The trees grew darker here.
Not just in shade — in silence. As Luma stepped beyond the glowing stones and into the Shadow Forest, it felt like even the wind had forgotten how to whisper. The light from Nok's body pulsed gently beside her, but even his glow couldn't fully reach the forest floor.
Above them, the sky was swallowed by thick branches.
This was the path of the Echo of Courage — and the forest knew it.
Luma tightened her satchel and looked ahead. "If this is where I'm supposed to prove I'm brave," she muttered, "then it sure picked the right place to scare me."
Nok didn't laugh, but he shimmered warmly, as if proud of her for admitting it.
> "Courage doesn't mean having no fear," he whispered inside her. "It means moving… even when fear walks beside you."
The deeper they went, the stranger the forest became.
The trees creaked like old doors. Shadows moved like they had minds of their own. And sometimes… Luma could hear things.
Whispers.
Not in her ears — in her chest. Her doubts, her memories.
> "What if you're not special?"
"What if this is all a dream?"
"Why would the stars choose you?"
She clenched her fists and kept walking.
Suddenly — snap.
A sound. A soft growl. From the dark ahead, a pair of glowing red eyes appeared.
Then another.
And another.
Luma froze.
Out from the shadows stepped a wolf — not quite a beast, not quite a ghost. Its body was made of moving smoke, glowing faintly at the edges like embers. Its growl sounded more like a distant windstorm than an animal. More wolves stepped beside it — five… six… more.
Nok hovered beside Luma. "They are the Nightwatchers. Creatures formed from fear itself. They guard the Echo."
"Can we… talk to them?"
> "They do not speak," Nok replied. "They test."
One of the wolves stepped forward and scratched a curved shape into the dirt: a wide circle, with Luma and the wolves on opposite sides.
The middle was empty. Waiting.
Luma stepped in. "I think this is it."
Suddenly — silence shattered.
The circle closed behind her. The shadows began to mimic her. Shapes of herself, made of smoke, appeared in the trees. Each one spoke with her voice — but twisted.
> "You're just a scared little girl."
"You're chasing a lie."
"Your mother left. The stars don't care."
Luma covered her ears — but the voices were inside her.
She dropped to her knees.
The wolves circled. Watching.
Nok floated in front of her, eyes glowing with soft light.
> "Luma… do not fight your fear. Face it."
She looked up. The smoky version of herself snarled at her from the dark.
Luma stood.
Trembling, heart pounding, she whispered:
"I'm scared. But I'm still here."
The shadows flickered.
She took another step. "I don't know how to fix the stars. But I'll keep trying."
The smoky copies hissed.
"I don't know if I'm enough… but I won't stop moving."
Suddenly, the shadows shattered like glass, breaking into glowing shards that floated upward and vanished.
The wolves paused. Then bowed.
One of them — the largest — stepped forward and opened its chest, revealing a glowing crystal, softly humming.
It pulsed like a heartbeat.
Nok floated forward.
> "The Echo of Courage," he whispered. "You've earned it."
Luma reached out and touched the crystal. A soft heat flowed into her hand — not warmth like fire, but like standing in sunlight after being cold too long.
Visions bloomed behind her eyes:
✨ A younger Luma, crying but standing.
✨ Her grandmother holding her hand through storms.
✨ The moment she ran after the falling star.
And one more:
✨ Herself — standing tall, surrounded by stars, glowing with her own light.
Luma breathed in deeply.
The forest around her lit up. The trees uncurled. The sky peeked through once again.
The wolves melted into mist and faded away.
"Thank you," she whispered, unsure if they could still hear.
Then she turned to Nok. "One down."
> "Two to go," Nok said with a shimmer.
They walked back toward the clearing, the Echo of Courage glowing softly in Luma's hand.
And behind them, the forest no longer whispered.