It erupted.
The moment Luna spoke the words, reality fractured into silver fire.
“I choose… to protect what remains.”
The battlefield vanished beneath a surge of pure lunar energy so intense that even the broken laws of existence recoiled.
For a heartbeat maybe less, maybe more there was no Shadowclaw Fortress, no prisoner, no guardian, no doorway.
Only light.
And in that light, Luna felt herself slipping.
Not dying.
Not disappearing.
Becoming something else.
Something vast.
Something terrifying.
Something aware of every thread of existence touching her.
Then Kael’s hand tightened around hers.
And everything anchored back into pain.
Into reality.
Into war.
A scream tore through the sky.
Not human.
Not beast.
Something older than both.
The entity beyond the doorway reac
