The Ash Moon was gone.
In its place, a blood-red sun rose low over the treetops, turning the world crimson. Coker blinked into the light, confused. Had the moon disappeared? Or had something just taken its place?
His skin itched. The mark on his chest throbbed like a second heartbeat. His fingers were still pulsing from before, like the power inside him hadn't calmed—it had just paused.
He walked down the slope of the hill, dust swirling at his feet. The forest behind him groaned. The trees were no longer just trees. They twisted slowly, branches twitching like fingers. He didn't look back.
He couldn't.
---
At the base of the hill was a small stream. It should've been clear.
But today, it ran dark.
Black water. Thick. Almost like oil.
Coker knelt by it, dipped his fingers in.
The water hissed and turned red where he touched it.
He stared. "This place... it's changing because of me."
Behind him, a voice answered.
"No. It's returning to what it once was."
Coker spun, ready to strike.
But it was only a girl. Maybe thirteen or fourteen. Pale hair, skin like marble, eyes glowing soft violet. She wore no shoes and carried a small bell on her wrist.
"Who are you?"
"I'm called Lilin," she said, voice as calm as sleep. "And I came to find you."
Coker narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
"Because you're waking up wrong."
---
They walked together through the burning woods. Flames danced between trees, but never touched them.
Lilin explained slowly.
"You're not supposed to unlock the seal this early. The world isn't ready."
"I didn't ask to unlock anything."
She looked at him. "You dreamed of the throne, didn't you?"
Coker stopped walking.
"Yes."
"That wasn't a dream. That was a memory."
---
They came to a clearing filled with statues. Dozens. Maybe hundreds.
Each one frozen in battle poses. Some with weapons, some with open hands, some kneeling. All made of stone.
Coker stepped closer to one.
"This one looks real."
Lilin nodded. "They were. Your old army. The ones who followed you to the end."
"I turned them to stone?"
"No. They turned themselves to stone. To wait for you."
Coker felt cold. "Why?"
"Because they believed you'd come back. And you did."
The mark on his chest flared. All the statues glowed faintly.
Then one… blinked.
---
Stone cracked.
One soldier moved. Then another. Then another.
In seconds, dozens of warriors stood, breathing heavily, armor still gleaming beneath dust.
They knelt.
"All hail the Devourer of Fate."
Coker backed away. "Stop. I'm not—"
"You are," said Lilin. "And now, your army walks again."
The earth trembled. Trees bent outward. A wind howled through the sky.
The air split.
A golden chariot descended from the clouds.
Inside it stood a woman in white armor, her wings glowing like fire.
"The Heavens have seen your rise," she called. "Coker of the Unwritten Path, you must surrender your power. Or face judgment."
He stepped forward.
"No."
Light blasted from the sky.
His soldiers rose.
Coker raised his hand.
A wall of black flame exploded upward, swallowing the light whole.
The woman gasped.
"You've already awakened too far…"
---
In a chamber far away, the blind priest clutched a scroll. His fingers trembled.
"The sky has shifted. The past is no longer in the past."
In the mirror beside him, Mina appeared.
She was crying.
"He's changing, isn't he?"
The priest nodded. "He is remembering. And if he fully remembers… not even time will hold him."
---
Back in the forest, the golden chariot vanished. The winged woman fled.
Coker stood alone with Lilin and the waking army.
He clenched his fists.
Power surged again.
His voice, when he spoke, was layered. Two voices. His own... and another older one.
"I will not run anymore. I will not forget again."
He raised his hand.
The statues still in stone began to crack.
More soldiers awakened.
The Devourer walked forward.
And the world tilted.
Everything had changed.