The darker version of me rushes forward—
wings of silver flame and shadow spreading behind her,
eyes glowing white and black at the same time,
a blade made of pure power aimed right at my heart.
She is fast.
Too fast.
Magic without restraint.
Power without guilt.
Me—without limits.
I barely dodge as the blade slices through the air beside my ribs, close enough for heat to kiss my skin.
I stumble back.
"She's going to kill her!" Aiden roars behind his barrier.
"LET ME OUT—LET ME HELP HER—LET ME—!"
His voice shreds itself into the void, wolf and man both breaking.
But the Moon and Shadow gods stand silent, watching like judges in a cruel arena.
The trial isn't to defeat her.
I realize that instantly.
The trial is to survive myself.
But how do you survive something made from everything you fear?
The dark version of me tilts her head.
Her voice is my voice—
only colder.
"You are weak."
"I'm not."
"You hesitated."
"Because I feel."
"Feelings are chains."
"Feelings make me human!"
Her wings flare.
"Human is weak."
I grit my teeth.
"I'm more than that."
"No," she says smoothly.
"You pretend to be more. But you are nothing without us."
"Us?"
She steps closer.
"Moonfire."
White flame flares from one hand.
"Shadow."
Black flame erupts from the other.
"And the wolf who keeps tearing himself apart for you."
My breath catches.
She sees everything inside me.
Every truth.
Every fear.
Every weakness.
Aiden's fist slams against the barrier.
"DON'T LISTEN TO IT, MOONLIGHT!
DON'T YOU DARE LISTEN TO ANYTHING THAT THING SAYS!"
She glances at him and smirks.
"He loves you too much.
He will die because of you."
Aiden snarls, fangs bared.
"I SWEAR TO THE GODS—WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU—"
She turns back to me.
"It hurts him to love you," she says softly.
"I know that," I whisper.
"And you accept it?"
"I accept HIM."
She laughs—
my laugh twisted.
"Then choose.
His life…
or your power."
She raises the blade again.
Silver and black energy crackles violently across its edge.
"Aiden will not survive what you are becoming."
"I'll control it!"
"You can't."
"I will."
"You won't."
She lunges—
But this time I'm ready.
I throw up my hands, and shadow-thread mixed with Moonfire bursts outward, creating a shield that crackles violently when her blade hits it.
The impact sends me skidding backward across the stone.
My arms burn.
My lungs ache.
Magic overloads inside me.
Aiden slams into his barrier again.
"LIYANA! LET ME TAKE THE HIT—LET ME—"
"NO!" I cry out.
"You can't help me in here!"
His face breaks.
"But I WANT TO!"
I feel the bond tremble painfully.
We're too connected.
We feel each other's pain.
And right now—
Aiden is drowning inside mine.
He drops to one knee, chest heaving, hand pressed to his heart.
"Too much…" he gasps.
"It's hurting you—so it's killing me—"
"No—Aiden—please—stay with me—"
He lifts his face toward me—
desperate, terrified.
"I'm not leaving.
I just—"
He chokes.
"I just need you to survive this so I can breathe again."
I nod, swallowing tears.
"Then I'll survive."
The darker version of me tilts her head mockingly.
"For him?"
"Yes," I whisper.
"For him."
Her smile fades.
Her wings flare to full span—
silver fire on one side, black shadow on the other.
"Then he is your downfall."
She charges.
I brace for pain—
but at the last second, I jump up and over her blade.
The energy from the strike explodes behind me, burning the stone with a crater of white-black fire.
I land in a roll, sliding across the ground.
Every nerve is screaming.
She lands like a predator, smooth and silent.
"You cannot win."
"I'm not trying to win," I pant.
"Then you will die."
"Maybe."
My voice steadies.
"But I'll die as ME. Not YOU."
She laughs.
"We are the same."
"No. You're what I could become if I stop fighting."
"And fighting makes you weak."
"It makes me STRONG."
She launches the blade again.
This time—
I don't dodge.
I MATCH it.
Shadow bursts from my left arm, Moonfire from my right—
and I slam my palms together, forcing the two powers into a single, unified surge.
A wave of white-gold-black energy erupts from me like a shockwave.
It hits her.
Hard.
She flies backward—
skidding across the platform—
but catches herself with her wings, eyes burning brighter.
She stands up slowly.
Her voice is calmer now.
"You grow stronger. Why?"
I lift my head.
"Because I'm choosing."
"Choosing what?"
I flick my gaze toward Aiden.
He meets it instantly.
"I'm choosing not to lose him," I whisper.
Aiden's fingers spread on the barrier.
His voice is soft, trembling:
"I'm right here."
The darker me paces slowly.
"You think love will save you?"
"No. But it gives me something to fight for."
Her eyes narrow.
"Then I will destroy the thing you fight for."
She flings her blade—
Not at me.
AT AIDEN.
"AIDEN!" I scream.
His eyes widen—
too slow—
trapped—
unable to move fast enough with the chains—
But I don't think.
I don't hesitate.
I teleport.
Magic answers my desperation instantly, ripping me from one location to the next with a burst of shadow-light.
I reappear in front of Aiden.
Just in time.
The blade hits me—
full force—
slamming into my chest like a meteor.
Pain explodes through me.
Aiden screams:
"NOOOO!"
But the blade doesn't cut me.
It sinks in—
not killing—
but merging.
Absorbing.
Becoming part of me.
My body glows with violent white-black energy.
The darker version of me goes still.
"You absorbed it?"
I gasp for breath.
"Yes."
She watches me.
Studying.
"Aiden is your anchor," she says.
"And your destruction."
"My choice," I whisper.
"Love makes you weak."
"Love makes me ALIVE."
Her blade reforms in her hand.
She lifts it slowly.
"If he is your strength—
then break him."
My blood freezes.
"No."
She takes a step toward Aiden.
The chains tighten around him.
He tries to stand—
fails—
but still snarls:
"You touch her and I swear I'll tear your soul apart."
She smirks.
"Touch you, wolf?
Gladly."
She raises her blade—
aimed at Aiden's heart.
Mine stops.
Everything inside me snaps.
And something inside me
awakens.
My torment.
My love.
My fear.
My power.
All merge.
All burn.
All rise.
A roar tears out of me—
not human
not shadow
not divine.
Something NEW.
Light erupts from my body so violently Aiden is thrown backward behind his barrier.
The darker me shields her face—
but even she is pushed back.
When the light fades—
I stand taller.
Stronger.
My marks burn gold and black.
My eyes glow silver.
And unfolding behind me—
Wings.
Two sets.
One made of shadow.
One made of Moonfire.
I stare at her.
She stares at me.
For the first time—
She looks afraid.
Aiden whispers, breathless:
"…Liyana?"
I lift my chin.
"This ends now."
The darker me raises her blade.
I raise mine—
a blade of pure merged power forming in my palm.
She lunges.
I meet her halfway.
The impact rattles the void.
Power explodes around us—
Silver
Black
Gold
White
The force shatters the stones beneath us.
The platform cracks.
The void shakes.
Aiden screams my name.
But I can't stop.
I push harder.
My blade overpowers hers—
inch by inch—
our faces inches apart—
our breaths harsh—
our magic colliding in a storm—
And then—
The blade pierces her chest.
Right through her heart.
Her eyes widen.
She gasps.
And whispers:
"Finally… you chose yourself."
She dissolves into light.
Shadow.
Moonfire.
Power.
All collapsing into my chest.
A shockwave tears through the realm.
Aiden screams my name.
"LIYANA—!!"
The power inside me detonates outward—
And the world goes dark.