Chapter 54: The Truth That Screams
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The moment Lyra spoke the ancient words aloud, the ground beneath Whisperwood shuddered like a dying heartbeat. The air thickened, heavy with secrets long buried and promises broken.
Kael and Oran stood side by side beneath the fractured canopy of the Heart Tree. Its bark split open, revealing glowing veins pulsating like veins beneath skin alive, hungry.
Oran's face was grim. "This is what we feared. The curse is awakening within her."
Kael's fists clenched. "How do we stop it?"
Oran shook his head. "You don't. Not yet. The truth must scream itself free. Only then can healing begin."
Lyra's eyes flickered between their world and somewhere else a place filled with shadows whispering names, memories, and lies.
She staggered, a storm raging inside. "I see them all. The ones forgotten… the ones who begged to be heard."
The First Lyra appeared beside her, ghostly and silent.
Kael reached out, but Lyra's voice cut through the night like a blade. "No more silence."
And with that, the roots beneath them pulsed violently, reaching like fingers to bind or release the terrible weight she carried.
As the town's ancient bell tolled its sound raw and broken Lyra fell to her knees.
Her body convulsed as voices poured out some soft, some screaming.
Kael's voice trembled: "Hold on, Lyra. We're not letting go."