chapter 16

Cracks in the Sky

They stood outside the watchtower,

all four staring at the night sky.

And the fracture in the Second Moon stared back.

A thin glowing scar across the face of eternity.

It shouldn't be possible.

But then again…

neither was Astrael.

---

Malrik broke the silence.

> "I've read every scroll in the Lunar Archives.

The moons are alive. Conscious.

But a crack… that's never happened."

Astrael whispered.

> "It cracked the moment I stopped the power."

Lyra looked at him sharply.

> "You mean the moment you chose."

He nodded.

But doubt still clung to his expression like frost.

---

Inside the watchtower, the fire refused to burn.

Every time they lit it, it snuffed out.

As if the shadows themselves were watching.

---

Later that night, as the others slept,

Lyra stood outside alone.

Her sword beside her,

her thoughts louder than the wind.

And then—

she heard footsteps behind her.

She turned, blade ready—

and froze.

A woman stood at the tree line.

Tall. Cloaked in white fur.

Face half-hidden, but unmistakable.

> "No," Lyra breathed. "You're dead."

The woman stepped forward, eyes silver like moonlight.

> "You should've killed me when you had the chance, sister."

---

Vaelira.

The name rang through Lyra's bones like poison.

The twin she'd betrayed.

The one she'd buried in the Temple of Stars.

The one who had once served the Moons…

and then tried to destroy them.

---

> "This isn't possible," Lyra said, backing away.

"I saw your body."

Vaelira smiled, cold and cruel.

> "You saw what I let you see.

The Moons gave me a second life.

Just like him."

She tilted her head toward the tower, where Astrael slept.

> "You never asked where the Moonborne came from, did you?"

---

Lyra gripped her sword tighter.

> "Stay away from him."

Vaelira's eyes narrowed.

> "I don't want to hurt him.

I want to wake him.

And you… are in the way."

---

Before Lyra could strike,

Vaelira vanished into mist,

leaving behind only a whisper:

> "You'll remember everything soon.

Even the parts you begged to forget."

---

The next morning, Lyra didn't speak of what she saw.

Not to Malrik.

Not to Calem.

Not even to Astrael.

But her grip on her blade stayed firm.

And her nightmares were no longer silent.

---

Elsewhere…

In a city of crystal towers and burning stars,

an old man watched the cracked moon from his balcony.

His skin was marked with lunar runes.

His eyes held the storm of centuries.

> "So," he murmured, "the Moonborne awakens."

Behind him, ten robed figures knelt.

> "Do we act?" one asked.

The old man smiled, slow and sharp.

> "No.

Let them believe they have a choice."

He lifted a shard of glowing moonstone.

> "Destiny doesn't wait.

It hunts."

---

To be continued…

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