The prophesy surfaces, the battle of Vessels

Her fangs sparkled in the moonlight, and her eyes shone brightly, definitely not the girl I had once experienced, the girl who was said to be my reflection. 

She was more than just a vessel now.  

She was… possessed.

Immediately the moon emerged above us, shining brightly, the brightest I have ever seen. The dark night minutes ago unexpectedly turned glowy like sunrise. And then I realized this was exactly how the prophecy was displayed in a trance a few weeks back. 

“You shouldn't have shown your face here,” I said, summoning the power of the moonlight into my palms. “Because I’m not scared of you.”

The 2nd vessel tilted her head, a twisted smile creeping onto her lips.  

“I’m not here to scare you, May. I’m here to end you.”

Before she could make a move, I tapped on the bracelet on my wrist and whispered, “Elira… I need you here now.”

I felt the gentle gush of silver wind, swirling around me. Then she appeared—Elira, the third Vessel, the Binder. Her presence was soothing and the air felt still, as if the world was withholding oxygen.

She stood beside me, her eyes were calm but alert. “So it’s come to this,” she said, glancing at the 2nd vessel.

“She’s not fully sentient,” I whispered. “There’s more to her now, but I know she’s still in there.”

The vessel laughed heartily, a gloomy chuckle.  

“She’s long gone,” she said. “The breaker you knew was weak. I’m what happens when weakness fades. I’m more, not just your reflection.”

With a flick of her wrist, a blast of shadow erupted from her fingers, slicing toward me.

I dodged and fell, landing hard before standing back on my feet almost immediately. Elira quickly made a protective wall through the moonlight reflections, but the breaker charged through it like smoke escaping a crack.

Her attacks were lightning-fast, she was too fast and her energy didn’t just burn; it corrupted.

“Fight me, May!” she yelled, her voice echoing with a thousand tones. “Show me why the Moon chose you over me, show me what you’ve got.”

I summoned a surge of light, sending her crashing into the temple wall.

“You were never meant to be me and would never be” I snapped back. “You chose Nyra.”

She laughed again, blood trickling from her mouth.  

“Did I? Or did she pick me because you were too weak to kill her, too weak to subdue her?

Her words hit me hard. But I wasn’t about to let her get by today.

She lunged at me again, claws slashing, and I met her halfway, striking her with a pulse of light so powerful the ground split beneath us.

She staggered, breathing heavily.

But I saw it now—the flicker in her eyes. A hint of the old vessel and a shadow of regret.

“Elira,” I said, my voice tight. “Can we save her?”

Elira shook her head slowly.  

“She’s tied to Nyra. She was invoked and is now enchanted by Nyra. As long as the breaker lives, Nyra stays strong.”

I closed my eyes. Although I wish there were a way I could stop Nyra without killing her, there isn’t. 

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled slowly.

The breaker looked at me with an expression that felt strange, as if she understood me deep down.

And then I struck.

A blade of pure moonlight, crafted from my essence shot from my hand and pierced her chest.

The 2nd vessel gasped, her body quivering.

And then… she smiled, fell to her knees and the wind shifted.

And just like that—her body dissolved into silver dust, vanishing into thin air.

Elira dropped to her knees.  

“She’s gone,” she breathed.

But before I could respond, the earth shook.

A wave of energy crashed over us like a fluctuating wave of screams and sorrow.

Nyra.

She felt it. She felt her Breaker die. I held myself from collapsing as a sharp pain tore through me. Her rage and grief were ripping into the Vessel bond.

“She’s weakened,” Elira said, slowly getting to her feet. “You did it, May.”

I nodded affirmatively, even though I didn’t feel victorious. I felt broken, just as I did in the vision I saw. 

As we tried to leave the battlefield, I felt a strange coldness, deeper and chillier than anything I’d ever felt. Even Elira froze.

Then a voice, deep and smooth like silk, rolled through the air.

“You took something from me.”

I spun around—and there he was.

A man stepped out from a black shadow formed in the air. Tall and Pale. His eyes were hot like the abyss of hell, and his hair shimmered like silver blades.

But he doesn’t seem like an ordinary man.

Though he was in his late fifties, his aura was something older, something darker, something ancient.

“We have shown you enough mercy,” he said calmly. “Yet you repaid it with murder.”

“The 2nd vessel was twisted,” I shot back, forcing myself to stand tall. “You lot turned her into something unholy

He gave a faint smile. “And yet… You used that same vessel power to end her.”

My blood turned to ice.

“I’ve wandered through realms you wouldn’t even recognize, Vessel,” he said. “And now… I’m here in yours.”

He glanced up at the sky. “The Moon made her choice.”

Then his gaze locked onto mine. “Now it’s my turn.” He lifted his hand, and suddenly, the moonlight vanished. Darkness engulfed everything.

Even Elira’s glow disappeared. I couldn’t see a thing. I couldn’t even breathe.

And then I realized, my instinct whispered to me;

“This is the one in charge of the hallows, mimicking and tormenting you. He’s the leader of the shadowed band assassin—Nyra’s father”

And then I heard it — “If my daughter is broken, then I’ll shatter the world that broke her.”

A surge of raw power cracked the ground beneath us. I felt my body lift off the earth, floating in the complete darkness.

I screamed — not out of pain — but because I sensed Nyra stirring again inside me. My mind was trapped and my soul engulfed, and now my body will be used to cause commotion just as they did with Melina’s

And her Hollowed father… he had just entered the battle.