Rain continued to fall over the shattered cabin.
The cold wind carried the smell of blood through the night.
Inside what remained of the house, everything was silent.
Elias lay motionless on the floor.
Elara rested beside him.
And Abraão could do nothing except watch.
Sasuke's hand tightened around his throat.
Darkness slowly crept into his vision.
His body felt heavier with every passing second.
His strength was fading.
His hope was fading.
Everything was fading.
Then—
a silver light appeared outside.
Soft.
Gentle.
Like moonlight breaking through storm clouds.
Sasuke immediately froze.
For the first time since entering the cabin—
he looked nervous.
A woman's voice echoed from outside.
Calm.
Quiet.
Yet impossible to ignore.
"Release him."
Sasuke turned.
The rain suddenly seemed to slow.
Standing beyond the broken doorway was a woman dressed in white robes decorated with lunar symbols.
Long blonde hair flowed behind her like liquid gold.
Her green eyes were calm.
Almost peaceful.
Yet the pressure surrounding her felt overwhelming.
As though the night itself was bowing before her.
Sasuke released Abraão.
His expression hardened.
"…Mahina Yoshida."
Mahina stepped forward.
One step.
Then another.
Rain touched her clothes but somehow never seemed to stain them.
Her silver sword rested at her side.
Eternal Guardian.
The legendary blade.
Abraão had never seen her before.
Yet something about her presence felt impossible to ignore.
Like staring at a mountain.
Or the sky.
Or one of the thousand moons themselves.
Sasuke slowly drew his weapon.
The Eclipse Devourer.
Dark energy leaked from the blade.
The room instantly became colder.
"You should have stayed away," Sasuke said.
Mahina's expression didn't change.
"You murdered innocent people."
"They were necessary sacrifices."
"No."
For the first time—
her voice became colder.
"They were family."
The wind exploded.
Dark shadows erupted around Sasuke.
Thousands of black tendrils rushed toward Mahina.
Enough power to destroy the entire cabin.
Enough power to kill dozens of ordinary people.
Abraão could barely follow the movement.
Then Mahina raised her sword.
Slowly.
Almost lazily.
A silver circle appeared around her.
One barrier.
Then another.
Then another.
Layers upon layers of shining lunar energy.
Vigil.
The technique everyone mocked.
A technique built entirely for defense.
The shadows struck.
The barriers didn't break.
They absorbed everything.
Every attack.
Every fragment of cursed energy.
Every ounce of hatred.
Then—
the barriers began to move.
Rotating.
Redirecting.
Returning.
Sasuke's eyes widened.
"What?"
His own shadows suddenly turned against him.
The darkness he had unleashed now surrounded him from every direction.
"No—"
The barriers closed.
Like a prison.
Like a cage.
Like a judgment.
The shadows crushed themselves.
The cursed energy devoured itself.
And for the first time—
fear appeared on Sasuke's face.
Mahina stepped forward.
One final step.
Her silver blade flashed.
A single strike.
Clean.
Silent.
The world seemed to stop.
Sasuke's eyes widened.
Then his head separated from his body.
No scream.
No final attack.
No last words.
The Eclipse Devourer fell into the mud.
Its dark aura vanished.
Moments later, Sasuke's body dissolved into black particles and disappeared into the wind.
Silence returned.
Only the rain remained.
Mahina lowered her sword.
"You will never harm anyone again."
Her voice carried neither pride nor satisfaction.
Only certainty.
Abraão stared.
His mind couldn't process what had happened.
The battle.
The deaths.
The blood.
His home.
Everything felt unreal.
Slowly—
his eyes moved toward Elias.
The boy wasn't moving.
No smile.
No jokes.
No stories about Moon Hares.
Nothing.
Just silence.
"Elias…"
His voice cracked.
He crawled across the floor.
Ignoring the pain.
Ignoring the blood.
Ignoring everything.
"Elias…"
He grabbed his brother's shoulders.
Shook him.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
"Wake up."
No response.
"Elias…"
His hands trembled.
"Come on…"
Nothing.
"You always wake up…"
His voice became weaker.
"You always wake up…"
Still nothing.
The reality finally reached him.
His brother was gone.
A broken sound escaped his throat.
Half scream.
Half sob.
His entire body shook.
Tears streamed down his face.
Not because he was weak.
Not because he was afraid.
But because there was nobody left.
His parents.
Gone.
Now Elias.
Now Elara.
Gone.
Everyone.
Gone.
"Why…?"
The question escaped his lips.
Weak.
Broken.
Empty.
"Why does everyone I love die?"
The rain continued to fall.
No answer came.
Only silence.
His gaze slowly moved toward Elara.
The woman who had raised him.
Who had fed him.
Protected him.
Comforted him.
After his parents died.
She was gone too.
The cabin suddenly felt empty.
Cold.
Lifeless.
As if everything warm in his world had been ripped away.
Mahina looked toward him.
For a moment, sadness appeared in her eyes.
Not pity.
Sadness.
As if she understood exactly how he felt.
Abraão clenched his fists.
His nails dug into his palms.
He wanted to scream.
He wanted to destroy something.
He wanted to wake up and discover this was all a nightmare.
But none of that happened.
Reality remained.
Cruel.
Unchanging.
His vision blurred.
Tears mixed with rainwater.
His body finally gave up.
Exhaustion.
Grief.
Shock.
All at once.
The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Mahina walking toward him.
A warm light surrounded her.
Gentle.
Protective.
Like the embrace of a distant moon.
Then darkness consumed everything.
And beneath the thousand moons of Eliria—
the life of Abraão was about to change forever.