Return from the Dream Realm – A Warning and a Reckoning
Location: Ashenwell – Grim's Dorm Room, 30 Minutes Later
The light above Grim's bed flickered.
Then exploded.
He sat up in a cold sweat, his breath fogging the air despite the heat radiating off his body. Sparks hovered beside him, flickering in silence—for once—her expression unreadable.
He was back.
Thirty minutes had passed in the real world.
But inside him—it had been thirty days of war, pain, and awakening.
His left eye sparked with faint lightning. His right—glowing gold.
"You okay?" Sparks asked softly.
"No," Grim replied.
"Good. Means you didn't come back soft."
The Voice Returns – Final Words from the Dragon
The mark on his chest ignited once more—one final pulse of power—and Vortharion's voice echoed in his mind:
"You now carry dragon essence. My legacy. That of the Crimson Sovereign. The world will fear you, Flameborn... but it will also try to provoke you."
"Control your power. Especially in your duel with the thirdyear."
"Do not humiliate him. A dragon's pride must be sheathed when fire alone is enough to make others bow."
Grim sat quietly, letting the warning settle like thunder behind his ribs.
Then—Vortharion's tone changed.
"Prepare your siblings."
"The other four Guardians have awakened. They wish to see their heirs."
"Your siblings… may not survive the encounter."
"If they are found lacking, they will be cleansed."
Elsewhere – Sparks, Listening
Sparks didn't say anything.
But her glow flared, and her glitch stuttered once—like something inside her recognized the dragon's words. Or feared them.
"You gonna tell them?" she finally asked.
Grim stood, pulling his cloak around him.
"They deserve to know."
"Even if it kills them?"
He turned toward the door.
"Especially then."