**"When the gates of ash are opened, and the heart of time trembles,
One shall rise from forgetfulness, unlooked for,
To lead the unbelieved.
A girl of light,
A boy of shadow.
Their eyes shall meet where they must not,
And the first fire shall begin."**
A voice—faceless, timeless—whispered inside his head…
Then, darkness.
We fall into Leo's dream.
He was running in a void—no ground, no sky.
Shadows chased him, and voices screamed in tongues he didn't understand.
Suddenly, a girl appeared, standing still in the smoke.
Her eyes glowed like dawn, and her hair floated though no wind blew.
She reached out to him and said in a voice that echoed like memory:
— "Don't forget the gate… they… are coming."
Then the ground beneath him split open.
He fell—
And awoke.
Leo leapt from his bed, gasping.
His heart pounded like war drums.
The same dream. For the fifth time this week.
He muttered as he wiped sweat from his forehead:
"Who is she? And why does she die every time?"
Far away, across blackened mountains in the depths of Gothers, the ritual had been completed.
The magical circle burned with the color of blood, and the ancient words echoed through the ruined throne hall.
"The Raiser" said nothing.
He simply opened his eyes—for the first time in a hundred years.
One of the priests bowed so low his face touched the ground:
— "My lord, the gates are open. The realms are not waiting… they are sleeping."
The Raiser raised his finger toward the sky and said:
— "Awaken the hordes. Burn Blendria first… then Luthoria.
As for Kraken… leave it for last.
There… the Obstacle shall rise."
At that moment, while the sky still lay in darkness,
Leo felt a sharp prick in his chest.
Something inside him had shifted—
Something he didn't understand yet.
But it had begun.