Moonlight filtered through the trees in pale ribbons, breaking across the moss-covered stones like silver threads. The group had stopped by a quiet glade — a place where the forest seemed to breathe slower, its mist curling lazily above the earth.
A faint pool reflected the moon overhead, rippling with every whisper of wind. Around it, faint runes glowed on ancient stones, forming a circle older than memory.
"This is a resting ground," Lyra said softly, kneeling by the pool. Her hand dipped into the water, and it shimmered faintly beneath her touch. "The spirits of the forest guard this place. As long as we stay within the circle, the shadows will not harm us."
Lian stood a few paces away, watching the light from the pool flicker across their faces. They looked ethereal in that glow — the wolf princesses with their moon-silver hair, the lively Nisha with her carefree grin. It felt unreal, as though he had stepped into someone else's dream.
He glanced down at his own hands — still faintly marked by golden lines beneath the skin. No matter how much he scrubbed them, the shimmer never truly faded. He clenched his fist, tugging the sleeve lower.
"Relax, Moon Boy," Nisha said, plopping down beside him with a grin. "You look like you're about to fight the forest itself."
Lian gave a small, awkward smile. "I just don't feel like I belong here."
She tilted her head. "Here as in the forest, or here as in… everywhere?"
He didn't answer, and she laughed lightly. "Thought so."
Lyra glanced over from where she was tending to the campfire. "You saved us, Lian. The forest itself recognized your light. Whether you belong or not, this place has already accepted you."
Her sister, Lira, let out a low chuckle. "Or cursed him."
Lyra frowned. "Lira."
"What?" The darker twin shrugged, leaning against a tree. "You felt it too. The moment his blood touched the ground, the forest reacted. Power like that doesn't just appear. It's bound to something ancient."
"Something forbidden," she added quietly, her eyes glinting crimson in the firelight.
Lian said nothing, but her words lingered like a thorn.
Nisha broke the tension with a sigh. "Okay, enough gloom. Can someone please explain what's actually going on? You two mentioned something about a 'Spirit Realm' earlier, but I don't remember that being on any map."
Lyra looked thoughtful. "The Spirit Realm exists alongside your world — divided by balance, not distance. It is where spirit energy flows freely, where every living being is bound by cultivation, essence, and lineage. For centuries, the two worlds coexisted in harmony."
"And now?" Lian asked quietly.
"Now," Lyra said, her voice heavy, "that balance is breaking."
She drew a small glowing sigil in the air, and the pool's reflection shimmered to life — revealing a vast ethereal world: floating mountains, shimmering rivers, temples made of moonlight. But cracks ran through the image, bleeding darkness like ink through water.
"The spirit veins — the life channels of our world — are fading. Energy grows thin, beasts turn feral, clans fight for remnants of power. The relic we seek, the Lunar Tear, may be the key to restoring it."
Nisha nodded. "It's a jewel said to have fallen from the First Moon. Whoever holds it can mend the rift between worlds."
Lira's voice was soft, almost reverent. "And we came here because the Tear's trail vanished into this realm — your Earth."
Lian listened, trying to make sense of it. Two realms, dying power, relics of the moon — it sounded like myth, yet everything he'd seen tonight defied reason.
"Then… how does my power fit into that?" he asked finally.
The twins exchanged a glance.
Lyra hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "Your energy… it feels like a bridge. It is not spirit, not mortal — something between. If the prophecies are true, the one with Eternal Veins can open what has been sealed."
Lira's eyes gleamed. "Or destroy both worlds trying."
The fire popped softly.
For a while, no one spoke. The night sounds crept back in — the chirp of unseen insects, the sigh of leaves brushing together.
Then Nisha leaned toward Lian with a teasing grin. "So, Golden Boy… what's with the glow? You swallow a sun or something?"
He flushed slightly and looked away. "It's nothing. Just—something that happens sometimes."
"Oh, come on," she pressed playfully, poking his sleeve. "Your veins literally shine. That's not nothing."
Lian tugged his arm back, pulling the fabric lower. "Please don't."
Nisha blinked, surprised at the sharpness in his tone.
"I didn't mean—"
"It's fine," he said quickly, softening his voice. "I just… don't like people staring at it."
For a heartbeat, the clearing was silent again. Then Lyra rose and approached him, her expression kind. "He hides it because it frightens him," she murmured, looking at her sister. "Just as it frightens us."
Lira crossed her arms. "I don't fear him."
But when Lian looked at her, he saw something flicker in her eyes — not fear, but memory. As though she had seen that golden light before, in another lifetime.
Lyra turned to Lian. "The Pact of the Forest binds those who rest beneath the Moon Veil. As long as you share this circle with us, your fate is tied to ours. That is the rule of the old ways."
Lian frowned slightly. "Tied how?"
"Protection," she said simply. "And burden. If one of us falls, the others will feel it."
He hesitated, then nodded. "Then I'll accept it."
Nisha grinned. "Well, that's settled. We're officially moon-bound roommates."
Even Lira smirked faintly at that.
As the night deepened, Lyra began to hum an old spirit hymn. The melody was haunting and beautiful, echoing softly through the trees. Lian lay back, staring up at the stars through the canopy.
For the first time since awakening by the sea, the world didn't feel empty. Strange, yes — full of danger and secrets — but not empty.
The golden light beneath his skin pulsed in rhythm with the moon above, calm and steady.
He didn't notice Lira watching him from across the fire.
Her eyes lingered not on his face, but on the faint shimmer beneath his veins.
"I know that light," she whispered to herself. "I've seen it before… in the blood of gods."
Cliffhanger:As the group drifts into uneasy sleep, the pool ripples again — though no wind touches it. Deep within its reflection, a shadowed figure appears, its whisper carrying through the stillness:"The heirs of moon and blood have met. The seal begins to crack."