On one night,
they sat beside a small fire… a lonely flame in endless darkness.
The sky was veiled in clouds,
but in Leora's eyes… there was a faint light.
And on Raven's face… a stubborn determination, worn thin by exhaustion.
Leora hugged her knees and asked softly:
"Do you think we'll survive?"
Raven tossed a pebble into the fire.
"No…"
Then he smiled and added:
"I think we'll save the world."
She glanced at him and laughed quietly:
"Arrogant as always."
He stared into the flames.
"I'm not arrogant… I just don't know how to give up."
Then he added:
"Do you think there are any other survivors?"
Leora stared into the fire and said:
"I don't know… but I hope so, Raven. I hope Mia's safe too."
Then he looked into her eyes and said seriously:
"I don't know what we'll face.
But I know one thing…
I won't leave you.
No matter what happens… I won't let the world take you from me."
She was silent for a moment… then reached out her hand.
He took it, their fingers intertwining in the soft firelight.
She whispered:
"We'll finish this journey together.
We're the ones who'll stop the shadows…
We'll bring the light back."
Raven's eyes shone with pride as he tightened his grip.
"That's a promise."
"Promise," she echoed.
Seven years had passed…
Winter had begun to stretch its cold breath across the land.
The trees of the forest shed their final leaves,
and Raven, with a trembling hand, wrote in his notebook:
"Another year ends… but I feel a new beginning drawing near."
In those days, Elyora began to notice something strange.
Leora had grown more silent,
but her eyes shimmered every time she touched the earth.
And Raven started seeing symbols before they were even spoken—
as if he were reading what will happen, not just what is.
One evening, Elyora sat beneath a tree, watching them from afar.
He murmured to himself:
"It's as if something inside them is awakening…
But not together—each in their own way."
At the end of the seventh year, during a training on "Protection Fields",
a massive red aura burst out from Leora, shaking the ground.
Elyora stopped in his tracks… his eyes widening.
He stared at her for a long moment, then said calmly:
"Well done… now stop."
Once she had left, he remained standing,
gazing silently at the scorched earth beneath his feet.
He muttered:
"No… this isn't ordinary magic…
The color, the frequency… everything points to…"
He fell silent, then looked to the sky:
"Could she be… from that bloodline?
But they… they vanished after the First War."
"And yet… there's no other explanation for this trace."
He placed a hand over his heart and said to himself:
"She's still young.
Carrying this truth would crush her…
When the time comes… I'll tell her."
The next day, he approached her gently:
"Leora…
Your power isn't ordinary.
You have a future unlike anyone else.
And when the time is right… you'll understand."
Leora looked at him in surprise, then gave a quiet, brave smile.
Raven was lying flat on his back after brutal training,
panting as if he'd survived the end of the world:
"Leora… if I die now, tell Elyora I was brave…
at least… 4% brave."
She walked up and raised an eyebrow:
"Don't worry, I'll write on your tombstone:
'Died… while complaining.'"
Raven sighed:
"I'm not complaining… I'm documenting my tragedy."
He pointed to his trembling arm:
"Did you know my muscles have gone on strike?"
She scoffed:
"Muscles? You call that muscles?
They're barely qualified to resign."
He covered his face:
"Winter is cruel… training is crueler… and you are the cruelest of all."
Leora finally laughed:
"Congrats—
You've just discovered the worst horror trilogy of your life."
Eight years had passed…
Eight seasons of sweat and pain, of falling and rising, of questions… and silence.
On a quiet morning where birds no longer sang,
the three of them stood at the edge of the forest—
where the known ended, and the unknown began.
Elyora looked at Leora and Raven.
They stood tall… stronger bodies, deeper eyes, hearts pulsing with unshakable resolve.
He said:
"You are no longer students.
You are now the bearers of Moraliska's light…
And the ones who will uncover who betrayed her in the shadows."
Leora asked, her voice steady but faintly trembling:
"Will we finally know… who betrayed the island?"
He nodded slowly:
"You will.
But truth is never given… it must be claimed."
He paused, as if something heavier than words sat on his chest.
"The Shadow… did not rise alone.
It is not a mindless force—it is will.
Someone… is using the shadows as a tool.
Someone who is still alive."
Raven and Leora exchanged glances.
Raven muttered:
"Please don't say it's one of us."
Elyora shook his head:
"I don't know who it is.
Even I've never seen them.
But I do know one thing…
The betrayal did not come from afar.
It came from within Moraliska itself."
Leora's heart sank:
"That means… our enemy knows us well."
He nodded:
"Better than we know ourselves."
Raven sighed, reaching for his enchanted sword:
"Great… after all this waiting, we finally get to hit something worth hitting."
Leora smiled:
"Just don't forget to strike with your mind first… before your blade."
He stepped forward:
"Honestly… my brain is tired. It's muscle time."
Elyora chuckled softly, then pulled out an old, carefully folded map.
"This map will lead you… to where the Shadow was born."
He stood before them, eyes gleaming with wisdom and concern:
"The battle hasn't begun yet…
But you're now at its doorstep."
Leora looked toward the horizon,
feeling a secret pulse inside her chest—
as if something out there knew… she was near.
She whispered:
"I feel like the island is still calling us… with a voice only I can hear."
Elyora, watching her, replied:
"That's because you carry a bloodline… that no longer exists."
She looked up at him—
but he quickly changed the subject.
Just before they could take their first step into the new world,
a cold wind swept past,
and a thick fog rolled in—one that hadn't been there moments ago.
Within the mist… a burned scrap of parchment floated through the air,
landing at Raven's feet.
He bent down and picked it up.
It was blank.
But Leora saw the ashes swirl—
just for a moment, writing three chilling words:
"You're too late."
They looked at each other in silence.
Elyora whispered:
"The Shadow… knows we've begun to move."
Then, to himself, barely audible:
"But how does it know…?
Unless… it's been watching us all along."