Chapter 154: Ashes of Dawn
CELESTE'S POV
The nightmares came in waves.
They weren't just dreams—they were memories warped by magic and blood. I saw fire spilling from the mouths of gods, rivers of red devouring mountains, and the cold, unblinking eye of something older than time watching me through the darkness. It always ended the same way: my hands stretched out, glowing with stolen power, as a voice—my voice—called the gate open.
"You opened the gate, daughter of dusk. You called us home."
I woke with a gasp, lurching upright in my bedroll, drenched in sweat. The cold air of dawn chilled my soaked skin, but I barely noticed. My magic pulsed just beneath the surface, erratic and unstable, like it didn't know whether to shield me or consume me.
Was it the tremor of the earth or the shudder of my soul?
A soft knock at the tent flap pulled me back.
"Come in," I rasped.
