Caim and Storm were quiet for a long while, each mourning the passing of Galfanon in their own different ways. After a time, Caim laid several bright blue flowers beside Galfanon’s body, and Storm walked over to the edge of the lake and stared at the Great Tree, whispering to the wind and paying his respects. At times, they thought they heard strange sounds from Neverend, as if Kreitos hadn’t truly left them, and was simply waiting for them to put down their guard, but nothing came of it.

They didn’t know what Galfanon meant by bequeathing his greatest gift. Ultimately, Caim decided that the greatest gift Galfanon could offer them was the meat from his body. The two decided that they would eat the creature and respect his wishes, for his strength would become one with their own. Such was the way of their world. Storm was unsure if that was what Galfanon was actually implying, but decided that it was indeed one way to honor the fallen creature; his strength would pass forth unto them, and the cycle of Éién would live on.

After they came to that conclusion, the two bathed in the cold waters of Senyria, which had mysterious healing properties and regenerated them both back to full energy. It was believed across their lands that the Goddess of Life had created Senyria of her own tears, and because of that, it could heal any wound that hadn’t already pushed one into the clutches of Death; for that was the only place her light grew dim. Standing shirtless in the shallows of the lake, Storm gazed up at the distant stars, reminiscing over all that had passed.

What did he mean by, ‘light fades in the star ocean’? Storm pondered Galfanon’s last words.

After a few minutes of resting in the water, Storm clothed himself and entered the forest in search of wood to fuel the fire. Caim stayed alongside Galfanon’s body, ready to protect it with his life. They still weren’t convinced that Kreitos was gone, so Storm stayed close to the edges of Neverend.

“I’m sorry,” whispered Storm, stacking another piece of wood over his shoulder. “I—I wasn’t strong enough.” He clenched his fist. “And all because I wanted to win a stupid race. I told you, old man . . . heroes only exist in your fairy tales. The real world is cruel and unforgiving.”

It wasn’t long before they had a warm fire crackling. The glowing embers lit up their surroundings, causing flickers of light to dance into the night. They roasted giant chunks of meat on sharpened branches, and the mouthwatering smell lured hundreds of tiny creatures from the forest, though none of them ventured close enough to be seen. The parts of Galfanon they did not eat began to fade slowly, dissipating into crystal shards of energy that rose up to the sky. They knew the energy of Galfanon was returning to Soria, for Ronin had told them many times that the cycle of life and death curved like a ring.

‘All things in existence must follow this cycle.’ Storm could hear Ronin’s voice in his mind. ‘It is the great law of the universe, of the cosmos, of all things. It is Éién itself, the one thing that always ends, yet always begins.’

Storm bit into a huge chunk of meat, still confused over the last words of Galfanon.

I wonder what he meant by ‘a great darkness will soon threaten all worlds?’ Kind of creepy.

After eating, they removed their weapons, and cleaned their blades in the water of the lake. Afterwards, they sharpened their swords with their new whetstones, noticing the strange energy that twirled around the blades as they did. Upon finishing, they rested their swords safely in their sheaths and laid them on the ground. The fire they had made was warm on their hands, and the stars were bright above, glistening like pearly gems in a blanket of darkness.

Suddenly, Caim sprang to his feet. “You cheated! You used Blood Aura in the race!”

Storm laughed. “I cheated!? You were riding a chameleoth!”

“His name was Galfungyon! And you never said I couldn’t ride a dragon!”

“What? That wasn’t even his name. It was Galfanon! And you never said we couldn’t use Limit Seals!”

“But—”

“Go to sleep, Caim. I was the first to the lake, simple as that.”

Caim whisper-cursed and fumed for a few minutes, but eventually went silent.

It was quiet for a time after that, yet Storm could not close his eyes for long, making it impossible to fall asleep. Every now and then, his eyes would glance back to Neverend, as if it were only a matter of time until the Master of the Forest reappeared to eat them.

“Storm?”

He sighed. “Thought you’d be sleeping by now, Neo.”

“Can’t sleep, I don’t know why. I guess can’t stop thinking about all the things that grandpa told us, about the world tournament, and the Dragon King . . .”

“I guess it’s hard not to think about what’s to come. It’s already been a crazy adventure out the gates for us.”

“But do you think I could do it, Storm? Become the Dragon King?”

Storm couldn’t help but smile. “It’s a myth, Caim, not that you ever had a problem believing those in the first place. You really want to ride on the backs of Night and Day, ka? You really think they’re up there right now, flying above us, eternally? Do you even remember the story of Night and Day?”

“A little bit,” said Caim. “Grandpa told us so many stories . . .”

Storm thought for a second before reaching into his inner pocket and pulling out the thin book he had brought from home, the Rings of Chaos. Sitting up so the light of the flames fell across the pages, Storm leafed through them until he found what he sought.

“Wanna hear it then?” Storm asked. “I brought the book of myths with us.”

Caim sat up on his elbows. “You brought it? Really!?”

Storm looked away, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed. “I just figured we might have some free time.”

“You know,” Caim began. “You’re actually kind of nice sometimes.”

“Don’t remind me. Just listen.” He cleared his throat, and began to read.

“‘Long ago and not too far from here rests a tale of light and dark. It is a tale of dragons, of freedom, and of love. It is the fable of Night and Day, and how they first came to be. So it was that after the splitting of Eɪᴇɴ and the birth of the new cosmos, Lady Vale first came to awaken. Upon opening her eyes and seeing nothing but darkness, for even the sun did not exist at this time, the goddess felt a sudden emptiness, and within it, she experienced her first living emotion. Loneliness.’”

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“Why was she alone?”

“Because she had just split from Death,” said Storm. “The splitting of Eɪᴇɴ.”

“What does that mean? What does Eɪᴇɴ mean?”

“In the ancient language Eɪᴇɴ means ‘one.’ Though not to be confused with Éién, which can mean ‘nature’, ‘eternity’, or ‘harmony’, or so the old man told me. Apparently, at the end of all things, Life and Death are destined to become ‘one’ again, just like they were at the beginning, and when they do, the god that is born of them is called Eɪᴇɴ, thus its name meaning ‘one’.

“Ok, so it’s like a mega god or something?”

Storm laughed. “Something like that I guess. One that brings the end of all things.”

“But what about the other word you said, Éién? How is that different?”

“I mean, I’m not really the best person to explain this honestly, but from what I understand, once Life and Death become Eɪᴇɴ, all of existence is absorbed into it, where all things find a state of harmony, or otherwise known as Éién. Even Time herself comes to slow and sleep while Éién exists. No one knows how long the state of Éién lasts. It could last an eternity, or end in a flash. But like all things, even Éién must at one point in time come to an end. So, from what I understand, near the beginning of creation, the ‘one’ that is Eɪᴇɴ awakens from the blissful state of Éién and is split back into Life and Death, reawakening Time from her deep slumber. Once Time is freed, for Time is only relevant because of the cycle of Life and Death, a new cosmos is born and the cycle repeats.”

“A new cosmos?”

“The void in which all things exist, Caim. Or the place in which Life, Death and Time create existence. The universe of universes. The great void that holds all other voids. I think the word for it in the ancient language might be Vala?”

“Wait, but you said Éién had different meanings?”

“Yeah, because we use the word in different ways, right? So, like I just said, Éién is the perfect harmony where existence sleeps, somewhere in between the destruction and creation of the cosmos, or the Vala, I guess? But then again, we also use the word Éién in other ways, like when something or someone passes away and someone says, ‘they’re returning to Éién’, which basically means, ‘returning to nature’, or ‘returning to the energy that is all things.’”

“Hmm . . .” said Caim, stroking his imaginary beard. “I don’t get it.”

Storm smiled. “I don’t think anyone truly understands it.”

“But you said that everything is going to end? Even us? Even though we are immortal?”

“Apparently nothing is eternal except for the cycle itself.”

“So, all things are going to die?”

“If the legends are true.”

“Unless we stop it?”

Storm was quiet for a second. “Stop it? I never thought about that, but, I don’t think it’s really stoppable, Neo. From what I’ve read, it’s essentially unstoppable. It’s the flow of nature, like water flowing downstream.”

“Unless I become the Dragon King.”

“I don’t even think the Dragon King is capable of eternally preventing Eɪᴇɴ. Although it’s birth brings the destruction of everything, it also brings the creation of everything as well. It is the balance of all things.”

Caim laid back on the grass, cupping his hands behind his head. “I don’t get it though, if it’s a new cosmos each time, is it the same every time? Or is it different?”

“Who knows,” said Storm. “But I look at it like this. Imagine a day, Caim. Every day is different, but certain things never change. The sun rises, the sun sets, but everything in between is always different, right? Now put that same perspective alongside the great void in which all things exist. Each time the cosmos is born anew, look at it like a regular day. Certain things never change, yet every day is different than the last in some way, shape, or form. The great void seems the same. Each time one is born, it is different, but certain things never change, like how it ends and begins. But we’ve gotten way off track, just listen to the story, Caim, so we can actually get some sleep.”

Caim went quiet, imagining everything Storm had said as he continued.

“‘And so it was, that in her first feeling of loneliness, Lady Vale began to weep, for she was alone in the dark. And because she was Life itself, all that lived in the great cosmos were cast into a deep state of sorrow. All of the early worlds and first stars wept as she wept. The last to cry were the two moons above her, Losna and Napir, who gazed down at her in melancholy, with each of them shedding a single tear. Those tears fell to Aeryx as falling stars, twisting and turning, until they entered our realm and changed, birthing the second race of the cosmos after the gods, the dragons.’”

“Whoa,” Caim whispered, his eyes unmoving from the moons above. “So cool . . .”

“‘One dragon was bright and majestic like the stars, the other as dark and deep as shadow. Lady Vale looked upon them and stopped weeping, feeling a new emotion—happiness, for she would no longer be alone. But when the dragons opened their eyes, they saw before anything else, the vast, endless cosmos. So it was that their hearts were captured by the endless possibilities of it, and upon opening their wings and taking flight, they soared to the very edges of all worlds, where they have remained, chasing one another eternally, as Night and Day.’”

“Dang,” muttered Caim, still looking up at the sky. “She’s so huge . . . It’s like, you can’t even tell she’s a dragon when you look at her.” Storm held back a grin as he closed the book and placed it back in his pocket.

“How’d you know Night was the girl?” Storm asked.

“I just know.” Caim answered. “I don’t know why, but they’re real. I just know they’re real.”

“Night and Day?”

“All of grandpa’s stories. You said it yourself, Storm, the story of the Flare Princess was just a fairy tale. But you just saw her for real, right in front of us. So, if she’s real, then it only makes sense that they all are. And one day, I’m going to become the Dragon King. I don’t care if it’s a myth! I don’t care if no one believes that Night is flying over us. I’ll ride upon her back and become a living legend, that I swear! And then, at the end of all things, we’ll stop Eɪᴇɴ itself, and save the cosmos from ending!!”

“Caim . . . you’re something else, you know that?”

“What else?”

“I meant—Never mind, Neo, let’s just get some rest.”

Storm felt sleepier after talking to his brother, and his mind was no longer racing. His anticipation was still there, but his fatigue was heavy, like a stone sinking through water. He found himself touching the silver chain around his neck.

This chain is the only thing I have left of our parents. The only thing they gave me was my name, engraved on this piece of silver. One day, I will find out the truth. Why did they abandon Caim and I so long ago? Were we not good enough? What happened? I just wish I knew something about them, anything . . . What felt like several shades later, when he had just about fallen asleep, Storm felt a presence at his side and jerked sideways—Caim was inspecting his pockets.

“What are you—Oi—Oi!!” Caim pulled free the emerald gem. It sparkled beneath the light of the fire, and in an instant, Storm was on his feet.

“Caim, what are you doing!? You scared me half to death!”

“Just let me look at it!” Caim yelped, running around to the other side of the fire.

“We don’t know what it is yet, so what’s the point in looking at it?” Storm sighed heavily. “Ugh, I hate you sometimes, Neo. Nothing but riddles exist around that thing, so let’s just go back to sleep already.” Storm took an uneasy step toward Caim, and then another.

Caim shook his head. “That’s not true. I figured out what this magic stone really does.” He could hardly contain the grin on his face, feeling overly anxious to be keener than his brother for once.

“You did, huh? Funny, I doubt it.”

However, after a second, Caim’s confidence struck a nerve of curiosity in Storm. Caim had an irritating habit of being right about the strangest of things.

“What does it do then?” Storm asked suspiciously.

Caim lifted the gem up before them. “I’ll show you.”

Caim’s smile grew as he walked to the lake. The sound of the rest of the world grew dim in the wake of Caim’s footsteps. In the far distance, the light of the Great Tree illuminated Caim, and for a second, Storm realized just how small they were before it.

“Nothing’s going to happen by putting it in the water,” Storm said, following his brother.

“Now, look. It’s actually quite simple,” said Caim, getting to the foot of the water. He held up the stone once again for them both to see. “A stone that’s flat on both sides can only be used for one thing! Luckily for us, it’s one of the funnest things ever!”

Storm’s eyes widened, realizing Caim’s truth.

“A skipping stone!” Caim cried, hurling the gem out over the shimmering water of the lake. Storm leapt forward to stop Caim, but it was too late. The stone was already skipping perfectly across the water, leaving dozens upon dozens of ripples in its wake.

“Yosha!!! Look at it go!! Bet you it hits the Great Tree!!”

“CAIM, YOU IDIOT!!!”