They walked for two days beyond the Temple of Still Waters, through quiet plains where mist clung low to the ground like ghosts unwilling to rise.The air felt colder now. Even the birds had stopped singing.
Kael noticed it first — the silence wasn't natural. It was watching.
Lira wrapped her cloak tighter. "It feels like the world is holding its breath again."
Seren nodded grimly. "We're close to something wrong. I can feel it."
By dusk, they reached a valley filled with strange wooden houses. The smoke from their chimneys curled upward, but no sound came from within. The place looked alive — yet frozen, as if time had paused mid-moment.
Kael stepped forward. "A village?"
Lira frowned. "Or what's left of one."
As they entered, they saw people standing in doorways, eyes open but empty. Their faces were pale, their lips whispering softly — but no words came out.
Kael waved his hand in front of one woman's face. She didn't react.Her eyes shimmered faintly, like candlelight flickering in glass.
Seren whispered, "They're not awake."
Lira knelt and touched the woman's hand. "She's breathing… but it's shallow, like she's halfway between dreaming and living."
Kael's chest tightened. "The Eye's doing this."
He turned toward the nearest house. Inside, a boy lay on the floor beside a burned-out lamp, his chest rising and falling gently. On the wall above him were words scratched into the wood:
"Don't close your eyes. It waits there."
That night, they made camp in the middle of the village.Kael took the first watch, sitting beside a low fire. The stars above seemed dimmer than usual, their light swallowed by the valley's strange calm.
He could hear faint whispers — soft, desperate.
"We can't sleep… we can't wake…"
The voice came from one of the villagers. The woman he had seen earlier was standing now, moving slowly toward the fire. Her eyes glowed faintly blue.
Kael rose. "Who are you?"
The woman tilted her head, smiling faintly. "Dreams. We are dreams."
Lira woke at the sound, clutching her dagger. "Kael, step back."
But the woman didn't attack. She simply stared into the flames and whispered, "It came when we slept. It promised us peace. It promised we'd never hurt again. But we never woke up."
Her voice cracked. "Please… if you can still dream, don't listen to the light."
And then she collapsed — not dead, but gone somewhere deeper than sleep.
By morning, half the village had gathered around their fire. They moved like sleepwalkers, whispering half-words, all repeating the same phrase:
"The Eye watches through the dream."
Kael looked at Lira. "It's feeding on them. The Eye doesn't need flames anymore — it's found something purer. Their dreams."
Lira shivered. "That's worse. Dreams can't be fought with swords."
Seren looked toward the hills. "Then we find its nest. Whatever it's using to reach them."
They followed a trail of black petals leading out of the village. The ground beneath their boots grew soft, almost breathing. When they reached the center of the valley, they found a hollow tree — wide enough to swallow three men.
Inside, the air was thick with golden mist.And floating above the roots was a crystal sphere, glowing softly — showing images that shifted with every heartbeat.
Kael saw faces — villagers, smiling in their sleep. Their joy looked real. But behind them, shadows moved, whispering into their ears.
Lira gasped. "That's where it hides — inside their happiness."
Kael's hands tightened. "The Eye learned its lesson. It doesn't attack from fear anymore. It tempts through comfort."
The sphere pulsed, and a soft voice echoed:
"Kael… why suffer when you could rest? You've earned it."
Kael froze. The voice sounded like someone he once loved. He couldn't place the name — only the warmth.
"All your pain could fade," it said. "One dream. That's all it takes."
He took a step forward, drawn to the light.
Lira caught his arm. "Kael, stop! That's not her!"
He turned to her, eyes glassy. "But what if it is? What if the fire was never meant to burn forever? What if we're supposed to rest?"
Lira's voice broke. "You don't rest by forgetting who you are."
The light flickered. For a second, Kael saw her reflection inside the sphere — not as she was, but sleeping peacefully, smiling.
He gritted his teeth. "No."
He drew his blade and slashed through the air. The sphere cracked, spilling golden mist into the hollow. A scream — soft but endless — filled the air.
The light vanished.
The ground shook. The villagers far away began to stir, their whispers breaking into cries of confusion.
Seren shouted, "Kael, it's breaking free!"
From the shattered sphere rose a shape — not the Eye itself, but a shadow of it. A being made of smoke and light, with countless faces flickering within its form.
It spoke with many voices at once.
"You can't destroy me. I am what they dream of — peace, safety, love. You will always feed me, Kael, because you'll always wish for those things too."
Kael's fire flared gold. "Then maybe peace needs to burn first."
He raised his hands, channeling the ember's light. This time, it wasn't fury — it was sorrow. A flame that mourned.
The shadow screamed as the gold light spread, dissolving its faces one by one. The mist turned to sparks and faded into the sky.
When it was over, the valley grew quiet again. The villagers began to wake, confused but alive. Some wept, some prayed, some simply stared at the rising sun.
Lira placed her hand on Kael's shoulder. "You did it."
He shook his head. "No. I only woke them up. The Eye's still out there — and now it knows what I want most."
Seren looked east, toward the mountains. "Then it'll come for you next."
Kael gazed at the light breaking over the valley.
"Let it come," he said softly. "If it wants my dreams, it'll have to face the fire inside them first."
The wind carried the smell of smoke and dawn.And far away, the Eye whispered in someone else's sleep.
"All fires fade… all dreamers burn."