Chapter 22: After the Dream
The hill we lay on was soft, damp with morning dew and bathed in pale gold light. My body ached in ways I couldn't describe—like every nerve remembered what the city did to us. My ribs burned with each breath, a phantom echo of the guardian's blow. Elias lay beside me, silent and still. Lina, barely conscious, shifted only when the wind picked up. For hours, none of us moved.
The sky stretched open above, cloudless and indifferent. It felt wrong—too peaceful. Like the city had never existed. Like it hadn't tried to swallow us whole.
Eventually, I sat up. My limbs protested. The bruises across my side flared with pain. But I was done resting. Lina stirred beside me, groaning as she pushed herself upright.
"You two should still be resting," Cilia said softly, sitting cross-legged a few feet away. Her silver hair had fallen loose from its braid, wind-tossed and tangled. "Aren't your injuries sore?"
"Yes," I replied, rising to my feet fully.
"Then that's even more reason you—"
"We can't rest," Lina cut in, standing beside me. Her voice was firmer than I expected, crisp and clear. "We're injured. That makes us vulnerable. If something attacks, we're done. Better to keep moving—find a safer place to rest."
Cilia blinked, her lips parting slightly. Then she looked down, nodding with quiet realization. "Um… yeah. I agree."
I walked over and gently patted her head. She looked up, a bit startled.
"Thanks for worrying."
She smiled, just a little.
"Now let's go."
We traveled for three days without another incident. The path ahead was unusually straight—no twisted forests, no monster ambushes, no illusions or shifting landscapes. Just earth, sky, and the sound of our steps. It was almost unsettling in its calmness.
By the third day, Elias and Lina had mostly healed. My ribs still throbbed on bad slopes, but I could breathe without flinching. Our pace quickened. But none of us brought up the city again. Not until—
"Do you think we killed it?" Lina asked out of nowhere, her voice slicing through the afternoon air.
I stopped walking.
The question hung there like a sword suspended over our heads.
"No," I said finally.
"Tch…" She clenched her fists. A pulse of wind exploded around her as she struck the air with a roar of frustration. Dust and leaves spiraled into the sky.
I didn't flinch. "Relax… We did what we could. We were weak. Simple as that."
She said nothing, but her breathing slowed.
"That's why we have to get stronger. So next time…"
"...if we somehow find it again, we'll kill it," Lina muttered, nodding slowly.
Cilia spoke for the first time in a while, her tone low but firm. "While we were in the city… I saw something."
She cleared her throat and repeated the lines as if reciting a prophecy carved into her bones:
"The city does not protect the gate. The city is the gate."
"Time folds where thought lingers. Memory births flesh."
"Three eyes in the dark will awaken when the broken sun rises."
We were quiet after that. Even the birds had gone still.
"Very ominous…" I finally muttered.
"But we still escaped," Lina added, the corner of her mouth lifting. "And like you said—let's get stronger. Then we'll kill it together."
She smiled. The first one since we left the city. And as small as it was, it felt like sunlight breaking through thick fog.
Cilia let out a quiet breath. I saw something soften in her face, like a weight had been lifted. She looked at Lina, then at me, and smiled too.
I didn't say anything.
But I saw them both.
And I was grateful they were still here.
A month passed in steady, quiet growth.
Cilia… changed.
The fear she once wore like a second skin had peeled away. In its place, curiosity. Determination. She was still unsure in fights—her movements cautious, her hands trembling before she struck—but she practiced every day, studying every swing of Lina's fists and every pulse of my magic.
She discovered her elemental affinity during a rainstorm, lightning spidering across her skin as she instinctively shaped it. Not thunder. Not pure electricity. Something more refined—Stormlace, we called it. Threads of cutting air and charged light that danced like embroidery through wind. Subtle, yet sharp. She wielded it like thread through a needle—delicate, dangerous, beautiful.
Lina, on the other hand, became a whirlwind.
Her fists hit like falling boulders now, and her control over her element—Crimson Flame—surged beyond mine. Her fire didn't burn like normal heat. It devoured magic, twisted pressure, and shattered steel. She no longer needed swords. Her fists and flames were enough. In raw destruction, she had overtaken me.
And I didn't mind.
Because my strength had grown too—not in force, but in control.
I could now lift over twenty objects at once without strain. Small rocks, weapons, even people. I discovered I could push and pull at the same time—at first awkward, then elegant. I shaped the forces like clay, wrapping them around each other, folding motion into paradox. It became something new: a technique I called Convergent Force—a spiraling pressure that trapped enemies between inverse pulls until they crushed themselves with their own momentum.
I was proud of it.
But I didn't tell anyone yet.
I wanted them to see it with their own eyes.
We came to the river in the late afternoon. The sky had begun to pale with dusk, painting the current with lilac and rose. Lina crossed first, hopping from stone to stone with barely a splash. Cilia followed more carefully, arms outstretched for balance, laughing when she nearly fell.
I stood in the middle of the river for a moment, water flowing past my ankles. Cool. Calm.
I looked up.
Beyond the riverbank, past the rising slope of earth and the curtain of evening mist—
Stood the gates.
Massive, ancient, crowned with towers of silver and marble. Lanterns lined the stone path, glowing with soft amber light. Flags fluttered from high spires, bearing a symbol I didn't yet recognize: a crescent moon framed by wings of starlight.
The kingdom was close.
Lina's eyes lit up. "Finally."
Cilia clutched her staff, the wind stirring her robe. "We made it."
And I stood, the mist curling around my boots, staring at the gates of the kingdom of Virelia—land of archives, magic, and skyborn towers.
We didn't know what awaited us there.
But after everything…
We were ready.
____________________________________
To all my incredible readers,
Thank you.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for joining MC, Lina, and Cilia on this first leg of their journey. Whether you've been here since the first chapter or stumbled upon this story along the way, your support has meant the world.
Volume 1 was a story of survival, bonds forged in fire, and the first whispers of something greater lurking in the shadows. From the eerie depths of the abandoned city to the quiet strength found in each other, our trio has grown—and so have I, thanks to you.
Your comments, theories, and silent encouragement have been the wind at my back while writing. Knowing you've laughed, clenched your fists, or held your breath alongside these characters is the greatest reward a storyteller could ask for.
Volume 2 awaits.
New allies. New enemies. Deeper magic, darker secrets, and the looming truth of what the city truly is. The kingdom gates have opened, but beyond them lies more than any of us expect.
Stay tuned—and once again, from the depths of my gratitude: thank you for reading.
Until the next adventure,
— [Crazy_habitz]
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P.S. Want to chat theories, characters, or what you'd love to see in Volume 2? Drop a comment or message—I'd love to hear from you!