The Sea of Shards glistened beneath moonlight as the ship pressed onward, guided now by Vaelen's steady presence at the helm. The others stayed watchful, but the air felt… different.
Not lighter. Not darker.
Just unreal.
As dawn crept over the waves, a new island rose from the mist — not marked on any map, yet clearly waiting.
It shimmered like a mirage. Trees with crystal leaves. Flowers glowing faintly blue. The sky itself rippled, as if watching.
"This place wasn't here yesterday," Ashar said.
"It's not really here now," Vaelen replied. "This is the Isle of Dreams."
Kaelen's hand moved to his sword. "And dreams have teeth."
Stepping Into Memory
As soon as Aelira stepped onto the island, the world twisted.
She stood on stone steps — but not real ones. Palace stairs, gleaming and familiar.
Too familiar.
"You returned," a voice said behind her.
She turned.
Talen.
Another of her past husbands — the one she abandoned in pursuit of power.
He looked just as he had before the war: copper hair, sun-warmed skin, eyes full of forgiveness she never deserved.
"This isn't real," she whispered.
"But you wish it was," he replied, stepping closer. "Don't you?"
Echoes of Regret
Aelira reached out, but her hand passed through him like mist. And yet his voice — his hurt — struck deep.
"I waited. I believed in you when you left. Even when you turned cruel. I told myself you would return whole."
"And I didn't," she said softly. "I shattered."
"Then why do you still carry my name?" he asked. "Why do you still dream of me?"
Tears burned in her eyes.
"Because I never stopped loving you," she whispered. "Even when I forgot how."
His form flickered — and then vanished.
Only silence remained.
Everyone Has a Nightmare
Kaelen found himself alone, too.
A battlefield stretched before him — and at its center lay Aelira, unmoving, her crown broken at her feet.
"You couldn't protect her," a voice whispered."You never will."
He drew his sword and stabbed the illusion. It shattered into shards of memory and ash.
He ran.
Elsewhere, Riven was trapped in endless mirrors. Ashar faced his mother's ghost. Even Vaelen stood still as the sea whispered his true name — one he'd tried to forget.
Aelira Wakes the Island
Aelira returned to the crystal grove.
She sat beneath a silver-barked tree and placed her hand to the ground.
"This place feeds on what we bury," she murmured. "Then I give it truth."
She opened her memories — willingly.
Seraiya's worst acts.
Aelira's guilt.
Her fear of failing again.
And…
Her love for Kaelen, slow and honest.
Her grief for Talen.
The ache in her chest every time Vaelen looked at her like she was still that woman he lost.
The island groaned — and exhaled.
The mist lifted.
And the others found themselves at her side, blinking as the visions faded.
"What happened?" Kaelen asked, heart still pounding.
"We were tested," she said. "And I think… we passed."
A Warning from the Deep
Just as they turned back toward the ship, a voice rang through the trees.
"You're not done," it said.
A woman stepped forward — skin like obsidian glass, hair made of starlight, and eyes glowing violet.
"Who are you?" Ashar asked.
"A Herald of the True Realm," she said. "You walk toward a storm greater than memory. The final mirror isn't what you think. And not all who follow you do so out of love."
Her gaze flicked to Vaelen.
Then to Kaelen.
And finally to Aelira.
"Choose wisely, Crowned One. Or all your dreams will become your end."