The Alpha’s Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger

Chapter 343: Trials of echoes - past lives...

Lyla

The clearing facing the Northern Forest shone brightly under the Moonlight.

I'd gone to bed early after telling Ramsey I was tired and needed to rest. When I arrived, not just Circe but Nanny, Terra, and three priestesses I recognised from the Moon Temple were waiting.

They were all dressed in ceremonial gowns and formed a circle around a pattern of intricate symbols drawn in what looked like crushed rocks and herbs.

"You came," Nanny said with a frown. I know she wished I were anywhere but here. "I thought you might change your mind or couldn't convince Ramsey that you needed time alone tonight."

"Nanny," I sighed. "I need to do this, hmm? I'll be fine." I replied, approaching the circle cautiously.

Terra stepped forward, handing me a simple white shift. "Change into this. The trial requires you to be free of modern attachments."

I nodded, slipping behind a nearby tree to change. When I returned, Circe was arguing with Nanny in hushed tones.

"—perfectly safe if she maintains focus," Circe insisted.

"Nothing about this is safe," Nanny countered. "You know as well as I do that some people never return from the echoes."

They fell silent when they noticed me. Circe's expression shifted to something more ceremonial as she gestured for me to approach.

"Before you enter the circle," she said formally, "you should understand what awaits. The Trial of Echoes will show you the lives of previous Moonsingers, from the most recent back to Neriah herself. You'll experience their triumphs, failures, and most importantly, how they used their powers. Remember the death of a Moonsinger is also a rebirth of another Moonsinger, but 10,000 years passed before you were reborn."

"Will I just be watching?" I asked.

Terra shook her head. "You'll experience their lives as if they were your own. Their emotions, pain, and joy will all feel real to you."

"And the danger?" I pressed.

"Some people become lost in the echoes," one of the priestesses explained. They forget who they are and where they come from. They remain trapped in the past, and their bodies will become empty shells in the present."

"How do I

name," Nanny said firmly. "No matter what you see or feel, remember that you are Lyla, daughter of Miriam and Logan Woodland,

nodded in agreement. "Your identity is your

is my anchor," I

forward, ready to enter the circle, but Circe held up her hand. "First, we must prepare

positions around the circle and began a low, haunting chant in a language I didn't recognise. Terra joined them, her deep alto adding richness to

Moonlight await the wakening touch. The wisdom of ancestors flows through the vessel.

grew louder as Circe stepped forward with a small earthen bowl. "Your blood will connect you to the bloodline of Moonsingers," she explained, offering me a silver

before cutting my palm and allowing several drops to enter the bowl. Circe mixed it with the iridescent

circle, drink the mixture, and lie down in the centre," she

asked from beside

babies?" I turned to Circe. "Is there a

should only focus on yourself, and if you

my stomach immediately. "You're asking me to forget

children. I hope she shows up in time to keep them safe. Can you communicate with her? I can't feel

myself, but she came to me at the last fight and taught me how to fight off those vicious Ferals. I don't know if she'll turn up again. Is there another way

to feed on souls. If they think you're trying to protect someone other than yourself, they might notice the baby, but if you keep the focus on you,

inhaling deeply and pushing the worrying thoughts that had crept into the back of my mind. "I'll

Nanny sighed

Miriam," Terra murmured. "Stop

again but didn't say

sounds of the forest around

are," Nanny whispered one last time, squeezing my hand before stepping

the circle. The symbols seemed to shift beneath my feet, glowing faintly in the Moonlight. I accepted the bowl from Circe, the mixture now swirling with tiny points of

Circe instructed. "We will watch over your body until

tongue and burned down

thing I heard was the chanting, now seeming to come from inside my own head rather

everything dissolved into