The morning after the Nexus trial, the sanctum pulsed with strange tension.
Adepts moved quickly through the halls, heads lowered, murmuring behind sleeves. Moonlight filtered through the arched windows, but even that seemed dimmer than usual—as if the world itself was holding its breath.
Aria walked alone, the cold floor beneath her bare feet grounding her amidst the chaos inside her mind. The moonstone pendant nestled at her chest pulsed with faint warmth, matching the rhythm of her heartbeat—steady, uncertain, alive.
But the words from the night before echoed louder than the footsteps around her.
If she fails, it won't be just her who dies.
Had they always doubted her? Or had last night's awakening changed something? Something they feared.
---
Outside, the herb garden shimmered under the rising sun. Elara knelt by the silverleaf bush, carefully harvesting its shimmering leaves into a woven satchel. She looked up as Aria approached and offered a warm, practiced smile.
But Aria saw it—the flicker of worry behind her eyes.
I heard you,Aria said plainly. No point in dancing around it.
Elara's fingers stilled.
You and Lysander. Last night. You were talking about me. Saying I'm unstable. A risk.
Elara stood slowly, brushing her hands on her apron. Aria, I didn't want you to hear it that way. But… it's true. We're worried.
Worried I'll fail? Aria's voice rose. Or worried I'll become something you can't control?
Elara didn't answer right away.
There were others,she said at last, her voice soft as the breeze. Before you. Echoes—reborn fragments of the Moon Remnant's soul.
Aria's breath caught. Others like me?
Yes. But they didn't last. Some lost themselves entirely. Others became… twisted. The magic rejected them, or they couldn't control it.
Aria stepped back. So I'm just another failed experiment?
No,Elara said firmly, stepping closer. You're the only one who bonded with the Nexus. You survived the awakening. That makes you different.
Or more dangerous,Aria murmured, lowering her gaze. And if I lose control?
Elara didn't reply. But her silence spoke louder than words.
---
Later that day, the sanctum's grand library welcomed Aria like an ancient cathedral—walls lined with shimmering scrolls and forgotten truths. Pale moonlight spilled from a skylight above, illuminating dust motes dancing in the still air.
Lysander waited near a table already prepared for her—three tomes laid open, candles flickering.
This place…Aria whispered, trailing her fingers along an old binding. It feels like it remembers everything.
It does,Lysander said. "Memories are written into these stones. Like the ones in you.
She sat cautiously, and he passed her a worn book titled:
"The Lunar Lineage: Echoes of the Remnant."
The moment she touched it, the symbols on the cover glowed faintly—responding to her.
The pages flipped as if guided by unseen hands, stopping at a section marked with silver ink.
The Remnant's soul, once sacrificed, fractured across time. The echoes carry pieces—power, memory, grief… and danger.
Further down:
> Only one echo may survive the full awakening. The rest dissolve. Or worse… consume.
Aria's fingers trembled as she read. So… there could be others? Still out there?
Lysander met her gaze evenly. There are. At least one. Maybe more.
And we're... what? Competing to survive?she asked bitterly.
Fate isn't a competition,Lysander replied. But magic doesn't share well. Not when it comes to fragments of the same soul.
The silence between them was heavy. Aria closed the book, trying to slow her breath.
I want to find them,she said at last. "Before they find me.
Lysander didn't smile. But his expression softened. Then you need training. Knowledge. And the Vale.
---
That night, Aria stood outside her chamber beneath the moon, its silver glow draping everything in ghostly calm. She clutched the moonstone pendant, feeling its pulse align with hers.
Sleep evaded her. She kept seeing that battlefield vision. The woman who looked like her—fighting, burning, dying. Was that her past self? Or someone else entirely?
The pendant pulsed stronger. The wind shifted.
And then a whisper—felt more than heard.
> You are not the only one reborn...
She turned sharply. Nothing but shadows. The corridor behind her was empty.
But she knew.
Someone was watching. Or waiting.
The moonstone grew warm in her hand, and Aria's resolve hardened like steel.
I'll find them,she whispered to the night. All of them. And I'll survive.