White.
Only white.
A world made of blinding light, endless and silent.
I float—weightless, breathless, thoughtless—
for a moment that feels like a lifetime.
Did I die?
Did the blade reach my heart?
Did I finally break?
"No…"
A voice.
Not mine.
Aiden's.
But distant—like echoing from another universe.
"Don't… don't leave me…"
His voice fractures.
And that fracture—
that raw, breaking sound—
pulls me back from whatever void was swallowing me.
I gasp.
Air rushes into my lungs like a violent wave.
My eyes fly open.
The world slams back into place—
Dark stone.
Silver mist.
Aiden's chains.
My trembling hand clutched around the sword—
Except—
The blade isn't inside me.
It stopped.
One inch from my heart.
Hovering.
Shaking violently.
Held back by—
Silver light.
And black shadow.
Both blocking it.
Both fighting over it.
A voice tears through the realm:
"ENOUGH."
The Moon Goddess stands taller, brighter—
light swirling around her like a hurricane.
Her hands lift, trembling with divine rage.
"YOU WOULD KILL YOURSELF FOR HIM?"
The Shadow King's roar follows, deeper, darker:
"YOU DEFY FATE AGAIN?"
The blade disintegrates.
My knees buckle.
I collapse onto my hands.
Breathing.
Sobbing.
Alive.
Barely.
Aiden tries to run to me—
but his chains yank him back violently.
"LIYANA!"
His scream is not human.
Not wolf.
Something beyond either.
He claws at the ground, dragging himself toward me even as his wrists bleed from fighting the chains.
"LET ME GO TO HER!"
His voice tears.
"LET ME—PLEASE—LET ME TOUCH HER—LET ME—"
"AIDEN!"
I try to reach out—
But the barrier slams up between us again, sharper than before.
He presses both palms against it.
I do the same.
Our hands don't touch.
But they align perfectly—
palm to palm
separated by a thin sheet of light.
His voice is small.
Terrified.
Destroyed.
"You tried to die."
"You told me to."
"And you LISTENED?!"
I choke on a sob.
"You were going to sacrifice yourself—"
"OF COURSE I WAS!" he shouts.
"I will ALWAYS choose your life over mine!"
"And I'll always choose yours!"
Lightning ricochets across the sky.
Our bond snaps painfully—
but then knits itself back together.
Barely.
Like two hands desperately clutching torn thread.
Aiden presses his forehead to the barrier.
"Don't do that again," he whispers, voice trembling.
"Don't ever try to die for me. Don't—don't ever—"
"Aiden…"
He closes his eyes tightly.
"I can't survive a world where you don't breathe."
His voice is so broken it makes my vision blur.
Before I can say anything—
The platform shakes.
The gods step forward.
The Moon's eyes glow.
"You cannot die."
The Shadow King's voice curls around me.
"Not yet."
My heart stutters.
"What does that mean?"
The Moon Goddess lifts a hand, light gathering in her palm.
"You were created for balance."
The Shadow King mirrors her, shadow pooling in his hand.
"Not for death."
Their voices merge:
"A soul like yours cannot be allowed to end."
I stiffen.
Aiden snarls.
"Don't you TOUCH her!"
They ignore him.
"You cannot kill yourself."
"You cannot kill the wolf."
"And you cannot let the wolf kill you."
Aiden goes pale.
"Then WHAT is the trial?" he demands.
The Moon's answer is cold:
"Survival."
The Shadow King's is darker:
"Obedience."
A new circle appears between us—
a glowing ring of swirling silver and black.
Power vibrates through it.
I feel it tugging at me—
at the power inside me—
dragging something out of me.
I stumble.
Aiden slams into his barrier.
"DON'T TOUCH HER!"
But it's already happening.
My body rises off the ground—
light and shadow ripping out of my chest, two tendrils spiraling toward the circle.
A white flame and a black flame.
Both burning.
Both screaming.
Aiden roars, eyes glowing white, fangs fully out, wolf taking over—
"I SWEAR TO THE GODS—STOP HURTING HER!"
The Moon's voice booms:
"This is not harm."
The Shadow King's echoes her:
"This is revelation."
The flames twist—
merge—
shatter—
and form a shape.
A shape that floats in the air.
Two glowing eyes.
A crown of light and darkness.
Wings made of shadow and silver fire.
A second me.
Aiden freezes.
"What the hell—?!"
The Moon Goddess speaks:
"The power inside you has manifested."
The Shadow King adds:
"It has taken form."
My voice cracks.
"That's… that's ME?"
Aiden strains against the chains again.
"NO—it's NOT you!"
His voice is shaking.
"That thing—whatever that is—get it AWAY from her!"
The figure's eyes lock onto mine.
They blink.
Once.
And I feel it—
My own magic staring back at me.
Raw.
Unrestrained.
Alive.
Wild.
And then—
It speaks.
With my own voice.
"I am the part you cannot control."
My blood freezes.
Aiden roars.
"SHUT UP! SHE CONTROLS EVERYTHING—"
The shadow-fire version of me turns slowly toward Aiden.
It smiles.
Not kindly.
"She controls nothing."
Aiden snarls, lunging.
The chains drag him back.
He screams in rage.
The goddess lifts her hand toward the manifestation.
"The final trial begins now."
The Shadow King raises his hand in unison.
"Face yourself."
I shake my head violently.
"No—NO—NO—please, not this—"
The manifested version of me steps forward.
Silver wings spread.
Shadow flames rise around its feet.
"One of us dies," it says softly.
"Me… or you."
Aiden's voice shreds.
"NO!
NO!
NO!
SHE DOESN'T FIGHT ALONE—LET ME GO TO HER—LET ME—LET ME—"
His chains burn him as he thrashes.
But he doesn't stop.
He'll break himself before he lets me face this alone.
I scream his name:
"AIDEN—STOP—PLEASE—"
He gasps—
looks at me—
and whispers:
"I can't.
I can't just watch you die."
He presses his palm to the barrier.
I mirror him.
Our hands align again.
He whispers:
"Come back to me."
I whisper:
"I always do."
The goddess lowers her hand.
The Shadow King steps back.
The manifested version of me raises its blade of pure magic.
The trial begins.
Light cracks.
Shadows roar.
The world tears open—
And the chapter ends with:
The darker version of me charges forward.
Blade aimed straight at my heart.