The night after the seal closed, the air refused to rest. Every gust of wind whispered fragments of the dragon's final words — "When the twin flames meet beneath the eclipse…"
Kael didn't sleep. He sat on a ledge overlooking the crater, staring at the glowing veins of silver that now laced the ground like living light. Below, the bones of the dragons pulsed faintly, as if the First's presence still lingered.
Lira woke quietly, wrapping her cloak tighter. "You haven't moved since it happened."
Kael's voice was low, distant. "I can still hear him."
"The dragon?"
He nodded. "It's like he's still inside me — whispering, watching. Every time I close my eyes, I see both his faces. The light… and the shadow."
Before Lira could respond, a sudden crack echoed from the ridge above them. She spun, hand on her dagger.
"Kael… we're not alone."
A soft laugh drifted through the mist. "You truly shouldn't linger where gods once slept."
Vael stepped out from the shadows, crimson cloak fluttering, the cracked mask still covering half his face. His aura pressed against the air like a wave of heat and ice all at once.
Kael rose slowly. "You again."
"Me again," Vael said, smiling faintly. "Tell me, did the First give you what you wanted?"
Kael's eyes flashed gold. "You knew about him."
"Of course," Vael said, voice silky. "The First Brood are not myths to those who carry their ashes. I've been searching for this place for years — and yet, it seems fate decided to let you open the door."
Lira stepped between them. "You followed us."
"Followed? No," Vael said calmly. "I guided. The forest, the whispers, the signs — all small nudges. You were meant to find this valley."
Kael's aura flared silver. "Why?"
Vael's smile twisted, sadness flickering behind his mask. "Because the world you think you're saving isn't worth saving in the first place."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your ancestors didn't just bind themselves to dragons," Vael said. "They bound the world's balance — sealed one half of existence to preserve the other. The demons, the corruption, the war… all side effects of a broken scale."
He stepped closer, the red glow from his eyes piercing through the mask.
"When the eclipse comes, the world will be split again. Flame against shadow. And you, Kael… are the blade that will do it."
Kael's pulse thundered. "You think I'll help destroy the world?"
Vael's tone darkened. "Not destroy. Free."
He extended a hand, silver-black smoke coiling around it. "Join me, Kael. The Silver Flame and the Abyssal Fire — together, they could end the curse forever."
For a moment, Kael hesitated. The offer carried weight — truth buried in madness.
Lira stepped forward sharply. "Don't listen to him!"
Vael's gaze shifted to her, voice lowering. "You, child of light, will never understand. He carries both the seed of creation and the breath of ruin. You can't stop what's already begun."
Kael's silver aura burst outward, shattering the stones around his feet. "Then I'll decide how it ends."
Vael only smiled. "So be it."
He vanished in a swirl of crimson mist, leaving only the echo of his laughter behind.
Lira looked at Kael. "He's not done with us, is he?"
Kael shook his head slowly. "No. He's waiting… for the eclipse."
Lightning rolled across the horizon — not from a storm, but from the earth itself. And for the first time, Kael felt something deep beneath them stir in answer.
The dragons weren't sleeping anymore.