Sleep dragged him under like a riptide.
The last thing Riel remembered was the pale curve of the moon through his window, silver light pooling on the ceiling, before the cold came. It spread the same way it always did: a creeping numbness that began at his fingertips, rising until it crushed his chest and stole his breath.
Then came the scent of rot and ash.
He opened his eyes.
The Nightmare waited.
The world was the same twisted plain; dead trees jutting from soil the colour of smoke, air trembling with a low, constant hum. But Riel didn't flinch this time. His heartbeat stayed calm.
He looked down. The crooked branch lay in its usual place, as though the dream itself wanted him to find it. He picked it up, feeling its familiar weight.
This time, he wasn't afraid.
He had hurt it before — torn its flesh, seen black mist spill like ink into water. He'd woken with the memory seared into him. The wound had been real.
He'd marked it.
The fog stirred. Something vast moved within it, slow and deliberate. A storm deciding where to fall.
The beast emerged, massive and uneven, its body pulsing like molten tar beneath torn skin.
And across its chest — a pale, jagged scar.
Riel froze. The air left his lungs in a shudder.
The injury was still there.
Hope surged through him, raw and blinding. The fear that had once ruled him turned molten in his veins. His grip tightened on the branch until it creaked.
The creature's head tilted, its shape rippling as though it recognized him.
Riel charged.
The ground trembled beneath each step. The fog parted in waves. The beast surged forward, silent and terrible, but he didn't stop.
The branch came down hard, splintering across its shoulder. A spray of black mist burst from the wound. The creature reeled, soundless but violent, like the air itself had screamed.
Riel pivoted, swung again, once, twice, each strike desperate but precise. The blows left faint streaks of grey light along the monster's flesh, proof it could bleed.
The creature lashed out. A limb the size of a tree swept through the mist, striking him square in the ribs. Pain flared white-hot as he hit the ground, the air punched from his lungs. Still, he rose, gasping, branch raised.
It came again. Riel ducked, rolled under its sweep, and drove the branch upward with everything he had. The wood bit deep, jamming into the same wound.
Black fluid splashed across him, cold, burning, alive. For an instant, a wild, terrible joy filled him. His lips twisted into a grin he didn't recognize.
The beast convulsed, its form tearing open — flickers of bone and impossible light flashing beneath. Then its arm came down like a hammer.
Riel couldn't move.
The blow struck him full force. The world cracked open, exploding into a symphony of colours and then nothing.
The darkness swallowed him whole.
He woke in his bed, drenched in sweat.
Sunlight streamed through his window, warm and golden. His breath came fast, ragged. His side ached where the monster's limb had hit. The pain felt real enough to make him check for bruises.
He trembled — not from fear, but from the truth.
The nightmare had stayed hurt.The monster had bled again.
And that meant next time… he could do more.
Riel sat up, a wild spark in his chest. Two nights in a row, he had stood his ground. Two nights in a row, he had hurt it.
He clenched his fist. It's only a matter of time.
Today was graduation.
The day the children of the Silver Veil left their safety behind to chase the heavens.
Many would stay mundane. Some would reach for strength and fall. A rare few would truly ascend.
Riel stared at the ceiling, where tiny, thousand-legged spiders scuttled in the morning light. His nails dug into his palms. He would be among the few.
Elaine wasn't coming with him and Kaelith to the Cradle of the Gods — she hadn't qualified. But she was still ascending, bound for a greater temple of her own. That was enough. They'd all make it. They had to.
---------------------------------------------
Morning light flooded the temple courtyard, turning the stone paths to gold. The air smelled of incense and rain-washed earth. Disciples gathered beneath the open sky, their silver-threaded robes catching the sun.
Today was a day of goodbyes.
Graduation.
The word didn't feel real.
Riel sat with Kaelith and Elaine, the three of them watching their classmates embrace, weep, and laugh. None of them spoke for a long while. This was the end of the easy days — the beginning of the climb.
Kaelith was grinning, of course, his claymore strapped lazily across his back as if it were an afterthought. Elaine stood a little apart, her hands clasped before her, eyes tracing the horizon where she could spot the faintest light of silver, her future temple was far off in the distance its holy spires piercing through the air, the Temple of Dreams.
"Guess this is it," Kaelith said, his voice warm but threaded with something that wasn't quite cheer.
Elaine turned to him with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "You make it sound like we're never seeing each other again."
Kaelith's grin softened. "You're off to the Temple of Dreams, Elaine. That's one of the higher branches. You'll be surrounded by scholars and mystics who'll probably drive you insane in a week. Meanwhile, Riel and I get to wrestle nightmares and burn our eyebrows off at the Cradle. Lucky us."
Elaine laughed quietly. "I'll take the madness over burned eyebrows."
Riel watched them, silent for a moment. He still hadn't slept properly since the last nightmare — or maybe he had, but the line between waking and dreaming felt thinner than ever. Yet here, in the morning light, with Kaelith's easy humor and Elaine's shy laughter, it felt almost… far away.
Kaelith turned toward Elaine, his grin giving way to something softer, more genuine. "You know, I meant what I said before, about no one being simple."
Elaine blinked at him.
"Your parents, you, all of us — we're stories in the making. You said you just wanted to shine? You already do." He reached out and gently tapped the pendant at her neck, the small silver charm every Moon disciple received. "Don't let anyone dim that. You've got the kind of quiet fire most people never notice until it's too bright to look at."
Elaine's cheeks colored faintly. "Kaelith, you always say things that sound like they came out of a book."
"Maybe," he said with a smirk. "But I mean them."
She looked away, smiling, and Kaelith stretched, groaning dramatically. "Promise you'll make it to the top of the Temple of Dreams before I reach Principal rank in the Cradle. That way I can say I knew someone famous."
"You won't have to wait that long," she said. "You'll get their first."
"Ha. I doubt it."
A few paces away, Edris approached, his expression as unreadable as ever. His robes were pristine, his silver insignia gleaming — one of the top graduates, naturally. His eyes swept over the three of them, pausing on Riel just long enough for the moment to sting.
"So the temple sends its strays to their proper corners," he said lightly. "The Dreamer to her tower, the orphan to his gods, and the fool to whatever pit he falls into next."
Riel tensed, but Kaelith only smiled. "Careful, Edris. One day one of us might be the one saving your pompous hide."
Edris's lip curled, but he didn't rise to it. "Try not to embarrass the Silver Veil, Kaelith. Or yourself." With that, he turned and walked off, his presence leaving a trail of cold air behind him.
Elaine exhaled softly. "He'll never change."
Kaelith shrugged. "People like him are why we need to."
Riel found himself smiling faintly, just watching them both, Kaelith's fire, Elaine's warmth. A part of him wanted to freeze this moment, hold onto it like a talisman against the nightmares waiting in his sleep.
A chime rang through the courtyard, deep and resonant. The final call.
Elaine turned toward them, her expression brightening even as her eyes glistened. "We'll meet again," she said. "No matter where we end up."
Kaelith nodded. "Count on it." He extended his hand, palm open.
Elaine placed hers atop his, and after a heartbeat, Riel added his.
Three hands. One calloused, one soft, one trembling faintly but steady.
"We walk separate paths," Kaelith said quietly, "but under the same sky."
The breeze stirred, carrying the scent of flowers and incense, the sound of chanting from distant halls. The sun climbed higher, setting their silver insignias alight.
Elaine smiled through her tears. "Under the same sky."
They let go, and for a moment, Riel thought he saw it, a flicker of silver light between their palms, faint as breath but real.
As the crowd began to move, Kaelith turned to Riel, clapping him on the shoulder. "Ready to meet the gods, partner?"
Riel hesitated, then nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be."
Kaelith grinned. "Then let's go make them remember our names."
Together, they walked toward the waiting carriages — toward the Cradle of the Gods — while Elaine stood watching, the wind tugging at her robes, whispering through the courtyard like a farewell.