The forest didn’t scream—it breathed. Shallow. Shaky. Afraid.

As the last echoes of Mara’s laughter faded into the trees, the Circle stood frozen at the edge of the shattered seal. The obsidian orb lay in ruin, shards still smoldering with black fire. Spirit light flickered in broken fragments across the rune-etched floor.

Aria didn’t speak. She didn’t cry. She simply stepped forward.

“Mara didn’t die with the seal,” Caleb said, voice quiet but firm. “She became ...