Darkness swallows everything.
Not peaceful darkness—
but cold, ancient, bone-deep silence.
The kind of silence that feels like I never existed in the first place.
I float in it, weightless.
No breath.
No heartbeat.
No body.
Only the echo of someone screaming my name.
"LIYANAAAAA!"
Aiden.
His voice cracks through the void like a blade.
If anything can reach me in this empty place—it's him.
I try to speak.
Try to move.
Try to breathe.
But I can't.
Then—
Something pulls me back.
A harsh gasp rips from my lungs, like life being shoved back into me.
A rush of air burns down my throat.
My eyes fly open—
And the world slams into place.
The cracked stone platform.
The broken sky bleeding silver and shadow.
My wings flickering, unstable.
My body limp on the cold ground.
And Aiden—
on his knees, his hands shaking as he lifts my head into his lap.
"Liyana… Liyana, please. Please—open your eyes."
His voice is shaking so badly it barely sounds like him.
I want to answer.
I want to say his name.
But my limbs are ice.
My breath shallow.
The magic inside me is a storm tearing me apart from the inside.
Aiden leans his forehead against mine.
"Don't do this. Don't leave me. Not like this. Not after everything."
His voice breaks.
"Aiden…" I whisper—barely a breath.
His whole body shudders.
His arms wrap around me, pulling me close—
like he's afraid the world might rip me away.
"I'm here," he whispers. "I'm here, Moonlight, I've got you."
But the moment doesn't last.
A violent tremor shakes the platform.
The air cracks with silver lightning.
The gods step forward.
The Moon Goddess, radiant and cold.
The Shadow King, half-formed darkness.
Aiden lifts his head slowly, eyes blazing.
"Stay back," he growls.
Neither listens.
The Moon Goddess extends her hand.
"She is dying."
Aiden curls around me protectively.
"NO. She's breathing. She's alive. She's—"
The Shadow King's voice cuts through him.
"She is between realms."
Aiden's breath freezes.
"What does that mean?!"
The Moon looks down at me—
and for the first time, her perfect expression fractures.
"She is not dead…
but not living either."
Aiden's fingers tremble against my cheek.
"I don't understand—help her!"
The gods exchange a terrifying look.
The Shadow King speaks softly:
"She chose neither power.
Neither throne.
Neither destiny."
The Moon Goddess steps closer.
"To refuse both…
is to unmake the path written for her."
Aiden rises partially, still holding me against his chest.
"She chose herself. Isn't that what you wanted?!"
The Moon Goddess whispers:
"It is what we feared."
A crack splits the sky.
Silver light floods downward.
Shadow pulses upward.
The platform groans under the weight of power.
A path forms beneath me—
half glowing silver,
half pulsing black.
Aiden tenses.
"What is happening?"
The Moon Goddess answers:
"Her soul must choose."
Aiden's arms tighten protectively.
"She's already chosen! She chose not to belong to either of you!"
The Shadow King lifts his gaze.
"Not choosing is also a choice.
And it has consequences."
Before Aiden can speak—
the ground beneath us splits open.
A beam of blinding light shoots upward, wrapping around my body.
Aiden is thrown backward, smashing into the stone.
His roar shakes the realm.
"NO—NO—LET ME GO TO HER!!"
He shifts half-wolf instantly—
fangs out, claws burning with silver fire—
as he charges toward me.
But the gods lift their hands—
And Aiden slams into an invisible wall.
"No—NO—NO!"
He pounds the barrier until his hands bleed.
"LET ME TOUCH HER—LET ME—!!"
My body rises into the air.
My hair floats around me like liquid silver-shadow.
My wings unfurl, flickering violently.
The silver path glows.
The black path glows.
A third energy churns in the air between them—
wild, molten, unstable.
The Moon murmurs:
"She is transforming."
The Shadow King growls:
"She is becoming something we cannot predict."
Aiden roars at them:
"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?! BRING HER DOWN—BRING HER BACK TO ME!"
But they do nothing.
They are afraid.
The power swirling around me intensifies—
gold cracks through the silver,
red cracks through the black—
The energy is spiraling out of control.
My back arches.
I scream.
"AIDEN—!"
He slams into the barrier again—
and cracks appear.
He hits it harder.
Harder.
The Moon gasps.
"Stop him!"
The Shadow King snarls.
"He will destroy the realm."
But nothing can stop him.
"LIYANAAAA!"
His wolf takes over completely—
eyes glowing pure silver—
as he shatters the barrier.
He sprints to me, grabbing my hand in both of his.
He pulls—
with every ounce of strength he has—
dragging me back toward him.
"Stay with me," he pleads, voice breaking.
"Please, stay—stay—don't go—don't fade—"
I squeeze his fingers weakly.
"Aiden…"
"I'm here," he whispers fiercely.
"Come back. Come back to me."
My soul trembles.
The paths beneath me grow brighter.
The Moon path pulls at my chest.
The Shadow path tugs at my spine.
Aiden pulls me toward him—
anchoring me with trembling hands.
My voice breaks:
"I don't want to leave you."
His tears fall onto my face.
"Then DON'T. Choose me. Choose LIFE. Choose US."
The Moon Goddess steps forward.
"She cannot choose you."
The Shadow King adds:
"You offer no balance."
Aiden snarls at them.
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR BALANCE—I CARE ABOUT HER—"
The power inside me surges.
Silver and black wings ignite…
and a THIRD light erupts between them.
Gold.
Burning gold.
A new path forms—
spiraling, molten, ancient.
The Moon gasps.
The Shadow King recoils.
"A third path…"
Aiden's breath catches.
"Liyana…"
My lips part.
My soul is splitting—
but not to choose them.
To reject them.
To create something else.
"I choose…"
My voice trembles.
Aiden squeezes my hand.
"…I'm right here," he whispers.
My eyes open, glowing gold-black.
"I choose—
neither."
The world detonates.
A blinding explosion rocks the realm.
The ground cracks.
The sky splits.
The gods fall to their knees.
Aiden is thrown backward—
And the chapter ends with:
A hand—
not mine, not Aiden's—
rising from the depths of the void
and grabbing my ankle.