Valdor woke up early.
Mayuri was no longer asleep. She sat with her eyes closed, whispering something under her breath. Her hair fluttered in the wind like shadowy threads, and remnants of purple energy floated around her.
— I dislike it when people stare.— she said.
— And I don't like it when magic circulates like poison — he replied calmly.
Mayuri opened her eyes. She smiled.
— You have the tongue of a dragon. Tough and proud.
— Better than having a traitor's tongue.
They fell silent.
— Why did you help me? — he finally asked.
Mayuri raised her hand. On the inside of it was a symbol —--a rune that Valdor recognized.
— The Dragon Queen... knew my master. His last wish was simple: "Wake him when the world begins to rot again."
Valdor narrowed his eyes.
— So your master knew I would return?
— No, but he believed. And sometimes that's more than hope.
Suddenly, the ground shook.
A cloud of dust was approaching from afar. Valdor stood up.
— Someone is following us.
Mayuri nodded. Three armed men emerged from the fog. Dressed in black cloaks, symbols of the empire adorned their chests.
— The fugitive Valdor.— One of them spoke up — You come back from the dead only to die again.
— Not this time.
Valdor raised his hand. His palm lit up with runes. It was time for the first real test after awakening.
— Mayuri, don't interfere.
— I wasn't going to.
The fight was quick.
Valdor moved instinctively. Moves he knew from childhood came back with force. Magic danced around his fists. His opponents were not just anyone—they were soldiers from the Black Guard, the empire's elite.
One fell with burns to his chest. The second screamed, clutching his eyes. The third...
The third one disappeared.
— You killed him?
— No. I just showed him what his fear looks like.
— Darkness?
— You.
Valdor stood back in the middle of the ruined clearing. The runes around his body glowed. The curse was broken. But another power was awakening.
— This is only the beginning, he said quietly. The land of ashes will burn again.