The wind screamed around Dreamgate.
It was no clean mountain wind. This air reeked of blood, grave rot, and old swamp water dragged up from forgotten depths. Below them, the Dread Mire stretched into black infinity—flooded forests, drowned ruins, and lakes that reflected no stars.
Above them, death flew.
Lyra Farrow drew in a sharp breath, all mocking confidence gone from her face.
"You…" she whispered. "You're still alive?"
Lord Ossian slowly turned his skull toward her.
The thing wore rotting ceremonial robes draped over a throne of fused bone mounted atop the spine of the colossal skeletal dragon. Empty eye sockets stared at her—and somehow still conveyed amusement.
"Alive?" he said softly.
Then he laughed.
The sound tore across the night like rusted blades grinding together.
"Old girl, I long ago stepped beyond such fragile concerns as life and death. I have reached eternity." His jaw clicked wider. "Who exactly do you think can kill me?"
The pressure hit them all at once.
Kael felt it first in his chest.
Then in his teeth.
Then behind his eyes.
Lord Ossian's Intimidating Aura crashed over Dreamgate like a falling mountain. It felt physical—like invisible hands trying to crush organs into pulp.
Kael nearly dropped to one knee.
Mira cried out.
Zaeli nearly slid straight off the sword.
Auryn reacted instantly, grabbing her by the wrist before the girl vanished into the dark abyss below. Golden Vitae poured from Auryn's palm into Zaeli's body to stabilize her breathing.
Zaeli clung to her, shaking violently.
"T-thank you…"
Auryn said nothing. Her jaw remained locked as she fought the pressure herself.
Lyra somehow managed a smirk despite the blood draining from her face.
"I know at least one person who can kill you."
Ossian tilted his skull.
"Oh?"
"The Wandering Fox."
Silence.
Then Ossian exploded into laughter.
"The Wandering Fox?" he roared. "That mongrel freak relied on strange tricks! He caught me unprepared centuries ago!"
His voice became venom.
"If he stood before me now, I would grind his soul into ash."
Waves of dark pressure rolled off Ossian again.
Dreamgate trembled violently beneath them.
Kael bit his tongue hard enough to taste blood and forced himself steady.
Lyra wiped blood from the corner of her mouth and sneered.
"That sounded suspiciously defensive."
Ossian's skull snapped toward her.
"You have a wicked mouth. I may keep your tongue after I peel the flesh from your bones."
He lifted one finger and pointed toward the dragon beneath him.
"Tell me, children…"
His voice became almost playful.
"Do you know what this creature once was?"
Everyone stared.
The dragon was massive beyond reason—its bones black-red like forged iron soaked in blood. Green fire leaked from its jaws.
But Kael noticed something else.
A crimson sphere.
Buried beneath its throat.
It gleamed like a ruby the size of a wagon wheel.
Sylva narrowed her eyes.
"That…"
Her expression changed.
"That was once a Deepwater Dragon."
Even Ossian seemed surprised she recognized it.
She continued.
"A true Deepwater Dragon forms after thousands of years beneath abyssal waters. It absorbs pure Deepwater Essence until it forms a Heartstone."
Her voice darkened.
"That stone purifies corruption. Poison. demonic filth. It devours evil by instinct."
Ossian began laughing again.
"Exactly."
His voice thundered across the sky.
"This beast was once the spiritual anchor of the ancient restrictions placed over the Dread Mire."
He leaned forward.
"It was created to suppress creatures like me."
He spread his arms proudly.
"And now?"
He slammed a fist into his throne.
"It pulls my chariot."
Everyone fell silent.
Kael immediately thought of the ruined structure on Lakeheart Isle.
That abandoned tower.
The broken formations.
The dead wards.
So that was what had happened.
Isara's voice cut through the chaos.
"That's impossible."
She stood at Dreamgate's front like a drawn blade.
"Sacred anti-corruption creatures are your natural enemy."
Her silver hair whipped violently in the wind.
"You should never have been able to dominate it."
Ossian's voice became ice.
"Enough."
His empty sockets shifted.
Even from this distance, Kael felt them lock onto him.
"Boy."
Kael's blood turned cold.
"Return the Sevenfold Shroud."
Everything stopped.
For one horrible moment—
Kael's hand actually moved toward his Wardian Satchel.
The Sevenfold Shroud called to him.
It whispered.
Give me back.
Give me back.
Give me back—
Kael's breathing became ragged.
No.
No.
He clenched both fists so hard his nails split skin.
The whispers faded.
Everyone stared at him.
Kael forced a confused expression.
"What?"
Lyra looked between them.
"The Sevenfold Shroud?"
Ossian's voice dropped into dangerous calm.
"I will ask one final time."
He leaned forward.
"Return it."
Lyra laughed.
"That's funny."
She crossed her arms.
"That artifact vanished decades ago."
Her smile sharpened.
"If you want it so badly, why not ask the old Demon Lord it belonged to?"
The insult landed.
Hard.
Even Kael understood why.
The original Demon Lord was long dead.
And if he weren't?
Ossian likely would've never dared challenge him.
The Bone Lord erupted.
"Enough!"
The skeletal dragon roared.
Then moved.
It surged forward like an avalanche with wings.
Dreamgate shot ahead.
The chase began.
---
The dragon was impossibly fast.
Its claws ripped through the air, releasing invisible currents of force.
Auryn stepped forward.
Her sleeve snapped upward.
"Immovable Golden Wall!"
A massive golden shield erupted around Dreamgate.
The first strike hit.
CRACK.
The shield screamed.
Five claw-shaped fractures exploded across its surface.
Auryn staggered violently.
Blood filled her mouth.
She forced more Vitae into the barrier.
The cracks sealed.
Then another strike came.
Then another.
Then another.
The dragon attacked relentlessly.
Dreamgate shook harder each time.
Kael nearly lost his footing twice.
Mira was crying.
Zaeli had gone pale enough to look dead.
Auryn dropped to one knee.
Sweat poured down her face.
Her arms trembled.
She was one strike away from collapse.
Kael stared in disbelief.
Auryn was monstrously strong.
And she was losing this badly.
Isara suddenly spoke.
"Lyra."
Lyra looked over.
"Take Dreamgate."
She blinked.
Then understood.
Her eyes widened.
"That's a terrible idea."
"We cannot outrun it."
Another impact nearly flipped them all into the void.
Isara's expression remained ice.
"If we do not cripple that dragon, we die."
Lyra cursed.
Then took control of Dreamgate.
The moment she did, she realized how bad things were.
The dragon's pressure disrupted the sword's speed.
They truly couldn't escape.
Isara raised both hands.
Her expression darkened.
Purple light gathered between her palms.
Kael's eyes widened.
No...
Master was using that already?
The Five Forces Return.
Her strongest technique.
And she had already used it multiple times underground.
The sphere grew larger.
Darker.
Violent blue lightning danced across its surface.
The entire sky warped around it.
Even the dragon hesitated.
Then roared.
Green flame erupted from its mouth.
A beam of cursed fire blasted toward Isara.
She released the sphere.
It drifted forward almost lazily.
Then punched through the green fire.
The purple sphere shrank as it burned through.
But it kept moving.
The dragon jerked its head aside—
The sphere curved.
Like it had a mind.
It slammed into the dragon's neck.
Silence.
One heartbeat.
Then—
BOOOOOOM.
The dragon shrieked.
Massive bone fragments exploded into the night.
Its neck twisted unnaturally.
Kael stared.
And for one strange second...
he pitied it.
He remembered his own destroyed construct.
He remembered watching something powerful get reduced to broken pieces.
Then the pity vanished.
Because the dragon didn't die.
It straightened.
Its body compressed—
Then launched downward.
Straight at them.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
A giant claw descended.
Auryn threw up her shield.
The claw ripped through it like wet paper.
Lyra reacted next.
Both palms shot upward.
She caught the descending strike.
For half a second.
Then Dreamgate nearly flipped vertically.
Everyone screamed.
Kael nearly fell to his death.
Isara seized control again and stabilized the sword.
They shot forward.
The dragon remained behind them.
Still hunting.
Then Ossian laughed.
"Oh?"
Recognition entered his voice.
"The Five Forces Return…"
He sounded delighted.
"So."
His laughter deepened.
"You belong to the Ascendant Covenant."
He leaned forward.
"Wonderful."
His voice turned murderous.
"Primus Valder is among the people I hate most."
Bone fingers tightened around his throne.
"Tonight shall be glorious."
Lyra suddenly coughed blood.
A thick stream spilled down her chin.
Kael caught her before she collapsed.
She'd blocked the dragon's strike with raw force.
And paid for it.
"I'm fine," she hissed.
She clearly wasn't.
Sylva moved to heal her.
Lyra shoved her hand away.
"Later."
She looked at Isara.
"What's left?"
Isara was breathing hard now.
Even she looked strained.
"I can use the Five Forces Return once more."
Kael's stomach dropped.
Once more?
At this rate she'd kill herself before Ossian did.
Lyra looked toward Sylva.
"You and me."
Sylva nodded immediately.
Lyra reached into her hair.
She pulled free a glowing violet pin.
Kael's face twitched.
That tiny thing.
That cursed tiny thing.
It had destroyed his beloved construct.
He still hated it.
Sylva drew the Verdant Bow.
A green arrow formed from pure living energy.
Lyra lifted the Violet Aurochs Pin.
"We strike together."
Kael swallowed.
This was madness.
Lyra began counting.
"One…"
The dragon roared behind them.
"Two…"
Isara's purple sphere formed.
Sylva pulled her bowstring to full draw.
"Three!"
All three attacks launched at once.
Purple annihilation.
Green light.
Violet lightning.
They screamed toward Lord Ossian.
Kael stared in awe.
Three devastating attacks.
No way he survived—
Ossian casually lifted two fingers.
He tapped a black skull embedded in his chariot.
Dark flames erupted around him.
Four walls of black fire rose.
Blood-red runes spun inside the flames.
The entire chariot vanished behind infernal defense.
Sylva's arrow hit first.
As soon as it entered the black flames—
It slowed.
Burned.
Disintegrated.
By the time it emerged—
Only a fragment remained.
Sylva's face turned white.
"Asura Flames…"
Ossian waved lazily.
The surviving fragment was erased by crimson mist.
Then Isara's attack hit.
The sky exploded.
A blast so violent Kael lost vision entirely.
The skeletal dragon was thrown violently upward.
Its massive body spiraled out of control.
But Ossian's laughter still echoed.
"Pathetic!"
The smoke cleared.
The chariot remained untouched.
Completely intact.
Ossian laughed harder.
"Even Primus Valder himself might fail to break my war chariot!"
Kael blinked.
Wait.
Something was missing.
Where—
A violet streak flashed through the darkness.
Lyra's pin.
It curved through the sky like a living predator.
It ignored Ossian entirely.
And struck the dragon.
Directly beneath its throat.
The crimson Heartstone exploded.
Red crystal fragments rained across the night like shattered jewels.
The dragon screamed.
A sound so agonized Kael's spine chilled.
Lyra grinned through bloody teeth.
"Got you."
Without the Heartstone—
The dragon convulsed wildly.
Its body spasmed.
Then dropped.
Plummeting toward the swamp below.
Ossian rose from his throne in pure rage.
"NO!"
His hands blurred through a complex series of signs.
Then—
A blood-red humanoid phantom tore free from his body.
It shot toward Dreamgate like a screaming comet.
Sylva's face lost all color.
"The Soul-Eroding Curse!"
She loosed another arrow instantly.
Green light struck the blood phantom—
And vanished.
Completely erased.
The blood phantom kept coming.
And it was almost on top of them.
Auryn moved first.
The instant Sylva screamed the name of the technique, the Golden-Glow Soror launched herself forward with a snarl, her bracelet exploding into layers of radiant steel light.
"Behind me!"
She slammed both palms outward.
A massive wall of golden force erupted in front of Dreamgate—thick, gleaming, solid as a fortress gate.
The Immovable Golden Wall.
The blood-red phantom hit it.
And passed straight through.
Like smoke through a curtain.
Only its color dimmed slightly.
Auryn's eyes widened.
"No—!"
The phantom slammed directly into Isara's chest.
Lady Magister Isara gave a choked gasp, like someone had shoved molten iron down her throat.
Then she collapsed.
Her body hit Dreamgate's broad blade with a sickening thud.
Kael lunged forward.
"Master!"
Selene and Mira reached her at the same time. The moment their hands touched Isara's skin, both recoiled.
"She's burning!" Mira cried.
Kael's blood ran cold.
Isara's pale skin turned crimson before his eyes. Not flushed. Not feverish.
Crimson.
Like blood had risen beneath every inch of her flesh.
Below them, the skeletal dragon and war chariot plummeted through the darkness.
Lord Ossian's enraged howl rolled across the swamp.
"You think you can flee me?!"
His voice shook the clouds.
"I will turn every one of you into blood-skeletons! You will serve me for ten thousand years!"
A thunderous crash erupted from below.
Everyone looked down.
The dragon and chariot smashed into the earth, sending dirt, shattered bone, and swamp water exploding into the air.
Then Kael blinked.
"What the hell…"
The skeletal dragon was shrinking.
Its massive body rapidly collapsed inward, bones folding and compressing unnaturally.
Within moments it had become barely larger than a horse.
"A phantom beast?" Mira whispered.
Kael barely heard her.
His eyes were locked on Isara.
Her breathing was shallow.
Too shallow.
Dreamgate lurched violently.
Without Isara controlling it, the divine sword began to wobble through the sky.
Lyra cursed under her breath, recalled the Violet Aurochs Pin into her sleeve, and immediately seized control of Dreamgate.
The blade steadied.
Then surged forward at full speed.
Wind screamed past them.
Kael crawled toward Sylva.
"What's wrong with her?"
Sylva's fingers pressed against Isara's wrist.
She remained there for several long breaths.
Then her face turned white.
"No…"
"What?"
Sylva looked up.
Pure dread filled her eyes.
"It's the Soul-Eroding Curse."
Silence.
Kael stared at her.
"What does that mean?"
"It means…" Sylva swallowed hard. "I can't cure it."
Everyone froze.
Kael laughed once.
A broken, disbelieving sound.
"What?"
"I can't even find where the curse is hiding inside her channels." Sylva's hands shook. "I tried purging it. Healing it. Sealing it. Nothing touches it."
Rovan grimly spoke from the rear.
"My master once told me about this curse."
Everyone looked at him.
He continued quietly.
"Lord Ossian used it against powerful adepts before. They couldn't resist it through outside help."
Sylva nodded weakly.
"That's exactly what I'm seeing."
Mira looked panicked.
"Then we return to Vane's Summit!"
She looked at Lyra desperately.
"Elder Velda is there. If anyone can save Master, she can!"
Lyra's face remained grim.
"She won't survive the flight."
Everyone went silent.
Sword-flight at this speed shredded weaker bodies.
And Isara was barely conscious.
Auryn leaned close.
"Master… can you gather your Vitae?"
Please, Kael thought.
Please answer.
Isara's eyelids trembled.
She forced them open.
"Find…" she whispered.
Her lips trembled.
"A quiet place…"
She coughed blood.
"I can suppress it myself…"
Her fingers weakly tried forming seals.
Then her body went limp again.
Selene's eyes filled with tears.
"She's dying!"
"We land now!" Kael shouted.
Lyra's jaw tightened.
"And if Ossian catches us?"
No one answered.
They all knew.
Without Isara, they would die.
Auryn stared into the darkness below.
Then Kael suddenly pointed downward.
"There!"
Everyone looked.
A vast lake gleamed beneath moonlight.
Dense forest surrounded it.
At its center sat a small island.
Lakeheart Isle.
The same island they had visited before.
Lyra's eyes narrowed.
Kael leaned forward urgently.
"That island has concentrated Deepwater Essence."
He pointed again.
"The stone platform inside the hall."
Realization flashed across Auryn's face.
"And the lake protects us."
Kael nodded rapidly.
"Water on all sides. Easy to defend."
Lyra looked at him for a long moment.
Then smirked faintly.
"You occasionally say something intelligent."
Dreamgate angled downward.
They descended fast.
The divine sword slammed onto the island's stone platform.
Everyone leapt off.
Lyra shrank Dreamgate back to its normal size and tossed it to Zaeli.
"Guard it with your life."
Zaeli nodded frantically.
Kael lifted Isara into his arms.
Her skin nearly burned him.
He sprinted into the central hall.
The moment he reached the jade platform in the center chamber, he laid her down.
The Deepwater Essence immediately reacted.
Soft blue mist rose from the stone.
Isara inhaled sharply.
Color returned to her face.
Not much.
But enough.
Her breathing steadied.
Slowly, painfully, she sat upright.
Her trembling hands formed seals.
She began circulating her own Vitae.
Everyone watched in terrified silence.
Minutes dragged by like years.
Then Isara finally spoke.
Her voice was barely audible.
"Rest."
Everyone leaned closer.
She continued.
"I need only a few hours."
Her breathing remained rough.
"But I can suppress it."
Relief hit the group like collapsing walls.
Selene nearly cried.
Mira openly did.
Even Kael's knees nearly buckled.
She wasn't dead.
Not yet.
Dawn arrived.
Gray light spilled across the island.
Everyone looked half-dead.
Lyra crossed her arms.
"Two people stay."
The rest looked at her.
"You all need sleep."
"No," Selene snapped immediately.
Lyra's gaze sharpened.
"If Ossian returns while you're exhausted, you die tired."
That shut everyone up.
Auryn and Kael immediately spoke at the same time.
"I'll stay."
They glared at each other.
Then Auryn crossed her arms.
"I outrank you."
Kael grinned tiredly.
"I'm more stubborn."
Auryn looked ready to punch him.
Then unexpectedly—
she laughed.
"Fine."
So the first watch belonged to them.
Everyone else dispersed.
Rovan collapsed against a wall.
Mira practically sleepwalked away.
Selene gave Kael one last worried look before leaving.
Sylva staggered off with Zaeli.
Soon the great hall grew quiet.
Only Isara's breathing remained.
And the distant sound of lake water.
Kael sat beside Auryn.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then Kael quietly asked—
"Elder Soror…"
Auryn opened one eye.
"What?"
Kael lowered his voice.
"That thing Ossian wanted."
Her gaze sharpened.
"The Sevenfold Shroud?"
Kael tried to sound casual.
"Yeah."
Auryn stared at him.
Too long.
Kael forced himself not to sweat.
"I heard the name before. What exactly is it?"
Auryn leaned against a pillar.
Her voice lowered.
"It belonged to one of the four great Demon Lords."
Kael stiffened.
"The Sevenfold Demon Lord."
His stomach twisted.
Auryn continued.
"It vanished decades ago."
She frowned.
"I still don't understand why Ossian suddenly demanded it from us."
Kael swallowed hard.
"What does it do?"
Auryn's expression darkened.
"It absorbs seven evils from the world."
Kael felt ice crawl up his spine.
"…seven?"
"Wrath."
Her voice remained cold.
"Hatred. Jealousy. Lust. Greed. Cruelty."
She paused.
"Pride."
Kael instinctively touched the Wardian Satchel hidden at his waist.
The mask inside felt heavier than iron.
Auryn continued.
"The Sevenfold Demon Lord spread slaughter everywhere to feed it."
Her expression grew distant.
"Entire kingdoms burned."
"Millions died."
Kael whispered—
"And Ossian is weaker than that monster?"
Auryn barked out a humorless laugh.
"Ossian?"
She shook her head.
"He's an insect compared to the Sevenfold Demon Lord."
Kael stared.
"That strong?"
"He rivaled Lord Caeron's predecessors."
Auryn exhaled slowly.
"The Empyrean Throne sent armies twice."
"They lost both times."
Kael's jaw dropped.
"Then who killed him?"
Auryn suddenly went silent.
Her expression changed.
Kael noticed immediately.
"What?"
She looked at him strangely.
"There was someone."
"Who?"
Auryn hesitated.
Then finally answered.
"The Wandering Fox."
Kael's entire body froze.
"…what?"
Auryn stared into the distance.
"Gods feared him."
"Demons feared him."
"Even the Empyrean Throne feared him."
Kael's pulse thundered.
"What kind of man was he?"
Auryn's eyes narrowed.
"Not a man."
She looked at him.
"He belonged to the Shadow Fox bloodline."
"Outside the Six Paths."
"Beyond divine law."
Kael's breathing became uneven.
Something deep inside him twisted violently.
A strange familiarity.
Like hearing a forgotten song.
Auryn frowned.
"What's wrong with you?"
Kael forced a laugh.
"Nothing."
His voice sounded hollow.
Auryn continued.
"He destroyed the Sevenfold Demon Lord."
"He later fought the Evil Emperor."
"They nearly killed each other."
Kael whispered—
"And then?"
Auryn looked toward Isara.
Her voice dropped lower.
"The Empyrean Throne eventually hunted him down."
"They said he disturbed destiny itself."
Kael clenched his fists.
Why?
Why did that make his chest hurt?
"He fought alone?"
Auryn nodded.
"And died alone."
Kael stared at the floor.
Something hot burned behind his eyes.
He didn't understand why.
Auryn noticed.
But said nothing.
After a long silence—
"Master hates discussions about him."
Kael looked up sharply.
"What?"
Auryn nodded toward Isara.
"She always shuts it down."
Kael stared at his unconscious master.
Questions screamed inside his skull.
But exhaustion finally dragged him under.
By midday, they rotated watch.
Sylva and Zaeli replaced them.
Kael stumbled outside.
His body felt made of stone.
He wandered behind the estate and collapsed beneath a shaded stone corridor.
Within seconds—
sleep began taking him.
Then—
A flash of blue light.
Kael's eyes snapped open.
He shot upright.
Another flash.
Through the trees.
His exhaustion vanished instantly.
Undead?
He quietly moved toward the light.
Slowly.
Silently.
He reached a cluster of trees—
And froze.
Lyra stood in a clearing.
Dancing.
Or maybe fighting.
Kael couldn't tell.
Her long sleeves spun through the air.
Blue sparks drifted around her body like falling stars.
Her hips rolled with predatory grace.
Her robes clung to her curves.
Her breasts bounced heavily with each twisting movement.
Kael stared despite himself.
Good gods.
She finally stopped moving.
Blue light faded around her.
Kael stepped out from behind a tree with a grin.
"Shreve Lyra."
She spun around.
Her eyes widened.
"Wait—don't come clo—"
Too late.
The ground exploded.
Massive vines erupted from above.
They wrapped around Kael like constrictor snakes.
"What the—?!"
They yanked him upside down into the air.
The vines tightened brutally.
Kael wheezed.
"I can't—breathe—"
Then a bolt of thick blue lightning slammed into him from nowhere.
Kael convulsed violently.
Every muscle seized.
His vision exploded into white stars.
He screamed.
Then dangled there smoking.
Half-conscious.
The world spun wildly.
Through blurred vision—
he saw Lyra.
Bent over laughing.
Laughing so hard she could barely stand.
One hand clutching her stomach.
The other pointing at him.
Her laughter echoed through the trees.
And Kael realized—
she was enjoying this far too much.