Love In A Moonlight

Episode 5: The Red Covenant Rises

Chapter 21: Shadows Over Bayfront

The sound of waves crashing against the Bayfront rocks had always been comforting to Steven Reyes. As a child, he would visit this exact spot with his Aunt Mercy after school, chasing hermit crabs across the stones and counting the stars. But tonight, the sea whispered something different.

He sat quietly on a weathered bench, facing the moon-kissed ocean. Beside him, the unopened scroll from the Red Covenant sat on the bench, its wax seal stamped with a blood-red flame.

Michael stood a few steps behind, arms crossed, gaze trained on the dark water.

“They sent it here, where you feel safe,” Michael murmured. “To stain your peace.”

Steven didn’t answer immediately. The night air carried the scent of salt, rust, and something ancient. He turned the scroll in his hand but still didn’t open it.

“What do they want?” Steven finally asked.

Michael exhaled through his nose. “You.”

“Because of the fire?”

Michael nodded. “Because you’re not just a fireborn anymore. You’re the one who can end them—or become them.”

Steven turned, meeting Michael’s eyes. “Then what do I do?”

Michael walked closer, crouching before him. “You protect what you love, even if it means becoming something terrifying.”

Steven swallowed hard. He was tired of being afraid of himself. The fire inside him no longer just flared—it waited, like it knew war was near.

He clenched the scroll and stood up. “Then I guess it’s time I become terrifying.”

Chapter 22: The Hunter’s Crest

The corridors of Andres Soriano Colleges buzzed with nervous energy. Whispers passed between students like fevered prayers. Two students had gone missing the night before—Elijah from HRM and Bea from the Education Department. Their belongings were found near the gym… but their bodies were not.

Steven stood at the far end of the school canteen, watching people avoid his eyes like he was part of the darkness spreading across campus.

Czarah stormed in, her eyebrows furrowed and hair tied up like she was about to fight someone. “They’re doing this to bait you,” she said without preamble. “The Covenant wants you out in the open.”

“They already have my attention,” Steven replied, voice low.

Michael leaned against the pillar beside the water dispenser, arms crossed. “They want your power, but they’re afraid of what it can become. So they’ll provoke you until you lose control.”

Steven looked at the people chatting over halo-halo and siomai across the room. “And when I lose it, people like them get hurt.”

“Exactly,” Michael said. “That’s what they’re counting on.”

Suddenly, Liora burst into the canteen, eyes wild.

“I found someone,” she said, breathless. “Someone who can help you.”

Steven raised an eyebrow. “Help me how?”

“She’s not one of us,” Liora whispered. “But she’s the reason you’re still alive in this lifetime.”

Michael straightened. “No.”

Steven looked between them. “What do you mean, ‘no’?”

“She’s dangerous,” Michael growled.

“Dangerous enough to stop the Covenant?” Czarah asked.

Liora took Steven’s hand. “There’s only one person who knows how to teach you how to control your flame before it consumes you.”

Steven swallowed. “Who?”

---

That evening, they followed Liora deep into the outskirts of Bislig, where the forest grew thick and the air turned colder with every step. They arrived at a half-collapsed stone chapel hidden beneath layers of moss and moonlight.

Inside stood a woman cloaked in black. Her eyes were a storm of emotion—regret, strength, and something Steven couldn’t name.

“You’re taller in this life,” she said, stepping forward.

Steven blinked. “Do I know you?”

She smiled faintly. “You did. Once.”

Michael stepped in front of Steven, defensive. “Maya Navarro.”

“I see your voice hasn’t changed, Ruiz,” she replied coolly.

“You betrayed the last Fireborn.”

“I tried to save him.”

Liora pushed between them. “Enough. This isn’t about past grudges. Maya—can you help him?”

Maya studied Steven carefully. “Your fire isn’t wild. It’s grieving.”

Steven frowned. “What?”

“Fire responds to emotion,” Maya said. “Grief, guilt, fear. That’s why you’re losing control. Not because you’re weak—but because you’re carrying too much alone.”

Steven’s throat tightened. No one had ever put it that way.

Michael still didn’t look convinced. “Why should we trust you?”

Maya pulled a rusted pendant from beneath her cloak—a crest shaped like a flaming dagger.

“I made a vow to protect the Fireborn, even if it killed me. I didn’t fulfill it last time.”

She looked at Steven.

“Let me fulfill it now.”

Chapter 23: The One Who Remembers

The abandoned chapel had no electricity. Only the moonlight bled through broken stained glass, casting fractured rainbows on cracked marble floors. Steven stood in the center, facing Maya Navarro—the vampire hunter who once failed to protect his former self.

“I don’t remember you,” Steven said softly. “But something about you feels… familiar.”

Maya stepped closer, her boots echoing against stone. “You wouldn’t remember. Not in this life. But your soul does.”

Michael scoffed from the shadows. “Spare us the riddles, Navarro. If you came to help, do it. If not—”

“She saved you,” Liora interrupted, “once, long ago. And she’s here now because she still carries that failure.”

Maya nodded. “Steven, the reason you can’t control your fire is because your soul is still grieving its last death. You died afraid. Angry. Alone.”

Steven’s chest tightened. Images flickered in his mind—distant screams, flames engulfing shadows, a voice whispering I’ll find you again.

“Why now?” he asked. “Why me?”

“Because,” Maya said, lifting her pendant. “The Fireborn line was thought extinct. The Sangres believed they wiped you out. But your blood… survived. And now that it’s awakened, the Red Covenant sees a chance to seize it.”

Steven looked at Michael. “Is that true?”

Michael nodded slowly. “I wasn’t sure until your fire responded during the blood moon. But yes. You’re the last.”

The weight of centuries fell on Steven’s shoulders.

Maya began training that night.

She pushed Steven through hours of drills—mental, physical, emotional. She didn’t hold back. Every time he faltered, the air shimmered with fire, his body crackling from within.

“You’re thinking too much,” Maya barked. “The fire doesn’t need your logic. It needs your intention.”

Steven panted. “I’m trying—”

“Try less. Feel more.”

Czarah watched from the sidelines, worried. Michael stood behind her, jaw clenched, resisting the urge to interfere.

“He’s not ready,” Michael muttered.

“He has to be,” Czarah whispered. “No one else can stop what’s coming.”

Maya clapped once. “Again!”

Steven focused. The flame ignited—but instead of flaring outward wildly, it coiled around him like armor.

Maya smirked. “Better. Now—burn it into memory.”

That night, Steven dreamed.

He was standing in fire. Not burning—but glowing.

Across from him stood another version of himself—eyes blazing, wounded, afraid.

“I died screaming,” the other Steven said. “Alone.”

“I know,” Steven whispered. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be me,” the echo replied. “You can be better. Stronger.”

Then he vanished.

Steven awoke in Michael’s arms, covered in sweat.

“You were glowing,” Michael said, voice shaky. “You called my name… and the flames answered you.”

Steven touched his chest, where warmth still lingered.

He was beginning to remember.

And that memory would become his weapon.

Chapter 24: Fire Reborn

Two weeks passed in silence and fire.

By day, Steven trained with Maya in the forest ruins. By night, he returned to Bayfront to walk under the stars with Michael—sharing stories, holding hands, breathing through the growing storm.

But Steven felt it.

The Red Covenant was coming.

And they were close.

He sat alone on a bench near the water, watching the tide roll in. Michael joined him, handing him a cup of coffee.

“Still awake?” Michael asked.

Steven nodded. “I dream differently now. It’s like… my soul knows what’s coming.”

Michael took a sip. “They won’t stop. Not until you surrender… or die.”

“Then I won't give them either.”

Michael turned to him. “You’ve changed.”

Steven smiled. “I had to.”

Then his hand lit with a golden flame, gentle as a candle.

“I can hold it now,” he whispered.

Michael reached for it—and the flame didn’t burn him.

“I told you,” Steven said. “I’m not afraid of it anymore.”

Michael leaned in slowly. “Good. Because the fire never scared me. Losing you did.”

Their lips met under the stars. And the ocean roared in quiet approval.

The following day, Czarah rushed into the training field.

“They left a message,” she said, breathless. “The Covenant.”

Maya stepped forward. “Where?”

“At the school. The canteen.”

They rushed to Andres Soriano Colleges, where students had been evacuated. On the cafeteria wall, a message was smeared in blood:

> Return the Fireborn—or we take the city.

Below it, three symbols burned into the tiles—a blood moon, a dagger, and a crown.

Liora’s face went pale. “That’s their mark. The Trifold Curse.”

Maya nodded grimly. “It means war.”

Steven stood in the center of the room, fists clenched. “Then we fight.”

Michael frowned. “No. We protect. Fight only when there’s no choice.”

Steven looked at him. “We’re out of choices.”

That night, Steven stood outside the old chapel, staring into the mirror Maya brought.

“Why are we doing this?” he asked.

“To awaken your fire fully,” she said. “We need to sever the emotional ties to your death. You must reclaim that moment.”

Steven nodded.

He closed his eyes… and the mirror glowed.

Flashes of a previous life. Running. Screaming. Blood. Fire. A shadow dragging him. Michael—young and fierce—fighting through it all.

Then silence.

Steven gasped and collapsed. But the flame did not vanish.

It enveloped him.

When he stood, his body shimmered with golden light.

“I remember everything,” he whispered.

And the fire was no longer afraid.

Chapter 25: Rise of the Red Moon

The full moon bled red over Bislig City.

Steven stood at the gates of Andres Soriano Colleges, now a battlefield. Behind him stood his found family:

Michael, fierce and in love

Czarah, silver daggers drawn, fearless

Liora, her violet eyes locked on the sky

Maya, bow steady, pendant glowing

Across the rooftops came movement. Then—shadows.

Ten. Twenty. Dozens.

Then a single figure stepped forward.

He was tall, pale, and draped in crimson robes.

Kael.

“Steven Reyes,” he called, voice like thunder wrapped in silk. “Or should I say… Fireborn.”

Steven didn’t flinch. “You burned cities. Took lives. And now you want mine?”

“I want what’s inside you,” Kael purred. “The fire that betrayed us.”

Steven stepped forward. “Then come take it.”

Kael raised his hand—and chaos erupted.

The battle began.

Czarah and Liora took to the sides, flanking attackers. Michael launched forward, fangs bared, blades flashing.

Maya fired into the shadows, pinning Sangres to trees and lampposts.

Steven walked into the center—unarmed, but burning.

Sangres swarmed him. He raised his hand—and the fire exploded outward, a brilliant arc that knocked enemies back in waves.

But Kael was unfazed.

He rushed Steven with unnatural speed, crashing them into the ground. Fangs bared.

“You’re still just a boy,” he hissed. “A child playing with fire.”

Steven’s eyes blazed. “I’m the fire.”

He roared—and the sky caught flame.

The moon turned blood red.

The fire twisted into a phoenix shape, encircling Steven’s body.

Kael screamed as the flames scorched him.

But Steven hesitated.

He saw fear in Kael’s eyes—not evil. Fear.

“I don’t have to destroy you,” Steven whispered. “You already destroyed yourself.”

He pulled the fire inward—and released a blinding pulse of light.

The Sangres fled. Kael collapsed.

Silence.

Czarah rushed to Steven’s side. “Are you okay?”

Steven nodded, eyes glowing gold.

Michael approached, taking Steven’s hand. “It’s over.”

Maya whispered, “No… it’s only begun.”

Steven looked up at the blood moon.

> “Then let them come,” he said. “This time—I won’t run.”