The morning was soft and quiet. Sunlight spilled across the Wright household, warming the garden and catching the gentle hum of cicadas.
Noah tugged at his jacket impatiently by the door. "Hurry up, Luna, we'll miss the best stalls!"
Luna emerged from the hallway, hair tied neatly with a pale ribbon, a book still in her hand. "You said we're shopping, not loitering in random shops you call 'the best'."
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but you don't know until you try. Besides, you can't just hide in books all the time."
Their mother, Celeste, peeked out from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. "Don't get into trouble. And Noah — don't drag your sister into anything foolish."
Noah grinned. "Who, me?" Celeste only gave him that knowing look.
They left the house with Luna clutching a small coin purse, Noah already stretching as if he was about to run a marathon.
The mall was alive with chatter — kids chasing each other,
"Hey, remember when you tripped here carrying all those sweets?" Noah pointed at a Tile crack.
Luna blushed, adjusting her glasses. "You're never letting me forget that, are you?"
"Nope." He smirked, hands behind his head as he walked lazily. "But don't worry, I'll save you if you fall again. Big brother's orders."
"You're only older by five minutes," she muttered, hiding a smile.
The closer they came to the hall, the more crowded it grew. Families streamed toward the huge arched entrance of the mall — a blend of polished stone and glass, its domed ceiling catching the sunlight like a beacon.
The air shifted immediately when they entered. Warm, fragrant with baked goods and spiced meats, mixed with the sharp tang of perfume shops. Rows of stores stretched out on polished marble floors, their signs glowing with enchantments.
"Where first?" Luna asked.
"Clothes," Noah said without hesitation.
"Books," Luna countered.
"Clothes!"
"Books."
Their bickering didn't last long before Noah spotted a leather stall. He darted forward, running his hands across jackets while the shopkeeper launched into an eager pitch.
"Try this one," Noah said, pulling a dark brown jacket over his shoulders, striking a pose. "Looks good, right?"
"You look like you're trying too hard," Luna replied flatly.
"Ouch." He laughed, tossing it aside.
Luna eventually drifted to a nearby shop selling trinkets — charms, polished stones, delicate bracelets. She picked up a small silver chain, thoughtful, before setting it back down.
"You should've bought that," Noah said when he caught her.
"It wasn't necessary."
"You never buy anything for yourself," he muttered, half annoyed, half concerned.
They moved on. They shared roasted chestnuts from a food stall, Noah devouring his in seconds while Luna carefully cracked hers open. They browsed an apothecary, while Noah tried (and failed) to flirt with the vendor's apprentice.
For an hour, they were just normal siblings. Laughing. Arguing. Pointing out ridiculous outfits.
Near the heart of the mall, a wide fountain sparkled beneath the glass dome. Families rested on its steps, children tossing coins into the water. Luna paused there, watching them, a faint wistfulness crossing her face.
Noah nudged her. "What's up?"
"Nothing," she said quickly, shaking her head. "Just… peaceful."
"Yeah," he agreed, though he didn't notice how her gaze lingered longer than usual.
The peace ended with a sound like the world breaking.
Crack.
The glass dome above them splintered, a web of fractures racing across its surface. Shouts rose as shadows descended — men in dark uniforms, faces hidden behind masks, sliding down ropes. Explosions of smoke rolled across the floor, swallowing the fountain in gray haze.
Gunfire erupted. Screams followed.
"For Hera! For the blood stolen by Theon!" a masked man bellowed, his voice echoing through the mall.
Panic surged. People stampeded toward the exits — only to find them sealed by the attackers. Children cried. Parents shoved. The marble floor became chaos itself.
Noah grabbed Luna's wrist, dragging her down behind an overturned stall. His heart hammered.
"Stay low," he hissed.
But Luna's eyes darted around, wide, horrified — to the mother shielding her boy under a bench, to the old man bleeding out near the fountain, to the frozen shoppers too terrified to move.
And that was when it began.
***
The mall was a storm of screams. Smoke swallowed the fountain, the air sharp with gunpowder.
Security rushed in — men in iron-gray uniforms, their truncheons crackling faintly with minor enchantments. "Clear the area! Protect the civilians!"
The first few guards clashed with the terrorists. A masked attacker swung his blade, but one guard's Thread flared — his skin turned faintly metallic, deflecting the strike. Another thrust his palm out, conjuring a ripple of wind that shoved civilians toward safety.
But for every guard, there were three armed attackers. Gunshots echoed. Glass shattered.
Civilians were no longer just civilians either. A woman in a dress clearly civilian raised her hand, weaving strands of water from the fountain into a whip that coiled around an attacker's arm. A young man at a food stall gritted his teeth, the air around him flickering with sparks as he used a low-layer fire Thread to burn through a barricade.
"Move! This way!" he shouted, helping drag people to a half-open side door.
It was chaos but, People were fighting, surviving.
***
The smoke was thicker now, the fire alarms shrieked without pause. Gunshots echoed across the upper balconies.
Security had pushed back hard, but their line broke when a group of terrorists tossed something metallic across the tiles.
Clink.Clink.
The grenade went off in a flash. Screams tore through the mall.
Noah shielded Luna instinctively, the blast wave knocking them both against a marble pillar. His ears rang, his arms burned, but he pushed up.
The plaza was a massacre. Guards lay sprawled, wounded or worse. Civilians ran in every direction — some dragged by Thread-users with flickering powers, but too many caught under the terrorists' aim.
One of the masked men spotted Noah and Luna by the pillar. He raised his rifle.
"Run!" Noah shouted, shoving Luna toward cover.
But she didn't run — she grabbed a loose shard of glass from the broken storefront and stood in front of him, trembling but steady.
The gun barked.
The shot never landed — a guard slammed into the attacker, wrestling him down. But three more were already climbing over the fountain railings, rifles pointed their way.
Noah's chest tightened. He looked around — no cover, no guards, no help. Just him and Luna.
"…Stay behind me," he said, voice low, almost calm.
"With what?" Luna whispered, her grip on the shard tight.
The terrorists opened fire. Noah dragged Luna behind a fallen bench, wood splintering under the bullets. One grazed his arm, hot blood spilled down to his wrist.
He hissed, but stayed over her.
The attackers closed in, boots crunching over glass.
Noah tried to stand again, fists clenched. If I die, fine. But not her.
One of the masked men leveled his rifle directly at Noah's head.
Time slowed. The smoke bent. Luna screamed, but no sound came out.
Noah stepped forward, as if to take the shot for her. And in that instant, the world cracked.
From his back, black feathers spilled into the air, heavy as dusk. His shadow warped, stretching unnaturally across the marble. Wings unfurled jagged, broken-looking, but vast. His eyes glowed pale silver, hollow, like a forsaken moon.
The bullets bent away, swallowed into the darkness. The terrorist staggered back, stumbling over his own weapon.
"Noah…" Luna whispered, her hand trembling.
Then light bloomed.
Her chest burned, her heart ached, and then something broke free. From her back, white wings burst forth, glowing faintly with a golden halo. Feathers drifted down like dawn breaking through the smoke.
A warmth spread outward from her palms, a shield of light forming just as another bullet whined toward Noah. It shattered harmlessly against her radiance.
The plaza froze for a moment. Guards, terrorists, civilians — all stared.
Noah stood in the dusk of his black wings, shadow coiling at his feet, his presence heavy and damning.Luna stood in the glow of her white wings, shielding the wounded behind her, her light spilling over the broken tiles like a sunrise.
Two opposites -yet bound together.
And then the fighting roared back to life.
Noah's wings lashed out like blades of shadow, sending two attackers sprawling. Luna's shield spread, catching shrapnel and gunfire, protecting the group huddled behind her.
They weren't trained. They weren't in control. But they weren't powerless anymore.
The mall plaza had turned into a battlefield. Sirens wailed outside, glass rained from the upper floors as the fire suppression system finally kicked in, sprinklers hissing down smoke and dust.
Luna's shield of light flickered, holding back a storm of bullets. Each impact made her flinch, her knees buckling, but she refused to drop it — civilians clung behind her, trembling, whispering prayers.
Noah surged forward, his black wings beating once, sending a shudder through the air. Shadow tendrils lashed out, disarming two gunmen, dragging them into the darkness like prey. His eyes burned pale silver, but his breaths were ragged, each movement heavier than the last.
"Stay down!" he snarled, his voice deeper, almost inhuman, as he shoved a wounded guard behind Luna's light.
For a moment, it seemed like they could push the attackers back.
But then the weight hit them.
Noah staggered mid-step, clutching his chest. The shadows recoiled, writhing back into his wings. His body trembled, sweat pouring down his temple.
Too much… it's too much… His vision blurred — every thread of his being felt like it was burning itself out just to keep standing.
"Noah!" Luna cried out, dropping her shield for just a second to grab his arm.
Her wings flared brighter to cover the gap — but the light dimmed immediately, flickering like a candle in the wind. Blood seeped from her nose. She was shaking so hard she could barely keep her footing.
The power was new, raw, overwhelming. Neither of them had the control or the stamina to hold it for long.
A group of Thread-users — civilians who had held back until now — surged forward. A man with a Thread of Stone raised walls from the broken tiles. A woman with a Thread of Gale sent a cyclone of air through the plaza, scattering smoke and knocking rifles from hands.
Guards regrouped, taking positions behind the stone walls, firing back with precision.
One rushed to Noah and Luna, crouching down as bullets pinged off the makeshift barricade."You two—! You've done enough, stop before you kill yourselves!"
The last of the terrorists were subdued, either restrained by Threads or pinned by guards. Smoke drifted in lazy curls across the wreckage of the plaza.
Noah and Luna barely stood through it. When the final gunshot rang out, both of them collapsed almost at the same time.
Luna's wings dissolved into feathers of white light, fading into nothingness. Noah's black wings shattered into fragments of dusk, leaving only the faint shimmer of shadow curling back into him.
Noah hit the ground on his side, gasping, his eyes glassy. Luna fell forward, caught just in time by the security captain.
"Damn kids…" the captain muttered, but there was a flicker of awe in his voice.
The siblings, barely conscious, reached for each other's hands. Their fingers touched, faint but steady, before both slipped into unconsciousness.
As paramedics and reinforcement soldiers poured into the mall, word began to spread quickly.
Not just of the attack.But of two siblings who had awakened in the heart of the fire.
***
The Wright household was silent when the knock came.
Leonard opened the door, still in his plain shirt, sleeves rolled up. A man in an officer's coat stood there, smelling faintly of smoke and disinfectant. Two paramedics waited behind him, and on the stretcher inside the vehicle, Leonard caught a glimpse of Noah's messy black hair.
For a moment, the ex-soldier's expression didn't change. His jaw tightened, his eyes narrowed just slightly, but he said nothing.
"Your children… they awakened," the officer began, almost uncertain. "At the mall. There was a terrorist attack. Hera loyalists. We ran a check up, They're fine. We didn't have space in ambulance there were more seriously injured civilians"
Celeste appeared from the hallway, apron still tied, her hands trembling as she clutched a kitchen towel. "My babies—?"
"They're alive," the officer said quickly. "Exhausted, but alive. They pushed themselves beyond any limit a normal Thread-user should. If not for them, the casualty count would've been—" He stopped, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. They need rest."
Leonard stepped aside, his face still unreadable. His gaze lingered on Noah's unconscious form as the stretcher passed. Then on Luna, pale and weak but still breathing, carried by another medic.
Celeste's hands flew to her mouth. She wanted to cry, but she forced herself still — she didn't want them to see her break the moment they walked in.
Leonard, finally, spoke. His voice was steady, the tone of a man who had seen war, but beneath it was something raw."…You did well. Bring them inside."