Chapter 12:
The night fell thick and silent over the Argent Crescent Guild.
Moonlight spilled across the marble towers, turning their edges silver. Yet, beneath that serene glow, something dark stirred in the mist-covered hills beyond the city walls.
A single rider cut through the fog. His cloak was black as coal, his horse's hooves silent on the dirt road. Around his neck hung a pendant etched with a serpent devouring its tail — the ancient sigil of the Obsidian Order.
When he reached the gates, he didn't knock or speak. The shadows themselves parted for him, swallowing him whole.
Inside the guild, Kaelen stood at the balcony of the west tower, unable to sleep. The moon hung large and pale above him, but to him it felt heavy — almost watching.
Ever since the Hollow, he couldn't shake the feeling that something inside him had awakened… something he couldn't control.
He clenched his hand. Fire flickered along his palm, uncalled for.
Why won't it stop?
Behind him, Elira's voice broke the silence.
"Still awake?"
He turned. She wore a simple robe, her silver hair gleaming faintly in the moonlight. "Couldn't sleep," he said. "Every time I close my eyes, I see it — the Hollow, the chains, the voice."
Elira stepped closer, resting a hand on the railing beside him. "I feel it too. Like the bond's trying to tell us something."
Kaelen looked at her, then out into the night. "Do you think Ardyn knows?"
She hesitated. "If he does… he's not telling us everything."
Down below, the mist crept into the city streets.
The rider moved like a shadow between shadows, his steps soundless. When he reached the guild courtyard, he lifted a small, rune-covered coin — and the world shimmered.
The guards at the gate didn't see him.
The wards at the entrance didn't flare.
The air simply folded around him, like the night itself was his cloak.
He entered.
In her private office, Lady Seraphine stood before the great window, her reflection pale in the moonlight. Reports from the outlying regions lay scattered across her desk — villages abandoned, temples disturbed, the dead whispering again.
The world was stirring.
"Lady Seraphine," came a voice.
She turned. It was one of her aides, breathless. "The outer wards flickered for half a moment, then stabilized."
Her brow furrowed. "What triggered it?"
"We're not sure. Possibly interference from the residual Hollow energy."
Seraphine's gaze darkened. "No. This feels… different."
Meanwhile, Ardyn sat in his candle-lit study, surrounded by scrolls and maps. The flicker of flame danced in his eyes. On the desk lay a small crystal sphere glowing faintly red.
When the door creaked open, he didn't look up.
"You're late," he said.
The messenger stepped from the shadows, bowing low. "The path was watched. I came as fast as I could."
Ardyn finally raised his gaze. "Do you have the seal?"
The messenger drew out a black scroll bound with obsidian thread. "Direct orders from the High Seer of the Order."
Ardyn unrolled it slowly. Words written in ancient runes glowed faintly across the parchment. As his eyes traced them, a thin smile spread across his face.
"So," he murmured, "the stars have shifted at last."
The messenger glanced around nervously. "The guild doesn't suspect?"
"They suspect everything," Ardyn said, pouring himself a glass of wine. "But that's what makes them predictable."
He walked to the window, gazing at the moon above the guild tower. "Kaelen and Elira survived the Hollow. That means the bond is awakening exactly as the prophecy foretold."
"And the girl?" the messenger asked.
"She's the key to balance," Ardyn said. "Or destruction. Either way, the Order wants both of them alive."
The messenger shifted uneasily. "Alive? The Order never leaves witnesses, Ardyn."
Ardyn turned slowly, and for the first time, the candlelight revealed the faint shimmer of black veins crawling up his neck. "I am not a servant of the Order," he said softly. "I am its evolution."
The messenger's breath caught. "You've… bonded?"
Ardyn's smile was cold. "I've transcended. The Order wishes to control the Moonlight Pact. I intend to become it."
The messenger took a step back, hand moving toward his dagger. "You've lost yourself."
Ardyn raised his hand. The shadows behind him moved — long tendrils that shot forward like serpents. In one swift motion, they wrapped around the messenger's throat.
"On the contrary," Ardyn whispered, "I've finally found who I am."
The dagger clattered to the floor. The messenger's body went still. A faint shimmer of light left his eyes and vanished into Ardyn's outstretched hand.
He sighed contentedly. "Power feeds purpose."
He turned toward the corpse, now dissolving into black dust. "Deliver my regards to your Seer, old friend."
High above, Elira suddenly gasped, clutching her chest.
Kaelen rushed to her side. "What's wrong?"
"I… don't know. Something—someone just vanished. Like their soul was pulled away."
Kaelen's eyes widened. "You can feel that?"
Elira nodded weakly. "It's connected to the Pact. The stronger it grows, the more I sense when balance is broken."
Kaelen clenched his jaw. "Then something's wrong inside the guild."
They moved together through the corridors, moonlight slanting through stained glass. As they passed Ardyn's study, the faint scent of ash lingered in the air.
"Ardyn?" Kaelen called softly.
No answer.
When Elira touched the door, she flinched — it was warm, too warm. She whispered a spell, and the runes glowed faintly. "He's sealed the room with shadow wards."
Kaelen's fist tightened. "Why would he—"
Then they heard it: faint whispers behind the door, like hundreds of voices murmuring in unison.
"Kaelen…" Elira whispered, eyes wide. "Those aren't human voices."
Before they could react, the door swung open by itself. The candles inside had burned low, the air thick with the metallic scent of magic.
Ardyn sat at his desk, perfectly calm, as though he'd been expecting them.
"You should be resting," he said without looking up.
Kaelen stepped forward. "What are you hiding from us?"
Ardyn's lips curved faintly. "Curiosity can be dangerous."
Elira's magic flared in her palm. "You killed someone."
He finally looked at her. "Killed?" His voice was smooth, almost amused. "I released a soul that no longer served its purpose."
Kaelen's fire flickered to life, burning bright in his hand. "That's not the guild's way."
Ardyn rose slowly, and the shadows around the room stirred like living things. "The guild's way is obsolete. You both cling to rules forged by mortals who fear what they can't comprehend."
His gaze fixed on Kaelen, sharp as a blade. "Tell me, do you still hear it? The voice in your dreams?"
Kaelen froze. "How—"
"Because I hear it too," Ardyn said, stepping closer. "It speaks to us both. It calls for awakening."
Elira's pulse quickened. "You mean the prophecy?"
Ardyn smiled. "Prophecy, destiny, fate — call it what you will. But make no mistake: the Moonlight Pact wasn't created to save the world. It was forged to remake it."
Kaelen's flames burned hotter, casting fierce light across the walls. "Enough riddles!"
Ardyn raised a hand, and the flames flickered out like dying embers. "When the time comes, Kaelen, you'll understand. Until then… stay close. The Order moves faster than you realize."
He turned back to his desk, dismissing them with a flick of his wrist. "Go. Rest while you still can."
Kaelen hesitated, fury burning in his chest. But Elira's hand on his arm stopped him.
"Not now," she whispered. "We'll find answers later."
Reluctantly, Kaelen followed her out.
As soon as the door closed, Ardyn's expression shifted. He reached into his cloak and drew out the pendant the messenger once wore — the serpent devouring its tail.
He held it over the crystal orb, and the room filled with an eerie red glow.
"Soon," he murmured, "the Pact will be mine."
Outside, clouds drifted across the moon, darkening the sky.
Elira looked up from the courtyard below, unease coiling in her chest.
"Kaelen," she said softly, "do you trust him?"
Kaelen didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on the guild tower, where faint red light pulsed behind Ardyn's window like a heartbeat.
"No," he said finally. "But I think he's the only one who knows what's coming."
Above them, thunder rumbled — distant, yet unnatural.
And far beyond the guild's walls, deep in the misty forests, the sigils of the Obsidian Order began to flare one by one, like stars being born in darkness.
The hunt had begun.....