Mount Arka continued to shake. The sound of cracking from deep within the earth grew louder, making everyone in the forest stop moving. Even the dragon hunters who had seemed confident before began to show fear on their faces.
Kael stared at the mountain peak with an unreadable expression.
“So it’s true,” he murmured.
Riven watched the man.
“You knew about this?”
Kael didn’t answer.
“Kael,” Egan said heavily. “What have you done?”
The dragon hunters’ leader smiled faintly.
“I only opened a door that had been closed for a long time.”
Egan’s expression changed.
“You don’t understand what you’ve awakened.”
“I understand more than anyone.”
Kael tightened his grip on his spear.
“For years, humans have lived in fear of dragons. They hid a great power in this mountain and called it protection. But that power could change the world.”
Vareth growled.
“Power that cannot be controlled will only destroy its owner.”
Kael looked at the dragon.
“You say that because you’re afraid of losing your power.”
“No,” Vareth replied. “I say that because I’ve seen humans destroy themselves by wanting something they had no right to possess.”
Riven watched the two of them stare each other down.
There was a long history between them.
This was more than an ordinary fight.
“What’s really inside the mountain?” Riven asked.
Vareth didn’t answer right away.
“Beneath Mount Arka lies an ancient fire core. For thousands of years, that power has been guarded so it wouldn’t fall into the wrong human hands.”
“And now that power is awakening?”
“No.”
Vareth looked toward the crater.
“Someone awakened it.”
Every eye immediately turned to Kael.
The man didn’t deny it.
“I only want to take what should belong to humanity.”
Riven clenched his fists.
“You don’t care if our village is destroyed?”
Kael gave him a cold look.
“A small sacrifice to gain great power.”
Those words only made Riven more certain that the man was dangerous.
Suddenly, a rumble came from deep within the ground.
A massive crack appeared not far from them.
Thick black smoke poured from the fissure.
Egan stepped back.
“We have to get out of here.”
“Why?” Nara asked.
“Because something’s coming out.”
Before they could move, the ground split open again.
A huge hand emerged from the crack.
It wasn’t human.
It was shaped like the claw of a gigantic creature made of dark stone.
The hunters immediately panicked.
“What is that?”
“This wasn’t part of the plan!”
Kael looked at his men as they began to retreat.
“Get back into position!”
No one listened.
They were all beginning to realize that what they had awakened was not something they could control.
Vareth spread his wings.
“Riven.”
Riven turned.
“What?”
“You have to take the Dragon Coal back to where it came from.”
“Where it came from?”
“The Heart of Mount Arka.”
Riven fell silent.
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Yes.”
“Then why do I have to go?”
Vareth looked at him.
“Because only someone whose heart has been chosen by the stone can enter that chamber.”
Riven looked at the Dragon Coal in his hand.
“Why me?”
The dragon was silent for a few moments.
“Because your mother was there once.”
Riven froze.
“My mother?”
Darvan had never told him that.
Even Egan lowered his head.
“What happened to my mother?”
Vareth lowered his head toward Riven.
“Your mother was the last guardian before your father.”
Riven’s mind filled with questions.
All this time, he had known his mother only through the brief stories his father told him. He had never known that the woman who gave birth to him had a connection to Mount Arka.
“Is she still alive?”
There was no immediate answer.
And that silence was enough for Riven to understand.
Nara touched his shoulder.
“Riven.”
Riven looked away.
“I’m fine.”
His thoughts were anything but fine.
But now wasn’t the time to search for all the answers.
Mount Arka was growing more unstable by the moment.
Vareth looked toward the path leading to the peak.
“If the mountain’s core fully opens, this entire region will change.”
Egan nodded.
“How long do we have?”
“Not long.”
Riven looked toward the village far below.
His father was there.
The people he knew were there.
He couldn’t let everything be destroyed.
“I’ll go.”
Nara immediately looked at him.
“I’m coming with you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I told you before.”
Nara crossed her arms.
“I’m not good at leaving a friend in trouble.”
Riven smiled faintly.
“Thank you.”
Egan stepped forward as well.
“I’ll show you the way to the chamber beneath the mountain.”
Riven looked at him.
“You too, Mr. Egan?”
“I’ve carried this secret for too long.”
Egan looked toward Mount Arka.
“Maybe it’s time for the whole truth to come out.”
Vareth then turned his gaze to Kael.
“And you.”
Kael raised his spear.
“I’m not finished.”
“You will stop.”
“I’ll take that power.”
Before Kael could attack, Vareth swept his wings.
A powerful gust slammed into the ground.
Kael and his hunters were blown backward.
“Go,” Vareth told Riven.
Riven, Nara, and Egan immediately headed up the path toward the peak.
They passed through the forest, which was beginning to change. The plants that were usually green had begun to wither. The rocks around them felt hot.
The higher they climbed, the harder it became to breathe.
But Riven kept walking.
Along the way, they found an old building almost completely buried beneath rocks.
Egan stopped.
“We’re here.”
Riven looked at the building.
“What is this?”
“The Guardian Temple.”
They entered slowly.
Inside were numerous carvings of dragons and humans standing side by side.
Riven approached one of the carvings.
It depicted a woman carrying the same red stone he had.
Riven touched the carving.
His expression immediately changed.
“That’s…”
Egan looked at him.
“You know that person.”
Riven didn’t answer.
His eyes were fixed on the woman’s face in the carving.
Because even though many years had passed, he still recognized that face.
“That’s my mother.”
Suddenly, the entire temple began to shake.
A soft voice echoed from somewhere inside the chamber.
A voice he had never heard directly before.
And yet, for some reason, it felt deeply familiar.
“Riven.”
His body went rigid.
Nara looked at him.
“You heard something?”
Riven stared into the dark chamber ahead.
“Yes.”
The voice came again.
“My son.”
Riven couldn’t move.
For the first time in his life, he heard his mother’s voice.