The sanctuary erupted in silver.
Light poured from Aria's body in spiraling currents, rising and twisting around her like ribbons of moonfire. Her feet lifted from the cracked floor, her hair floating weightlessly, her eyes glowing brighter than any light Ronan had ever seen.
She hovered in the center of the sanctuary—
beautiful
terrifying
transcendent.
Ronan shielded his eyes from the brilliance, though he refused to look away from her for even a heartbeat.
"Aria!" he called, voice trembling. "Fight from the inside—stay with me!"
Her voice trembled through the light.
"Ronan… I—can't—feel my body…"
He stepped forward instantly. "I'm right here. You're not alone."
But the stranger grabbed Ronan's arm.
"No! Don't get too close when the final shift begins. If she reaches out instinctively, your energy could disrupt her transformation!"
Ronan snarled, shaking him off. "She needs me."
The stranger yelled, "If you interfere at the wrong moment, you could kill her!"
The warning sliced through him.
Ronan froze.
His heart pounding.
His breath shallow.
His fingers trembling.
Aria cried out again—a sound that cracked the sanctuary walls.
"RONAN!"
He shouted back, voice breaking. "I'm here!"
But he couldn't touch her.
Not yet.
Not without risking losing her forever.
⸻
Aria's Body Reshapes
Aria's fingers curled against the blinding light.
Her ribs shifted beneath her glowing skin.
Her pulse roared like a drum.
"I feel—everything," she gasped, voice echoing as if two beings spoke at once. "And nothing."
Her luminescent veins glowed brighter, snaking down her arms. The moon sigil on her chest burned brighter, reacting to the transformation.
Ronan's heart twisted painfully.
"Aria—stay focused. Stay with me. Hear my voice."
Her body arched.
Her scream echoed across the sanctuary.
The Devourer's laughter slithered around them.
YES.
LET IT BREAK YOU.
LET THE POWER DEVOUR YOU FROM WITHIN.
Ronan lunged at the Devourer with a furious roar, claws outstretched. He slashed through shadow, forcing the creature back a few steps.
"Shut up!" Ronan snarled. "You don't get to touch her. You don't get to speak to her."
The Devourer reformed, towering over him.
AND YOU DO NOT GET TO KEEP HER.
WHEN THE FINAL SHIFT COMPLETES—
HER SOUL RETURNS TO ME.
Ronan's claws dug into the floor.
"I'll tear you apart first."
But Aria's scream drew him back.
He spun around—
and saw her beginning to fracture.
⸻
Cracks in the Light
The air around Aria shimmered violently, the energy cocooning her beginning to crack like breaking glass.
The stranger's eyes widened. "She's losing stability—she's rising too fast!"
Ronan's heart stopped. "What does that mean?"
"It means—she's shifting too powerfully for her physical form to handle. Her spirit is pushing forward faster than her body can transform. She's tearing apart from the inside!"
Ronan stepped toward her.
Aria reached toward him blindly, her voice desperate.
"Ronan—please—I—can't—hold—"
He reached out without thinking.
But the stranger grabbed him again. "STOP! If you touch her now, you risk killing both of you!"
Ronan shoved him away with a roar that shook the sanctuary. "I don't care!"
The stranger slammed into a crystal pillar, but shouted hoarsely:
"Ronan—LISTEN! She must either cross the transformation peak on her own—OR DIE TRYING!"
Ronan froze mid-step.
Die?
Aria's scream pierced him.
Her body shimmered.
Cracks of light raced across her skin like she was splitting apart—
From the inside.
"Aria…" Ronan whispered, horrified. "No… no—stay with me—please—"
But she couldn't hear him.
Her voice was swallowed by the storm of transformation.
⸻
Aria's Spirit Enters the Threshold
Inside the light, Aria wasn't in the sanctuary anymore.
She stood in a void of swirling silver mist and darkness—
a threshold between life and death,
between human and Moonborn,
between herself and the something she was destined to become.
A shimmering reflection appeared in front of her—a woman identical to her but ethereal, glowing.
Her other self.
Her Moonbreaker spirit.
"You are at the threshold," the reflection whispered. "You must choose."
Aria trembled. "Choose what?"
"Who you will be."
Aria shook her head. "I don't know how—"
"Yes, you do. You've known since the moment he saved you in the snow."
Aria swallowed, heart aching. "Ronan…"
"If you choose fear," the reflection said softly, "you will belong to the Devourer."
Aria flinched.
"If you choose mistrust, you will shatter."
Aria's breath faltered.
"But if you choose love—
you will awaken."
Aria lifted her head.
Her reflection smiled faintly.
"You've already chosen him in your heart. Now choose him with your soul."
Aria closed her glowing eyes and whispered:
"I choose Ronan."
⸻
Back in the Sanctuary
Aria's light flared violently—
as if her soul burst into flames.
Ronan shielded his eyes, then lowered his arm—
And froze.
Her glow steadied.
Stopped flickering.
Her body lowered slightly—
then rose again, smooth and controlled.
The stranger breathed, "She's stabilizing…"
Ronan's heart hammered. "Aria…?"
But the Devourer lunged.
NO.
I WILL NOT LOSE THE VESSEL.
Shadow tendrils shot toward Aria—
And Ronan did not hesitate.
He leapt in front of her, arms outstretched, taking the hit meant for her.
Cold shot through his veins, burning like acid. He collapsed to one knee, growling in agony.
"ROANAN!"
Aria's voice cracked with terror.
The stranger screamed, "NO! If he dies while bonded—she dies too!"
The Devourer hissed.
ONE STRIKE.
TWO SOULS.
SO BEAUTIFULLY FRAGILE.
Aria's light erupted.
"DON'T TOUCH HIM!"
She didn't blast the creature.
She tore through the tendril constricting him with her bare hands—
hands glowing hotter than fire.
The tendril evaporated instantly under her touch.
Ronan gasped for air, clutching his chest.
Aria dropped to the ground beside him, tears falling.
"Ronan—are you hurt? Are you—?"
He grabbed her face with trembling fingers.
"I'm alive because of you."
Her breath trembled.
"I almost lost you."
Ronan pulled her forehead to his. "You will never lose me."
Their bond pulsed—
strong
steady
unbreakable.
Aria glowed brighter.
⸻
The Devourer's Rage
The Devourer roared, shadows swirling violently.
YOU STAND FIRMER THAN EXPECTED.
VERY WELL.
LET US SEE IF YOU STAND AT ALL.
It expanded—
filling half the sanctuary
its form multiplying
claws lengthening
teeth forming in the void.
The stranger's face paled. "This is its full mass—its true form is entering our realm!"
Aria's transformation surged again—
But not chaotically.
This time with purpose.
Her voice deepened slightly, echoing with ancient resonance.
"Ronan."
He met her glowing gaze.
"Don't be afraid of me."
"I'm not."
She lifted her hand, silver light pulsing.
Her body rose higher into the air—
Graceful
Powerful
Controlled.
Her hair turned fully silver, shimmering like spun moonlight.
Her skin glowed white, no longer flickering.
Her irises shifted—
silver edges brightening
a white starburst forming at the center.
The stranger whispered in awe:
"The Moonbreaker emerges…"
⸻
The Prophecy Unfolds
The crystal wall behind them ignited, runes rearranging once more.
Ronan turned just long enough to read them:
"When the Wolf joins the Moon,
and shadow seeks the heart,
the broken light shall choose its path—
and either save or end the world."
Ronan looked up at Aria.
She was no longer breaking.
She was awakening.
Aria raised her hand toward the Devourer.
Her voice echoed not just in the sanctuary, but in the air itself:
"You can't have me."
The Devourer hissed.
YOU ARE MINE.
"No."
Her glow intensified.
"I am the Moonbreaker."
The sanctuary shook.
The Devourer recoiled.
Ronan whispered her name, breathless.
"Aria…"
She glanced down at him—
and smiled softly.
For the first time
since the awakening began
she looked unafraid.
Then she turned toward the Devourer, raising her glowing hands.
"Let this end."
Light exploded.
The Final Transformation began.