Arty still stared at the wall long after waking, her breath uneven. The creature's last words clung to her thoughts and echoing.

She knew he had said something terrible, something important. But the meaning slipped through her mind. Even the memory of his voice felt faint and dissolving piece by piece.

The place she had been, the tower, the city twisted into a nightmare, everything blurred at the edges. It was drifting away and kept slipping into the dark corners of her mind where she could no longer reach it.

Fear tightened inside her chest.

"I need to write this down!" she whispered urgently to herself.

She jumped from her bed with a pounding heart, and reached for a blank book and a quill on her desk.

She sat down quickly with her hands still trembling, forcing herself to write before the memory vanished completely.

But the moment the quill touched the page, her hand froze.

She suddenly couldn't remember anything. Not the words, images, not even the fear that had been so sharp just moments ago. It all melted like smoke.

"What… what is it…?" Arty frowned deeply, trying to pull the memory back. But even her desire to remember faded in her chest, thinning into nothing.

Then a soft, sudden knock rapped on the door.

The sound jolted her. That makes everything vanish completely.

"Arty, you awake?" Erend's voice called from the hallway.

She stared at the book in front of her, blank. Completely blank. And she couldn't even remember why she wanted to write.

Her chest tightened in confusion, then slowly loosened as the urgency slipped away.

Maybe… maybe it wasn't important.

Arty exhaled shakily, closed the book, set the quill down, and walked toward the door.

"Yes I'm awake," she replied.

She opened the door and saw Erend's smiling face, warm and relieved.

"There you are," he said softly. "I was starting to get worried. You look a little pale. Did you sleep okay?"

Arty hesitated. A faint pressure lingered behind her chest, a whisper that something was wrong. But she couldn't grab it.

"I… yeah," she replied. "I think I just had a weird dream. It's nothing."

Erend's expression tightened with concern. "If something's bothering you, you can tell me, you know."

She managed a small smile. "I'm fine, really. Just tired."

Erend studied her for a moment longer. His eyes narrowed slightly as if he sensed something she couldn't voice. But he finally nodded.

"Alright. Just don't push yourself." He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Come to Sylmira's room when you're ready."

Arty nodded. "I'll get prepared."

"Good. I'll wait there with the others."

Erend stepped back, giving her one last worried look before he turned and walked down the hall.

Arty closed the door gently.

She stood there for a long moment, hand resting on the wood, feeling a hollow space inside her chest that she couldn't explain.

Something had happened. Something she needed to remember.

But no matter how hard she tried, nothing came back.

Only the faintest ghost of fear. And even that was fading.

—

Arty arrived at Sylmira's room a few minutes later, still feeling strangely hollow inside. The door stood half-open and soft murmurs drifted from within.

She pushed it gently and stepped inside.

Sylmira looked up first. The normally composed Archmage sat stiffly in her chair, hands clasped together a little too tightly.

Arty immediately understood why.

Three Dragonborns were in the room. She knew that the woman was a Dragonborn because she had the same aura as her brother and Eccar.

Erend stood near the table, Eccar leaned casually against the wall, and beside them sat a woman Arty had never seen before. She had white hair flowing like snow, blue eyes icy and sharp, her aura so cold the air around her practically shimmered.

Erend gestured toward her. "Arty, this is Aesa. She's also a Dragonborn. We met her not long ago."

Aesa gave a small nod of acknowledgement, her expression unreadable. Arty smiled politely, trying not to stare too much.

Sylmira shifted uneasily. Even though she had grown used to Erend and Eccar's presence, having a third Dragonborn in her room pushed her nerves to their limit.

Arty could practically feel the tension radiating off her. To any Mage, even seeing one Dragonborn was the stuff of legends. But three? If any Mage from the kingdom walked in now, they would faint instantly.

Arty took a seat beside Sylmira. Eccar grinned her way, and Erend offered a reassuring nod before clearing his throat.

"Alright," he began, his tone steady. "I'll explain everything, just like I told the Elf King earlier."

Arty listened. Erend spoke clearly and calmly, laying out the situation, the threat, and the plan they needed to carry out. His voice filled the room with a sense of focus and urgency.

But as she listened, Arty felt a strange sensation crawl up the back of her mind, like a shadow trying to remind her of something she had forgotten.

She blinked once.

And the feeling faded again, slipping beyond her reach.

Arty understood everything Erend explained. She had lived beside him long enough to know her brother carried strange powers, so she wasn't shocked when he mentioned a dimension that could make them stronger.

It sounded impossible to others, but to her it was simply Erend, always surprising, always pushing forward.

"We'll go there as soon as possible," Erend said firmly. "We can't waste time. Thar'Zulvekar and the others will hold back most of Zerathul's power in this world for a while, so we can rely on them for now. But like I said, they need a lot of Magic energy. We can't delay."

He turned his eyes toward Arty.

"Do you want to meet Mom first?"

"No." The answer escaped her too quickly, almost too sharp.

Erend blinked, taken aback. "Arty?"

She clenched her fists. "I want to go there as soon as possible. I need enough strength to defeat that bastard."

A faint shadow of worry flickered across Erend's face. He studied her for several seconds, as if sensing something in her tone, something she herself no longer remembered. But Arty kept her gaze steady and determined.

Finally, Erend nodded. "Alright. Get ready, everyone."

The room shifted with movement. Sylmira exhaled shakily as the reality settled in.

Their last preparations had begun.

—