Valdor woke up early.

“Damn, I fell asleep after all…” — he whispered, glancing at Mayuri.

Mayuri was already awake. She sat with her eyes closed, murmuring something under her breath. Her hair fluttered in the wind like shadowy strands, and remnants of violet energy swirled around her.

“I don’t like it when people stare,” she said.

“And I don’t like it when magic circulates like poison.” — Valdor replied calmly.

Mayuri opened her eyes and smiled.

“How did you sleep?” — she asked.

“Pretty well, but I slept better in my old bed.”

Mayuri laughed softly.

“Mayuri, I have a question…” — Valdor said. — “Why did you help me?”

Mayuri bared her arm. A mark was branded on her arm — a rune that Valdor recognized immediately.

“But that’s the mark of the dragon… But how… why?”

“Queen Elen knew my master, and then, after you were put to sleep, your mother bestowed the Mark of the Dragon upon me. She said, ‘Wake him when the world begins to rot again.’”

Valdor narrowed his eyes.

“Mom…” — he whispered.

Mayuri looked at him calmly.

“Your mother knew that one day the moment would come when you would have to wake up.”

Valdor clenched his fists.

“Why didn’t she tell me anything about this…?”

“Perhaps because she knew you wouldn’t have been ready then.”

Valdor looked at his hand.

“So all this time… she’s been waiting for this moment.”

Mayuri nodded.

“And it looks like that moment has just arrived.”

Suddenly, the ground shook.

A cloud of dust approached from the distance. Valdor immediately stood up.

“Someone’s following us.”

Mayuri nodded.

Three armed men emerged from the fog. They were clad in black cloaks, and the symbols of the Empire were emblazoned on their chests.

“Prince Valdor…” — one of them said. — “You’ve returned from the dead only to die again.”

Valdor lowered his gaze.

Images of war flashed through his mind. Fire, screams, and the faces of the people he had failed to save.

“Not this time…” — he said quietly. — “I’ll kill you all.”

He looked up.

Valdor drew his sword, which immediately burst into flames.

“Mayuri, don’t interfere…” he whispered.

“I wasn’t going to.”

The next moment, Valdor charged.

The fight was over quickly.

He moved instinctively. The movements he’d known since childhood returned with renewed strength. His opponents weren’t ordinary soldiers — they belonged to the Black Guard, an elite unit of the Empire.

The first fell, his chest scorched.

The second screamed, clutching his eyes.

The third...

Vanished.

Valdor turned toward Mayuri.

“I told you not to interfere. Why did you kill him?”

Mayuri looked at him with a cold gaze.

“I just showed him what his fear looks like.”

“Darkness…” — she added.

Valdor froze.

His eyes widened.

“You…”

Mayuri didn't say anything.

Valdor stood in the middle of the devastated clearing. He sheathed his sword and turned toward the ruins of the old castle.

There was silence for a moment.

“This is just the beginning...” — he said quietly. — “The land of ashes will burn once more.”