THE OATH THAT PRECEDED THE MOON
The snap of the chain echoed through stone, soul, and time itself.
It was not loud in the way of thunder or collapse—but it carried weight, finality, the sound of something ancient losing its restraint. The cavern convulsed violently around Aria, walls shedding slabs of rock as silver runes flared and burned out one by one. Dust and molten fragments rained from above, yet she remained standing at the center of it all, glowing like a living conduit.
The First Oath was awake.
And it was aware of her.
Aria staggered back, heart hammering, as the presence beneath the world pressed closer—not physically, but spiritually. It felt vast, layered, impossibly old, as though countless voices were braided into one consciousness. She could sense its curiosity, its a
