Two days had passed since the whole annoying ghost thing. Ethan wasn't fully back to normal yet, but his mind felt clearer than ever. Like, scary clear.
But at night, the dreams came.
And not the silly ghost kind—nope. These were worse. Way worse.
He kept seeing a giant monster, rising out of the shadows. Its eyes glowing red. Its voice low, rough, and broken, repeating the same thing over and over:
"You're the only one who can set me free."
Ethan still had no idea what just happened. For a moment, everything had gone dark. But as soon as he looked around, he realized things were way more serious than he thought.
The massive monster that had come out of the forest was already charging straight at them. It was huge—so big the ground shook under its feet. Its mouth was dripping with some nasty, sour poison, and its growls were loud enough to hear from miles away.
Fayra, flying in her dragon form, came in fast from the right.
"Hit it now, Ethan!" her voice echoed from above.
Selena and Luna had also shifted into dragons and were fighting on either side of the beast. But something deep inside Ethan told him this monster was way stronger than anything they'd faced before.
He looked down at the sword in his hand. It didn't even look like his. It felt strange, but… powerful. Like it had a purpose.
Instinctively, he raised it. Maybe this sword was the only thing that could actually stop the monster.
The beast swung one of its huge arms at him—crazy fast—and Ethan barely dodged in time. The ground cracked where it hit, dirt and rocks flying everywhere.
"How the hell am I supposed to do this?!" Ethan muttered to himself.
Right then, Fayra flew closer and shouted,
"Use the sword! It's got some kinda special power!"
And right at that moment…
Lightning sparked off Ethan's blade, wild and crackling. It almost felt like the sword was breathing—like it was alive.
His heart was pounding. He could hear his own heavy breathing. The dragons rained fire down from above. Fayra swooped in with a powerful spin and clawed at the beast's shoulder, ripping off a chunk of tough flesh. But the monster didn't even flinch—instead, it smacked her away with one brutal swipe.
Fayra let out a cry of pain but stayed in the fight, flying back up into the sky.
Luna and Selena had grabbed onto either side of the monster's head, but its massive body was so thick and tough that even their fire could barely burn through its hide.
In the middle of all that chaos, Ethan held the sword in front of him. Heat surged through his hands. The blade felt like it was speaking straight to his mind. Tiny blue sparks floated around it, and for a split second, a blurry image appeared in front of him—a man in silver armor with glowing eyes.
"You're the only one who can set me free… My power is yours now, bearer of the Mistblade."
Ethan looked around, confused. The voice was in his head. But it felt real. The shaking ground, the monster's roar, Fayra's scream… all of it was real.
He let out a yell—not out of fear, but from the fire building up inside him.
"Let's see what this sword can really do!"
He swung the blade with all his strength. In that moment, thick, strange mist burst out from the sword's edge. A blue, icy fog spread quickly, covering everything in sight. The monster's growl cut off—like it was stuck in the mist.
From above, Fayra shouted, "Ethan! That mist… it's freezing its body!"
Selena screamed, "Keep going! That power's yours, Ethan!"
The mist now covered the whole monster. Its huge muscles started shaking, and the poison on its skin froze into crystal. Steam rose off its body. Ethan stood firm, gripping the sword tighter, his jaw clenched.
He took a few slow, steady steps forward. Like a real hero. Like a true knight. The monster couldn't move anymore.
Even though his whole body was trembling, Ethan raised the sword high.
"This is just the beginning…" he whispered, and brought the sword down hard.
The blade screamed with mist as it slammed into the monster's head.
Silence.
Then, with a final, earsplitting roar, the monster's body began to collapse. It broke apart and vanished into the mist. All that was left was cold ash, drifting away in the wind.
Everything went quiet.
Fayra landed with her massive wings and quickly shifted back into her human form. Breathing hard, she rushed over. "What… what the hell was that?!"
Selena and Luna stood a little behind her, both still wide-eyed.
Ethan smiled, his hand still on the sword's hilt.
"I think… I just unlocked my new power," he said, exhausted, and dropped down onto the ground.
Fayra sat next to him and asked softly, "What's the name of that sword?"
Ethan took a deep breath. "It told me… it's called the Mistblade."
Luna muttered with a frown, "That sword… it's from the age of the ancient kings. It's dangerous."
Selena said quietly, "Just hope no one finds out you're the one holding it now…"
Ethan looked at them. "Why?"
Fayra leaned in and said, "Because if they do… everyone's gonna come for you. Everyone."
When they got back to the cabin, everyone was totally wiped out. Ethan kicked off his boots, dropped onto the chair, and wiped the sweat from his face. He set the sword down on the table with a heavy thud.
Fayra stood across from him, raised an eyebrow, and said,
"Okay… someone wanna explain where the hell that sword came from? 'Cause I'm pretty sure your hands were empty before."
Selena, shaking the dirt out of her hair, smirked.
"What, he pulled it outta his pocket? Maybe it's got a hidden power button or something."
Alice was flopped in the middle of the cabin with that giant old book of hers, glasses sliding down to the tip of her nose. She was flipping through the yellowed pages, totally ignoring the conversation—until she suddenly shouted:
"Ah-ha! Got it! …Wait, no… never mind. This is just a recipe for fire-breathing lizard stew…"
Selena burst out laughing. "We're talking about the sword, not dinner!"
Alice didn't even crack a smile. Dead serious, she said,
"Well if that monster was a fire-breathing lizard, I'd say this sword's made to hunt it. But unfortunately… what you guys fought was somewhere between a gorilla and a damn tank."
Fayra leaned in over the table, eyes sharp.
"So you know nothing about this sword?"
Alice gave a crooked grin.
"Look… this thing ain't normal. It's got energy. It glows in this weird way—not like metal, more like… crap, like compressed magic or somethin'."
She pulled on a pair of thick leather gloves and carefully lifted the sword. But as soon as she picked it up, a jolt of energy shot through her like lightning. Her hair stood up, eyes went wide, and she froze for a second—then jumped back with a yell:
"Holy crap, it's talking to my brain!"
Selena laughed,
"Probably just told you to stop talking."
Alice, still catching her breath and slightly electrocuted, said,
"No seriously! This sword… it's got some kinda ancient memory. It's like a voice coming from deep inside, telling me this thing can only be used by the 'Heir.' Someone whose power isn't fully awakened yet."
The room went quiet. Luna asked,
"You mean… Ethan's the Heir?"
Alice slowly nodded.
"I'm not a hundred percent sure… but if this sword is what I think it is, then Ethan's just at the beginning. This thing's a key. And for it to really activate, something inside him's gotta… I dunno, click. Or maybe explode."
Fayra said seriously,
"We need to figure out what this sword reacts to. 'Cause if there's some hidden power inside Ethan, we better be ready when it wakes up."
Alice smirked.
"And we should definitely make sure Ethan doesn't explode when it happens. This thing basically has a warning label that says: 'Misuse = BOOM.'"
Ethan groaned loudly,
"Great! So I've got a sword that might blow me up if I hold it wrong! I bet my parents would be so proud."
Selena shrugged,
"Hey, at least you're the first guy I know who owns a scary sword and is scared of it."
Everyone cracked up laughing. But behind those laughs, you could feel the tension—because if Alice was right, this whole mess was just getting started.