The sound of crackling fire slowly pulled Vaelis back to reality.
His eyes opened.
For a few moments, he simply stared at the weathered wooden ceiling above him.
The fire beside him had almost died, leaving only glowing embers that painted the small abandoned cabin in shades of orange and crimson.
Rain tapped gently against the roof.
"...A dream..."
He sat upright, pressing a hand against his forehead.
Fragments lingered in his mind.
Leaving Verdanthos.
Crossing frozen rivers.
Climbing mountains.
Finding abandoned towers to shelter in.
Hunting for food.
Walking alone beneath endless rain.
It had all felt...
real.
Almost too real.
He frowned.
"...Strange."
The memories were vivid.
Every sound.
Every smell.
Every step.
Yet one part refused to make sense.
He remembered blood.
Broken trees.
Howls echoing through a forest.
A pack of Ravager Wolves.
No...
There had been Nightmare Wolves among them too.
Eight.
Maybe nine.
He remembered drawing his sword.
Then...
Nothing.
His memory simply stopped.
The next thing he could recall was standing alone.
The wolves were dead.
Their bodies scattered around him.
His blade stained black with drying blood.
"..."
Vaelis looked down at his hands.
There wasn't a single scar he didn't recognize.
No sign of how the battle had ended.
"...Did I defeat them?"
He searched his memory again.
Nothing.
Not even a single movement.
Only emptiness.
"...Impossible."
He wasn't questioning whether he had survived.
He was questioning why he couldn't remember surviving.
For the first time in a long while...
Something puzzled him.
A quiet voice interrupted his thoughts.
"...You're awake."
Vaelis turned.
The young girl from yesterday sat near the doorway, carefully tightening the straps on her boots.
She looked up and smiled.
"Good morning."
Vaelis silently observed her.
Yesterday, he had paid little attention.
Now...
He actually looked.
She appeared to be around his age.
Light pink hair fell just past her shoulders, slightly messy from days of traveling through forests and mountains.
A pair of oversized adventurer's goggles rested comfortably atop her head, scratched and worn from frequent use.
Her clothing was practical rather than elegant.
Layers of brown and green adventuring gear covered her frame, clearly designed for long journeys through unpredictable terrain.
Dark green baggy trousers allowed easy movement while climbing or running.
Green gloves protected her hands from rope burns and rough stone.
Heavy black boots, stained with mud and dust, spoke of countless miles already traveled.
Across her chest hung a simple silver chain.
At its center rested a small cross-shaped pendant.
It wasn't expensive.
But judging by how often her fingers absentmindedly touched it...
It meant something.
She also carried an oversized travel pack that looked almost too large for someone of her size.
Ropes.
Camping equipment.
Cooking supplies.
Maps.
Everything an experienced traveler might need.
She looked...
Prepared.
Not like a soldier.
Not like a noble.
Not like a mercenary.
She looked exactly what she claimed to be.
An adventurer.
Lola noticed him staring.
"...What?"
Vaelis answered honestly.
"...You look different."
She blinked.
"...Different?"
"...From the people in Verdanthos."
She laughed softly.
"I'd hope so."
"I've traveled through quite a few places."
She stood, adjusting the straps of her backpack.
"My clothes have kind of... evolved."
Vaelis tilted his head slightly.
"...Evolved?"
She grinned.
"You replace things when they tear."
"You add things when you need them."
"You keep souvenirs."
She held up the pendant.
"And sometimes..."
"...you carry things that remind you where home is."
Vaelis looked at the small cross.
"...Why?"
Lola smiled gently.
"Because not every journey is about reaching your destination."
"Sometimes..."
She looked toward the rain falling outside.
"...It's about remembering why you started walking in the first place."
Vaelis remained silent.
He didn't understand.
Not completely.
But unlike words such as heart or love...
This answer felt...
Closer to something he could almost grasp.
Almost.
The journey resumed shortly after sunrise.
Neither of them spoke as they left the abandoned cabin behind.
Vaelis walked at the front, his pace steady and unwavering.
Lola followed a few steps behind, occasionally unfolding an old map that had become more of a suggestion than a guide after getting lost.
"...I still can't believe I ended up in Verdanthos," she muttered.
Vaelis didn't look back.
"...Your sense of direction is poor."
Lola puffed out her cheeks.
"I know that already."
"...You crossed an entire mountain range."
"I said I know."
For the first time in days, a faint smile almost reached Vaelis' face.
Almost.
The road to Voidspire proved far less forgiving than either of them expected.
The forests gradually grew darker.
Towering trees blocked most of the sunlight, leaving the ground below covered in a blanket of moss and ancient roots.
Corrupted beasts lurked between the shadows.
Several times, Lesser Beasts attempted to ambush them.
Each encounter ended the same way.
Vaelis drew his sword.
One movement.
One strike.
Silence.
Lola watched with wide eyes every single time.
"...You're ridiculously strong."
Vaelis cleaned his blade against the monster's fur.
"...No."
"...They're weak."
Lola laughed.
"I don't think that's how that works."
During the evenings, they took turns preparing food.
Or rather...
Lola prepared food.
Vaelis made sure they survived long enough to eat it.
One night, while roasting strips of monster meat over a small fire, Lola looked at him curiously.
"...Can I ask you something?"
"...You already are."
She rolled her eyes.
"...Do you ever smile?"
"...Yes."
"I haven't seen it."
"...That doesn't mean it hasn't happened."
"...Fair point."
She poked the fire with a stick.
"...Do you have family?"
A long silence followed.
"...I did."
Lola immediately regretted asking.
"...I'm sorry."
"...Don't be."
"...They're dead?"
Vaelis stared into the flames.
"...I don't know."
"...I simply left."
Lola lowered her gaze.
She didn't ask another question.
...
The following morning brought heavy rain once again.
Vaelis welcomed it.
Lola did not.
"My boots are soaked..."
"...Again."
Vaelis continued walking.
"You complain often."
"I'm talking."
"There's a difference."
"It sounds similar."
She sighed dramatically.
"You really are impossible."
Yet despite all her complaints...
She never stopped smiling.
And despite claiming he preferred solitude...
Vaelis no longer found the journey as quiet as before.
The days passed more quickly.
The nights felt shorter.
The silence...
Less empty.
Several more days slipped by.
Eventually, the trees began thinning.
The mountains opened before them.
Far in the distance—
Something enormous pierced the clouds.
Lola stopped walking.
"...Is that..."
Vaelis followed her gaze.
A colossal tower stood at the center of the horizon.
Impossible in size.
Its peak disappeared beyond the clouds themselves, as though it connected the earth to the heavens.
Countless floating platforms surrounded it.
Bridges stretched between impossible heights.
Even from this distance, thousands of tiny figures could be seen moving around its base.
Lola smiled.
"We made it..."
Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
"...Voidspire."
Vaelis remained silent.
He had imagined it countless times.
Reality exceeded every expectation.
The tower wasn't merely a building.
It was a monument.
A declaration.
A place where the strongest gathered.
Where dreams were fulfilled...
Or shattered.
As they descended the mountain path toward the sprawling city below, the number of travelers steadily increased.
Knights in polished armor.
Mercenaries.
Scholars.
Awakened from distant kingdoms.
People wearing clothing unlike anything either of them had seen before.
Every road...
Every bridge...
Every caravan...
Led toward the same destination.
The Tournament of Ascension had begun drawing the world together.
Lola looked around excitedly.
"So many people..."
"So many cultures..."
"So many stories..."
Vaelis simply observed.
"...So many variables."
Lola laughed.
"You really do see the world differently."
Before Vaelis could answer...
A strange feeling washed over him.
Not danger.
Not killing intent.
Something...
Different.
He instinctively turned his head toward the crowded streets below.
Thousands of unfamiliar faces moved through the city.
Merchants shouted.
Children ran between stalls.
Awakened sparred in open squares.
Yet...
For the briefest instant...
His eyes settled on a young man with raven-black hair disappearing into the crowd several streets away.
The stranger never looked back.
He vanished as quickly as he had appeared.
Vaelis frowned slightly.
"..."
Lola noticed.
"What is it?"
He looked at the crowd one last time.
"...Nothing."
"...I thought I saw someone."
Little did either of them know...
The young man hadn't actually been there.
Not yet.
But somewhere, deep within the threads of fate that even the gods struggled to understand...
The paths of Vaelis Mourne...
Lola Everhart...
and Arthur Ravenheart...
had already begun converging.
Neither Vaelis nor Arthur knew the other's name.
They had never met.
Yet the world itself was quietly arranging the moment when their stories would finally collide.
And when they did...
Nothing would ever be the same again.
Meanwhile Azrion was sitting on a mango tree taking a nap only for him to remember...
The floating continent of Veilspire slowly disappeared behind them.
Suspended islands drifted peacefully through the clouds, their waterfalls pouring endlessly into the endless sky below. Marble towers shimmered beneath the morning sun, while massive winged creatures circled the kingdom's outer borders.
For the first time in years...
Prince Azrion Velcrest had left home.
His silver-and-white cloak fluttered behind him as he stood at the edge of the mountain path, looking back one final time.
"...We'll be gone for a while."
Beside him stood Eldric Vaelor.
Unlike Azrion's elegant appearance, Eldric's clothing was practical. A dark traveling coat covered light armor, while a large pack rested comfortably across his shoulders.
He followed Azrion's gaze.
"...Do you think they'll worry?"
Azrion smiled faintly.
"My mother?"
"...Definitely."
"My father?"
"...He's probably already planning what he'll say when I return."
Eldric chuckled.
"'Return victorious or don't return at all.'"
Azrion laughed.
"...That sounds exactly like him."
The laughter faded as they turned toward the road ahead.
Voidspire awaited.
The two descended from the mountains, leaving the skies of Veilspire behind.
---
Unlike many participants traveling alone...
Azrion and Eldric had journeyed together since childhood.
Their fighting styles complemented one another almost perfectly.
Where Azrion relied on precise technique and overwhelming control...
Eldric relied on instinct and adaptability.
They argued often.
But trusted each other completely.
---
Three days into their journey...
They encountered their first obstacle.
An enormous landslide had buried the main road beneath hundreds of tons of rock.
Travelers had gathered before it, unsure how to proceed.
Some attempted climbing.
Others searched for another route.
Azrion studied the mountain.
"...We'll lose a day going around."
Eldric folded his arms.
"...Or..."
"...we make our own path."
Azrion smiled.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
Together they climbed directly over the collapsed cliff.
Loose stones shifted beneath their feet.
Several times they nearly slipped into the valley below.
Yet by sunset...
They stood on the opposite side while the other travelers still debated what to do.
---
The following evening...
Rain began falling.
Not the relentless storms of Verdanthos.
Gentle rain.
The kind that carried the scent of fresh earth.
The pair found shelter beneath a massive stone arch left behind by an ancient civilization.
Eldric unpacked their supplies.
"...We're running low on dried meat."
Azrion looked toward the nearby forest.
"I'll hunt."
"...Together."
Eldric stood immediately.
The forest welcomed them with silence.
Almost too much silence.
Azrion immediately noticed.
"...Something's wrong."
Eldric nodded.
"...No birds."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the bushes exploded.
Three Lesser Beasts burst from the undergrowth.
Long claws.
Grey fur.
Eyes glowing with traces of corruption.
The first lunged toward Eldric.
He stepped forward instead of back.
His sword flashed once.
The creature collapsed before it reached him.
The second rushed Azrion.
He calmly sidestepped.
One clean strike.
Another body fell.
The third hesitated.
It turned to flee.
Eldric sighed.
"...Not happening."
He threw a hunting knife.
The blade struck true.
Silence returned.
Azrion sheathed his sword.
"...Still rusty."
Eldric looked at him in disbelief.
"You call that rusty?"
"I missed my first opportunity."
"...You killed it in one strike."
"I should've needed none."
Eldric laughed.
"...Only you would complain after winning."
---
As the days passed...
The roads grew busier.
Participants from every corner of the world now shared the same destination.
Some traveled in large groups.
Others walked alone.
Occasionally, Azrion and Eldric crossed paths with other Awakened.
Most simply nodded in greeting before continuing.
Everyone understood.
Today's stranger...
Could become tomorrow's opponent.
---
One afternoon, they stopped beside a cliff overlooking an enormous valley.
Far beyond the forests...
Something pierced the heavens.
Eldric stopped walking.
"...There."
Azrion followed his gaze.
Voidspire.
Even from this distance...
Its impossible height stole the breath from everyone who looked upon it.
Bridges wrapped around its colossal structure.
Countless buildings spread from its base like a second city.
Thousands upon thousands of people moved toward it from every direction.
Eldric smiled.
"So..."
"...this is where the strongest gather."
Azrion's eyes never left the tower.
"No."
He spoke quietly.
"This..."
"...is where they'll discover who truly deserves that title."
A gust of wind swept across the valley.
The two friends looked at one another.
Without another word...
They continued walking toward the tower that would soon decide the fate of an entire generation.
Neither of them realized...
Among the countless participants making the same journey...
A boy named Arthur Ravenheart.
Another named Vaelis Mourne.
And many others...
Were all taking their final steps toward the same battlefield.
The Tournament of Ascension was no longer approaching.
It was waiting.