Akari, driven by her unyielding determination and the dragon’s hearthstone in her possession, was acutely aware that her journey was far from its conclusion. The next phase in her quest to craft the divine artifact was to locate the rare pyresteel, a metal forged in the most scorching of volcanoes. She foresaw this leg of the journey to be as treacherous as the previous ones, but her resolve remained steadfast.

Chapter Five: Back to Normal—Almost

David settled onto the living room couch, the controller fitting comfortably into his hands. The new game his sister, Kelly, had gotten him sat in the console, its startup screen glowing brightly on the TV. He took a deep breath, the familiar sounds and sights of the game pulling him back into a sense of normalcy.