Kael dreamed again.
But this time, it was not pain. Not memory.
It was possibility.
He stood in a field of light, the mist around him a curtain parting to reveal thousands of glowing threads. They stretched in every direction, each humming softly, alive with motion.
One thread pulsed brighter than the rest.
He reached out and touched it.
And woke up gasping.
Elira was already kneeling at his side, her hand at his back.
"I saw them," Kael whispered. "Not the past. Not the realm. The paths. The futures."
Elira frowned. "A vision?"
He shook his head. "A map."
Outside, the mist pulsed once.
A shadow moved through the trees, silent, unthreatening. Watching.
The realm had shown Kael its weave.
Its choices.
And now, it waited to see which one he would take.
The time for simply surviving had passed.
The time to shape what came next had begun.