The mountain moaned.
A deep, ancient groan rolled through the sanctuary walls, shaking crystals loose and sending cracks splintering across the glowing runes. Frost blossomed over stone. Air hummed with an electric cold so vicious that Aria felt it in her bones.
Ronan tightened his grip around her waist. "Stay with me."
Aria tried. She really tried.
But the silver veins under her skin were pulsing too fast—like her power was climbing toward a brink it wasn't prepared to cross.
Her chest burned, the moon sigil glowing brighter.
"Ronan…" Her voice trembled. "It's happening again."
His arms locked protectively around her. "You're not going through this alone."
The stranger backed away as the sanctuary lights flickered violently. "This is not like before. This… this is its real presence."
A sound followed—
not a roar
not a hiss
but a low, rattling inhalation
like the darkness itself was breathing.
Then—
BOOM.
Stone shattered near the entrance.
The sanctuary plunged into shadow.
Ronan stepped in front of her instantly. "Aria—behind me."
"No," she whispered. "We stand together, remember?"
His jaw clenched painfully.
The stranger raised an arm, runes lighting at his fingertips. "Brace yourselves."
Aria swallowed hard. "Ronan—I don't know if I can do this."
He pressed his forehead to hers.
"Then I'll hold you up until you can."
Her breath hitched—emotion flooding her.
She nodded.
Because she believed him.
⸻
The Devourer's True Form
Shadows poured in like a breaking wave, swallowing the sanctuary's entrance until only darkness remained. Not empty darkness—
alive
writhing
shifting.
It rose into a towering figure—
three times Ronan's height
with no face
only a void of swirling black mist
and a mouth that appeared only when it spoke.
The temperature dropped further.
Frost crawled across the floor toward Aria's feet.
She shivered violently.
The Devourer's voice slithered through the sanctuary:
Moonbreaker.
At last.
Your heart calls to me.
Aria's knees buckled. Ronan caught her instantly.
"Don't listen to it," he growled.
But she heard the creature in her bones—its presence curling like icy fingers around her heart.
Her sigil flared.
The Devourer tilted its shifting head.
You glow beautifully.
A vessel ripening.
A door opening.
Aria gasped, pressing a hand to her chest. "Ronan… something's pulling me…"
He grabbed her wrist tightly. "I'm right here. You're not going anywhere."
The Devourer advanced, tendrils licking the ground.
Give me your light.
Break for me.
A surge of pain ripped through Aria, forcing a cry from her lips. Ronan snarled at the creature.
"STOP HURTING HER!"
The Devourer only laughed, a hollow, echoing sound.
Wolf.
You cling to fate not meant for you.
The Moonbreaker belongs to me.
Aria felt her power slip—
like sand between trembling fingers.
Her legs gave out again.
"Ronan—it's too strong—"
He caught her. Held her. Anchored her.
"You're stronger than it," he murmured into her hair. "You're stronger than anything."
But she didn't feel strong.
She felt like she was drowning.
⸻
The Prophecy Awakens
The stranger shouted, "Aria—look at the wall!"
The runes on the sanctuary's ancient wall ignited suddenly—
not with silver
but with fiery blue light.
They rearranged themselves, forming symbols Aria hadn't seen before.
Her breath froze.
"It's changing…"
The stranger nodded grimly. "The prophecy adapts when the Moonbreaker reaches the point of decision. It's responding to you."
Aria stared as new words burned across the crystal:
"When shadow ascends,
the Moonbreaker stands at the threshold.
If her heart wavers, the world falls.
If her anchor holds, the world is saved."
Ronan stared at her, heartbeat trembling.
"Aria. Look at me. You're not wavering. Not while I'm here."
But her power flared dangerously again—silver exploding under her skin.
"I'm trying…" She choked on breath. "It hurts—it hurts so much—"
The Devourer stepped closer.
Pain is good.
Pain softens the vessel.
Pain opens the door.
Aria cried out, clutching her chest as the sigil burned white-hot.
Ronan hugged her tightly, refusing to let go.
"Focus on me," he whispered harshly. "On us. On the bond."
Her eyes snapped to his.
The bond flickered.
Wavered.
Strained.
Silver veins pulsed violently along her throat.
"Ronan… I can't—I don't want to disappear."
"You won't," he said fiercely. "I'll drag you back myself."
⸻
The Devourer Strikes
A tendril shot toward Aria like a whip.
Ronan lunged, claws flashing—
but the Devourer moved faster than before, slipping past him, reaching toward Aria's chest.
Aria screamed.
The Devourer whispered:
Mine.
Silver light exploded from Aria instinctively.
The shockwave blasted Ronan and the stranger backward—
But the Devourer was barely pushed.
Ronan's vision blurred as he slammed into a pillar.
"Aria—RUN!" he shouted.
But she couldn't.
Her legs wouldn't move.
Her breath wouldn't steady.
Her bones felt ready to tear themselves apart.
The Devourer reached again.
Aria forced herself backward on trembling hands. "No… no—stay away—"
She raised a hand weakly—
silver sparks flickered
but no blast came.
Her power stuttered.
She was unraveling.
The Devourer sensed it.
Beautiful.
Weakening.
Yield.
Become.
Aria felt herself slipping—
her mind blurring
her heart freezing
her soul dimming.
Ronan roared, leaping forward and slashing at the Devourer's solidifying form. Dark mist sprayed, sizzling on the ground.
The Devourer hissed in annoyance.
Wolf.
Die quietly.
A tendril wrapped around Ronan's torso and slammed him into the ground.
His breath left him in a choking gasp.
"RONAN!" Aria screamed.
She tried to run toward him, but her knees buckled and she collapsed. Silver lightning wracked her body, her transformation fighting itself from the inside.
The stranger rushed forward, chanting ancient runes, sending bursts of light into the Devourer—but they barely slowed it.
"Aria!" he shouted. "Use your bond! Pull Ronan back through the connection!"
Aria reached toward Ronan, tears blurring her vision. "Ronan!"
He lay pinned to the floor, blood in his mouth, struggling to breathe.
"Aria—run—" he rasped.
She shook her head violently. "No."
Her heart squeezed painfully.
Her wrist burned.
The sigil flared.
The Devourer dragged Ronan closer, preparing to crush him.
⸻
Aria's Breaking Point
Something inside Aria snapped.
Not in pain.
Not in fear.
In power.
She screamed—
Not in terror
but in defiance.
Silver light burst from her chest and eyes.
She rose—
not gracefully
not gently
but as if the air itself lifted her.
The Devourer froze.
Ronan stared through blurry vision. "Aria…?"
Her feet hovered inches off the floor.
Her hair floated like she stood underwater.
Her sigil glowed like a small moon.
Aria spoke—and her voice vibrated through the sanctuary.
"Let. Him. Go."
The Devourer laughed.
Mocking.
Unimpressed.
You cannot command me, fractured one.
Aria tilted her glowing eyes upward.
"Then I'll make you."
Silver rings of light erupted from her body, expanding outward like ripples through the air.
They slammed into the Devourer, forcing it backward—
its tendrils unraveling
its form flickering
its grip on Ronan breaking.
Ronan fell to the ground, coughing hard.
Aria landed unsteadily, power surging out of her like wildfire.
She staggered—nearly collapsed—
Ronan caught her first.
His hands gripped her waist, grounding her. "Aria—what you just did—"
"I don't know how…" she whispered. "It just—happened."
He stroked her cheek. "It saved my life."
The Devourer reformed—
now angrier
now hungrier
now more determined.
Impressive.
But you are still unfinished.
Incomplete.
Breakable.
Aria's eyes dimmed slightly—exhaustion creeping in.
"I won't let it take me," she whispered to Ronan. "I won't."
"And I won't let it touch you."
He held her hand.
The bond pulsed again—warm, defiant, alive.
The Devourer hissed.
Your hearts will be your undoing.
Your love—your weakness.
I will break it first.
Aria leaned into Ronan instinctively, her body trembling.
The stranger whispered urgently:
"Prepare yourselves.
The true battle begins now."