According to the current flow of events, Daniel thought, it was only a matter of time before he finally returned to Blackspire Mountain, his true home.
"Daniel, if you keep this up, you'll be home before long," he encouraged himself, pride swelling in his chest.
But just as he settled into self-congratulation, a powerful aura swept over him. His eyes snapped open, locked on the sky. Someone was approaching at terrifying speed, a presence as overwhelming as Lyralei herself—a fourth-turn Mahayana existence, at least.
Within a handful of breaths, a streak of pure white light descended and solidified in front of him. Daniel's composure wavered. His heart jumped as if pierced by thorns. The figure resolved into Althea.
For a moment, his mind refused to accept the reality: Althea, alive and standing before him.
How? How could she be back?
