The Vanishing Lake was overflowing with turbulent water, so Rain and her companions had to wait for the ferry to arrive on its shore. They dismissed their Echoes and rested on the ground, knowing that it could take a while.

Rain looked at her reflections briefly, but there was nothing there. The King of Nothing had left her alone now that their lesson was over.

Tamar, Ray, and Fleur were looking at the lake as well, their faces betraying a hint of distant wonder. They were still coming to terms with becoming Ascended, so Rain remained silent, giving them time to grow accustomed to their new reality.

June might have been excited as well, but he maintained his usual nonchalant demeanor. Telle, meanwhile...

Now that the excitement of their return had died down, she was slowly starting to look distressed. Eventually, she grabbed her head and looked down.

“Oh. I should probably let my mother know that I am back, shouldn't I?"

The young heiress of the White Feather clan did not seem to be happy about becoming a Master. If anything, she looked strangely terrified.

A quiet groan escaped from her lips.

Rain looked at Telle and shrugged.

“You know what to do, don't you?"

She smiled faintly.

“Just hide behind your father. He'll probably absorb the worst of the impact."

Telle sighed heavily, prompting Rain to add in a consoling tone:

“For what it's worth, your parents probably won't have time to be angry with you."

She paused for a moment, then said gingerly.

“The whole world is falling apart, and every Nightmare Creature north of the Black Mountains is on the move! So, I doubt that you'll be punished too severely. You're a Master now, after all — and a powerful one at that. Nobody can afford to sideline a Master these days, even for the sake of parental discipline."

Telle raised an eyebrow.

“The world is falling apart? Do you mean more than it was falling apart when we left?"

Rain nodded.

"Yes — in more senses than one, really. The Nightmare Creatures are migrating because of the King of Nothing and the... actually, never mind. Point is, someone flattened a good portion of the Black Mountains and forced the River of Tears to change course. So all Citadel Cities are under immense pressure right now, including the Sanctuary."

She spent some time explaining the difficult situation the human settlements all across the Dream Realm faced.

The human settlements in the waking world were not faring any better. In fact, one could say that they were faring even worse. In the end, Rain finished her explanation and looked at Tamar.

She remained silent for a long while, and then sighed.

“I am sorry, Tamar. I have some bad news to deliver, as well."

Tamar raised an eyebrow and smiled wryly.

"This wasn't the bad news yet?"

Rain studied her for a moment before answering.

“You must feel like you are one step closer to your goal now that you are a Master. I know that you wanted to reclaim your clan's Citadel one day... sadly, that won't be possible anymore."

Tamar frowned.

“Why? Who is ruling it now?"

Rain shook her head.

"No one is ruling it. I am sorry, Tamar, but the Citadel... it's simply gone. It was destroyed in the Second Domain War."

Tamar remained silent for a bit, then looked away.

"I see."

She gazed at the distant silhouette of the Vanishing Lake Citadel — the blackened ruins that had once been a beautiful temple — and smiled.

"You want to become a builder, don't you? Well then, I guess you will just have to build me a new one. Sorrow will rule the Weeping Goddess once again, someday... one way or another."

Rain chuckled.

"I think you are overestimating me, Tamar. I might be a student of practical engineering, but I doubt that I can build a true Citadel."

Still looking away, Tamar shrugged.

"It doesn't matter. The Citadels don't matter as much as they used to, these days. And in the future, they will mean even less."

This time, it was Rain's turn to be surprised.

"They will?"

Tamar nodded.

"Yes. Why do people live in Citadel Cities here in the Dream Realm? It is because the Awakened and Ascended warriors protecting these cities need a Gateway to travel between the Dream Realm and the waking world. That is why Citadels became the first human settlements in the Dream Realm, and it is why cities grew around them as well. However..."

She gave Rain a poignant look.

"Didn't you say that the world is falling apart? The Dream Realm is slowly consuming the world, and once it swallows it entirely... Awakened and Masters won't have the need to travel between two worlds anymore. The Gateways will lose their meaning, and Citadel Cities will lose their necessity."

Tamar shook her head.

"Each Citadel offers a unique boon, true, but there are plenty of things just as important as ancient sorcery. How easily accessible a stronghold is, how long it takes to travel to the settlement from the next one over — and so on. These things will matter more than the Components of most Citadels."

She looked at Rain and smiled.

“The old Citadel of my clan was supremely defensible, and as for how easy it is to travel to and from... it stood at the source of the Lake of Tears. So, naturally, it was connected to all the other Citadels in the basin of the River of Tears.

Tamar chuckled.

"So, there will be a human settlement at the Lake of Tears sooner or later, even if it won't be a Citadel. The only question is who will rule it.”

Her smile widened a little.

"Me. It is going to be me, and I hope that you will help me make it possible."

Rain remained silent for a long while, then nodded solemnly.

“I didn't think about it like that, but you are right. Fine... if you reconquer the Lake of Tears in the future, I will help you build a stronghold there — even better than the old one!"

She smiled.

Rain had indeed not thought about what would happen to Citadels after their main function was rendered useless. Once the Gateways lost their power, humans would be able to settle the Dream Realm wherever they chose.

And wherever they could survive, as well. So, who knew? Maybe she would help build one or two of such settlements herself, putting the great Citadels left behind by the ancient people of the Dream Realm to shame.

Rain smiled.

“It seems like our ferry is here."

Far away, a small boat was moving across the lake. It was time for them to finally leave Godgrave.