Ash hung in the air like a memory. The ruins of the settlement the party was passing through still smoldered with the heat of unquenched pain. The red glow of the afternoon sun lent the ruins a deceptive warmth, but what remained of this place was dead.

Arwen knelt down, running her hand over the scorched circle.

“Only shadows remain here, too…” — she whispered, more to herself than to her companions.

Valdor picked up a charred toy from the ground. A small dragon, made of wood and leather, crumbled to ash beneath his fingers.

“They even kill memories…”

Mayuri remained silent.

A rustling sound came from behind the ruins. Kael spun around instantly, standing at the ready. Valdor gripped the hilt of his sword. A figure emerged from the ashes — a boy with burning hands and sparkling eyes.

“Too loud for the dead.” — he snapped.

“We’re not looking for a fight.” — Valdor said calmly, without reaching for his weapon.

“I’ve heard the same thing from those I later had to bury.” — the boy replied with a smile full of anger.

The flames around his hands flared more intensely. The ground trembled. The boy struck with a wave of fire. Mayuri raised a barrier of shadow, protecting the team. Kael and Arwen stood ready to counterattack.

Valdor didn’t flinch. Walking through the fire, he looked the boy straight in the eyes. The heat didn’t burn him — as if the fire recognized him.

“What…? You too…?” — Noah froze.

Mayuri took a step forward.

“We’re not from the Empire. We’re not pawns.”

Noah stared at her for a long moment. Finally, he took a deep breath.

Valdor stepped closer to him and grabbed him by the arm.

“Enough. You’re either with us… or against us.”

Noah raised an eyebrow, as if he were about to make a sarcastic remark… but his lips remained sealed. He looked Valdor in the eyes.

He saw no mercy there. No compassion. No contempt.

Only the pure, burning truth — unmasked, unmanipulated.

“This guy isn’t bluffing…” — the thought flashed through his mind. — “But he’s not looking at me like I’m a weapon. Just like someone who still has a choice.”

His fists twitched, and the flames died down.

“Tch… Damn it.” — he muttered. — “I think I just let myself be convinced.”

“But if it turns out this is all a lie… I’ll burn you all without a second thought.”

That evening, they sat by the campfire. Noah was silent for a long time, staring into the flames.

“I was one of their projects. A child of fire. An experiment of the Black Guard. They locked children like me in capsules, as if we were raw materials. Not all of us survived. The other children helped me escape…”

Everyone fell silent. The fire crackled softly, casting shadows on their faces.

“So you know how much loss hurts.” — Valdor said quietly.

“You weren’t the only one who suffered." — Arwen added.

As the group moved on, they reached an old bridge spanning a chasm. The stones creaked beneath their feet, and runes glowed among the moss.

“It’s a spell… a trap!” — Mayuri cried, coming to a halt.

“Watch out!” — Kael shouted, but it was already too late.

An explosion tore through the air, splitting them apart. Imperial soldiers rushed out from the ruins and the underbrush. A battle erupted immediately.

The enemies emerged from the forest like shadows — an Imperial unit, armed with runic spells and gauntlets bearing the Emperor’s burning mark. Shouts, commands, the roar of explosions.

Valdor shielded Kael, who could barely stand. Arwen darted sideways, her form transforming into a shadow and claws. Mayuri cast barrier after barrier, but not all of them withstood the weight of the spells. Noah responded with a wave of fire that sliced through the enemy line, incinerating two soldiers in mid-air.

“Fight together!” — roared Valdor.

The battle raged on for a long time. The enemies’ bodies fell one after another, until finally — the last of the Imperial scouts collapsed into the mud, and his amulet shattered with a crack. The silence after the clash was almost heavier than the battle itself.

Valdor stood in the midst of the destruction, covered in dust and fire. He leaned on his sword, panting heavily.

Mayuri knelt — not because of her wounds, but because of the trembling that had overtaken her. The shadow in her mind returned.

“Come back to us… daughter of the night…”

She flinched. Her body went limp. A vision of a demon emerging from the past clouded her vision.

Valdor approached, knelt beside her, and placed his hand on her shoulder — not suddenly, not forcefully. He simply was there.

“It’s not you. What they did to you doesn’t define you.”

Mayuri didn’t answer, but she nestled against him without a word. Tears streamed silently down her cheeks. Valdor let her cry. He said nothing more.

Later, by the campfire

The team gathered around him.

“I won’t sheathe my sword… until we reclaim the Kingdom of Dragons.”

Noah raised an eyebrow in appreciation, smiling to himself.

“Finally, someone who speaks my language.”

Kael sketched a route in the sand.

“The Ruins of the Fortress — ruined, yes, but there’s still an Imperial base there…”

From a distance, a shadow watched them from a hill. A man wearing an Imperial signet ring sent a message through a magic mirror.

“They’re near the Fortress. Intercept them.”

When they arrived at dawn, the Fortress rose from the ground like the fangs of a dead dragon. Stone statues were covered in moss, and ancient magic hung in the air.

Mayuri stopped suddenly, sensing something.

“It’s a magical field… very old.

“Don’t touch anything.” — Kael shouted, but Noah had already brushed against a hidden marker.

The ground exploded.

Valdor, Mayuri, and Arwen were hurled inward, falling into the Hall of Mirrors. Noah and Kael were separated, ending up in a dark tunnel.

“Great.” — Kael muttered.

The Hall of Reflections was surreal. Illusions stretched out in every direction, blending memories and visions.

Mayuri approached one of the mirrors. In the reflection, she saw herself as a child—pale, her eyes full of fear. Around her were runes, capsules, and cold.

Her mother’s voice echoed in her head:

“You are our vessel… our last legacy…”

Mayuri shuddered, but this time she did not step back.

“I am not yours.” — she whispered. — “Not anymore.”

Valdor, standing beside her, touched the mirror. The vision struck him like a blow.

He saw his mother, fighting the legions of the Empire. Her body was wounded, but her heart — unbowed.

“You've always been a light, Valdor…” — she whispered.

He fell to his knees.

Mayuri immediately ran over and grabbed his arm.

Valdor looked at her, clearly moved.

Beside Arwen, she approached another mirror. Her vision was bloody — her sister’s body, wolf-like eyes, fire, fear.

“I swear… you won’t die in vain.” — she whispered.

The team remained silent. Each of them looked at their own reflection — and walked through their own fires.

At the same time

In the dark tunnel where Noah and Kael had ended up, the tension was palpable. The walls breathed magic, and the echo of their footsteps reverberated in their heads.

“Do you think those guys are still alive?” — Noah asked in a hushed voice.

“If anyone can survive a fall into hell, it’s them." — Kael replied, gripping the hilt of his sword more tightly.

A figure emerged from the darkness. Deep black armor, an expressionless mask, a sword dripping with ethereal fire, and a red cloak draped over his back

“That cloak… it’s the Commander… of the Elite Warriors…” — Kael whispered.

The figure didn’t say a word. It simply moved forward.

Noah and Kael braced themselves for battle.