The hidden passage descended deeper into the heart of Mount Arka. The stone walls around them were covered in ancient carvings that told stories of humans and dragons from the past.
Each step Riven took felt heavier.
Not because the path was difficult.
But because every carving they passed made him understand more and more that his entire life had been filled with secrets.
Nara walked beside him, watching Riven's face.
"Are you still thinking about your mother?"
Riven did not answer right away.
"Yeah."
"After everything that happened, what do you feel most?"
Riven looked at the Dragon Coal in his hand.
"I'm glad I got to hear her voice."
He stopped for a moment.
"But I also feel sad."
Nara turned toward him.
"Why?"
"Because all this time, I had so many questions. And when I finally got the chance to ask them, the time was too short."
Nara gave him a faint smile.
"Maybe a mother can't always give you all the answers."
Riven looked at her.
"But she can give you a reason to keep moving forward."
Nara's words left Riven silent.
Up ahead, Egan stopped.
"We're almost there."
Riven saw a massive stone door standing at the end of the passage.
The door bore the symbol of a dragon with red eyes.
Egan approached and brushed the dust from its surface.
"This is the door to the heart of Mount Arka."
"How do we open it?" Nara asked.
Egan looked at Riven.
"The stone."
Riven approached the door.
The Dragon Coal in his hand began to react.
But before he could press the stone against it, a rumbling sound came from behind them.
The ground shook violently.
Several rocks fell from the ceiling.
Nara immediately pulled Riven away.
"What was that?"
Egan stared down the passage they had just crossed.
"Someone followed us."
Footsteps echoed in the distance.
Slow.
Heavy.
Then a figure in dark armor appeared.
Kael.
Behind him were only a few dragon hunters who had managed to hold on.
Riven immediately took a defensive stance.
"You?"
Kael walked closer, carrying his spear.
"I knew you'd come here."
"You followed us?"
Kael gave a thin smile.
"I just took the same route."
Egan glared at him.
"You still don't understand what you're doing."
Kael looked at the massive door in front of them.
"I've come too far to stop now."
Riven clenched his fist.
"A lot of people could get hurt because of your ambition."
Kael looked at Riven.
"You're still too young to understand how the world works."
"And you're too arrogant to realize you could destroy it."
Silence filled the passage.
Kael slowly raised his spear.
"I didn't come here to argue."
Vareth suddenly roared from outside the mountain.
The sound shook the entire passage.
Kael turned.
"He's still holding on?"
Egan stared at him.
"Vareth won't let you take the mountain's core."
Kael chuckled.
"That's exactly why I have to take it."
He looked toward Riven.
"The stone chose you, didn't it?"
Riven did not answer.
Kael continued.
"Interesting. All this time, the Guardians hid their greatest power, only to hand it over to a child."
Nara stepped forward.
"He's not an ordinary child."
Kael looked at Nara.
"You all believe in destiny."
He shook his head.
"I believe in power."
Suddenly, the stone door behind Riven began to glow.
Everyone fell silent.
The Dragon Coal rose from Riven's hand without him realizing it.
Red light enveloped the entire chamber.
The dragon symbol on the door began to open.
Kael moved at once.
"Now!"
The dragon hunters charged forward.
But before they could reach Riven, Egan stopped them.
"I won't let you."
A battle erupted inside the narrow passage.
The clash of weapons echoed through it.
Nara helped Egan hold back the hunters trying to get closer.
Meanwhile, Riven remained standing before the door.
The light from the stone grew stronger.
Then a voice sounded from within the mountain.
An ancient, deep voice.
"The new Guardian has arrived."
Riven froze.
"Who are you?"
The stone door slowly opened.
Blinding light spilled through the gap.
Beyond the door was a vast chamber with a great ring of fire in its center.
But the fire was not what shocked Riven.
It was what lay within it.
A colossal dragon that had slept for thousands of years.
Its eyes slowly opened.
Riven stepped back.
The dragon looked at him.
"Descendant of the last Guardian."
The voice made the entire chamber tremble.
"Why have you come here?"
Riven gripped the Dragon Coal.
"I've come to stop the destruction of Mount Arka."
The dragon fell silent.
Then it slowly lowered its head.
"An answer unlike those of the humans who came before."
Riven was confused.
"What do you mean?"
The dragon looked toward the door.
"Many humans have come to ask for power."
Its gaze returned to Riven.
"But only a few have come to protect."
Behind them, Kael's voice rang out.
"Enough with the conversation."
Riven turned.
Kael stood before the open door.
His eyes were fixed on the ancient core of fire in the center of the chamber.
"Finally."
He smiled.
"That power is mine."
The ancient dragon growled.
And for the first time in thousands of years, the heart of Mount Arka truly awakened.