The night was restless. Kaito lay beneath the dying embers of his campfire, Yù Lóng coiled like a shadow beyond the ridge. The dragon's scales glimmered faintly, reflecting starlight, yet her eyes never closed.
Sleep came in broken fragments, but when it did, it dragged him into a place colder than any mountain pass. Adrian stood there, not as Kaito remembered him — lively, brilliant, filled with light — but pale, with shadows seeping from his form like ink.
"Kaito," the ghost whispered, his voice echoing through the void. "You carry my cross, but you carry it wrongly."
Kaito reached for him, but Adrian drifted back, his figure dissolving into ash. "Tell me who betrayed you!" Kaito shouted. "Tell me so I can burn them all!"
Adrian's ghost turned, his eyes dim and sorrowful. "It is not only men who played their part… beware the fire within you, brother. It will consume more than you intend."
Kaito woke gasping, his sword in hand, the fire hissing alive with sudden flame. Yù Lóng's gaze fixed upon him. "Who spoke to you?" she asked, voice rumbling like stone.
"My brother," Kaito whispered. His hand trembled, not from fear — but from the hollow ache of being warned by the very soul he swore to avenge.