Aisha stared at the cracks in the ruined canvas. Among the broken strokes, the outline of golden eyes still remained—The same eyes that haunted her every night.
"A love that crushes you and drowns you in nightmares… can't be called love," she murmured, digging her nails into the scar on her wrist—the one left by the glass in the burning mansion.
Rasen's whisper pulled her out of the trance.—"Aisha, can you come for a moment?"
She turned, but between them stood an invisible shadow made of unburied memories:Rasen's death in the accident.Steven's disappearance.The blood that never washed off her hands.
—"What is it?" she asked, though she already knew. The scar was burning.
Rasen held an envelope with the Community's seal.—"Sanathiel is still alive."
Flashback: Escape from the Mansion
That night of ashes…The fog lifted, revealing the collapsing mansion.Steven, bruised and with his leg torn by Risas' claws, dragged Rasen toward the window.The cyclamen vines—violet flowers out of season—wrapped around them like a venomous trap.
—"Climb! The pollen will kill you in minutes!" Steven shouted.But Rasen was already coughing up blood.
Risas rose from the rubble, licking his lips.—"No Lionel to play with? Then you're both my dinner!"
His claws dug into Steven's leg, but a thunderous crack stopped them.Arcangel, Risas' serene brother, appeared at the door, his nails growing like poisonous crystals.
—"You disobeyed the orders, brother," he said, digging his claws into Risas' throat.Risas' body crystallized… and exploded into a thousand shards.
Steven seized the moment and leapt toward the window—But a figure intercepted him.Lionel, with golden hair and an icy smile.
—"Where do you think you're going, hunter?"He took the truck keys.—"Your friend Rasen is already dead. And you... you're still useful."
A woman watched from the shadows, her gaze frozen.Aisha.
—"I'll keep this little memory," she whispered, slipping the moon medallion into her pocket.
In the Present
In the Community's hall, Lionel caressed the cracked moon medallion Aisha had secretly handed him to repair.Björn slammed the table.
—"We have to destroy it! It's the only thing keeping him tied to this world!"
Björn stood abruptly, his legs trembling, the chair crashing behind him.—"How many more times are we going to gamble with our people's fate?"
Lionel spun the medallion between his fingers.The crack reflected his crooked smile.
—"As many times as it takes."
Lionel smirked.He had orchestrated the "accident" that killed Rasen and made Steven disappear.All so no one would discover the medallion was never truly lost.
In the Abyss
Deep within an abyss, Sanathiel opened his eyes.He was not alone.Zaira—his mother—watched him from a mirror of blood.
—"Your daughter will betray you," Zaira whispered.—"Just like you betrayed Salomon."
Then Sanathiel saw Salomon's reflection in the mirror—His mouth frozen in a final plea…Right before Sanathiel cast him into the flames.
Sanathiel looked at his hands.Aisha's reflection glowed within them.
—"She will free me… Not condemn me.Because the blood we share… will decide my end."
By the Lake
Aisha walked by the lake, but the mist thickened.From within the shadows, a figure emerged:
Sanathiel.The moon medallion glowed on his chest.
—"Still running, princess of no one?" he whispered, fading.—"But your blood… already belongs to me."
Aisha looked down at her veins.They shimmered with an amber glow.
The broken medallion called to her—And without realizing, she answered.
She pressed her hand against her chest.Her heartbeat no longer matched her rhythm.
It was slower.Deeper.As if another will whispered within her blood.
"Denying it changed nothing. Running didn't break the bond.And now… now I feel his presence even inside my own blood."
And for the first time,Aisha understood:What pulsed in her chest…was no longer entirely human.