The night was far too silent.
I lay down without difficulty. The exhaustion wasn't physical. It was that strange feeling of an empty mind after intense weeks.
Rai'kanna was sleeping against my arm. Elara was close to my legs. Liriel and Vespera occupied the other side of the bed.
Their breathing was calm. Rhythmic.
I closed my eyes.
Sleep came quickly.
And then I began to dream.
At first, I didn't realize it was a dream.
I was standing in the middle of a completely dark field. There was no sky. No visible ground. Just a black void all around.
I tried to take a step.
The sound of my foot touching the ground echoed far too far away.
I looked around.
Nothing.
Absolute silence.
Then I felt it.
A presence.
Heavy.
Ancient.
It didn't come from any specific direction. It was as if it were everywhere at once.
My entire body went rigid.
I knew that feeling.
It was similar to the pressure I felt before the Fifth General.
But this was different.
It was greater.
Much greater.
The air grew dense. Hard to breathe.
I tried to draw my sword.
It wasn't with me.
I looked at my hands. Empty.
The presence approached without moving.
I couldn't see anything, but I felt that something was watching me.
Then, in the middle of the void, two points of light appeared.
Eyes.
Distant.
Far too large to belong to anything human.
They slowly opened in the darkness.
Fixed on me.
My body wouldn't obey. I couldn't move.
That pressure crushed everything around.
And then the voice came.
It wasn't a normal sound.
It was as if it echoed inside my own head.
"You will have your ruin, human."
The sentence cut through my mind like a blade.
The void around me began to distort.
The ground beneath my feet cracked.
Shadows started to move around, forming shapeless figures.
I tried to step back.
My body didn't respond.
The eyes kept staring at me.
Motionless.
Unhurried.
Like someone who is certain of the outcome before it even begins.
"I am waiting."
The darkness began to rise up my legs.
Cold.
Heavy.
I tried to breathe, but no air entered.
My heart raced.
The pressure increased with every second.
I knew.
Without needing anyone to say it.
That was the Fourth General.
It wasn't imagination.
It wasn't an ordinary dream.
It was a warning.
The darkness climbed up to my chest.
I tried to force my body to move.
Nothing.
The eyes began to draw closer.
Slow.
Steady.
Dominant.
"Prepare yourself."
The entire void collapsed.
I woke up gasping for air.
I sat up in bed instantly.
My heart was beating so hard it felt like it would burst out of my chest.
Rai'kanna moved beside me.
"Takumi?"
I was covered in cold sweat.
I looked around.
Room. Wall. Window. Night.
Everything normal.
But the feeling wouldn't fade.
That didn't feel like a dream.
It felt like an encounter.
Elara lifted her head.
"What happened?"
I ran a hand over my face, trying to organize my thoughts.
"I saw him."
Silence filled the room.
Liriel slowly sat up.
"Saw who?"
I took a deep breath.
"The Fourth General."
No one spoke for a few seconds.
Vespera was the first to break the silence.
"Was it a nightmare?"
I slowly shook my head.
"It didn't feel like one."
I told them exactly what had happened.
Every detail.
The darkness. The eyes. The voice.
As I spoke, I could see from their expressions that this wasn't something ordinary.
Rai'kanna gently tightened her grip on my arm.
"That was a magical warning."
Elara agreed.
"He knows you exist."
Liriel spoke more quietly.
"And now he also knows you're preparing."
The room fell silent.
I looked at the window.
The night was still out there.
Calm.
Peaceful.
But something had changed.
The waiting was over.
He was aware.
I took a deep breath.
The fear I thought I would feel… didn't come.
In its place came a strange certainty.
The moment was approaching.
I lay down again.
Rai'kanna rested her head against my shoulder.
"Are you afraid?"
I thought for a few seconds.
"No."
And it was true.
I wasn't.
I closed my eyes again.
This time, sleep took longer to return.
But when it did, it was deep.
Without dreams.
Without darkness.
Without eyes watching me.
Just silence.
And the clear feeling that the next step had already been set.
Now, what lay ahead was inevitable.