The air smelled of something unknown: a blend of ozone, ashes, and dead flowers.
Valeria stepped forward, feeling the ground beneath her feet vibrate softly, like a heartbeat.
Ariel watched her from a distance, his gray eyes full of something she couldn't name.
It wasn't threat.
It wasn't kindness.
It was something much more complex.
Something she could only understand if she stopped being afraid.
—Where are we? —Valeria whispered.
Ariel extended a hand, inviting her to come closer.
—We are at the Threshold.
The place between what you were and what you can become.
Valeria glanced around: the valley of black flowers seemed endless, and on the horizon, the sky twisted in impossible colors.
—Why did you bring me here? —she asked, without moving.
Ariel lowered his hand, his expression hardening.
—I didn't bring you. You chose to come.
Valeria felt the weight of those words settle in her chest.
It was true. Every decision had led her here: every wound, every lost love, every step into the abyss.
—What do I have to do? —she murmured, her throat tightening.
Ariel smiled, a sadness so deep it seemed to drag centuries of pain behind it.
—You have to remember.
Before you cross... you must remember who you were before all of this.
The wind blew harder.
And around her, floating images began to appear:
fragments of her childhood, her mother singing her lullabies, the books she used to devour under the blankets, the letters she never dared to send...
Her life, distilled into flashes.
Valeria fell to her knees, overwhelmed.
—I'm not enough —she said, her voice cracking—. I don't know if I ever was.
Ariel knelt in front of her.
—The key was never being enough for them, Valeria —he whispered—. It was being enough for yourself.
The entire valley seemed to vibrate with his words.
And, for the first time in a long time, Valeria felt something open inside her.
It wasn't strength.
It wasn't anger.
It was possibility.
The Threshold was open.
And she was ready to cross it.
Valeria slowly stood up, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand.
The valley of black flowers now seemed less threatening, as if it acknowledged her choice.
Ariel said nothing. He simply pointed to a narrow path opening between the flowers.
—Every step you take from here —he warned seriously— will change something inside you.
Valeria nodded.
She didn't fully trust her strength, but neither did she trust her fears.
And maybe that was enough.
She began to walk.
The path twisted and turned, sometimes so narrow she had to squeeze through.
The air grew denser, as if each breath cost her a piece of her past.
At the first bend in the road, she found a door.
Tall. Ancient. Covered in symbols that seemed to shift if you stared too long.
Above the door, carved in golden letters, were three words: "Remember who you are."
Valeria reached out.
The moment she touched the wood, a surge of images hit her.
Elías. Matteo. Nico. Gael.
Not as ghosts, but as fragments of her story, each showing not just what they had taken… but what she had given away at each encounter.
The door vibrated under her fingers, as if recognizing her pain.
And then, without further resistance, it slowly opened, revealing the next step.
Valeria took a deep breath.
And crossed.
Behind her, the path vanished, as if there was no way back.
On the other side of the door, the world had changed.
There were no more black flowers, no twisted paths.
It was a white forest.
Each tree looked carved from ice, and the air shimmered with suspended particles like stardust.
Everything was wrapped in deep silence, broken only by the soft crunch beneath her steps.
In the center of the clearing, she saw him.
A young man.
Or maybe not so young. His face was serene, strangely beautiful, as if he belonged to a time before time.
He wore a gray robe and held a crystal bowl filled with water.
As Valeria approached, he lifted his gaze.
His eyes were such a pale blue they almost looked white.
—Do you know why you're here? —he asked, his voice deep, like an echo of something forgotten.
Valeria slowly shook her head.
The young man smiled, barely.
—Here you don't fight enemies —he explained—. Here you fight what you still carry within.
He extended the bowl toward her.
—Look.
Valeria hesitated.
Something inside her screamed she wasn't ready, that she didn't want to see.
But she stepped closer.
She leaned over the bowl, and images began to form on the surface of the water.
Not of her enemies.
But of herself.
The versions of Valeria she had abandoned at different points in her life: the fearless girl who once dreamed freely, the teenager who believed she deserved only half-loves, the woman who convinced herself her voice didn't matter.
Each image struck her like a soft dagger.
The young man —the Guardian of Memories— spoke again:
—To move forward, you must embrace them all.
You cannot keep denying who you were… or who you still can become.
Tears welled up in Valeria's eyes once more.
But this time, she didn't look away.
This time, she let the pain pass through her.
And in that silent crossing of memories, something new began: not a surrender, but a reclamation.
The first thread of her true strength began to weave itself back together.
When the last images in the bowl faded, Valeria felt something invisible brush against her, like a whisper against her skin.
The young guardian bowed his head, his gaze carrying an eerie solemnity.
—You have seen your reflection —he said—. But now, you must reclaim what is yours.
From a hidden pocket in his robe, he pulled out a small object:
A key.
But not like the one Valeria had once protected.
This one seemed made of crystal, so fragile and luminous it trembled with each beat of her heart.
—This key does not open external doors —the guardian explained—. It unlocks the memories sealed within you.
Valeria reached out carefully.
The moment her fingers touched the key, a wave of heat rushed up her arm.
Her vision blurred for an instant... and suddenly she was no longer in the white forest.
She was standing in a room she knew all too well.
Her old childhood bedroom.
The faded posters, the messy piles of books, the bed covered in cushions she once used to build forts.
And in the center, sitting on the floor, was a small version of herself.
A little girl, around eight years old, clutching a worn-out notebook tightly.
The girl looked up.
Her eyes were exactly the same as hers now: full of dreams —and fear.
—Did you forget me? —the little girl whispered, her voice so broken it tore through Valeria's soul.
She knelt in front of her younger self.
She said nothing.
She simply opened her arms.
The girl hesitated for a moment, then threw herself into Valeria's embrace, clinging to her as if her life depended on it.
When Valeria held her, she felt something break inside her... and something heal at the same time.
The crystal key glowed brightly in her hands.
The white forest began to fade.
And a new door, golden and radiant, opened before her.
It was time to move forward.
Valeria crossed the golden door without looking back.
The moment she stepped through, the ground beneath her feet shifted.
It was black marble, polished like a mirror, reflecting her figure in a thousand shattered fragments.
The hall was vast, with no visible walls —only pillars of light rising toward an endless sky.
Every step she took echoed like a heartbeat in the dark.
Before her, suspended in the air, floated an impossible object: an hourglass...
But the sand inside it wasn't falling down.
It was rising, as if time itself were reversing.
A voice echoed from somewhere unseen.
—Everything you have lost… everything you don't yet know you will lose… —whispered the echo.
Valeria turned in circles, searching for the source of the voice.
And then she saw him.
A figure emerged from between the pillars of light:
A young man with dark hair, silver eyes, and a scar at the corner of his lips that gave him an unreadable expression.
He wore a long cloak, blacker than the darkest night, absorbing every glimmer of light around him.
—You have awakened something you cannot control, Valeria —he said, his voice carrying centuries of hidden secrets—.
Are you willing to pay the price?
In his hand, the mysterious young man held a second key, this one forged from living obsidian.
Valeria stepped forward, never breaking eye contact.
—Who are you? —she asked, her voice steady despite the trembling in her chest.
The young man smiled, and for an instant, the entire hall seemed to tilt toward darkness.
—I am the guardian of what you fear to remember —he answered—.
And I have come to see if you are worthy of the truth.
The hourglass began to vibrate violently.
The trial was far from over.
She had entered the Hall of Echoes.
And not everyone emerged from it unscathed
The guardian stepped closer to Valeria, his cloak brushing the floor without making a sound.
The air between them grew heavier, as if space itself was holding its breath.
—Truth is not given —he said, moving closer—.
It is conquered.
Suddenly, he threw the dark key toward her.
Valeria barely managed to catch it.
The moment her fingers touched the metal, it felt like a jolt of electricity:
Images exploded inside her mind.
Fragments of memories —some hers, some foreign— struck her with brutal force.
Laughter breaking into sobs.
Doors slamming shut.
Hands letting go of hers at the very last second.
—Don't lose yourself in what you cannot change —the guardian warned, his voice distant and echoing.
Valeria gasped, stumbling backward.
Then, he attacked.
Not with weapons.
Not with magic.
But with reflections of herself.
From her shadow rose distorted versions of Valeria:
One sobbing desperately.
Another screaming her rage at the sky.
Another simply… giving up.
The entire hall trembled under the weight of her suppressed emotions.
Valeria gritted her teeth, feeling the pull to surrender.
But deep within her, a spark of rage and tenderness intertwined, refusing to fall.
She locked eyes with the guardian.
—I am not what they broke —she said softly.
And with a cry that was not fear but liberation, she hurled the dark key at the hourglass.
The impact was immediate.
The hourglass shattered into a thousand shards of black light, and a portal tore open at the center of the hall.
For the first time, the guardian smiled —a faint shadow of respect.
—You have chosen not to be a prisoner of your pain —he whispered.
Valeria, trembling but unbroken, stepped toward the portal.
The next stage awaited her.
And this time, she would not carry her scars alone.
The Whisper After the Storm
Valeria emerged from the portal wrapped in a gust of warm wind.
Her feet touched soft ground, covered in moss and golden leaves.
Around her, the world seemed to hold itself in a moment of pure stillness.
There were no guards.
No threats.
Only the murmur of a nearby stream and the sweet scent of unseen flowers.
Valeria released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
For the first time in what felt like ages, her body stopped trembling.
She walked slowly, letting the breeze brush against her face, closing her eyes to savor it.
Each step echoed everything she had survived.
She stopped beside the stream.
The clear waters reflected her image… but for a moment, she thought she saw something else:
A shadow beside her.
A flicker of those she had lost —and who, somehow, still walked with her.
Valeria smiled, a real smile, though small.
She wasn't alone.
Maybe she had never been.
She knelt down, brushing the surface of the water with her fingertips.
The stream whispered her name.
—Valeria.
It wasn't a threat.
It wasn't a warning.
It was a reminder.
She was stronger than her fear.
Stronger than her past.
Valeria straightened, breathing deeply, feeling something inside her —something long fractured— begin to mend.
And then, across the stream, a familiar figure appeared between the trees.
The story wasn't over.
It was simply changing shape.
Valeria stood frozen, staring at the figure across the stream.
He was a young man —or at least he appeared to be—, with dark hair falling messily over his forehead.
His clothes didn't quite fit this place: a gray, worn linen shirt and a leather belt hung with small vials and rolled parchments.
But it was his eyes that struck her the most.
A blue so intense it seemed carved from frozen starlight.
He showed neither fear nor threat.
He simply watched her… as if he had been waiting all along.
Valeria took a cautious step forward, and the stranger inclined his head slightly, a gesture almost reverent.
—You've crossed farther than you were meant to —he said, his voice low and rough, laced with an accent she couldn't place—. And now… you're part of another story.
Valeria frowned.
—Who are you?
The stranger offered a faint, joyless smile.
—My name doesn't matter —he replied—. But yours… is starting to be known in places where time and destiny collide.
A shiver ran down her spine.
—What do you want from me?
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he pulled a small object from one of his vials: a crescent-shaped pendant, covered in symbols she couldn't recognize.
—I am not your enemy —he said at last, holding out the pendant—. But I'm not your salvation either.
The pendant shimmered briefly under the dappled light of the trees.
Valeria hesitated.
Every fiber of her body screamed caution.
And yet… curiosity burned just as fiercely.
She knew by now that in this world, danger often wore the face of help.
Still, she took another step toward the river.
The story had just opened a new path.
Valeria stopped a meter from the edge of the stream.
The pendant still shimmered in the stranger's outstretched hand, pulsing as if it had a life of its own.
An almost imperceptible hum filled the air, as if the forest itself was holding its breath, waiting for her choice.
—What happens if I take it? —she whispered.
The stranger didn't answer immediately. He lowered his hand slightly, yet the pendant remained suspended in the air, held by an unseen force.
—Nothing… and everything —he said at last, his ice-blue eyes piercing into her soul—. This object won't change who you are. But it will open doors that can never be closed.
Valeria swallowed hard, feeling her heart pounding against her ribs.
Was that what she wanted?
More uncertain paths, more impossible risks?
She remembered Ezra.
She remembered Ariel.
She remembered the still-bleeding wounds in her heart.
Could she truly bear any more?
And yet…
She knew something inside her remained asleep.
A part that needed… something.
Something like this.
She closed her eyes for a moment.
She listened to her breathing, her pulse, the deeper call within her.
Then, without thinking any further, she reached out.
The moment her fingers brushed the pendant, a jolt of energy shot through her, as if a thousand memories that weren't hers slid across her skin.
The forest trembled around her.
The stream's water churned violently.
And the instant the pendant touched her palm, Valeria knew there was no turning back.
The stranger smiled faintly.
—Welcome to the other side —he whispered.
And in a blink, he vanished, as if he had never been there at all.
Valeria stood alone, clutching the pendant, feeling the world around her slowly… start to shift.
The forest was no longer the same.
When Valeria opened her eyes, everything around her seemed different.
The trees loomed taller, darker, as if breathing with a life of their own.
The sky, once veiled with clouds, was now a shattered canvas of violet and gray hues.
And the pendant in her hand… burned.
Not with heat, but with a vibration that reached deep into her soul.
A crackling sound to her left made her turn.
Something was moving between the trees.
Shadows, at first. Then figures. Human-like… but distorted.
They weren't the enemies she had faced before.
Not the hooded ones, nor the spirits of the forest.
They were… memories.
Valeria recognized them.
Her mother's face, crying silently in a kitchen lit only by the fridge's glow.
Elías walking away without looking back.
Matteo's hollow laughter in that foreign café.
All her mistakes.
All her fears.
Projected before her like an invincible army.
Her legs trembled beneath her.
—This… —she whispered, clutching the pendant—. This isn't real.
But the forest didn't answer.
The figures began to advance, their faces shifting, morphing into visions of everything she had lost—and everything she was still terrified to lose.
And then, from the center of the horde of shadows, a new figure emerged.
A version of herself.
Younger.
Innocent.
Eyes full of hope.
That Valeria reached out a hand toward her.
—Do you remember who you were before you were afraid? —she asked, her voice trembling with compassion and sorrow.
Valeria dropped to her knees.
Tears blurred her vision.
Reality trembled around her, as if the border between past and present was about to shatter.
She had to choose.
Hold on to what was.
Or walk toward what could be.
She took a deep breath.
Closed her eyes.
And in a single movement, she rose to her feet, gripping the pendant like an invisible sword.
—I am not my mistakes —she said, steady.
The figures shuddered.
—I am not my fears.
The darkness seemed to recoil, like an ocean dragged back by the tide.
—I am who I choose to become —she declared, her voice tearing through the air.
With a burst of light, the pendant unleashed a shockwave that swept away the shadows like smoke.
When she opened her eyes again, the forest was silent.
And she…
She was different.
Lighter.
Stronger.
The first fracture in her destiny had been sealed.
But somewhere deep within the forest, something —or someone— had awakened…
And now, it was looking for her.