Chapter no 23
The Blood Moon's Oath
The night was not quiet anymore.The sky above the ruined citadel burned crimson — the blood moon had risen once again, and with it, the darkness that had slept beneath the earth began to stir.
Eira stood at the heart of the broken courtyard, her cloak torn and soaked with ash. Around her, the symbols of the old curse shimmered faintly across the cracked stones. She could still taste iron in her mouth — the scent of battle, of sacrifice.
Lyra Voss was beside her, kneeling, her armor shattered, silver blood dripping from a wound near her shoulder. But her eyes… her eyes still blazed with that same unyielding fire.
"You shouldn't have come back," Lyra rasped, trying to stand. "The bond— it's killing you."
Eira's hand trembled as she touched Lyra's face, ignoring the pain surging through her body. "Then let it. I would rather die by fate's hand than live without you."
Lyra froze, her lips parting as if to speak — but no words came. For a moment, the world fell silent. Even the storm paused, as if the moon itself listened.
"Do you even understand what you're saying?" Lyra whispered. "You're bound to me — cursed through the same blood that once destroyed this realm. If the moon claims me, it will take you too."
Eira smiled faintly. "Then we go together."
A tremor ran through the ground. The ancient markings began to glow brighter, pulsing in rhythm with their heartbeats. The curse had awakened — demanding its price.
Suddenly, black mist erupted from the stones, curling around their bodies like chains of smoke. Eira gasped, feeling her life drain, but Lyra caught her hand, gripping tightly. "No!" Lyra shouted. "Not her—take me instead!"
The moonlight shifted — from red to white. The mist hesitated.
Eira, with what little strength she had left, pressed her palm against Lyra's wound. "You once told me the curse began with a choice," she whispered. "Then let it end with one too."
Her hand glowed — soft, blue light radiating from her veins, wrapping around them both. Lyra's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're… breaking it."
Eira smiled weakly. "No… we are."
The mist screamed, the markings shattered, and a surge of light exploded across the citadel. The blood moon cracked, scattering like glass in the sky.
When the light faded, the curse was gone.
But so was Eira.
Lyra fell to her knees, her trembling hands clutching the empty air where Eira had stood. The silence that followed was unbearable. Only the faint echo of Eira's voice lingered — like the last breath of a dream.
"I'll find you again… in the next dawn."
The wind carried those words into the night. Lyra bowed her head, tears glimmering against her battle-scarred face.
And beneath the broken moonlight, the Midnight Daughter was born anew — somewhere beyond the stars, where destiny was waiting to begin again.