The forest was different when she walked it alone.
The wind felt colder. The trees leaned closer. Every sound echoed louder than before.
But Aria didn't stop.
She followed the pull — a soft tug in her chest, gentle but certain. The pendant was no longer just glowing. It guided her now, swinging gently toward a direction she didn't understand but somehow knew was right.
> She didn't need Rael.
She didn't need Lysander.
Not right now.
---
By midday, she found herself at a small ruin — moss-covered stone pillars and a shattered statue of a moon goddess. The air shimmered faintly.
> Magic lived here.
She stepped inside the broken circle and knelt before the statue, brushing her fingers over the moon symbol carved at its base.
The pendant pulsed softly.
And then—
A voice.
Low. Calm. Familiar.
> "You've come back."
Aria turned sharply, heart leaping.
A man stood in the trees — tall, wearing worn silver robes, his long braid streaked with gray. He looked like time had passed through him, not over him.
Her hand went to her dagger. "Who are you?"
He bowed his head slowly. "I knew you. Once. Long ago. Before the fall. Before the betrayal."
Aria stepped back say my name and her eyes met her gaze you were Aria of the Moon Remnant. Blade of the Second Circle. And my student.
---
Silence her lips parted your… student?
The man nodded you trained under me before the war you were fierce brilliant but you were betrayed.
Aria's hands trembled by who?his eyes darkened by the ones closest to us
---
Before she could ask more, the air shifted behind her footsteps.
Rael stepped out of the trees,breathless.
Aria, please just listen she turned slowly, the glow of her pendant brightening between them i have nothing left to hear, Rael.
He stepped closer then let me speak for myself not for them.
She waited his voice shook yes, I was told to lie to you,yes, I let them hide you but I didn't know what they planned I thought… they just wanted to keep you safe I didn't know they'd try to erase you.
She clenched her fists and when I came back?
I was scared,he said i thought if I told you everything, you'd walk away that I'd lose you all over again.
---
The man behind her — her former teacher — watched quietly you already lost her,he said softly but she hasn't lost herself.
---
Aria stepped back between them the pendant sparked again, brighter.
She didn't feel scared,she didn't feel confused for the first time… she felt centered.
The rune on her hand pulsed a circle of light shimmered beneath her feet — protective, ancient.
The wind around her stirred she was no longer reacting.
She was choosing.
---
She turned to Rael you could've told me. You chose silence that's on you.
He looked down I know.
Then she looked at the stranger and you if you truly knew me… help me remember the rest all of it
The man bowed his head again then follow me.
---
Aria walked forward this time, she didn't look back.Rael watched her disappear between the trees, pain written across his face.
He whispered,I'm sorry, Aria.
But she didn't hear him.
The pendant only glowed brighter as she stepped into the forgotten path.
---
💫 Author's Note:
> Chapter 20 is a blend of memory, betrayal, and becoming 🌙
Aria isn't chasing the past anymore — she's facing it. On her own terms.
💬 Question for you:
Should Aria forgive Rael someday… or leave him behind for good?
📚 Don't forget to add this to your collection if you're walking every step of this emotional journey with her 💔