Ashfall Ridge burned under a dying sky.
The stone spine of the mountain curved outward here, forming a natural amphitheater of black rock and fractured crystal. Lava veins glowed faintly beneath the surface, like a pulse struggling to stay steady. Lys stood at its center, cloak torn, breath shallow, the seals beneath his skin dull and aching after the battle days before.
He was not alone anymore.
To his left stood Elda, no longer the quiet caretaker of the village. She wore ash-gray robes marked with old sigils, her staff planted firmly against the stone. The air around her shimmered with layered wards—defensive magic, precise and practiced. "You should not be standing," she said without looking at him. "Your channels are still torn."
"If I sit," Lys replied, voice calm but thin, "they'll come anyway."
Behind them, Valerius adjusted the strap of a reclaimed blade—steel reforged with volcanic glass. He looked stronger now, more solid, though the shadow-veins still lingered faintly at his temples.
"You're not wrong," Valerius said. "Scouts confirmed movement on three vectors. This isn't a probe." From the ridge above, a sharp whistle cut through the heat.
A figure dropped lightly onto the stone—a girl about Lys's age, bronze-skinned, with short silver hair and eyes like stormlight. Twin crescent blades rested at her hips, humming softly.
"Took you long enough to start a war," she said. "Name's Nyra. Vanguard of the Skybound Clans."
Lys blinked. "You climb mountains just to insult people?"
Nyra smirked. "Only Dragon-born ones."
Before Lys could respond, the ground lurched.
The Great Shadow surged into view from the eastern valley, no longer subtle, no longer testing. It came in layers—Harrowed Knights at the core, flanked by dozens of lesser Eclipsed, their forms sharper now, more stable.
"They've adapted," Elda said grimly. "Your resonance taught them how." A deep, distorted horn sounded from within the shadow.
The charge began.
"Positions!" Valerius shouted.
The first wave hit the ridge like a tide of broken night.
Nyra moved first—vanishing in a crack of displaced air, reappearing atop a leaping Eclipsed. Her blades flashed, cutting between states, severing shadow from form. The creature collapsed mid-lunge.
Elda slammed her staff into the ground.
"Circle of Seven—anchor!"
Runes flared beneath them, locking the stone into reality. The distortion lessened, just enough for Lys to breathe.
He stepped forward, heart hammering.
Careful, the Dragon warned. Your limits remain.
"I know," Lys answered silently. "But so do theirs."
He opened the second seal—fully this time.Fire did not erupt outward.
It flowed through him.
Lys raised his hand and pulled.
The heat from the lava veins surged upward, answering his call. A river of molten light burst from the ridge, sweeping through the charging Eclipsed. Some disintegrated instantly. Others screamed—not in pain, but in recognition.One Harrowed Knight broke through, larger than the rest, its armor etched with ancient sigils that resisted the heat. It raised its blade and brought it down toward Lys.
Valerius intercepted.
Steel met shadow with a sound like breaking bells. Valerius was thrown back, skidding across the stone, but the blow deflected just enough.
Lys did not hesitate.He stepped in close—too close—and placed his palm against the Knight's chest.
"Remember," he whispered.
Light surged—not destructive, but revealing.For a split second, Lys saw a face beneath the armor. Human. Terrified.
Then the resonance collapsed inward, and the Knight fell apart, empty.
Lys staggered.
Nyra caught him before he fell. "You're insane," she said, breathless. "I like that. But you're burning out."
"I just need—" Lys began.
"No," Elda snapped. "You need to live."
The shadow began to pull back again, slower this time, reluctant.
Not defeated—but measuring.
As silence fell over Ashfall Ridge, Lys looked at the people around him—not followers, not legends, but fighters who had chosen to stand.For the first time, the weight on his chest eased—not because the war was over, but because he was no longer carrying it alone.
Far beyond the mountain, deep within the shadow's heart, something shifted its focus.
The Dragon had allies now.
And that changed everything.