Selene stood at the entrance of the ruined shelter like a silent sentinel, her presence alone enough to make the entire forest hold its breath.
Long dark hair tied back.Eyes the color of cold starlight — intelligent, piercing, unreadable.A staff carved with ancient runes rested loosely in her hand, but even "loose" felt dangerous.
Rafe stepped in front of Mara and Lyn, forming a small barrier with his tiny body.
Selene's gaze flicked to him first.
"You're the one with the strange eyes," she said calmly. "You see things most children don't."
"I see danger," Rafe replied. "And right now, you're part of it."
Mara moved closer to Rafe, shoulder brushing his.
"I won't let you touch Lyn," she said.
Selene raised an eyebrow, amused by the bravery.
Lyn, trembling behind them, whispered, "…Who is she…?"
Rafe didn't take his eyes off Selene.
"Someone who shouldn't be here yet."
Selene's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Yet?"
Rafe immediately regretted the slip — she was too sharp to overlook that word.
Selene took a slow step forward.
"Light Mana is extremely rare in this region. When a child awakens it, the pulse travels far. I felt it from half a day's distance."
Mara's grip on Rafe's shirt tightened.
"So you came here to take her," Mara accused.
"No," Selene said. "If I wanted to take her, the three of you would already be unconscious."
The confidence in her tone was chilling.
Lyn shivered.
Rafe stayed silent for a moment, analyzing her face, posture, breathing. No hostility. No hunger. No scout-like coldness.
Just curiosity.And something else.
Concern.
Selene's gaze softened — barely.
"I sensed fear and chaos. I sensed danger. I came to see if the awakened child was alive."
Rafe frowned.
"So you're… what? A protector?"
"I'm many things," Selene said. "Protector is sometimes one of them."
A vague answer. Which meant: she's not lying, but she's hiding something.
Rafe stepped forward one pace.
"What do you actually want?"
Selene's eyes flicked between the three of them.
"I want to know if the child with Light Mana is being hunted."
Rafe froze.
Mara stiffened.
Lyn hid behind Rafe completely.
Selene sighed softly.
"That answers it."
She lowered her staff.
"Who chased you?"
Rafe stayed quiet.
Selene waited with an almost frightening patience.
When he still didn't answer, she added:
"I'm not your enemy. If I were, I wouldn't be talking."
Mara glared. "We're supposed to trust you?"
Selene tilted her head, amused.
"No. In fact, you'd be foolish to trust me."
That honesty caught Rafe off guard.
"But," Selene continued, "if the ones hunting the girl are wearing black coats… then you've been targeted by the Outer Circle."
Rafe's blood ran cold.
He knew the name.
An organization that existed outside the official bloodline families.Secretive, powerful, ruthless.A group that hunted awakened children to use them as experiments or weapons.
Rafe nodded slowly."Yeah. A scout in black followed us."
Selene's eyes sharpened.
"Then you're in far greater danger than you realize."
Mara stepped closer to Rafe, instinctively protective.
"We can fight," she said.
"No, you can't," Selene replied bluntly.
Mara bristled.Rafe placed a hand on her arm.
"Easy."
Selene continued:
"A scout alone is a problem. But they won't send just one. There will be more. And stronger."
Lyn's breathing grew shallow.
"Are they… going to kill me…?"
Selene crouched down slowly, lowering herself to Lyn's eye level.
"No," Selene said softly. "Not while I'm here."
Mara blinked.
Rafe's eyes narrowed.
"Why help her?" he asked. "Why help us?"
Selene met his gaze fully for the first time — and something ancient, powerful, and tired looked back.
"Because Light Mana shouldn't belong to monsters," she said. "It should belong to someone who won't be consumed by it."
She stood.
"And this child… has that potential."
Lyn looked down, overwhelmed.
Mara swallowed.
"You want to teach her?"
Selene didn't answer directly.
"I want to protect her. For now. And if she chooses… then yes. I can help her control her mana."
Rafe frowned.
This was too fast.Too convenient.
But Selene was not the type to lure children for manipulation.In the original story, she rejected every attempt to recruit her.She only helped those she saw promise in — and even then, rarely.
Mara tugged Rafe's sleeve.
"Rafe… what do we do?"
Rafe stared at Selene.
He had three choices:
Trust Selene and gain a powerful ally.
Reject her and stay alone in the forest with two exhausted girls.
Stall until he could decide.
Rafe chose the third.
"For now," he said carefully, "you can stay. But you don't come closer unless Lyn says it's okay."
Selene nodded, unfazed.
"That's fair."
She stepped back to give them space.
"I'll keep watch outside. If the scout returns, I'll deal with him."
Rafe blinked.
"You'll fight him alone?"
"I could fight ten of him alone," she said flatly.
Mara's jaw dropped slightly.
Rafe swallowed.
"…Alright."
Selene walked to the entrance of the ruin, staff in hand, and took guard like a silent guardian.
The moment she was out of earshot, Mara turned to Rafe.
"I don't trust her."
"Good," Rafe said. "Neither do I."
Lyn whispered weakly:
"Then why… let her stay…?"
Rafe sat beside her.
"Because right now… she's the only reason we're not dead."
And that was the truth.
Whether Selene became friend or enemy—
She had already changed the path ahead.