rts of town. Broken windows lined the sides of the crumbling brick building, and the wind carried the sce

where Leo said the

earlier, voice steady but quieter than usual. "Places that exi

s stuck

laces. Forg

Leo insisted this part

"If you're not ready, the door won't ap

ey shimmered like silver dust under her skin, barely visible until

ined with rust and graffiti, but something was different tonigh

ised h

he elevator doors, tracing their edges like a hidden outline. Wit

was no

r inside shimmered like sunlight caught in a dream, and faint music

ed, her bre

door wasn't

the Dre

real

n. It wasn't her mi

ere the Dreamweavers trained, lived, and protected the f

epped

world

-

t like walking on silk woven from moonlight. By the third, her

of stars, islands of floating earth covered in lush green forests and glowing lakes. Whole civilizations seemed

g inside the unive

d to catch

aid a voice

ir. He wore the same jacket, but now his eyes glowed fain

ll feel it. Like standing at the ed

as supposed to

ame to show you the

Cit

poi

od-an enormous spire of marble and crystal, pulsing with soft golden energy. Bridges connected its man

Order," Leo said. "The strongest a

st supposed

t just any

wing. "You keep saying that,

hesi

ers are born. Not made.

. "What doe

born here. You made yourself one. That

ent s

eo added, "was the one who sealed

opped into

kept seeing it?

t a bystander

s part

-

o any Dreamwalker who found their way in-artists, lucid dreamers, visionaries. Ava passed through halls filled with paintings

led something stra

produced music i

existed if you

ootsteps echoed in lan

t all felt

en here before.

inally, they reached a large chamber shaped like an amphitheater, with silver stone seats ca

ing colors, like oil on water. Their face

il of Dre

woman with copper ski

va Maren,"

dded s

walked the Labyrinth alone. And now you cros

" Ava said, voice steady. "But

glanced at one ano

man continued. "And the shadow has already found

. "We need to begin he

. "Then she must

her chin. "

f. To safeguard dreams from desp

ike threads of sunlight woven into a symbol: a

ng, Ava placed

emory, and clarity

d: the responsibility.

just a dre

as a

just chose