The forest shook as Varian stepped forward, flanked by monstrous wolves—the twisted remnants of lost packs and cursed bloodlines. Their eyes burned like embers. Their teeth dripped shadow.
But it was Varian himself who made the trees recoil.
He wasn't entirely man anymore.
His form shifted as he moved—fluid, half-shadow, half-fire. His crimson robes moved like they had a heartbeat of their own, and black veins ran like rivers up his throat.
Aria stood in the center of the glowing circle, power still humming in her chest from the Lunaris Rite. Her body vibrated with heat and starlight, but her heart pounded with one thought:
We're not ready for this.
Varian raised a single hand.
"Bow," he said, voice smooth as smoke. "Or be broken."
Kade stepped forward. "We're not bowing."
Varian smirked. "Then you'll burn."
---
The first wave hit like a tidal surge.
Shadow-wolves lunged from all sides—jaws wide, claws extended. The Circle didn't flinch.
Reid spun with twin daggers, slicing clean through cursed fur. His every move was precise, practiced—a blur of silver steel.
Lyra shifted mid-jump, her transformation seamless—wolf and woman dancing in deadly sync as she took down three attackers at once, her claws glowing with white-hot fury.
Mira raised her hands and whispered a single word—"Fall."
A ring of pure moonlight burst from her body, sending ten enemies flying back into the trees.
Aria ran toward the edge of the circle where Kade stood, his new mark blazing with flame. As a massive shadow-wolf charged him, Kade's hand ignited—he punched through the creature's chest, flames erupting from its mouth.
"Still think I'm not Moonborn?" he shouted over his shoulder.
Kai laughed—a wild, exhilarating sound—as lightning crackled along his arms. He swept both hands forward, calling down a stormbolt that turned a cluster of rogues to ash.
And still, Varian did not move.
He watched them fight with eyes of endless hunger.
"I see you," he whispered. "I see every bond you've made. And I will break them."
---
Aria turned to face him, her own mark burning through her skin.
"I won't let you touch them," she said. "I severed your mark. I broke your hold."
Varian chuckled. "You think you did. But do you truly believe fate can be cut that easily?"
He raised his hand again.
And the ground opened.
---
From the earth rose wraiths—not wolves, but ghosts twisted in black armor, their hollow mouths whispering ancient oaths. They surrounded the Circle, moving silently. One by one, each member of the Six froze.
They couldn't breathe.
They couldn't move.
Kade clutched his chest, gasping. "He's binding us—again—"
Varian's voice slithered across the battlefield:
"You forged the Circle, yes. But a Circle can be reversed. Your powers are linked. Which means…"
He smiled.
"…if I crush one of you—I crush all of you."
---
Aria dropped to her knees.
The power that had surged through her only moments ago began to flicker. Her vision blurred.
Varian stepped closer.
"The Rite gave you strength," he said. "But you didn't complete it."
Her lips trembled. "We did. We were one."
"You were six," he said, "but not whole. The final vow—the heart vow—was never spoken."
Kade crawled toward her, panting. "We didn't know…"
Varian tilted his head. "A Circle forged in silence is a flame without heat. No vow… no unity."
Aria's pulse slowed.
"No," she said.
She turned toward Kade.
Tears stung her eyes—not from pain.
From clarity.
"It has to be spoken," she whispered. "It has to be real."
He looked into her eyes. "Aria—"
"I choose you," she said, voice trembling but strong. "Not because the bond says so. Not because fate marked us. But because I love you."
Kade's breath caught.
The moment hung—fragile, raw, infinite.
Then he said, "I love you too. With everything I am."
Their marks ignited.
Not silver.
Not gold.
But white.
Blinding, holy white.
---
A shockwave erupted from their chests, blasting the wraiths into dust. The energy surged through the Circle, reigniting every bond.
Mira gasped as her feet lifted from the ground. Lyra howled—a sound full of release. Reid roared. Kai grinned with blood on his lips.
And the flame returned to Aria's veins.
This time, it stayed.
Varian's robes whipped in the storm that followed. His smile vanished.
"What have you done?" he hissed.
Aria stepped forward.
"We completed the vow."
Kade stood beside her.
"And now we finish you."
---
Together, the Six raised their arms.
Their powers met midair—light, fire, storm, shadow, blade, bond—and spiraled into a single beam of radiant force.
Varian tried to shield himself.
But it was too late.
The energy struck him like a comet.
He screamed—a sound that cracked the trees and burned the sky—and his body shattered into a thousand flickers of crimson and ash.
Then silence.
Real silence.
---
The rogues fled into the trees.
The corrupted ones dissolved.
The storm faded.
And the moon—once heavy with blood—returned to silver.
---
Hours later, they stood on the cliffs above the forest, watching dawn rise.
"I didn't think we'd survive," Lyra admitted.
"We didn't," Reid said. "We became something else."
Kai crossed his arms. "So… what now?"
Mira answered softly. "Now, we build."
Aria turned to Kade.
His eyes were
soft. Tired. But full of peace.
"You said you'd find me," she whispered.
He smiled. "And I always will."
She leaned in, resting her forehead to his.
And the wind carried their vow into the sky.