shape.
Not solid. Not fully formed. A silhouette wrapped in writhing glyph lines — lines that twisted like handwriting scribbled by madness itself.
The voice came again.
"So close. And yet… so predictable."
Peter raised his blade. "Show yourself."
The shape smiled. "I already have."
Then the shape split — into three.
Three forms.
Each taller than any human.
Each wrapped in different colors of corruption.
Frank whispered, "The Monster Trio."
Velmorith's voice echoed from the middle one. "You are children… of flames long since burned out."
Tom stepped forward. "Then why do we still scare you?"
Velmorith tilted his head. "You don't. Not yet."
Lucy narrowed her eyes. "Why appear now?"
The left figure — taller, skeletal — spoke with a feminine voice layered in static.
"To leave a gift."
Susan's glyph scanner beeped. "Memory bomb. Incoming."
Kitty stepped forward. "What kind of gift?"
Velmorith's smile widened.
"A name."
Everyone held their breath.
"A name stolen from your past. One you will not remember until it breaks you."
Peter growled. "You speak in riddles because you're afraid."
The middle figure leaned in.
"We speak in riddles… because truth is a razor."
Then, with a flash of crimson light, the three vanished.
So did the fog.
The basin was empty again.
The sky above was still.
But something had changed.
Jack stood on his own again, breathing heavily.
Frank clenched his fists. "He's real now. Not just a shadow."
Tom nodded. "And he's hunting from the inside."
Lucy looked down at her palm.
The glyphs were beginning to return.
But none of them looked familiar anymore.