The sky was torn apart.
Crimson lightning ripped across Mars, the heavens bleeding fire as if the planet itself mourned the battle it was about to witness. Ash drifted like snow, but there was no peace in it—only ruin waiting to fall. The ancient temple groaned beneath the storm, its fractured pillars trembling as though the stones themselves feared the outcome.
At its heart stood Selene, her flames spiraling around her like a living storm. Her eyes burned bright gold, her chest heaving, her hair snapping like a banner of fire in the wind. Each heartbeat thundered with defiance.
Beside her towered the Beast—half shadow, half man, forged from curses older than kingdoms. His blades shimmered with darkness; his eyes glowed with molten gold. Yet beneath that power was something raw and human—fear of what he might lose.
And across from them, standing upon the cracked altar, were Velkar and Lyra—hand in hand, bound by ambition and darkness. Shadows twisted at their feet like serpents, whispering in tongues older than creation.
Velkar's grin was cruel, eyes glinting with the madness of prophecy fulfilled. "It's all been written," he said, voice ringing like a death bell. "The curse binds you both. The prophecy will devour you. And when it does—every realm will kneel before me."
Lyra leaned closer, her voice dripping like poisoned silk. "And sister," she purred, "I'll watch as you lose everything. The throne. The Beast. Even the life within your womb will serve me when he chooses me instead."
Selene's blood roared in her veins. Her flames surged, blackening the air, the temple walls scorching under her fury. Yet behind her rage lurked terror—the whisper that haunted every vision: To choose him is to lose all.
The Beast tensed beside her, shadow-chains writhing up his arms, dragging him toward Velkar's will. He fought them, muscles trembling, his breath coming ragged. His golden eyes met hers—raw, desperate, pleading.
For a heartbeat, the universe held its breath.
Ash froze midair. Fire stilled. Shadow paused. The prophecy pressed down like a hand at her throat. One wrong choice, and everything—kingdom, love, child—would collapse.
Selene drew a breath so deep it trembled through her ribs. Then, slowly, she raised her head.
Her voice cut the silence.
"I am not bound by fate."
The storm trembled.
"I am not chained by prophecy. And I will never belong to either of you."
Her flames erupted outward—wild, sacred, defiant—forming a blazing circle around her and the Beast. The ground cracked. Shadows recoiled, hissing like serpents in holy fire.
Velkar's grin faltered. Lyra's smile splintered into disbelief.
The Beast fell to one knee, agony etched across his face. The curse clawed at him, tearing through his chest, but Selene caught him before he hit the ground. Her palms pressed over his heart. His pulse hammered against her hands.
"Not because fate says so," she whispered, her lips near his ear. "But because I choose you."
Her words burned like light through darkness. The curse trembled. Chains cracked, then shattered—smoke dissolving into air. His blades ignited, no longer cold with shadow, but blazing with a light born of choice—love that defied destiny.
Velkar's roar shook the temple. "NO! You cannot undo what was written!"
Selene's fire blazed brighter. The Beast rose beside her, his eyes molten with rebirth.
"Watch us," she said.
The ground exploded. Flame and shadow intertwined—not as chains, but as storm. Two powers once cursed now danced together as one.
The battle began.
Velkar hurled his spear, black lightning splitting the air. Selene met it with fire, the impact hurling sparks like dying stars. The Beast charged through the storm, blades cleaving through the shadowspawn erupting from the cracks—monsters with too many eyes, shrieking Velkar's name.
Lyra's laughter filled the temple, haunting and cruel. She spun illusions into the air—Selene bleeding, the Beast turning against her, their unborn child crying from darkness. But Selene's light pierced through every lie.
The storm of fire roared higher.
Velkar struck the ground with his spear, sending fissures racing outward. "You defy destiny itself!"
"And yet we stand!" Selene shouted, her flames setting the sky aflame.
The Beast met Velkar head-on, their clash shaking the heavens. Metal screamed. Blood splattered across the cracked floor. Shadows surged to swallow them whole—until Selene's fire cut through, searing the darkness into ash.
She faltered, coughing blood. Velkar's curse had taken root inside her. The Beast caught her, his hands trembling. When he stumbled, shadows gnawing at his legs, she steadied him, her flame pushing him upright.
They fought as one.
Velkar lunged again, his spear glowing with black lightning. Selene and the Beast moved in perfect unison—flame and shadow entwined in a single devastating strike. The explosion split the temple, pillars collapsing, molten light tearing across the sky.
Velkar and Lyra were hurled back. Lyra landed hard, blood streaking her lips, eyes blazing with hate.
"This isn't over," she hissed. "I will have him, Selene. When your womb bears fruit, I'll tear the child from your arms myself."
Selene's fury was a living thing. She stepped forward, fire spiraling from her veins, ready to strike—
—but Velkar's hand seized Lyra's wrist. "Enough." His eyes burned with cold calculation. With one brutal motion, he slashed his spear across the ground. Shadows poured from the wound like blood.
"Let them think they've won," he growled. "The curse is not undone—it sleeps."
And with that, they vanished into the rift, swallowed by darkness.
The temple fell silent.
The storm above began to die. Ash drifted softly again—this time, almost tenderly. Yet across the cosmos, something trembled. Prophets awoke screaming. Seers wept. Destiny had been broken—and the universe had felt it.
Selene dropped to her knees, her fire dimming to fragile embers. Her breath came in shallow bursts. The weight of choice pressed heavy on her chest.
The Beast knelt beside her, his shadowed hand cupping her face with surprising gentleness. His voice, once gravel and thunder, broke into something almost human.
"You freed me."
Selene's lips trembled. "No," she whispered. "We freed each other."
He leaned in, their foreheads touching. Fire and shadow collided—no longer in war, but in something raw, human, infinite.
Their lips met. The kiss was desperate, burning, alive. A collision of everything they had fought for—defiance, love, survival. Her flames wrapped around them both, not with ruin, but with rebirth.
And yet—somewhere in the corner of her mind—the whisper still lingered.
To choose him is to lose all.
But Selene ignored it.
For the first time, she felt peace.
She had chosen him.
And she had won.
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