The wind howled like a chorus of the damned as Aiden staggered back from Damon’s monstrous transformation. Black wings spread from Damon’s shoulders, blotting out what little light remained in the sky. His horns gleamed with raw shadow magic, and his crimson eyes burned with Valeborne’s power.“Aiden, go!” Damon roared, his voice layered with Valeborne’s guttural tone. “I can’t hold him back for long!”But Aiden didn’t move. His grip on his lunar blade tightened as memories of every battle they’d fought together flashed through his mind. He couldn’t abandon Damon—not now, not ever.“Not a chance,” Aiden growled. “You’re still in there. I’m not leaving you to him.”The Rift above pulsed violently, sending streaks of black lightning arcing across the fortress. Lyra watched from the altar’s remains, a cruel smile curling her lips.“Foolish Alpha,” she sneered. “You can’t save him. You can’t even save yourself.”Scene 1: The TemptationThe shadows around Aiden shifted. A whisper curled in
The sky brooded over Silver Moon Valley, bloated with rolling storm clouds veined with lightning. The air was thick with ozone and the acrid scent of scorched earth, remnants of the recent skirmish that had left the once-pristine land fractured and blackened. Trees lay toppled, their trunks twisted like snapped bones, and the soil itself seemed to hum with restless energy. Damon and Aiden stood on the jagged plateau, staring at the churning Rift where Iris had been taken. Each breath they drew was laced with unspoken dread.“She’s alive,” Damon murmured, his crimson eyes glowing faintly, betraying the turmoil beneath his calm exterior. “I can feel her mark—it hasn’t gone dark.”Aiden’s jaw tightened, his fingers curling into fists. “We’ll bring her back. But first…” He swept his gaze over the decimated battlefield, where scattered survivors clung to their wounds and fear. “…we have to deal with the mess she left behind.”The Silver Moon Pack was shattered. Warriors wandered aimlessl
The battlefield was chaos incarnate. Shadow wolves tore through the Silver Moon defenders, their howls reverberating like thunder. Above the fray, Valeborne hovered in the storm-choked sky, his vast form twisting between starlight and abyss. Iris, cloaked in golden fire and shadow tendrils, unleashed a wave of energy that shattered a dozen enemies in one breath.But her strength was waning. Every surge of power chipped away at her mortal frame, the Hollow Star mark burning like a brand on her chest.“Hold the line!” Aiden roared, rallying the warriors around him. His blade flashed with lunar light as he cut down a monstrous Eclipse wolf lunging for Iris.“Behind you!” Lyra’s voice echoed—not in warning but in mockery. She emerged from the smoke, her eyes burning like obsidian flames, her blade forged of shadow essence.“Iris, it’s over. Surrender now, and I may let them live.”Iris’s jaw tightened as she raised her hand. Golden vines erupted from the ground, lashing at Lyra, who dodg
The Moon Spire was a ruin of shattered stone and flickering magic. Crimson and gold light battled across the chamber, the energy so intense it split the air with shrieking cracks. Iris stood at the center of the devastation, her golden vines flaring and twisting like a living sun. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and her fingers trembled—not from weakness but from the raw, alien power now coursing through her veins.Lyra lay still on the floor, her body surrounded by flickering embers. The dark blade Damon had driven through her chest dissolved into shadows, leaving only a faint black mark on her skin. Miraculously, her pulse still flickered, faint but steady.“Why?” Iris’s voice broke, her eyes locking on Damon. They glowed brighter now, swirling with gold and silver light like molten metal.Damon’s expression was unreadable, a war between grief and determination twisting his features. “Because it’s the only way to prepare you for what’s coming.”“You stabbed her!” Aiden roared, lun
The heat was suffocating. Fire danced across the void, curling around Iris as though trying to consume her, yet it didn’t burn. She stumbled forward, chest heaving, each breath weighted like molten iron. Golden embers swirled around her, each one a dying star, their glow reflecting in her wide, panicked eyes.“I… I can’t breathe,” she gasped, clutching the Hollow Star pulsing violently on her chest.From deep within the inferno came a voice—soft yet powerful, laced with melancholy and finality.“That’s because you no longer walk the mortal path, child of flame.”Iris lifted her head, and there she was. The Moon Goddess, radiant yet fractured, stood at the heart of the fire. Cracks split her luminous body, leaking gold light as if she were breaking apart from within.“No…” Iris’s voice cracked. “What’s happening to you?!”“I’ve given too much of myself,” the Goddess said, her voice heavy. “To shield you. To guide you. Now, my flame burns out.”Iris shook her head violently. “No! Take
Golden mist swirled thick and heavy as Iris stepped cautiously into the vast chamber. Her boots clicked softly against polished marble floors, the sound instantly swallowed by the suffocating silence. The air was electric, thrumming with power that settled like a weight in her chest.The Hall of Reflections. Here, her soul’s destiny would be tested and chosen.Countless mirrors lined the circular room, each one shimmering faintly as if alive. They didn’t reflect just her current self but endless shifting visions of what she could become. Some mirrors showed Iris crowned in moonlight, her presence radiant and healing, her hands aglow as she cradled a wolf pup. Behind her, packs of wolves knelt in reverence. The Queen of Light.Others revealed a far darker reality: Iris draped in flowing black, shadows writhing around her like serpents. Her crimson gaze was cold and unfeeling as wolves bowed in terrified devotion. At her feet, broken chains littered the marble. The Empress of Shadows.