Jackie and the team emerged from Hollowspire at dawn, firelight dancing behind them as the ancient stairs resealed beneath moss and silence.
She didn't say a word on the way back.
She didn't need to.
> The others felt it too.
Valecrown wasn't just a vault—it was a legacy that didn't want to be remembered.
And to unlock it…
> Jackie would need something only one being in the world could still give her.
---
🜂 Return to the Circle
When they returned, Vael'tharuun was waiting.
Perched atop the crag near the broken Warden tower, his massive wings tucked, golden eyes half-closed—like he'd known they'd be back.
Jackie approached alone.
> "You knew about Valecrown."
The dragon didn't move.
> "You knew Jazira left a second key."
Vael'tharuun slowly opened his eyes. His voice was low thunder, coiled with old pain.
> "She asked me to guard the flame.
Not to spread it."
> "And now... you would break her seal."
Jackie didn't flinch.
> "No. I'm not breaking it.
I'm answering it."
---
🜂 A Piece of the Flame
Vael'tharuun finally lowered his head.
A heavy sigh rattled through his chest. Smoke trailed from his nostrils.
> "She gave me one fang. Pulled from her own mouth the night before the war began."
> "She said: 'If I fall, and the fire forgets… remind it.'"
He raised one claw—and from beneath the earth, a stone box emerged.
Inside it:
> A dragon's tooth—long, obsidian at the root, gold-veined near the point.
Still warm.
Still alive with ancient fire.
Jackie reached out, hand trembling slightly, and took it.
> "Thank you," she whispered.
Vael'tharuun closed his eyes again.
> "If you open Valecrown…
You'll see the parts of her that didn't survive."