Riven was still standing in front of the house when the golden light from the summit of Mount Arka slowly faded away. The roar had also vanished, but the tension had not left the village. The villagers were still gathered in the street, asking one another questions with pale faces. Some carried torches and stood watch in front of their homes.
“Come inside,” Darvan said.
Riven gripped the red stone he had found earlier. He hid it in his pocket before following his father.
As soon as the door closed, Darvan immediately locked the bar.
“Dad, what really happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie.”
Darvan stared at his son with a hard expression.
“Riven, tonight isn’t the right time for questions.”
“Now is exactly the right time. I saw a dragon.”
Darvan fell silent.
“It wasn’t just me. Everyone saw it.”
“I know.”
That answer only made Riven more confused.
“You know?”
Darvan walked to the table and slowly sat down. He rested both hands on its wooden surface.
“Long ago, before you were born, I saw that creature.”
Riven pulled out a chair and sat across from him.
“On Mount Arka?”
Darvan nodded.
“I was almost your age back then.”
“Why have you never told me?”
“Because I hoped you would never see it.”
Riven took the red stone from his pocket. The object’s faint glow immediately changed Darvan’s expression.
“Where did you get that?”
“It fell from the sky.”
Darvan shot to his feet, sending his chair scraping backward.
“Don’t touch it again!”
Riven instinctively pulled his hand away.
“Why?”
“That isn’t an ordinary stone.”
Darvan took a thick cloth from the cabinet and wrapped the object in it.
“It’s called Dragon Coal. At least, that’s what people called it long ago.”
Riven stared at his father.
“What does it have to do with the dragon?”
“The stone only appears when the mountain’s guardian awakens.”
“The guardian?”
Darvan nodded.
“The dragon you saw isn’t just an animal.”
Riven swallowed.
“Then what is it?”
Darvan looked toward the window.
“It’s the Guardian of Mount Arka.”
The night wind swayed the trees outside.
“Guardian of what?” Riven asked.
Darvan did not answer right away.
“Something far more dangerous than a volcanic eruption.”
Riven was about to ask another question when a knock sounded at the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Darvan immediately grabbed the ax hanging on the wall.
“Who is it?”
“Open up! It’s me!”
Nara’s voice came from outside.
Darvan opened the door a crack.
Nara entered with a panicked look on her face.
“Mr. Darvan, the village chief told everyone to gather at the village hall.”
“Why?”
“The ground east of the village has cracked. Smoke is coming up from underneath it.”
Darvan sighed.
“Go with the other villagers.”
Nara shook her head.
“I want Riven to come too.”
“No.”
Riven immediately stood.
“I’m coming.”
Darvan gave him a sharp look.
“Riven.”
“If everyone’s going, I need to help too.”
“You don’t know what’s happening.”
“Then tell me.”
Darvan was silent for a long moment.
At last, he took a heavy jacket and handed it to Riven.
“Don’t stray far from me.”
The three of them headed for the village hall. Along the way, Riven saw several cracks splitting the ground. Thin smoke seeped from the fissures. The smell of sulfur grew stronger and stronger.
In front of the village hall, Village Chief Ardan was speaking with several guards. Egan stood beside him, gazing at the mountain.
“You’re here,” Ardan said.
Darvan nodded.
“What happened?”
Ardan pointed east.
“The cracks appeared about half an hour ago. There’s no lava, but the temperature is rising.”
Egan suddenly spoke. “This isn’t an ordinary eruption.”
Everyone turned toward him.
“What do you mean?” Ardan asked.
Egan pointed to the summit of Mount Arka.
“That mountain is opening its path.”
A villager named Bram let out a nervous laugh.
“A path to where?”
Egan looked at him.
“To the place we’ve avoided all these years.”
No one laughed again.
Riven studied Egan’s face. The old man looked terrified.
“Mr. Egan,” Riven said, “what’s inside the mountain?”
Egan looked at him.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“I’ve already seen the dragon.”
Egan sighed.
“Then it’s all begun.”
Darvan immediately stepped closer.
“Egan.”
“I don’t have a choice anymore, Darvan.”
Riven looked at the two men.
“You know each other.”
Darvan did not answer.
Egan said instead, “Your father used to be part of the mountain’s guardians.”
Riven froze.
“What?”
Darvan closed his eyes.
“Egan…”
“He has a right to know.”
“Dad?”
Darvan finally looked at Riven.
“There used to be a group tasked with guarding the secrets of Mount Arka. I was one of its members.”
Riven felt his chest tighten.
“Why did you quit?”
“Because of your mother.”
Riven fell silent.
Egan added, “Your mother wasn’t an ordinary person.”
Darvan cut him off immediately.
“Enough.”
But Riven refused to back down.
“What does that mean?”
Before he could get an answer, the ground suddenly shook.
Everyone screamed.
A massive crack opened in the middle of the road.
Bram fell and would have nearly gone into the fissure if Nara hadn’t grabbed his hand.
“Hold on!” Nara shouted.
Riven helped a small child move away from the crack.
Then a rumbling sound came from the direction of the mountain.
The clouds above Mount Arka turned red.
Egan stared at the summit, his face pale.
“It’s fully awake.”
“Who?” Riven asked.
“The dragon.”
Two enormous wings appeared from behind the clouds.
The black dragon from earlier took flight again.
But this time, something was different.
One of its sides was wounded. Bright red blood dripped from its body, turning into sparks of fire before touching the ground.
The dragon flew low over the village.
Everyone fell to their knees in terror.
Riven, however, remained standing.
The creature stopped in the air directly above him.
Its golden eyes stared at Riven.
Then a voice sounded inside his head.
You carry my fragment.
Riven gripped the pocket of his jacket.
“What do you want from me?”
The dragon did not move.
The voice came again.
Return it before they find it.
Riven raised his head.
“Who are they?”
The dragon suddenly turned toward the north.
Its roar rang out.
Far away among the mountains, several red lights appeared.
Egan immediately stood.
“That’s impossible.”
Ardan looked at him.
“What?”
“The hunting party.”
Darvan tightened his grip on his ax.
“They found this mountain.”
Nara looked north.
“Who are they?”
Egan answered in a low voice.
“People who have hunted dragons for decades.”
Riven looked back up at the creature in the sky.
The dragon beat its wings and flew toward Mount Arka.
Before disappearing behind the clouds, the voice sounded again.
Come before dawn.
Riven fell silent.
He knew the message was meant for him.
But before he could say anything, Darvan was already standing in front of him.
“You’re not going.”
Riven looked at his father.
“You know I have to go.”
“No.”
“If I don’t go, what happens?”
Darvan did not answer.
Riven stepped closer.
“You said there’s something more dangerous than an eruption inside the mountain. Now the hunters are coming. If I just stand by, the village will still be in danger.”
Darvan gripped his son’s shoulder.
“I lost your mother because of that mountain.”
Riven stared at him in shock.
“What?”
“And I don’t want to lose you too.”
Darvan’s voice trembled.
For the first time, Riven saw the true fear on his father’s face.
Yet deep inside his jacket pocket, the Dragon Coal began to glow again.
Its light pierced through the cloth.
Riven looked at Mount Arka.
Behind the clouds, a pair of golden eyes appeared again.
That night, for the first time in years, the path to Mount Arka opened.
And Riven knew that sooner or later, he would have to climb it.