Chapter 16: The Starborn Paradox

Luna drifted in and out of consciousness.

Her body felt weightless, suspended in an ocean of stars. She could hear echoes of voices—whispers of fate, fragments of ancient knowledge, pieces of something she couldn't yet grasp.

Then—sharp pain.

She gasped as awareness returned, her body jolting. Cold stone pressed against her skin. The air was thick with the scent of burning incense and something metallic, something unnatural.

She was no longer on the streets.

She was somewhere else.

Slowly, she forced her eyes open.

A chamber.

Not just any chamber—one unlike anything she had ever seen before. The walls were lined with celestial charts, constellations glowing with faint golden light. Strange metallic pillars stood in a circular formation, humming with an energy that sent shivers down her spine.

Luna tried to move, but her wrists were bound by invisible restraints—thin lines of starlight wrapped around her skin like shackles.

She wasn't alone.

A figure stood in front of her.

Not Castian.

Someone else.

Someone… familiar.

A woman.

Draped in dark celestial robes, her face hidden behind a silver half-mask, only her sharp, calculating eyes visible beneath the hood.

Luna's breath hitched.

She knew those eyes.

The woman stepped closer, her gaze unreadable.

And then, in a voice both hauntingly familiar and utterly foreign, she spoke.

"Hello, Luna."

Luna's pulse stopped.

Because she had heard this voice before.

In whispers.

In dreams.

In memories.

She couldn't breathe. "No. That's… that's impossible."

The woman reached up slowly and removed her mask.

Luna's entire world collapsed.

She was looking at herself.

An older version of herself.

Her own face.

Her own eyes.

But colder. Wiser. More dangerous.

Luna's mind reeled. This was impossible. It couldn't be—

"You don't understand yet," the older Luna said, her voice low and steady. "But you will."

Luna's breath came in sharp gasps. "What… what is this?"

The older version of herself tilted her head slightly. "A paradox."

Luna shook her head violently. "No. This isn't real. This is some kind of trick."

The woman—her future self—sighed. "You've already started to rewrite the stars, Luna. This is the consequence."

Luna's body trembled. "You're lying."

But deep down, she felt it.

The connection.

The pull.

This was her.

Not a clone. Not an illusion.

Her own future.

Her own fate.

Her own failure.

The older Luna stepped forward. "You think you can rewrite fate without consequence? That you can stand against the Celestial Order without becoming something… worse?"

Luna clenched her fists. "If you're really me, then tell me—why are you here? Why are you with them?"

Her future self exhaled slowly, as if she had been dreading this conversation.

"Because I lost."

Luna's chest tightened. "What?"

The older Luna's gaze turned sharp. Cold. "Because I tried to fight fate, just like you're doing now. And I failed. The stars broke. The Order was destroyed. The world was left in chaos."

Luna's stomach dropped.

The older Luna stepped even closer, lowering her voice. "I thought I could control it. I thought I could shape my own destiny. But I didn't realize…"

Luna swallowed hard. "Realize what?"

Her future self leaned in, eyes dark with something ancient, something beyond time itself.

"The stars don't just shape fate, Luna. They hold reality together."

Luna's breath stilled.

"When I broke fate… I broke everything."

A cold silence filled the chamber.

Luna shook her head, panic rising. "No. That's not possible."

The older Luna let out a bitter laugh. "You think you're the first Starborn to try and fight fate?" She motioned around them. "You're standing in the ruins of a timeline I destroyed."

Luna felt like she couldn't breathe. "No. I don't believe you."

Her older self studied her carefully, then raised her hand.

Luna flinched—

But instead of attacking, the woman opened her palm.

A small, golden fracture shimmered in the air. A tear—a literal crack in reality—floating just above her hand.

And inside the fracture—

Luna saw countless versions of herself.

Some screaming. Some fighting. Some falling into nothingness.

Luna staggered back.

"What… what is that?"

The older Luna's voice was quiet. Haunted.

"A future you cannot escape."

Luna shook her head violently. "No. No, I won't become this. I won't make the same mistakes."

Her future self exhaled. "Then choose differently."

Luna's hands trembled. "What do you mean?"

Her future self's eyes darkened.

"You have to let go."

Luna's pulse spiked. "Let go of what?"

The woman's expression was unreadable. Regretful.

"Of your power."

Luna's world tilted. "No."

Her older self's gaze hardened. "It's the only way."

Luna's mind raced.

If she let go—if she gave up her power—would she be safe? Would she avoid becoming this future?

Or would she be playing right into the Celestial Order's hands?

A chill ran through her bones.

She had spent her whole life searching for the truth, for control over her destiny.

And now, the person she was destined to become…

Was telling her to give it all up.

Luna clenched her fists.

No.

She wasn't ready to make that choice.

Not yet.

Her future self studied her for a long moment.

Then, she sighed.

"Then you will become me."

A ripple of energy pulsed through the chamber.

The celestial restraints around Luna shattered.

A blinding light erupted around her—

And then—

Everything collapsed.