62. Everen: Eyes Open, Heart Forward

Everen drifts toward oblivion inside Ammil’s storm, stripped of body and will, regretting his failures as Ammil siphons the dragonstone tree to heal the Dreamer’s wound. Arcady’s clear, fierce pleas cut through the storm, rejecting surrender and demanding Everen return, anchoring him to purpose and to their bond.

Recognizing Ammil’s aim to enslave the Dreamer, Arcady and Everen choose to fight. They interweave their souls until they become a white-gold, spectral dragon that diverts the tree’s magic and formally challenges Ammil. As their fragile cage around the wraiths frays, they struggle to hold him at bay.

The Dreamer stirs and reveals itself, its voice echoing as fate to Everen and as Barrow to Arcady. At its nudge, the pair unleash the wraiths on Ammil; the nightmares maul him, breaking his control. The Dreamer then sends a vast pulse that petrifies Ammil and the wraiths into a black stone sphere and casts it away, halting his bid for godhood.

With Ammil gone, the Dreamer’s wound is smaller and clean of rot. Across the Veil, the wraiths vanish mid-attack, the Reek subsides, and Vere Celene’s battered dragons survive the night, though grievously diminished. Everen and Arcady beg for the dragons’ survival; the Dreamer counsels patience.

As the Veil’s rip begins to close and the tree’s magic ebbs, Barrow’s echo tells Arcady the past cannot be changed and must not poison the future. The Dreamer urges them to listen for a familiar voice, then sends them toward that guide, promising, “Until we meet again,” as it sinks back into sleep.