Valdor walked through the empty streets.

Each step seemed to pull him away from memories that, just a moment ago, had seemed like a dream. The path led through ruins that had once been teeming with life. Now, all that remained were the skeletons of houses and trees growing out of stone.

The Dragon Kingdom… was dead.

He bent over the shattered sign by the road. A barely visible letter resembled his family's coat of arms — a broken dragon. He didn't cry. He didn't groan.

But his heart was choking inside him.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps.

Valdor drew his sword and turned, ready to fight.

"Who's there…" — he said.

"Calm down." — said a woman's voice.

A figure emerged from the darkness. She was wearing a cloak and a hood. Valdor narrowed his eyes.

"It's you… you woke me up…"

"Not exactly." — the voice was gentle but firm. — "I just opened the door. You walked through it yourself."

"Who are you?"

"I am Mayuri Lilith. Daughter of the Lord of Darkness. I am not your enemy."

Valdor was silent. In his world, no one spoke so bluntly. Enemies didn't wear signs that said "I'm evil."

"The Lord of Darkness…" — he whispered.

"What happened to the Empire?" — Valdor asked after a moment.

Mayuri looked toward the west.

"It won… along with the Demons."

Valdor furrowed his brow.

"Demons? But how...? We were only fighting the Empire itself."

Mayuri was silent for a moment.

"Yes… but there were two wars."

Valdor looked at her in disbelief.

"What do you mean… two?"

"During the second war, the Demon Lord of Azrok joined forces with the Empire and attacked again…" — Mayuri said.

Valdor looked at her in disbelief.

"The Demon Lord… allied himself with the Empire?" — he whispered.

Mayuri simply nodded.

"Yes. This time, you weren't fighting a single enemy."

Valdor clenched his fists and pressed on.

They walked together through the night.

They didn't trust each other.

But they both knew there weren't many people left they could trust.

After a moment, he spoke first.

"Are you a mage?"

Mayuri looked straight ahead.

"Something more… something worse." she replied.

After a moment, she added:

"But not today. Not here. Let's rest."

They approached a charred tree.

Mayuri used magic to light a fire and sat down.

Valdor sat down as well.

He gazed into the darkness surrounding the ruined world.

A world he no longer recognized.

"Are you hungry?" — Mayuri asked.

Valdor was silent for a moment.

It had been a long time since he'd heard such a simple question.

He looked at the campfire, then at her.

"I don't remember the last time I ate…" — he replied quietly.

Mayuri created a small magic circle.

She slipped her hand into it, as if reaching into an invisible space.

After a moment, she pulled out a piece of roasted meat wrapped in paper.

"I got this to go from the inn." — she said, handing it to Valdor.

Valdor carefully took the food.

For a moment, he stared at it in silence.

"Thank you…" — he whispered.

Valdor slowly began to eat.

Every bite reminded him of how long it had been since he'd had real food in his mouth.

Silence reigned around the campfire for quite a while.

Mayuri just smiled as she watched Valdor eat peacefully.

Valdor finished everything and set the wrapper aside.

He looked at Mayuri.

"Get some sleep. I'll stand watch."

Mayuri looked at him silently for a moment, then smiled slightly.

"All right… but you should get some rest sometime, too."

Valdor didn't reply.

He turned away and sat with his back to the campfire, keeping watch over their camp.