The world was still.
Only the soft shimmer of light remained, drifting like falling petals across the ruins of the battlefield.
The guardian's light - Sky's light - rippled outward in waves, washing through broken earth, through burned air and blood-soaked stone.
Where it passed, the smell of ash turned to rain.
Wounds began to close.
The screaming quieted.
William was the first to look up.
Through the haze, he saw a figure walking from the center of the field -
a young man bathed in silver radiance, steps slow but steady.
Beside him, the massive black wolf moved like shadow and moonlight woven together.
Across its back, lay the still body of the Supreme.
"...My Lord," William breathed, his voice cracking.
Magnus and Alexander, both battered and bloodstained, turned.
Even with their ancient strength, they looked worn - yet when the light brushed them, the old gods straightened, heads bowed in reverence.
PP stood frozen, his hand clutching Felix's sleeve as tears glistened in his eyes.
And Est - for once - had no joke to offer. He just whispered, "He did it... they actually did it."
The light dimmed as Sky crossed the threshold of the blood ward.
Jacob halted at the gates of the Supreme's castle, lowering himself so Sky could lift Nani into his arms again.
The Guardian carried the Supreme - the god of war - through the broken courtyard, every soul bowing as he passed.
---
Inside the grand hall, the silence shattered.
"Put him here! Now!" PP barked, snapping from daze. He and Felix rushed forward, shoving aside debris to clear a table.
"Bring the salve - no, not that one! The red vial, Felix!"
Felix scowled. "Do you want to be the one explaining to him why you used the wrong elixir when he wakes up?"
"He's not waking up until we fix him!" he snapped back, already sprinkling powder and murmuring a healing incantation.
Est stumbled in behind them, dragging a stack of bandages nearly his own height.
William appeared right after, issuing orders with his usual cold precision - but his hands were trembling.
"Move the wounded to the east wing. Joss, Gawin - rest, that's an order. Bilkin, coordinate with the wolves outside."
"Already on it," Bilkin rumbled, limping toward the door.
The once-immaculate castle had turned into controlled chaos.
Magnus and Alexander had taken refuge in the guest chambers, each too drained to stand but still sending bursts of energy to reinforce PP and Felix's healing.
Jacob and the remaining wolf warriors circled the outer walls, their golden eyes scanning the horizon - silent, loyal sentinels of the Guardian.
In the center of it all, Sky stood unmoving beside the table where Nani lay.
His eyes never left the Supreme - watching every flicker of breath, every twitch beneath PP's glowing sigil.
He didn't notice how pale his own skin had become, how the light that surrounded him began to dim with every heartbeat.
Felix glanced up, frowning.
"Sky? You should sit down. You're-"
Sky smiled faintly, his voice soft.
"He's breathing. That's all that matters."
Then the world tilted.
He swayed once, silver hair falling across his face - and before anyone could reach him, he collapsed.
"Sky!" PP screamed.
Everything exploded into motion again. Felix lunged, barely catching him before his head hit the marble floor.
"He's burning up- no, not heat, it's energy backlash!" Felix hissed.
PP already conjuring a healing circle snapped, "Don't just stand there, do something!"
Est, who'd been hovering nervously at the edge, finally jumped in - half panic, half sass.
"Excuse you, witch number one and witch number two! You both used half your magic already - let the human show you how multitasking looks!"
PP glared. "If you so much as spill water on him, Est-"
"You witch!".
Felix groaned. "Saints preserve me."
William pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're all insufferable," he muttered - but he was already lifting Sky gently onto another cot beside the Supreme, his movements far too careful for his tone.
The chaotic mix of shouting, spells, and Est's running commentary filled the hall again.
And beneath all the noise, the two at the heart of it - the Supreme and the Guardian - lay side by side, breaths shallow but steady.
The room glowed faintly, a halo of red and silver light flickering between them like two flames refusing to die out.
Outside, the moon finally rose - white again, no longer stained by blood.
Jacob raised his head and howled once, long and low, a call that echoed through the sleeping battlefield.
The war was over.
The world was healing.
But inside the Supreme's castle, the true battle - the fight for their lives - had only just begun.
---
The chaos of the last hours had softened into stillness.
The castle, once filled with shouting and the sound of running footsteps, now hummed only with the steady rhythm of spells and whispered prayers.
Outside, the wolves kept silent watch beneath a cold silver moon.
Inside, PP stood at the edge of the warded chamber, his hands moving in slow, practiced motions as strands of light wove into a dome around the two figures on the central bed.
"There," he murmured, voice hoarse but steady. "A full healing ward. Anyone who steps too close without my permission is getting turned into a toad."
Felix snorted weakly from where he sat slumped in a chair. "You're out of mana, love. The only thing you'll turn anyone into right now is a pile of glitter."
PP rolled his eyes but didn't reply. His gaze softened, falling to the two forms inside the ward -
the Guardian and the Supreme.
Both lay motionless, their energies tangled, threads of light and crimson power pulsing between them.
Even now, the air around them crackled like stormlight and thunder barely contained.
Sky looked almost peaceful - skin pale but luminous, the faint shimmer of his moonfire still dancing across his veins.
Nani, in contrast, was chaos made flesh.
His aura surged and stuttered, waves of dark-red energy spilling from him, scorching the edges of PP's barrier before it repaired itself.
The god of war refused to stay still, even in unconsciousness.
A faint gasp broke the stillness.
Felix straightened instantly. "Sky?"
The Guardian stirred, eyelashes fluttering open. For a heartbeat his eyes were dull - then silver bled back into them, and he inhaled sharply, sitting up halfway before PP hissed and pushed at the barrier.
"Don't move yet," he warned. "You burned through enough energy to light the continent."
Sky didn't seem to hear. His attention had already shifted -
to the man lying beside him, breathing ragged, chest rising and falling like the tide.
The mark on Nani's chest - once faint and dormant - now pulsed violently, veins of red light branching like cracks across his skin.
"He's fighting it," Sky whispered. "His power... it's devouring him from inside."
Without hesitation, Sky reached out, taking Nani's hand in his.
The warmth of it startled him - fever-hot, trembling with power.
Then he pressed his other palm flat against Nani's chest, right over the mark.
The entire room held its breath.
A soft glow began beneath his touch - silver at first, then deepening into pale moonfire.
It traced the edges of the sigil burned into Nani's skin, winding upward along his collarbone, his throat, his arm - following the network of runes that marked the god of war's body.
Wherever the light touched, the violent flare of red subsided, soothed into calm crimson.
PP froze mid-chant, eyes widening. "Oh, stars..."
Felix looked up sharply. "What?"
PP's voice trembled with awe.
"The curse - it's not gone. Not yet. The balance is still unstable."
He took a hesitant step forward, his eyes locked on the glowing lines spreading under Nani's skin.
"The curse was born when Blood and Moon defied the law of separation. It can't end unless both are bound again - willingly."
Felix frowned. "You mean-"
"I mean," PP interrupted softly, "until they mark each other completely - not by accident, not by power, but by choice - the curse won't break. It's half undone... half bound."
The light in the chamber pulsed, reacting to his words.
Nani's breathing steadied, but his aura still lashed against Sky's hand, wild and untamed.
Sky leaned closer, whispering something no one else could hear - his forehead resting lightly against Nani's.
The silver glow brightened, weaving through the crimson until both colors merged into one -
blood and moonfire intertwining again, not in chaos this time, but harmony.
PP exhaled, his shoulders sagging.
"They're doing it," he said softly, almost reverently. "The bond's stabilizing. He's... choosing him again."
Felix sank back into his chair, rubbing his eyes. "Let's just hope the world doesn't burn again when they do."
For once, PP didn't argue.
He only watched as the light ebbed slowly, the two gods lying still - their joined hands the only thing between ruin and peace.
Outside, the wolves howled once more, this time not in mourning, but in promise.
The night had quieted, but destiny still stirred beneath their joined marks.
----
Three days had passed.
The war had ended, the skies above the Supreme's lands were clear again.
Morning light poured through the tall windows of the royal chamber - gold melting into white marble, the scent of herbs and healing salves still lingering in the air.
Everything outside seemed new, untouched, as if the world itself was holding its breath after centuries of chaos.
Sky stood quietly on the balcony, watching the horizon.
The air was crisp and clean, carrying the faint hum of wards and magic restored.
Below, the rebuilt courtyards gleamed; wolves and vampires walked side by side in uneasy but peaceful silence.
For the first time, he felt still - his power no longer flickering, no longer hungry or wild. The moonfire within him obeyed.
He traced his fingers along the faint scars that once marred his chest - now gone, only the faint warmth of the bond mark remained near his heart, pulsing softly like a second heartbeat.
And then-
a voice, rough but warm, low like a melody he had known all his life.
"Sky."
He turned - and the world stopped.
Nani sat upright on the bed, dark hair spilling over his shoulders, eyes heavy with sleep but bright with life again.
The marks that once blazed like open wounds were faint now, healed completely - even the burn scars had vanished, leaving smooth skin and the glow of power restrained beneath.
He smiled, slow and fond. "You're awake early," he murmured, voice still hoarse.
Sky didn't answer. He crossed the room in a blur, the controlled Guardian gone, replaced by the boy who had waited, feared, and loved too deeply. He threw his arms around Nani, pressing his face against his chest.
"You scared me," Sky whispered, his voice trembling. "You didn't wake for three days. I thought-"
Nani's hand came up, fingers sliding into Sky's silver hair, stroking gently.
"I promised you, didn't I?" he said softly. "That I'd find you again."
Sky leaned back just enough to meet his gaze - that familiar crimson, softer now, still burning but no longer in pain.
There was something infinite in that look - devotion, hunger, peace.
Nani's thumb brushed along Sky's cheek. "You've changed."
"So have you," Sky replied, smiling faintly. "You don't burn anymore."
Nani gave a quiet chuckle. "That's because you're stubborn enough to purify me."
A brief silence stretched between them, warm and fragile.
Then Sky's tone shifted, lower, more certain.
"The curse... it's not gone yet, is it?"
Nani's hand stilled. "No," he admitted quietly. "It's bound. Dormant. But not completely broken."
Sky took his hand, guiding it to the mark that lay over his own heart - the same mark that once belonged to Lira, to Niran, to every lifetime bound to the Blood Star.
"Then mark me," Sky said.
"Permanently."
Nani's eyes flickered with something dark and unreadable. "You know what you're asking?"
Sky nodded once. "I do."
"If I mark you permanently," Nani said slowly, "your soul will be bound to mine. You will carry my pain - my curse, my darkness. There will be no boundary between us.
If I die-" he hesitated, voice rough, "you die too."
Sky's gaze didn't waver.
"Then I'll die with you. I was born for this - to end this curse. To choose it. To choose you."
For a long moment, neither of them moved.
Then Nani reached up, cupping Sky's jaw, and leaned forward until their foreheads touched.
"You're not supposed to submit to anyone," he whispered. "Not even me."
"I'm not submitting," Sky murmured back. "I'm choosing."
The air between them shifted — dense, electric, and heavy with centuries of unspoken want.
Sky's heartbeat stuttered when Nani's hand slid around his waist, the touch both a question and a promise.
Their breaths mingled — heat and light colliding, the faint crackle of power rising like sparks around them.
When their lips met, it wasn't the wild desperation of battle or fear — it was slow, deliberate.
A kiss that spoke of recognition. Of finding what had been lost through lifetimes.
Nani's lips moved with reverence, tracing Sky's mouth like he was memorizing every line, every breath.
When he pulled back, his fangs barely grazed Sky's bottom lip — a ghost of pain, sweet and sharp.
Sky shivered, silver light trembling at the edges of his skin in answer to the touch.
The pulse beneath his throat quickened, calling to the blood that once marked him.
"Are you sure?" Nani's voice was low, rough, a thread of hunger tangled in restraint. His eyes glowed crimson, but his hands trembled where they held Sky — as if he feared the answer would unmake him.
"Yes," Sky whispered, his voice breaking like a vow. "Do it."
Something ancient shifted in the room — like the world itself holding its breath.
Nani's restraint shattered.
He drew Sky back against the silk sheets, the motion fluid and reverent, as though laying an offering before the gods. His fingers traced the glowing mark at Sky's throat — the mark he had once placed there in another life, when love was forbidden and cursed.
His lips followed the trail of silver light down the curve of Sky's collarbone, each kiss deeper, slower, until the rhythm of Sky's heartbeat pulsed against his mouth.
When his fangs sank into the mark, it wasn't violence — it was communion.
A claiming, yes — but one born from love, not dominance. A sealing of fate that neither god nor curse could break.
Sky gasped, his back arching, light spilling from his skin — ribbons of silver and crimson twisting together, curling like auroras in the dim room.
The air filled with the scent of rain and blood and moonlight.
Every heartbeat echoed between them, one answering the other, power pouring through their joined veins — not burning this time, but binding.
The bond flared — not curse, not punishment — but choice.
A love willingly forged in blood and moonfire.
When it was done, the silence felt holy.
The mark glowed on both of them — twin sigils, identical and perfect, pulsing faintly like two hearts beating in time.
Two gods reborn.
Two halves made whole again.
Nani brushed his lips against Sky's pulse, his voice a low whisper that trembled with awe.
"Mine."
Sky smiled through the daze, his eyes half-lidded, the silver still flickering behind them.
"Always."
Outside, the horizon broke — pale light spilling over the castle walls.
And for the first time in centuries, the Blood Star and the Moonfire rose together in peace — their light entwined, not burning, but illuminating the dawn.