CHAPTER 348: LILA’S TRUE PURPOSE

The chamber was silent—eerily so. Not even the usual buzz of mana or whisper of the forest wind echoed within its walls. It was as if time itself refused to trespass into the sanctum that hid Lila.

The space was lit only by the faint glow of ancient runes etched into the walls. These sigils pulsed gently, their silver-blue light dancing across the stone and casting long shadows that reached toward Lila where she sat—knees drawn to her chest, arms wrapped around them, and her head resting against the stone behind her.

Her once hazelnut hair now shimmered in full hues of light blue, glowing ever so faintly in the chamber’s ambient light. It had been a full day since Neana had led her here and sealed the place off. Lila had been silent ever since—physically, emotionally, spiritually.

Until now.

She stirred. Her eyes blinked open, revealing irises that now glimmered with flecks of silver and gold, strange celestial particles twinkling within them like stars trapped in a galaxy. Her fingers twitched, and she suddenly gasped, feeling a warm, glowing sensation blooming in her chest.

"What... is this?" she whispered.

A soft hum echoed from deep within the chamber, answering her question not with words, but with resonance. The runes around her intensified in glow, reacting to the shift in her aura.

A strange force tugged at her core—gentle, almost maternal—like something ancient was calling to her from inside. Without understanding why, she closed her eyes, allowing herself to sink into that inner pull.

And then it happened.

Her consciousness slipped into a trance, and her body began to hover several inches off the ground. Her limbs went slack as light poured out from beneath her skin. Her mana veins pulsed vividly, clearly visible as silver vines spreading across her body.

From the depths of her mind, an ancient memory not her own flickered—like watching a past that had been stored inside her soul.

She stood in a forest that wasn’t the Deadroot. This one was radiant, divine—where the trees breathed light and the leaves whispered in unknown tongues. There stood an elven woman, regal and tall, her aura almost painful to look at. Lila recognized her instantly.

"Mother," she whispered.

The woman turned to her and smiled, voice echoing across realms.

"You are not just a Seer, Lila. You are a Starborn—the final fruit of an ancient prophecy the Celestials buried long ago. And now... Now, it’s time for you to come out as the time is nigh, you must awaken."

And suddenly, the vision shattered like glass.

Lila jerked violently in the air, eyes now wide and glowing as streams of silver light burst from her limbs. The runes on the chamber walls cracked as her very existence began reshaping the atmosphere.

An invisible circle appeared beneath her feet—a celestial crest, ancient and unmistakably divine. At its center was the emblem of the High Seers—an open eye framed by the sun and stars. Then came the voice again—only this time, from deep within herself.

"Unlock it... open the vault within."

Her body responded instinctively.

From her back, arcane wings of translucent mana unfurled, stretching out across the chamber. They weren’t for flight—but conduits of pure Seer power, able to project visions, travel through mental realms, and manipulate fate itself. Her ears elongated slightly, revealing the pointed elegance of her elven heritage in full bloom. Her breathing was ragged, but steady.

Then, her third eye opened—centered on her forehead, a radiant blue gem-like slit glowing fiercely.

With its awakening, Lila saw everything. For a brief moment, she could feel every presence across Aetheris: the desperation of Eldoria’s defenses, the quiet strength of Kaelen’s resolve, the corruption rising in the Labyrinth, the Elves unknown restlessness as they scramble amongst themselves... and even the looming, formless hatred of Endless—a stain in the world’s spiritual tapestry.

She gasped.

"I see... everything."

The chamber struggled to contain the immense overflow of energy. Stones trembled. The runes tried to anchor her spirit, but her power surged past their boundaries.

Just as it reached a dangerous peak, Lila clenched her fists and grit her teeth. She focused—reining in the energy like a rider breaking a wild beast. Her wings folded inward, the third eye slowly shut, and the mana around her calmed into a slow pulse.

She lowered gently back to the floor, her breaths shallow but controlled.

Silence returned. Only now, it was different—a silence filled with reverence and awe. The chamber had changed, reacting to her transformation. Its walls now bore new etchings, drawn unconsciously from her power: visions of stars, eyes, celestial constellations and arcane lines flowing like rivers.

Lila stood up slowly, eyes narrowed, face calm... but fierce.

"I understand now," she whispered, voice still laced with soft ethereal undertones. "Why I was born... what I must protect... and what I must destroy."

She turned toward the sealed exit, placing her hand on the stone with newfound purpose.

"Kaelen, Kelvin, Morris, Guinevere, Ethan... I’m sorry but I can’t just stay put and be protected all my life. This time, I will fight alongside you all."

Outside the chamber, the mana shifted slightly, though none could sense the magnitude yet. But soon... very soon... the world would.

Meanwhile....

The Hollow remained untouched, wrapped in the usual eerie stillness of Deadroot Forest. Dew glistened like tiny pearls on the moss-covered stones as soft rays of sunlight fought through the mist. The wind whispered, but no one listened. All attention was drawn to the sacred Circle of Resonance.

Naena stood in her ceremonial Nullcarver robes at the edge of the circle, hands clasped around her long rune-carved staff. Kaelen, Kelvin, and Ethan stood in front of her, mentally bracing themselves for the final phase of their training—the Trial of the Void Echo, known as the trial of Detachment and Illusions.

"You must not believe what you see," Naena warned, her voice grave. "In this trial, the truth and lie will wear the same face. Your past, your regrets, your dreams... the trial will tempt you to remain within the illusion. You must reject it all."

Kaelen gave a single nod. "We understand."

Kelvin stretched his fingers, his ever-present tension crackling like a coiled spring. "If it’s illusions we’re facing... maybe we’re already prepared."

Ethan sighed. "If it’s worse than the Soaring Wind or Flowing Water trials, we may not be."

Naena raised her staff.

"Then may the truth in your hearts anchor your minds. Enter."

The obsidian statue at the center of the circle pulsed, and black tendrils of light unraveled from its feet, slithering along the carvings etched into the ground. One by one, the boys stepped into the Circle of Resonance, and as they did, the air shimmered—folded—and then swallowed them whole into darkness.

The Nullcarvers observing around the perimeter began placing sigil-stones and qi wards, prepping to stabilize the surrounding Hollow in case of an outburst.

Morris, meditating on a stone slab, peeked one eye open as he sensed their presence vanish.

Guinevere watched in silence, arms folded. Her Inferno mana domain simmered gently around her ankles as a precaution.

But no one noticed it.

Not even Naena, with her thousand-year-old instincts.

Far behind the Hollow, in the secret chamber sealed by twenty layers of Nullcarver technique, the barrier stones were crumbled like dried leaves. Dust lingered where intricate glyphs used to be. And the figure that once lay inside it... was gone.

Lila was no longer in the chamber.

Far, far away above the Deadroot forest canopy, soaring on radiant wings of soft blue starlight, Lila flew across the sky.

Her long hair streamed behind her like a silken comet tail, shimmering in the wind as her form cut through the clouds. Wrapped in a sheer veil of celestial mana, she resembled a spirit more than a person.

Her eyes were closed.

Not because of the wind, but because she was listening—to the voice that stirred in her blood.

That voice didn’t come from the sky... or the earth... or even from within.

It came from the stars.

From the ancient memories buried deep within the Seer Bloodline.

"Our duty is not merely to witness... but to walk where others dare not, to see what others are blinded to... and to guide fate itself when it trembles."

Those were the words she continiously kept hearing in her head.

They echoed louder now, clearer, the closer she came to the boundary of the mortal and the divine.

"I have to go," Lila murmured to herself, eyes opening. "There’s something I must see... something I must understand."

She clutched her fist closer to her chest.

Somehow, she knew that the balance of Aetheris had shifted again. Endless was on the move. The Celestials were silent. And the threads of fate—which now danced visibly before her eyes like golden cords—were beginning to fray.

Some threads led to Kaelen... others to Endless... and one in particular reached far into a realm she had never seen before—the Celestial Veil.

"What are they hiding?" she whispered, her Seer eyes shimmering.

Behind her, the clouds closed around the skies of Deadroot once more. Her aura had been so muted, so perfectly veiled with celestial concealment, that not even Naena—whose senses could split atoms—felt her departure.

No farewell.

No parting words.

Just flight.

Just purpose.

And the unsettling truth that she might not return the same person.

---

Back in the Hollow, Naena remained beside the Circle of Resonance, eyes closed, listening to the distant ripple of illusion magic. She had no idea that her most sacred chamber had been emptied.

Guinevere looked around idly. "Has anyone checked on Lila lately?"

Morris shrugged. " Is there a need to? She’s sealed in the chamber, right?"

But no one answered since they already knew that Morris made sense.

Unbeknownst to them in that moment though, no one knew that the girl born of two worlds had taken flight to follow a path written in the stars long before she was born.