The dawn's first light spilled over Ravin like a gentle promise, but beneath its golden glow, the village seemed quieter than before — as if holding its breath after a long, violent storm. The battle had left its marks: shattered windows, scorched earth, and silent streets where whispers of shadow still lingered.
Lior sat on the worn steps outside the clocktower, the black shard resting beside him like a silent guardian. His hands trembled slightly, still heavy with the weight of everything they had faced — and everything they had yet to understand.
---
Mira joined him, her footsteps soft on the cobblestones.
"Do you think it's truly over?" she asked, her voice low and uncertain.
Lior looked up, eyes weary but steady.
"I want to believe it is," he said. "But something tells me the Bleeding One was only the beginning."
---
Rhéa approached from the shadows, holding a folded piece of parchment. "Kaelen found this inside the Dreamgate ruins," she said, handing it over. "It's a map — but not one we've ever seen before."
Lior unfolded the parchment carefully, tracing the intricate lines with his fingers. The map showed realms beyond the dreamscape, places untouched by time or memory, where shadows shifted like living things.
"This is... a warning," Lior murmured. "The Dreamgate's corruption spread further than we knew. There are other shards — and other guardians."
---
As they spoke, a ripple stirred the air, faint but unmistakable — a whisper carried on the breeze that chilled Lior to his core.
From the village's edge, a figure emerged — cloaked, hooded, and moving with purpose.
Mira's hand instinctively went to her dagger.
"Who goes there?" she called.
The figure paused, then lowered the hood — revealing eyes that gleamed with a strange, otherworldly light.
"I am Soren," the stranger said. "A seeker of truths lost and forgotten. I have come because the dream is awakening — and with it, ancient shadows stir."
---
Lior felt the shard pulse once more, its warmth resonating with the stranger's presence.
"Then we have much to prepare for," he said, rising to meet Soren's gaze.
The battle for the Dreamgate had ended, but a new journey was beginning — one that would lead beyond dreams, beyond worlds, and into the heart of the unknown.