Pain wasn't the first thing I felt.
It was pressure.
As if the world itself had wrapped invisible hands around my ribs and was slowly tightening its grip—testing how much I could bear before I shattered. Light flooded my vision, white and silver and something darker beneath it, and the ground beneath my feet dissolved into flowing symbols.
I screamed.
The sound didn't echo.
It fractured.
Every cry split into dozens of overlapping tones, as though the Veiled Path was answering me in a language older than sound.
Hold.
The word didn't come from the Keepers.
It came from inside me.
I dropped to my knees as energy surged through my spine, down my tail, across my arms. My Moonclaw patterns flared violently, then shifted—stretching, intertwining with unfamiliar symbols that burned like molten silver beneath my skin.
I clutched my stomach, terror slicing through me.
"No—please—don't hurt them—"
They are not in danger, the Path answered.You are.
The darker path beneath me rose like liquid stone, wrapping around my legs, my waist, my shoulders. I felt seen—every fear, every doubt, every fragile hope laid bare.
Images slammed into my mind.
Not futures.
Memories.
Not mine.
I saw ancient Moonclaw women standing where I stood now—alone, defiant, pregnant with children who would never be born because they refused the Path. I felt their pain, their rage, their despair.
And then—
I saw others.
Those who accepted.
Their bodies changed. Their bonds severed. Their children became legends—or monsters—or myths whispered in fear.
I sobbed.
"I don't want power," I cried. "I just want my family."
The Path pulsed.
Then you must become strong enough to protect them.
At the same moment—
The Moonclaw sky shattered.
Kshatri felt it before he saw it.
The moon above the village flickered violently, light warping into spirals as the ancient boundary stones began to hum—deep, warning vibrations that rattled bone and claw alike.
Zaya staggered, grabbing his arm. "The Path," she gasped. "She chose it."
Kshatri's heart slammed painfully against his ribs.
"She's alive," he said, not asking.
The Elder Medium collapsed to one knee, eyes blazing white. "She has accepted an ancient bond."
"Then open it," Kshatri growled.
"You do not understand—"
"I don't care," he snapped. "She's my mate."
The elders erupted into shouts.
"That law exists for a reason!""No warrior has ever returned whole!""The Path consumes—"
Zaya stepped forward, her voice cutting through the chaos like a blade.
"You all felt it," she said fiercely. "The world reacted. That means Luna is alive—and changing."
Silence fell.
The Elder Medium looked up at Kshatri, her expression torn.
"If you break the law," she said slowly, "the Path may take you as well."
Kshatri didn't hesitate.
"Then I'll walk it."
Zaya inhaled sharply.
"I'm coming too."
Back in the Veiled Path—
I arched as the energy reached my chest, my heartbeat synchronizing with the rhythm of the symbols beneath me. The pain sharpened, then transformed—becoming clarity.
I could feel the world.
The forest.The village.The Guardian's rage.Kshatri's desperation.
And my child.
Strong. Anchored. Unafraid.
I gasped as a warmth spread through me, grounding the chaos.
"I'm here," I whispered. "I'm not leaving you."
The Path responded instantly.
The symbols stabilized.
The pressure eased—just enough.
The Keepers appeared again, their forms flickering, less solid than before.
"You bind yourself to balance," they said, their voices strained."The Law was never meant to be broken this way."
"I didn't break it," I rasped. "I chose it."
The chamber shook violently.
Cracks spread across the sky above the Path, moonlight pouring through in unstable beams.
One Keeper turned sharply, eyes widening.
"They are coming."
"What?" I gasped.
"The warrior.""And the seer's daughter."
Relief and terror crashed into me at once. "Kshatri—no—this place will destroy him!"
The Keepers hesitated.
For the first time, uncertainty rippled through them.
"If he enters now," one said, "the bond will either anchor you… or tear you apart."
I pushed myself to my feet, trembling but resolute.
"Then let me meet him halfway."
The darker path beneath me surged upward, forming a bridge of living light.
I stepped onto it—
And the Veiled Path screamed.
In the village—
The boundary stones exploded with light.
Kshatri and Zaya stood at the center of the ritual circle, ancient symbols blazing beneath their feet as the Elder Medium chanted through clenched teeth.
"This will fracture the Law," she warned. "Once opened, it cannot be sealed again."
Kshatri met her gaze, eyes burning with purpose.
"Then let the world remember who broke it."
The air tore open.
A rift formed—dark, swirling, alive.
Zaya grabbed Kshatri's hand.
"Whatever happens," she said softly, "we don't let go."
He squeezed back.
"I won't."
They stepped through—
Just as the Veiled Path convulsed violently.
I felt it.
The moment the Law broke.
The Path surged wildly, energy spiraling out of control. My patterns flared painfully as the bond strained, threatening to overwhelm me.
Then—
I felt him.
Kshatri.
So close.
"Luna!" His voice echoed through the fracture, raw and desperate.
Tears streamed down my face as I reached toward the sound.
"I'm here!"
The bridge beneath me shattered.
The world twisted violently.
And something ancient, furious, and very awake began to rise from the depths of the Path.