CHAPTER 1158: BURDENS

Erend sat with Adrien and Billy in the quiet meeting room of their world. He had just finished explaining everything, exactly the same way Aesa had told Adrius and Lysander.

And Adrien and Billy’s reactions were no different. In fact, theirs were worse. They were ordinary humans from a world without any Magical phenomenon, and hearing that a Dragonborn had been absorbed, that the entity had planned their arrival from the beginning... it left both of them shocked and terrified.

"What do we do now?" Billy asked. "If even you and the other Dragonborns can’t stop him, what are we supposed to do?"

Erend sighed. "I don’t know. Not right now."

Billy stood up abruptly, frustration driving him to pace around the room.

Only the three of them knew what had happened, nobody else, and that was for the best.

The room fell into a heavy silence afterward.

"I guess," Adrien finally said—his voice steady, the tone of a captain taking control. "We need to gather information first. If we don’t understand our enemy, there’s no way we’ll ever find a way to defeat him."

"But I’m afraid we’ll just walk into another trap if we try," Billy muttered.

Erend felt the same. After everything that happened, he was certain Eccar and Aesa shared that fear too.

Zerathul had fooled them once. He could fool them again.

"Shit, man... I don’t know," Erend said, the frustration clear in his voice.

He rubbed his face with both hands, exhausted beyond anything he had ever felt before.

It wasn’t surprising. He had just fought Zerathul in a desperate battle and watched Krono get absorbed before his eyes. His body and mind felt completely drained.

Adrien and Billy could see it. The exhaustion. The frustration. The weight crushed his shoulders. Things only he could truly confront. And they knew, painfully, that the scale of this threat was far beyond what they could handle.

"What’s done is done," Adrien said gently. "You can’t change any of it, Erend. Not right now."

Erend exhaled slowly and looked up at the ceiling. "You’re right, Captain," he muttered darkly.

"For now, get some rest," Billy added.

"No." Erend suddenly stood, opening a portal beside him. "I need to see Arty first then talk to my mother. And my mother."

Adrien and Billy didn’t try to stop him.

"I’ll be back soon," Erend said before stepping through the portal and vanishing.

Adrien and Billy exchanged a silent, helpless look.

—

Erend locked onto his sister’s presence and opened the portal directly to her. He arrived in a chamber he recognized—and immediately saw Arty lying on the bed. Sylmira sat beside her, and Eccar stood silently against the wall.

The portal closed behind him. The chamber was dim, lit only by a single lantern on the nightstand.

The soft glow revealed Arty’s pale face, her eyes closed, her breathing shallow but steady. Her blanket rose and fell gently against her chest.

Sylmira jolted upright when she sensed Erend’s arrival. Her eyes widened in relief and worry all at once.

"You’re here," she said.

Eccar straightened from the wall, the shadows peeling away from him. His expression was unusually grim, even for him.

Erend stepped closer to the bed, his breath catching when he saw his sister’s condition.

He crouched beside her, brushing a few strands of hair from her forehead.

"What happened to her?" His voice was low, rough.

Sylmira exchanged a brief glance with Eccar, then answered quietly.

"She collapsed not long after the battle with a being wielding storm ended. Her Magic flared violently like something inside her tried to awaken. Then it... suddenly stopped. Too suddenly."

Eccar added, "She’s stable for now. But not normal. Something changed in her during the fight with that storm avatar. Sylmira sense it herself."

Erend’s jaw clenched. "Arty... what happened to you?"

Sylmira hesitated, then spoke the thought she had been avoiding. "There’s something inside her, Erend. I’m not sure what it is. But when she fought, she wasn’t herself."

Erend’s heart tightened painfully. His hands trembled against the edge of the bed.

Erend gritted his teeth, forcing down the surge of fear clawing at his chest. He looked up at Sylmira and Eccar, searching for answers neither of them could give.

Eccar met his gaze for a moment before looking away, something rare for him. His shoulders were tense, his expression hollowed by everything he had seen.

"I don’t know what to do either," Eccar admitted quietly. "After what Zerathul did... after Krono..." He shook his head, jaw tightening. "I don’t even know what to think right now."

The room felt even colder.

Erend let out a slow, shaky breath. "I need time. I need to see my mom first. After that... we’ll talk again." He glanced at Arty, his voice cracking slightly. "I have to make sure she knows I’m alive. And that Arty is also fine."

He brushed Arty’s hand gently, his heart sinking at how cold her fingers felt.

Sylmira rose from her seat and bowed her head softly. "I understand, Erend. Go. I’ll take care of her while you’re gone."

Erend looked at her, gratitude and worry flickering in his eyes. He nodded once. "Thank you, Sylmira."

With one last lingering look at Arty, looking at her quiet breaths and her fragile stillness, he stepped back and raised his hand. The air split open into a shimmering portal.

He swallowed hard.

"I’ll be back soon," he said.

Then he stepped through, heading home to face his mother.

At that moment, Eccar froze. His eyes unfocused for a heartbeat, his expression sharpening with sudden tension. Sylmira immediately noticed.

"Eccar? What’s wrong?"

A faint echo rippled around him—telepathy. Aesa’s voice pierced directly into his mind.

"Eccar, you need to come here. Now. Adrius managed to seal the being. The thing Zerathul awakened."

Eccar’s frown deepened, not in anger but in shock.

His reply shot back through the telepathic link. "I’ll go. I’m on my way."

The connection was cut off.

He exhaled sharply and turned to Sylmira. "I have to go. Something serious is happening at Adrius’s place."

Sylmira straightened, sensing the gravity immediately. "Go, then. We’ll be fine here."

Eccar nodded with a grim edge in his eyes.

He stepped closer to Arty’s bedside for a moment. He looked at her pale face, her weak breathing. The sight tightened his chest.

Then he raised his hand. A portal blossomed open in a swirl of dark red light. He gave Sylmira one last glance, then stepped through and vanished.

—