The Dominion Council's chamber echoed in silence, save for the soft shimmer of the constellations spinning overhead.
Erza stood alone in the celestial amphitheater, the warmth of the Leo constellation still humming across his skin. His Aura Flare had stunned the council, but it had also exposed him—for better or worse.
He wasn't just some surviving prince anymore.
He was a sovereign flame the stars had noticed.
Across from him, Lord Virell of Capricorn spoke, his voice even and deliberate.
"You've proven your spark, Erza Black. But there are still those who wonder if your flame is guided by justice... or vengeance."
Erza didn't flinch. "Both."
Virell's fingers tapped his throne's armrest. "Then let's hope one doesn't consume the other."
From the side, Vel Saelis of Gemini gave a half-smile. "If nothing else, your presence burns assumptions. The Leo bloodline was thought extinct. Now... it flares."
"Get to the point," Erza said coldly. "Why summon me here? You've already tried to bury Leo's legacy. I'm not here for applause."
That caught Scorpio's attention. The woman in black leaned forward, voice like a whisper through poison.
"He has his father's defiance."
And then, with the faintest shift of tone, Virell spoke the words Erza had been waiting for:
"A second Gate has opened. In Elarin. The Cancer Gate."
The room dimmed. Above them, the Cancer constellation twisted unnaturally—its form flickering, half-inverted. The stars pulsed like infected wounds.
"We lost contact with the region forty-eight hours ago," Virell continued. "No survivors. No transmissions. Just dreams. Bad ones."
Vel Saelis tapped her twin rings together. "The Dominion Council would like you to go. Not as a pawn... but as a test."
Erza frowned. "Test?"
"Leo's Mythos Sync is still unstable," said Pisces' high seer, Aravell, eyes half-lidded in distant vision. "But the Cancer Gate is not just a battlefield. It's a battlefield of minds."
"A dream war," Erza said grimly.
"Yes. And we're sending you into it."
Later – Camp Outside the Hall of Stars
Auren tossed Erza a small data crystal, projecting a city map of Elarin. The streets twisted like veins—unnatural, organic.
"That's not city planning," Lysra muttered, brushing her hand over the projection. "That's cancerous growth. Astral corruption."
"Memory warping," Seris added. "Cancer is tied to the subconscious. The city itself may be dreaming. And the people trapped inside are reliving their worst moments."
Korr grunted, tying his blade to his back. "We need anchors. If we lose ourselves in that Gate, we may never wake."
Erza nodded. "Then we anchor to each other."
They began preparing the Gate infiltration packs—tether seals, consciousness wards, ether-suppressors.
But something gnawed at Erza.
He turned his gaze to the distant sky where the Cancer Gate bled faint violet light into the starscape.
It wanted him.
He could feel it.
Elsewhere – Noctyros Depths
Deep within the belly of the Shadow Realm, Noctharion, the Inverted King, stood before the Dream Lich—Cancer's ancient gate avatar.
The Dream Lich's voice bled through parchment and smoke.
"The boy burns bright. Too bright. He will come. He will bleed."
Noctharion's eyes narrowed. "Let him. Dreams are fragile. So is hope."
Back at the Gate — Night Before Entry
Erza stood on the ridge alone, the stars above him blurred with motion. The Leo constellation burned higher than the others tonight.
"Is this what you chose me for?" he whispered aloud. "To be your flame… or your funeral?"
He closed his eyes, listening to the pulse of his aura. Warm, fierce, alive.
He wouldn't be consumed by dreams.
He'd set them ablaze.
End of Chapter 22