Noelle's breath caught the moment Selene stepped into the torchlight.
It wasn't just her uncanny resemblance to Astra—the same sharp features, the same proud bearing, the same violet eyes that seemed to glow from within. It was how she moved, how she held the space around her. Like gravity bent toward her, not the other way around.
She was beautiful in a way that made your skin crawl.
"You," Astra said, her voice low, cold.
"Me," Selene replied, stepping forward. Her voice dripped with delight, like a cat who found the mouse had walked back into the trap on its own. "It's been so long, Astra. I thought perhaps you'd forgotten me."
"I haven't," Astra said. "I try. Every day."
Selene clutched her heart mockingly. "Cruel."
Noelle moved in beside Astra, raising her grimoire. "What do you want?"
Selene didn't even glance at her. "Ah, the royal project. The one with the sea serpent blood and the cracked pride. You shine so bright, but you flicker. I see why Astra keeps you close."
"I'm not here to be analyzed," Noelle said, summoning a sphere of pressurized water that hovered protectively around them both.
Selene sighed and stepped lazily toward the defiled altar, running a finger across the runes scrawled into the stone.
"I didn't come to fight," she said. "Not yet. I came to remind Astra of who she is."
"I *chose* who I am," Astra said, stepping forward. "And it wasn't you. It wasn't the Eclipse. It was *freedom.*"
"You chose a cage with prettier bars," Selene said, turning toward her now. "You think these people understand you? You think they'll still trust you when they see what lives inside your magic? The Void always leaves a scar, little star."
"I'm not afraid of scars," Astra said. "But you should be afraid of what I've become since I left you."
Selene's smile vanished.
For a moment, the chapel grew colder, as if time slowed and the air thickened.
Then Selene's hand rose—and with a flick of her wrist, her own grimoire opened behind her in a cascade of pale flame. It was pitch black, lined with silver starbursts and glowing constellations that didn't belong to the night sky.
Void Grimoire. Forbidden, celestial, and ancient.
"A gift," she whispered. "Let's see if you still remember how to dance."
---
The chapel exploded in a shower of force and mana.
Astra pulled Noelle into a defensive warp field just as shards of stone flew past. Selene's spell tore the altar in two, splitting the floor into jagged fragments and summoning a dozen starlike sigils that orbited around her body like dying suns.
"Stellar Ritual: Gravity Vein."
The air screamed as invisible weight crushed the chapel walls inward. Timbers groaned. The stained glass shattered in a rain of color and razor edges.
Astra held out both hands, her own grimoire glowing white-hot. Her magic answered in kind.
"Celestial Convergence: Twin Star Ward!"
Twin sigils formed around her and Noelle—one above, one below—spinning in opposite directions to counter Selene's compression field. The collision of gravitational energies sparked lightning across the ruined chapel.
Noelle launched a burst of water lances through the distortion, trying to pierce the swirling sigils around Selene. One struck. Two. But the others dissolved, scattered by the chaotic pull of the Void magic.
Selene didn't flinch.
She raised one hand—and space folded around Noelle.
"Astra!" Noelle cried out as her body began to distort, warping sideways like a reflection caught in rippling water.
"Star Bind: Polaris Cage!" Astra shouted.
A sigil burst into life beneath Noelle, anchoring her in place. Her form snapped back into coherence with a sharp gasp.
"Don't look into her eyes!" Astra shouted. "She'll twist your mana if she finds a way in!"
Selene laughed, voice echoing like bells in a cave.
"You're protecting her?" she sneered. "Like a pet? How quaint. You're softer than I remember."
Astra's body shimmered with celestial light, her sigils flaring brighter. "No," she said. "I'm stronger."
She leapt forward.
Their magic clashed midair—gravity against void, light against silence.
It wasn't just a duel.
It was a reckoning.
Every motion between them carried history: shared training, stolen spells, nights spent under blood moons whispering forbidden truths. They had once been two halves of the same soul.
Now they were enemies.
Each impact of their spells sent shockwaves through the earth. Trees outside the chapel bent. Birds scattered. A ripple of gravitational force cracked the ground and sent a blast of starlight spiraling upward like a beacon.
Then, without warning, Selene halted her assault.
She lowered her grimoire, the air around her settling.
Noelle blinked. "Why's she stopping?"
Astra hesitated.
Selene raised one hand—and with a lazy flick of her fingers, revealed a **thread of light** tied to her wrist. It stretched through space, shimmering softly.
It wasn't magic.
It was a **soul thread**.
And the other end?
Was wrapped around Astra's own wrist.
Astra's heart dropped. "You… You re-forged the tether."
Selene's eyes gleamed. "You can sever it a thousand times, little star. But you and I… we are *entangled.* Our destinies spiral the same axis."
Astra reached for her wrist instinctively, but the thread didn't burn or cut. It *hummed.* Familiar. Ancient.
Selene's voice dropped to a whisper, almost tender. "I'll call to you again. And next time, you'll *listen.*"
She stepped backward—and vanished into a tear in space, leaving only the echo of her laughter.
The thread went slack, then faded.
Astra collapsed to her knees, breathing hard.
Noelle was beside her in an instant. "Are you hurt?"
"No," Astra said. "But she found a way to reach into me. Again."
"She won't win," Noelle said firmly. "We'll find a way to sever it for good."
Astra looked at her, chest still heaving. "That thread… it wasn't just magic. It was memory. She's binding me to our *past.*"
Noelle took Astra's hand, threading their fingers together.
"Then we build you a future stronger than it."