Episode 18: The Last Light
729 Words
The silver light began disappearing.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Like the moon itself was dying.
Zara stared at her hands.
The power that had always terrified her...
The power everyone wanted...
Was leaving.
"No."
The word escaped her lips.
The Void Beast smiled.
"Do you feel it?"
Its voice shook the earth.
"The First Moon is ancient."
A pause.
"But even ancient things can die."
Zara tried to summon the silver flames.
Nothing happened.
Only a small flicker appeared.
Then vanished.
Fear spread through the battlefield.
The wolves stepped back.
The hunters raised their weapons.
Even the Shadow King looked uncertain.
The creature was stronger than anything they had ever faced.
Caden held Zara's hand tighter.
"Stay with me."
She looked at him.
Her eyes were filled with panic.
"I can't feel it anymore."
Caden frowned.
"What?"
"The power."
Her voice cracked.
"It's gone."
The Void Beast laughed.
"Not gone."
It stepped forward.
"Taken."
Dark energy spread across the ground.
Every step it took made the earth decay.
"I was created for one purpose."
Its eyes locked on Zara.
"To remove the First Moon from existence."
The hunter moved forward.
"You will not touch her."
The creature looked at him.
"You still believe you can stop me?"
The hunter attacked.
Fast.
Powerful.
His silver blade struck the creature's armor.
But instead of cutting it...
The blade shattered.
The hunter froze.
Impossible.
The Void Beast grabbed him by the throat.
"You were created by the Moon."
A pause.
"So was I."
It threw him aside.
The warriors rushed forward.
The Blood Wolves attacked.
The Black Mountain warriors followed.
For the first time...
Both packs fought together.
Against a common enemy.
The battlefield became chaos.
Claws.
Magic.
Steel.
Darkness.
But nothing worked.
The creature continued moving.
Unstoppable.
Selene stood beside Zara.
Her expression had changed.
No longer angry.
No longer bitter.
Only worried.
"Why isn't the First Moon fighting back?"
Zara looked at her.
"I don't know."
Selene studied her.
Then she looked at Caden.
"The bond."
Caden turned.
"What about it?"
"The creature is draining the power through her."
She pointed.
"Every time Zara fears, doubts, or loses control..."
The darkness grows stronger.
Caden looked at Zara.
Understanding appeared in his eyes.
The creature wasn't just stealing power.
It was feeding on her emotions.
Her pain.
Her fear.
Everything she had carried for years.
Zara lowered her gaze.
"So all of this happened because of me."
"No."
Caden's answer was immediate.
She looked at him.
"No?"
He stepped closer.
"The creature wants you to believe that."
The Void Beast turned.
Listening.
Caden continued.
"You are not the reason this is happening."
The bond pulsed.
"You are the reason we can stop it."
The creature laughed.
"Beautiful."
It looked at Caden.
"The Alpha believes love can defeat ancient power."
Caden's eyes hardened.
"No."
He raised his sword.
"Choice can."
The Void Beast attacked.
A wave of darkness rushed toward them.
Caden moved in front of Zara.
But this time...
She didn't let him.
Zara stepped beside him.
"No."
Everyone froze.
The darkness approached.
She lifted her head.
"I am done running."
The silver sword appeared again.
Weak.
But present.
"I spent my entire life afraid of what I am."
The sword began glowing.
"I was afraid of my past."
The light grew stronger.
"I was afraid of my blood."
The ground trembled.
"I was afraid of my power."
The darkness stopped.
The Void Beast looked surprised.
Zara's eyes turned silver.
"But I am not afraid anymore."
The First Moon answered.
Not because she demanded it.
Because she accepted it.
The silver light returned.
Brighter than before.
The creature stepped back.
Impossible.
"No."
The Shadow King watched in silence.
Because he finally understood.
The First Moon was never inside Zara because of her blood.
It was inside her because of her heart.
The creature roared.
"You cannot defeat me!"
Zara raised the sword.
"Maybe."
She looked at Caden.
"But I don't have to do it alone."
The bond between them exploded.
Silver and black energy combined.
A power never seen before.
The Alpha.
The Luna.
Together.
The Void Beast screamed as the light struck it.
But before it disappeared...
It smiled.
Because it knew something they didn't.
A piece of darkness remained.
Hidden.
Waiting.
And a voice whispered from beneath the earth.
"The first battle is over."
A pause.
"The real war begins now."
- Writer
