The air inside the ruined sanctuary grew colder as they moved toward the back chamber. The fight with the hybrid had shaken them, but the unicorn remained steady leading, glowing, urging them forward.
Carvings lined the walls more than the last sanctuary. Ancient glyphs, etched deep, began to shimmer as the unicorn passed. The orb in her pocket warmed again, humming low.
"This place is different," she whispered. "Older."
Victor nodded. "Or more awakened."
Then a sound echoed footsteps, soft but deliberate.
From the shadows emerged a figure, cloaked in gray, face half-hidden. Victor froze.
"You," he breathed.
She looked between them, confused. "Who is that?"
The figure stepped forward, lowering their hood. A woman. Older, sharp-eyed, tired.
"She used to be on our side," Victor said grimly. "Before she disappeared."
"I didn't disappear," the woman replied. "I *escaped*."
The unicorn took a step toward her but didn't attack.
Because she carried something they'd never seen before:
A broken piece of another horn.
The broken horn fragment glowed faintly in the woman's palm, its edges jagged, humming with a quiet pain. The unicorn took another cautious step forward, its own horn flickering in response.
"You stole that," Victor growled, stepping between them. "What did you do to the other one?"
The woman didn't flinch. "I didn't steal it. I saved it."
She crouched slowly, placing the horn piece on the ground. "The unicorn it belonged to didn't survive. They took it apart, trying to replicate its energy. I risked everything to get this piece out."
She looked directly at the girl. "You're bonded to this one, aren't you? I can feel it."
She nodded slowly. "Who are you?"
"My name is Elira. I was part of Project Halo before I realized what they were really doing. I thought we were preserving life, not twisting it."
Victor folded his arms. "You disappeared five years ago."
"I had to," Elira said. "They would've killed me once they knew I was hiding evidence."
She pointed to the carvings on the wall. "This sanctuary isn't just another resting place. It's a memory vault. It holds what the unicorns knew their history, and their warnings."
The orb in the girl's pocket pulsed stronger now, syncing with the carvings.
"I think it's time you saw what they wanted us to remember," Elira said gently.
The unicorn stepped forward and placed its horn in the center of the carved altar. The room dimmed and then light burst outward, surrounding them.
Visions flickered in the air: unicorns running through vast lands, once thriving alongside humans. Sanctuaries pulsing with harmony. But then labs. Cages. Needles. Screams. The fall.
Tears welled in her eyes. "They tried to protect us… and we betrayed them."
Elira nodded. "But one remained. Hidden. Strong. This one."
Victor looked at the woman. "Why help us now?"
"Because they're building something worse," Elira whispered. "A synthetic unicorn. One that obeys only them. And if they succeed…"
She didn't need to finish.
The orb dimmed as the vision ended. The unicorn stepped back, weary.
"We need to stop them," the girl said firmly. "Before they erase the last of what's real."
Elira handed her the horn fragment. "Then you'll need this. It holds the memory of the fallen one. Maybe… they can help you."
Victor looked between them. "Where's the next sanctuary?"
Elira hesitated, then pointed east. "Beyond the steel valleys. Hidden under the old research zone."
"Then that's where we go," the girl said, standing tall.
The unicorn brushed its muzzle gently against her shoulder, warm and certain.
Their mission had changed.
It wasn't just survival anymore.
It was restoration.
The sun dipped low as they left the sanctuary behind, the golden sky casting long shadows through the trees. Elira walked beside them now, quiet but focused, the horn fragment wrapped in cloth and tucked safely into her satchel.
"Why didn't you destroy it?" Victor asked her as they moved.
"The fragment?" she replied. "Because it still remembers. That unicorn… it died resisting them. And its final energy might be what we need to unlock the next sanctuary."
The girl glanced back at the ruins. "Why do I feel like each place we find only opens more questions?"
"Because that's how truth works," Elira said gently. "It doesn't hand itself to you. It waits until you're ready."
They trekked through the woods for hours, keeping off main paths. The unicorn led confidently, pausing only when it sensed motion wild animals, mostly. But everyone was on edge. The memory of the hybrid still clung to them.
When night came, they found shelter beneath a fallen tree hollow. Victor started a small fire with stones and dry moss, while the unicorn rested quietly nearby, its horn still dimly glowing.
Elira sat across from them, fingers tracing the horn fragment.
"They're using children now," she said suddenly. "Bribing them with credits and food to report sightings. That's how they find sanctuaries. That's how they found *me* once."
The girl's heart tightened. "They're turning the world against them."
"No," Elira corrected. "They're turning it against *hope*."
Victor looked up. "Then we give them something to hope for."
A long silence passed between them.
Finally, the unicorn raised its head and looked east where the next sanctuary waited.
The girl stood slowly and nodded. "Let's end what they started."
Night settled in slowly, casting a bluish hue over the ruined forest. Their fire crackled softly beneath the fallen tree as the group huddled together in silence. The unicorn lay nearby, eyes half-closed, conserving its energy. Even in rest, it radiated a calm strength that grounded them all.
Elira watched the flames flicker. "They're afraid of this one," she said quietly. "It survived everything. The labs, the tests… even the loss of its kin. That kind of resilience terrifies them."
The girl nodded, her fingers wrapped around the orb. "It's not just about magic. It's memory. Connection."
Victor glanced between them. "And if they're building something synthetic, they'll want to erase all of that. Strip out the soul and leave only power."
Elira's eyes darkened. "Exactly. That's what we're fighting."
A breeze passed through the hollow, carrying the scent of metal and ash. The unicorn stirred, lifting its head and turning east.
She felt it too pulling at her chest. The next sanctuary was calling.
Victor stood, brushing dirt from his coat. "We leave at first light."
Elira gave a firm nod. "I'll lead you through the edge of the Steel Valleys. It's the fastest route, but it won't be safe."