The shrine burned.
Caelen was being treated by Lysander in the outer chambers. Aria sat alone, scroll clutched to her chest, her mind spinning.
One shall bleed. One shall betray. One shall fall.
The first two had happened.
That meant the last… was coming.
And she didn't know who it would be
---
Footsteps.
Soren entered—eyes shadowed, cloak drenched in dust and dried magic.
Without a word, he reached for the scroll.
Aria stood what are you doing?
I'm ending this, he said that prophecy never should've survived.
She tightened her grip there's something you don't want me to see.
He paused.
There's one more line,she whispered isn't there?
Soren didn't answer.
So Aria used her magic—
Forced the scroll to open fully.
And there, etched in faded flame ink, was the line Soren tried to hide:
And should the Moonborn love the one who falls…she shall burn with him.
---
Aria's heart stopped If she chose wrong…she wouldn't just lose someone
She'd die with him.
---
Soren stepped back, fists clenched you weren't supposed to see that.
You lied to me,she whispered.
I protected you, he growled.
But she saw it now.
He knew.
From the beginning.
And he'd kept her alive… by keeping her alone.
---
Just then—a ripple of power cracked through the forest.
A familiar voice called in her mind.
Come to me, child. If you wish for the truth.
Elara.
---
Aria followed the voice into the woods, alone.
There, deep in the Vale's edge, stood Elara.
No longer robed. No longer soft.
Her true form — older, marked with Nexus runes, eyes glowing like a dying sun.
You were created to be a prison,Elara said coldly not a queen,not a heart just a vessel.
Aria trembled Why?
Because the true enemy isn't outside you,Elara hissed its inside and the moment you choose love over balance — you become the end.
---
Aria's chest ached.
You tried to kill me.
I tried to stop the world from ending,Elara said,don't make me finish it now.
A magic blast shot forward.
But Aria caught it.
And shattered it with one hand.
---
No, Aria said softly,you don't get to define me. Not anymore.
Elara's eyes widened—and then another figure appeared behind her.
Soren.
She's not your vessel.
She's the reckoning you feared.
With one strike, Soren blasted Elara back into the trees.
But before she vanished, Elara screamed:
Then let her carry the curse. Let her bury the one she loves. Just like always!
---
🌌 Back at the shrine…
Lysander watched over Caelen, who had started to wake.
"Where's… Aria?Caelen asked weakly.
Lysander hesitated.
…Choosing who to save.
---
❤️ In the woods…
Aria knelt, magic burning through her chest.
The line wouldn't leave her mind:
If she loves the one who falls…
She shall burn with him."
And now she knew—
She loved one of them.
But if she chose him…
Would that seal his fate?
---
💫 Author's Note:
> Chapter 32 is the tipping point 😩🔥
Elara's betrayal wasn't just about power — it was about preventing love.
Soren tried to erase the scroll to keep Aria alive…
But now that she knows the final line,
her heart has become the weapon the world fears most.
💬 Question for you:
Would you still love someone if loving them meant you both might die?
📚 Add this to your collection if you are sobbing, untrusting, and shipping HARD 😭💔🔥