Chapter 4: Chains of the Past

The void trembled.

Golden cracks splintered the abyssal domain as the Lunar Executioner severed the darkness with a single strike. Yoru felt his power wane, his control slipping like sand through his fingers. His breath came sharp and uneven—he had overused his void energy.

Yet, it wasn't the Executioner that made his heart falter.

It was her.

The soft scent of lotus and frost drifted through the ruined battlefield. A figure emerged from the shadows, silver hair flowing like moonlight, amethyst eyes reflecting an unreadable depth of emotion.

She spoke his name—just once.

"Yoru."

His mind screamed at him to focus. The Lunar Executioner was still standing, their golden eyes burning through their mask. And yet, for the first time since his ascension, Yoru felt his past clawing its way back.

"…Why are you here?" His voice was steady, but even he could hear the strain in it.

She didn't answer right away. Instead, she stepped forward, her gaze lingering on his wounds, then shifting to the masked hunter still gripping their glaive.

"Tch." The Executioner exhaled, gaze flicking between the two. "I see. You are not alone in this defiance."

Yoru clenched his fists. "This has nothing to do with her."

The Executioner raised their weapon. "Then she should leave. Or die with you."

The air grew heavy. The battlefield, once filled with destruction and chaos, now hung in silence.

Then—

She moved.

Faster than even Yoru expected.

A silver arc sliced through the air. The Executioner barely had time to react before the girl's blade clashed against the glaive, sending sparks flying in all directions.

Yoru's eyes widened. "You—"

She turned her head slightly, her voice calm but firm.

"We'll talk later. Right now, we survive."

The storm was far from over.

---

Chains of the Past (Part 2)

The battlefield shifted in an instant.

Yoru watched as the silver-haired girl—someone he never thought he'd see again—held her ground against the Executioner. Her blade, thin yet unyielding, clashed against the glaive's weight, sending shockwaves through the ruined city.

The Executioner barely moved, their golden eyes locked onto her with silent calculation.

"You interfere," they said, voice cold. "Foolish."

She didn't flinch. "And yet, here I am."

Yoru exhaled sharply. He had questions—too many. But now wasn't the time. His void energy was still recovering, and even with her help, the Executioner was a force beyond either of them alone.

"We need to break away," she said, voice low but urgent.

Yoru tensed. Retreat? It grated against him. But logic won over pride—this wasn't a battle he could win, not yet.

The Executioner sensed it.

"You will not escape."

They vanished.

A blur of silver and black struck like lightning—

But she was faster.

Her blade twisted, redirecting the glaive's strike mid-air, sending the Executioner skidding back a step. It wasn't much, but it was enough.

Yoru saw the opening.

"Void Step."

Darkness swallowed him.

A breath later, he reappeared beside her, his hand already reaching for hers. "Hold on."

She didn't hesitate.

The void cracked open—

And the ruins of Velios vanished behind them.

---

A Fractured Reunion

They reappeared deep within the ruins, beneath the remnants of a fallen temple. Moonlight streamed through the shattered ceiling, illuminating the dust and broken statues.

For a long moment, neither spoke.

Then—

"You really don't change, do you?" Her voice was quieter now, less sharp, carrying something softer beneath the weight of battle.

Yoru turned to her fully, silver eyes unreadable. "I could say the same to you."

A ghost of a smile played at her lips. But it faded just as quickly.

"You absorbed the void," she said, watching him carefully.

Yoru didn't answer immediately. Instead, he let the void energy flicker between his fingers, the dark tendrils barely visible in the dim light.

"…Yeah."

She sighed, crossing her arms. "And now the High Order wants your head."

He chuckled dryly. "When don't they?"

That earned him a slight glare, but he could see the worry behind it.

"Yoru," she murmured. "Do you even realize what you've become?"

He met her gaze, his expression calm—but there was something dangerous in his voice.

"I do."

Silence stretched between them.

Then she took a step closer, her amethyst eyes searching his. "Then tell me… if I stand against you—"

Yoru's breath hitched.

Her voice softened. "…Will you kill me too?"

He stared at her.

Then—

A bitter smile.

"You really think I could?"

She held his gaze, something unspoken passing between them.

Then, after a pause—

"…No," she admitted.

Another silence. This time, less heavy.

Then, she sighed. "You owe me an explanation."

Yoru exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "You're not wrong."

A small smile flickered across her lips.

"Good. Because I'm not leaving."

And for the first time in a long while, Yoru felt something other than emptiness settle in his chest.

Chapter 4: Chains of the Past (Part 3)

Yoru leaned against a broken pillar, his silver eyes flickering in the moonlight. He wasn't sure what to say. So much had happened, and now she was here—standing before him like a ghost from a life he had buried.

He finally sighed. "I didn't expect to see you again, Luna."

Her amethyst eyes softened slightly, though her stance remained guarded. "Neither did I. But fate has a cruel sense of humor, doesn't it?"

Yoru scoffed, running a hand through his hair. "Fate? No, this is just another game the High Order is playing."

Luna stepped closer, her gaze unwavering. "Maybe. But I need to know—what happened to you after that day?"

Yoru exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of her words settle in his chest. After that day. The day he lost everything. The day he died, only to be reborn in the void's embrace.

"You already know the answer, don't you?" he said quietly.

Luna didn't respond immediately. Instead, she studied him, as if trying to piece together the boy she once knew with the man standing before her now.

"I know you disappeared." Her voice was softer now, almost hesitant. "I heard rumors—whispers of the Voidborn, of a shadow consuming entire battlefields. But I didn't want to believe it."

Yoru smirked, though it lacked warmth. "And yet, here I am."

Luna's fingers tightened around the hilt of her blade. "You were supposed to die that day, Yoru."

He chuckled, the sound low and bitter. "I did."

Silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken pain.

Then Luna sighed, shaking her head. "You've changed."

Yoru's smirk faded. "And you haven't."

She looked at him then, really looked at him—at the void energy pulsing faintly around his form, at the exhaustion hidden behind his sharp gaze. And something in her expression shifted.

"So what happens now?" she asked.

Yoru met her eyes, unreadable as the abyss itself.

"That depends."

"On what?"

"On whether you still plan to stand against me."

Luna's breath hitched. She held his gaze, her expression unreadable.

Then, slowly, she let go of her blade. The tension in her shoulders eased, just slightly.

"I'm not here to fight you, Yoru."

He didn't reply, but something in his stance relaxed as well.

Luna crossed her arms, studying him. "I want to know the truth. Not the rumors. Not the lies the High Order tells. The real truth."

Yoru sighed. "And if the truth isn't what you want to hear?"

Luna's lips curled into the smallest of smirks. "Then I'll decide what to do with it."

For the first time in a long while, Yoru felt the chains of the past loosen—just a little.

And for the first time since embracing the void, he wasn't sure if he was still walking this path alone.

The silence between them stretched, broken only by the distant echoes of the ruined city. Moonlight filtered through shattered arches, casting ghostly shadows across the temple ruins. Yoru's silver eyes flickered in the dim glow, his expression unreadable as he weighed Luna's words.

She wanted the truth.

But was he ready to give it?

Yoru exhaled, his voice quieter than before. "The truth, huh?" His usual edge was gone, replaced by something almost weary. "I don't think you'll like it."

Luna didn't flinch. "I don't care."

That certainty stirred something within him. He studied her, searching for hesitation, doubt—anything. But there was none.

"Tch." He let out a dry chuckle, shaking his head. "You really haven't changed."

Luna crossed her arms. "And you have. Too much."

Yoru didn't answer immediately. His gaze drifted to the ruins around them—the shattered statues, the faded murals, remnants of a time long lost.

"After that day," he murmured, voice distant, "I wasn't supposed to survive. The High Order made sure of that. You saw what they did to me, didn't you?"

Luna's fingers curled into a fist. "I did."

The memory burned behind her eyes. The blood. The betrayal. The cold laughter of those who had once called Yoru their own.

"But the void…" Yoru's voice was unreadable. "It had other plans." He lifted his hand, dark energy pulsing faintly around his fingers. "It didn't let me die. It remade me. Took everything I was and turned it into something else."

Luna's gaze lingered on the flickering void energy. "And now you're their greatest threat."

Yoru smirked, but there was no humor in it. "Ironic, isn't it?"

She didn't answer.

Instead, she took a step closer. "And the Void Codex?"

Yoru's expression darkened. "What about it?"

Luna hesitated. Then, exhaling, she said, "They want it back, Yoru. The High Order, the Lunar Executioners… everyone. They believe it holds something beyond even their understanding."

Yoru's jaw tightened. "They're right."

Luna's breath hitched. "Then why do you have it?"

For a moment, he didn't speak.

Then, quietly, he said, "Because it chose me."

The words hung between them, heavy with unspoken meaning.

Luna studied him carefully. "Then what happens now?"

Yoru finally turned to face her, the silver glow in his eyes burning brighter.

"Now?" His smirk carried a dangerous edge. "Now, we see how far the High Order is willing to go to take it back."

Luna's amethyst eyes flickered with something she couldn't name. Concern? Admiration? Fear?

She wasn't sure.

But she knew one thing for certain—Yoru was no longer the boy she once knew.

And yet…

Some part of her still believed in him.

For better or worse.

Chapter 4: Chains of the Past (Part 4 – The Path Ahead)

Luna's expression didn't waver, but Yoru could see the weight behind her gaze. She was thinking—calculating.

He knew she had every reason to walk away. Every reason to turn her blade on him instead of standing by his side.

And yet, she stayed.

"You really think you can take on the High Order alone?" she asked, voice steady.

Yoru smirked. "Who said I was alone?"

Luna blinked.

Yoru turned, stepping toward the broken archway of the ruined temple. Moonlight cast his shadow long against the stone floor, the dark energy around him flickering like an unseen fire.

"The High Order won't stop," he continued, voice calmer now. "The Lunar Executioners, the Holy Clans, even the Abyss Watchers—they'll all come for me."

He looked over his shoulder, his silver eyes glowing in the darkness. "But that's exactly what I want."

Luna crossed her arms. "You're drawing them out."

He nodded. "They fear what they don't understand. The Void Codex isn't just a weapon, Luna. It's a key—to something bigger than any of us."

Luna frowned. "And what happens if you lose control? If the void consumes you?"

Yoru chuckled, but there was no humor in it. "Then I die. Again."

Luna's jaw tightened. She hated that answer.

"You don't get to just throw yourself away, Yoru," she snapped.

He raised an eyebrow. "And why not?"

"Because I didn't come all this way just to watch you become a monster," she said, stepping closer. "You think you're the only one who lost everything that day?"

Yoru stiffened.

Luna exhaled, her amethyst eyes dark with old pain. "I searched for you, Yoru. Even when everyone else called you dead, I kept looking."

He stared at her, something unreadable flickering behind his silver gaze.

"Why?" he asked quietly.

Luna hesitated. Then, softly, she said, "Because you were the only one who ever believed in me."

Yoru's breath hitched.

For a moment, the ruins were silent. Only the wind whispered through the shattered stone, carrying the weight of everything left unsaid.

Finally, Yoru turned away. "Then you should know," he murmured. "The Yoru you knew… he died a long time ago."

Luna watched him, her fingers tightening at her sides.

"Then let me see who you've become," she said.

Yoru glanced back, surprised.

Luna smirked slightly. "Someone has to make sure you don't lose yourself, Voidborn."

He scoffed, shaking his head. "You're insane."

She shrugged. "Takes one to know one."

For the first time in years, Yoru felt something dangerously close to warmth in his chest.

He wasn't sure if it was a good thing.

But he didn't push it away.

Not this time.

---

Next Chapter: Veil of Deception

Yoru and Luna leave the ruins of Velios, but they aren't alone. A shadow from Yoru's past follows.

The High Order moves forward with its next plan—sending a hunter far more dangerous than the Lunar Executioner.

Luna reveals her own secret: a connection to the Void Codex that even Yoru didn't know about.

The battle for control over the Codex is just beginning…