blanketed in moss. Intricate carvings began to glow with a faint blue light — as though the moon itself was breathing within the stone.
"This is…" Selene whispered, her fingertips trembling. "The altar that vanished from the maps a hundred years ago."
Eiren stepped forward, touching the surface lightly — and a faint whisper echoed in his mind, the voice of a woman calling out from an unfathomable distance.
> "You have returned… bearer of my light…"
The Moon Compass in his hand ignited with a sudden brilliance, its radiance pulsing with unseen energy that made the air around them tremble.
Lyra took an instinctive step back, her face pale. "That voice… did you hear it too?"
Eiren didn't answer. His eyes wavered, as though fragments of a forgotten life had begun to surface.
> "The Queen of the Moon…" he murmured. "Now I know why I've been called back."
The ground beneath the altar began to crack open, silver light surging skyward like threads of a reawakened curse.
The surrounding trees shuddered — it was as if the forest itself had a heartbeat.
Lyra looked at him with fear and sorrow. "Eiren… don't tell me you're the one who cursed this forest."
Eiren fell silent for a long moment before whispering — barely audible.
> "No… but I'm the one who caused her death."