The night air hung heavy over Ravin, thick with anticipation and the sharp scent of rain on the wind. Lanterns flickered in windows, casting warm halos of light against the creeping shadows that slithered across the cobblestones like restless ghosts.
Lior stood atop the clocktower, the black shard glowing softly in his palm — a beacon against the night's growing darkness. Beside him, Mira and Rhéa tightened their grips on ancient weapons, their faces set with grim determination.
Kaelen arrived quietly, the cloak around his shoulders billowing as if stirred by unseen winds.
"The Bleeding One will come," Kaelen said, eyes scanning the horizon where the dreamscape bled into reality. "Prepare yourselves. This battle will test every fragment of your soul."
---
Lior closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. His mind spiraled into the dreamscape, where memories, fears, and hopes intertwined in a swirling dance. Faces of those he loved flashed before him — Elara's gentle smile, Mira's fierce loyalty, Rhéa's quiet strength — all fueling his resolve.
He opened his eyes, voice steady and clear.
"We face this together."
---
From the darkness, the Bleeding One emerged — a towering figure woven from shadow and decay, its form constantly shifting like smoke caught in a tempest. Where its face should have been, there was only a void, black and infinite, dotted with stars that seemed to suck the light from the world.
"You cannot stop the inevitable," it hissed, voice echoing like a chorus of broken whispers. "Dreams are fragile. They fracture. They die."
Lior stepped forward, raising the shard. "Not while I still dream."
The Bleeding One's tendrils lashed out, dark and twisting, wrapping around Lior's legs and arms, cold and heavy as chains.
---
Pain flared through him, memories of loss and loneliness clawing at his mind.
But the shard pulsed, warm and bright, and Lior focused on the light — on the love and hope that tethered him to this world.
He pushed back, breaking free.
With a cry, he swung the shard like a blade, slicing through the shadows.
---
The battle raged through the village and the dreamscape simultaneously — time folding in on itself as reality bent.
Mira and Rhéa fought fiercely beside Lior, their movements fluid and precise, weaving light and shadow into a dance of defiance.
Kaelen chanted words older than memory, summoning barriers of shimmering dream-energy that repelled the Bleeding One's assault.
---
But the Bleeding One was relentless.
It howled, a sound like the unraveling of time, and split into countless shadow-fragments, each swarming toward the trio with furious intent.
Lior closed his eyes, reaching deep within himself.
The shard flared, flooding the world with radiant light.
He saw Elara, her eyes steady and unyielding.
"Remember why you dream," her voice echoed in his heart.
---
A surge of power coursed through Lior — not just from the shard, but from every hope, every dream, every soul that had ever believed in something greater.
He opened his eyes and shouted, "This ends now!"
The shard exploded with light, tearing through the shadows like a starburst.
The Bleeding One screamed, its form unraveling, the darkness melting away to reveal... nothingness.
---
Silence followed.
The village stood intact, bathed in the soft glow of dawn breaking over the horizon.
Lior dropped to his knees, exhausted but victorious.
Mira and Rhéa gathered around him, smiles trembling but real.
Kaelen approached, nodding with quiet respect.
"You have done what many thought impossible," he said. "The Dreamgate is safe — for now."
---
Lior looked to the rising sun, feeling the weight of what they had endured — and the hope of what was yet to come.
"The dream lives," he whispered.
"And so do we."