Riven stood motionless in the middle of the ancient temple. The voice he had just heard still echoed in his mind. It was soft and warm, yet carried an inexplicable sadness.
“My child.”
That single word was enough to make all the memories buried within him rise to the surface.
Riven had never truly known his mother. Ever since he was little, he had only heard his father’s stories about a kind woman who had left when he was too young to remember her face.
But now, for the first time, he could feel his mother’s presence.
“Mom?” he whispered.
The room fell silent again.
Nara slowly approached him.
“Riven, are you sure that voice came from here?”
Riven nodded slowly.
“I don’t know how to explain it. But I feel like… she really is my mother.”
Egan studied the carvings on the wall with a serious expression.
“I never thought this room could still be opened.”
Riven turned toward him.
“You knew about this place?”
Egan let out a long sigh.
“I know part of the story.”
“Why did everyone hide it from me?”
The question came out edged with disappointment.
Egan lowered his head.
“Because your mother asked us to.”
Riven fell silent.
“My mother?”
“Your mother knew that one day you would come here. But she didn’t want you searching for answers before the right time.”
“Why?”
“Because the answers about Mount Arka always come with danger.”
Suddenly, the Dragon Coal in Riven’s hand began to glow.
Red light filled the room.
The carving of the woman who resembled his mother slowly moved. Dust covering the wall fell away, revealing an image that had previously been hidden.
There, a woman stood beside a massive dragon.
Riven approached the wall.
“Who is this dragon?”
Egan stared at the image.
“That’s Vareth.”
Riven’s eyes widened.
“Vareth?”
“He wasn’t just the mountain’s guardian. He was also your mother’s friend.”
Nara gazed at the image in awe.
“So humans and dragons were once that close?”
Egan nodded.
“Long ago, humans and dragons protected one another. But after several kingdoms began seeking the dragons’ power, everything changed.”
Riven touched the image of his mother.
“What happened to her?”
Before Egan could answer, the light from the Dragon Coal grew stronger.
Suddenly, the shadow of a woman appeared before them.
Riven took a step back.
The figure slowly became clearer.
A woman with long hair and a gentle gaze stood before him.
Riven couldn’t say a word.
He knew that face.
The face he had only ever seen in an old painting his father owned.
“Mom…”
The figure smiled.
“Riven.”
Tears nearly fell from Riven’s eyes.
“Are you really my mother?”
The woman nodded.
“I’m part of the memory stored within the Dragon Coal.”
Riven stared at the stone in his hand.
“Why can I see you now?”
“Because the time has come.”
“What does that mean?”
His mother looked toward the trembling mountain.
“Mount Arka has opened its gates again. And someone has tried to seize a power they should never have touched.”
Riven immediately thought of Kael.
“That dragon hunter.”
His mother nodded.
“Kael is only repeating the mistake humans made long ago.”
“How do I stop him?”
The woman looked at him.
“You must carry the Dragon Coal to the heart of the mountain.”
“I will.”
“But before you do, you must learn the truth about your father.”
Riven fell silent.
“Dad?”
“Darvan was no ordinary warrior.”
Egan looked at the floor.
It seemed he already knew this.
“Your father was the last Guardian of Mount Arka.”
Riven clenched his fists.
“Why didn’t he ever tell me anything?”
“Because he wanted you to live as an ordinary human.”
“But now I have to face all of this.”
A sad smile appeared on his mother’s face.
“Fate doesn’t always choose people who are ready.”
The temple shook again.
The sound of cracking stone came from outside.
Nara looked toward the door.
“We don’t have much time.”
His mother’s shadow began to fade.
Riven panicked.
“Wait!”
The woman looked at him one last time.
“Riven.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t use this power out of anger.”
Riven remained silent.
“Use it because you want to protect something precious to you.”
The light slowly disappeared.
Riven stood alone in the same place.
But this time, his heart felt different.
He still had many questions.
About his mother.
About his father.
About why he had been chosen.
But one thing was clear.
Mount Arka did not only hold immense power.
The mountain held his family’s entire past.
“We have to keep going,” Riven said.
Nara looked at him.
“Are you sure?”
Riven tightened his grip on the Dragon Coal.
“I don’t know what’s waiting for us inside the mountain.”
He looked at the dark path leading toward the temple’s innermost chamber.
“But I won’t let everything that’s already been sacrificed be for nothing.”
Egan nodded.
“Then we’ll enter the heart of Mount Arka.”
The three of them walked toward the newly opened hidden passage.
Behind them, the ancient temple fell silent once more.
But deep within the mountain, something far greater was beginning to awaken.
And outside, Kael still stood facing the widening crack.
From within the darkness came a deep voice.
The voice of a creature that could make even dragon hunters lose their courage.
Kael stared into the chasm.
For the first time, uncertainty showed on his face.
“What have I really awakened?”