The moonlight was sharp tonight.
Not soft. Not silver.
It was white-hot and unrelenting, like judgment itself.
Nyra stood at the entrance of the Vale Crypts—the hidden temple where the Moon Trials would begin. The sigil of her bloodline burned faintly on the stone arch above her, pulsing in time with her heartbeat.
Only Moonborne could open it.
Only Moonborne could survive it.
She pressed her palm to the stone. Her blood answered.
The door split with a groan that echoed into the earth, revealing a narrow spiral staircase that descended into pure darkness.
Behind her, Iris shifted uneasily. "You're really doing this?"
Nyra nodded once. "The Trials were buried for a reason. Which means whatever lies inside… is what they feared most."
Iris handed her a torch wrapped in black flame ribbon. "Then don't die, Vale. I'm not done making fun of you yet."
Nyra smirked, then stepped into the dark.
And the door sealed shut behind her.
⸻
Inside the Trials – The First Gate: Bone
The staircase ended in a chamber carved from obsidian rock. At the center stood a skeletal tree, its branches covered in bones—wolf, fae, human.
A disembodied voice slithered through the air.
"To awaken the blood, you must bleed for it."
A blade materialized in Nyra's hand—ancient, with a hilt made of moonstone and a single silver rune on the flat of the blade.
Without hesitation, she slashed her palm and let the blood fall to the ground.
The bones began to rattle.
One by one, they rose—forming a creature built from ancient warriors. A bone golem.
It charged.
Nyra didn't flinch. She danced with the beast—every movement sharper than the last. Every dodge more precise. Her blood fueled her strength. Her rage sharpened her instincts.
Finally, she buried the moonstone blade into its ribcage, the rune glowing white-hot.
The golem shattered.
Her voice came out low, guttural. "One gate down."
⸻
Meanwhile – Blackthorn Council Chambers
Kael stood before the full council. His face was calm, but his energy was unraveling.
"She's entered the Moon Trials," he said.
Elder Marek leaned forward, his expression unreadable. "Impossible. Those chambers were sealed decades ago."
Kael met his eyes. "Not to her."
A hush fell.
Vessa, skeptical as always, scoffed. "And you want us to do what? Help her?"
"She's awakening," Kael said, "and when she emerges, she'll no longer be just a threat. She'll be prophecy incarnate."
"Then kill her before she does," Marek snapped.
Kael's jaw tightened.
"She's not the only one marked by fate."
And before anyone could respond, he turned and left.
⸻
Back in the Trials – The Second Gate: Moon
The chamber shimmered as Nyra stepped into the next space. There were no enemies. No blades.
Just a mirror.
Tall. Cracked. Ringed by glowing runes.
Her reflection stepped forward on its own.
But it wasn't her as she was now.
It was Nyra the night of her Bonding Ceremony—hopeful, radiant, untouched by betrayal.
The voice returned.
"To claim your power, you must kill who you were."
Nyra stared into the eyes of her former self.
The mirror-Nyra raised her hands. Pleading.
But Nyra didn't hesitate.
She lifted the moonstone blade and drove it through the heart of her reflection.
The mirror shattered.
And the runes exploded into light, flooding her with searing heat and cold all at once. Magic, raw and ancient, poured into her veins.
She screamed—but she didn't fall.
She burned.
⸻
Final Scene – Vale Crypt Exit
The final chamber opened to a pool of silver water.
A voice echoed one last time.
"The trials do not change you. They reveal what was always waiting beneath your skin."
Nyra stepped into the pool.
And when she emerged, her eyes were no longer silver.
They were moonfire white.
The old Nyra was gone.
The prophecy was no longer a whisper.
It had a voice.
And it was hers.
⸻
Cliffhanger Ending:
Back in the forest above the crypt, Iris paced. The ground trembled beneath her feet.
She looked up.
Something massive and winged circled above—its eyes glowing the same color as Nyra's new ones.
Not a beast.
Not a bird.
A watcher.
And it had been awakened.