The night after Sohag's awakening was unnervingly quiet.
The group made camp near the edge of the Whispering Vale, a mystical stretch of silver-lit forest said to be watched over by ancient spirits. The trees glowed faintly under the moonlight, their leaves shimmering like polished crystal. A gentle blue mist curled around the roots.
A place of beauty.
A place of danger.
Sohag sat slightly apart from the others, leaning against a moonstone boulder. The fragment of Haleonar's power pulsed inside him like a second heartbeat, calm yet immeasurable. His expression remained composed—introverted, silent, observing.
But something was off.
Something in the night air.
Lyra sat next to him, hugging his arm possessively while glaring at every shadow as if preparing to murder anything that breathed too close.
"Something's watching," she whispered. "I can feel it."
Sohag nodded.
"I know."
Ellarin the elf stepped out of the trees with her bow unsheathed. "My senses… they've been screaming since dusk. A presence moves through the treetops. Very fast. Very skilled."
Seraphina frowned, holding her staff over her heart. "Not demonic, not monstrous… Something refined. Precise."
"A killer," Maya muttered.
Sohag quietly agreed.
The girls all turned to him.
"Sohag… do you know what it is?" Seraphina asked.
He looked into the forest.
"…A Moon Initiate," he answered softly.
The group froze.
The Moon Initiates—an elite order of assassins so silent that even gods feared their blades. Their existence was mostly rumor, myth, or ghost stories whispered by nobles.
But Sohag knew better.
Haleonar's inheritance had given him a glimpse of ancient knowledge, and one particular name echoed in his mind—
Lunaria Vaelcrest.
The Silver Wraith.
The Best Assassin of the Millennium.
One of the 12 destined hearts in Sohag's future.
And at that exact moment—
A silver glint flashed.
Sohag leaned his head two centimeters to the left.
A blade passed through where his skull had been.
Not touching a single hair.
Lyra screamed and latched onto him.
"WHO DARES—?!"
But Sohag raised a hand, calming her.
"She's not here to kill me," he murmured.
The silver figure landed silently on a tree branch. A woman cloaked in moonlit cloth, eyes glowing softly like twin moons. Her movements were smooth, silent, predatory.
The girls took defensive positions.
Every one of them sensed it—
She wasn't just strong.
She was terrifying.
And she was staring directly at Sohag.
"…Found you," she whispered.
Her voice was soft.
Cold.
Beautiful.
She jumped down, landing only a few steps away.
No hostility showed in her expression.
In fact… she looked relieved.
"You're even more radiant than the visions showed," she murmured.
Sohag blinked. "Visions?"
Lunaria slowly removed her hood.
Her hair fell like liquid silver, and her skin glowed faintly in the moonlight. She was ethereal, refined, deadly—yet strangely fragile near Sohag.
"I am Lunaria Vaelcrest, assassin of the Moon Initiates."
She kneeled before him.
Head bowed.
Heart exposed.
"I have been searching for you… my destined master."
The girls collectively shouted:
"WHAT?!!"
Even Sohag stiffened.
Lunaria continued:
"The Moon Goddess showed me a prophecy, years ago. A boy of impossible beauty who carries the aura of the Primordial Origin. A boy whose shadow touches every fate. A boy I am to protect… love… and devote my everything to."
Her silver eyes softened dreamily.
"And now that I see you… I finally understand."
Lyra stepped forward with murder in her eyes.
"Excuse me, what do you mean love and devote?!"
Lunaria calmly drew her blade.
"Exactly what it sounds like."
Maya, Rynia, and Ellarin tensed.
Seraphina panicked, "W-Wait! Everyone calm down!"
But Sohag just sighed softly.
"Stop."
His voice wasn't loud.
It wasn't forceful.
But with his awakened primordial aura behind it—
Everyone froze.
Even the assassin.
Sohag stood.
"This isn't a place for conflict."
He walked toward Lunaria.
She held her breath, clearly overwhelmed by being near him. Her hands trembled—not from fear, but from barely suppressed emotion.
When he finally stood in front of her, she lowered her gaze shyly.
"You… really are as gentle as the prophecy said."
Sohag studied her quietly.
"What do you want from me?"
Lunaria looked up.
Her moonlit eyes were filled with raw devotion, so pure and intense that even Lyra flinched.
"I want to serve you. To love you. To be by your side… even if you never love me back."
Her cheeks flushed faintly.
"And if you will allow it… I wish to become one of your wives."
Sohag blinked.
He blushed.
Hard.
The girls watched, stunned.
Lyra was shaking. "ANOTHER ONE?!"
Seraphina whispered, "Her loyalty… it's genuine."
Ellarin muttered, "And her power… she's practically a demigod-level assassin."
Maya sighed, "Of course Sohag attracts the strongest women in existence…"
Lunaria stayed kneeling, patient and serene.
Sohag gently shook his head.
"There's no need to kneel."
She lifted her eyes. "Then… may I kneel only in private?"
Sohag's face turned crimson.
The other girls burst into chaos.
But Lunaria simply smiled—a soft, moonlit smile.
"I will prove my worth to you… my destined lord."
And deep in the shadows of the forest—
The crack in the sky widened.
Someone—or something—was almost ready to descend.
The threat Haleonar warned of…
Was getting closer.
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