The footsteps echoed again—closer this time.
Luna's breath caught in her throat. She tightened her grip on the lantern, its flickering flame casting restless shadows along the cavern walls. Elias moved quickly, placing himself between her and the sound.
"Stay behind me," he murmured.
The chamber was silent now, save for the steady drip of water from unseen crevices. But Luna could still feel it—the presence, just beyond the reach of the light.
Then, a whisper.
Not spoken aloud, but pressed into her mind like ink bleeding through paper:
You were never meant to find this place.
She shivered.
Elias turned slowly, scanning the darkness. "If they wanted us gone, they would've shown themselves by now."
"They?" she whispered.
"The ones who don't want the past remembered."
A sudden gust of wind surged through the cavern, though there were no openings above. The pools rippled violently, their reflections distorting into jagged fragments of memory—faces twisted in fear, hands reaching out before vanishing into blackness.
Luna staggered back.
One of the pools caught her attention—a small one, half-hidden beneath an overhang of stone. Unlike the others, its surface remained eerily still.
She stepped toward it.
"No," Elias warned. "That one isn't like the rest."
But it was too late.
Her reflection stared back at her—not as she was now, but as someone else. A girl with dark eyes and salt-streaked hair, wearing clothes that looked both ancient and familiar. Her own face, yet not her own life.
And beside her stood another figure.
A woman.
Luna knew her instantly.
Isolde Marrow.
Her great-grandmother.
Their faces were identical.
The realization hit her like a wave.
"I'm not just remembering them," she said, voice trembling. "I am them."
Elias didn't argue.
Instead, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're the last of the Rememberers."
Before she could respond, the pool's surface began to shift.
The reflection changed.
Now, it showed the tide pool chamber—but empty. No pools. No memories. Just cold, dry stone.
And then, a final image.
A painting—her painting—hanging in the frame at the center of the chamber. Only now, it was complete.
It showed the town in flames.
People standing at the shore, watching as the sea swallowed everything whole.
At the center of the canvas, a woman painted the scene herself.
Luna.
The vision shattered with a sharp crack, and the pool went dark.
Luna stumbled backward, heart pounding.
"It's not just memory," she whispered. "It's prophecy."
Elias exhaled sharply. "Then we don't have much time."
They left the chamber quickly, retracing their steps through the winding tunnels until they emerged into the fading daylight. The wind had died down, leaving only the hush of the sea against the rocks.
Back in town, something felt different.
The streets were quiet—too quiet.
Lights flickered behind curtained windows, but no one moved outside. Even the café was closed, its sign turned to Closed without explanation.
Marina was waiting at the house.
She stood at the doorway, arms crossed, expression grim.
"You saw it, didn't you?" she asked before they could speak.
Luna nodded. "The painting. The fire. The people. It's going to happen again."
Marina sighed. "It already has."
Luna frowned. "What do you mean?"
Marina stepped aside, revealing the attic door—open.
Inside, every painting Luna had ever created was missing.
Except one.
The first one.
The dock. The man. The bundle wrapped in cloth.
Only now, the details had changed.
The man was no longer facing away.
He was looking straight at her.
And in his arms, the bundle had become a child.
A child with dark curls.
A child with her face.
Luna gasped.
"No…" she whispered.
Marina placed a hand on her arm. "This town was built on forgetting. But some things… can't stay buried forever."
Elias stepped forward. "We need to find the others."
Luna turned to him. "Others?"
"There are more like you," he said quietly. "Or at least, there used to be."
Luna looked back at the painting, her own eyes staring back from the arms of a stranger.
Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled.
The storm was coming.