✨ Chapter 27 – The Second Breach
The night sky blazed red.
Ariana's heart pounded as she ran beside Kai, their footsteps echoing across the training fields. The academy bells clanged loud and sharp, warning every student to stay inside.
"Kai—what kind of breach is that?" Ariana gasped.
"I don't know," he said, breath tight. "But it's close to the East Wall. That's where the first corruption vines appeared last month."
Ariana swallowed.
The moonlight pulsed overhead, cool and soft…
yet beneath it, the air felt electric. Wrong.
Before they reached the barrier line, someone darted out of the shadows—
"Ariana!" Aster ran toward her, arms out, curls bouncing wildly.
"Aster?!" Ariana caught her immediately. "What are you doing out here?"
"Your magic woke me," Aster whispered, pressing a tiny hand to Ariana's chest. "It was calling me."
Kai stiffened.
"Aster," he said sharply, "you should be with the protective ward. Not running around during a breach."
Aster pouted. "But Ariana needed me."
Ariana opened her mouth to disagree—but her wolf surged forward in her mind, pressing warmth against her ribs.
**"The child hears the moon."**
Ariana's breath caught.
Kai knelt, eyes softening with fear.
"Aster, sweetie… you have to be careful. This isn't safe."
Aster frowned.
"But the bad root monsters are coming."
Ariana blanched. "What?"
But before anyone could respond—
A violent blast rocked the far side of the field, sending a shockwave of dust and wind across the grass.
The East Wall flickered.
Cracks of red lightning tore through its glowing surface.
Kai cursed.
"They're breaking the barrier!"
Rylan and Calen sprinted toward them from the opposite path.
Zane arrived seconds later, eyes glowing faintly.
"We felt the surge," Zane said urgently. "Something is pushing against the barrier from the inside."
Ariana froze.
"From… the inside?"
Everyone turned toward the wall.
Something was crawling across the inner surface of the barrier — tall, humanoid figures made of vines, bones, and blackened earth. Their limbs moved in jerks, like marionettes.
Calen whispered, horrified:
"…They're using the corrupted Guardian's remains."
Rylan swore loudly. "What is WRONG with these people?!"
Kai growled, stepping protectively in front of Ariana and Aster.
"Ariana," he murmured, "stay close."
The creatures clawed at the barrier, pulsing with red-glowing veins.
Each strike made the magic flicker.
Zane clenched his fists.
"They're draining the barrier's energy."
Aster trembled in Ariana's arms.
"They're not looking for the school," she whispered.
"They're looking for *moon-sister.*"
Ariana's breath caught.
Her wolf surged violently.
Kai turned sharply. "They're seeking Ariana?!"
Aster nodded, eyes wide.
"They're following something… like a thread. It ties to Ariana's heart."
Ariana's pulse thundered.
Zane looked at her bracelet.
"The limiter… even sealed, your power leaks enough for corruption to sense your lunar core."
Ariana stepped back instinctively.
"I don't… I don't want them to find me."
Kai grabbed her hand, squeezing tightly.
"They won't."
Aster placed her small hand over Ariana's bracelet.
And suddenly—
Ariana felt the world **shift.**
A soft hum linked the two of them together.
Aster looked up, eyes glowing faintly silver.
"I can help," she whispered.
"I can pull your moon-light out gently. Not too much. Just enough to push them back."
Ariana's stomach flipped.
"What? Aster, no—"
Kai nearly shouted.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT—"
But Zane interjected.
"Wait. If Aster links her portal magic to Ariana's light magic… she could create a pulse strong enough to destabilize the corruption constructs."
Rylan looked impressed.
"So basically… kid creates a moon-bomb?"
"Precisely," Zane said.
Kai glared.
"No kid is creating ANYTHING explosive!"
Aster frowned. "Kai. Stop yelling. You're making the moon sad."
Kai looked like he might faint.
Ariana knelt, cupping Aster's cheeks.
"You sure you can do this?" Ariana whispered.
"I don't want you getting hurt."
Aster smiled bravely.
"I won't. Because I'm using your light. And your light loves me."
Ariana nearly cried.
"…Okay," she whispered. "Together."
Aster placed both hands on Ariana's bracelet.
A pale silver glow seeped from beneath Ariana's skin—
not breaking the seal,
not overwhelming,
but enough to form a silvery mist around them.
Aster breathed it in, her own aura flickering blue.
The little girl stepped forward.
"Moon-light, open."
A small portal formed — not swirling wildly like her usual ones, but smooth, circular, letting Ariana's light concentrate into its center like a focused beam.
Zane gasped.
"She's channeling it perfectly."
Kai stood in front of them, ready to guard with everything he had.
"Aster," Ariana whispered, "release it."
Aster lifted her hands—
And the portal exploded with blinding lunar light.
The field lit up brighter than day.
The corrupted constructs shrieked, their forms cracking, shaking, turning to dust as the light consumed them.
The barrier steadied—
its cracks repairing.
Its glow returning.
Ariana felt her knees buckle.
Kai caught her instantly.
"Easy—easy, Ariana. I've got you."
Aster stumbled back, dizzy but unhurt.
Ariana pulled her close.
"You did it," she whispered.
Aster beamed.
"I told you. Moon-sister and I are strong together."
Rylan wiped sweat from his brow.
"That was INSANE."
Calen nodded, dazed.
"Remind me never to anger the child."
Zane looked thoughtful.
"She just tapped into a future bond. Ariana's wolf recognizes her — that's why the link worked."
Kai hugged both Ariana and Aster close.
"Never do that again without telling me first," he whispered to Aster, voice cracking.
Aster kissed his cheek.
"Okay, Kai-Kai."
But Ariana's wolf suddenly stiffened.
Her breath hitched.
Kai felt it immediately.
"Ariana? What's wrong?"
Ariana's eyes went cold.
"…Someone inside the academy is guiding them."
Silence fell.
Zane's eyes widened.
"Because the constructs came from inside the barrier."
Ariana nodded slowly.
"My wolf felt it. A scent. A presence. Someone opened a path."
Kai's jaw clenched.
"A traitor."
Calen whispered:
"…Rebirth has someone on the inside."
Aster hugged Ariana tighter.
"I felt them too," she said softly.
"In the dark. Watching."
Ariana swallowed hard.
"Whoever it is… they want me."
Kai's arms tightened around her protectively.
"Let them try."
His eyes glowed fiercely.
"But they'll have to get through **us** first."