The sky bled pale gray as dawn pushed against the remnants of night. Mist clung low over the earth, curling around the gnarled roots and shattered stones like a ghost too stubborn to leave. The forest thinned, revealing a path once carved by something ancient—half-forgotten, overgrown, yet somehow untouched by time.
Rose walked ahead.
Alex and the Dragon Lord followed, though silence ruled the space between them. The demon’s appearance had stirred something raw—something none of them could name but all of them could feel. Even Pib was quiet now, riding curled in the crook of Rose’s arm like a wary sentinel.
She didn’t know how long they had walked. Time had blurred since she heard that voice, since her soul responded to it.
And still, she kept moving.
The Dragon Lord was the one who f
