Chapter 16:
The moonlight was softer than he remembered.
Kaelen stood at the edge of the Silverfield plains, the grass whispering beneath his boots, swaying like they were breathing with him. The stars above pulsed faintly — as if they too recognized what now lived inside him. He exhaled slowly, and the world itself seemed to tremble.
Every breath carried two voices.
One — his own, human and uncertain.
The other — calm, distant, and faintly echoing with Elira's tone.
> "You're trembling again."
Her voice flowed through his thoughts, warm yet steady. It wasn't haunting — it was her, alive within him, watching through his eyes, feeling through his heartbeat.
"I still can't get used to it," Kaelen whispered. "It's like… you're everywhere and nowhere at once."
> "Because we are," she replied softly. "Two souls sharing one fate. Remember? That was our choice."
He closed his eyes, clenching his fist. "A choice that cost us everything."
The wind shifted — and then came a faint crackling sound, distant but growing sharper. Kaelen turned toward the source, his silver-and-black eyes gleaming under the pale light. The air rippled. Shadows slithered through the field like ink spreading through water.
They came — the Order's Sentinels.
Tall, shrouded in dark robes that bent the moonlight around them. Their faces were hidden by mirrored masks, their steps silent. But he could feel their intent — to drag him back, or destroy him if he resisted.
"Kaelen of the Moonlight Pact," a distorted voice echoed. "By the decree of the Obsidian Order, you are to be detained. The gods' vessel belongs to us."
Kaelen didn't move. His heartbeat slowed. The grass around him began to glow faintly with streaks of light and shadow intertwining, forming a sigil beneath his feet.
"I'm done belonging to anyone," he said quietly.
And then the wind exploded.
The first Sentinel lunged, blade shimmering with cursed energy. Kaelen raised his arm — and without realizing it, shadows coiled from his fingertips while threads of silver light struck like lightning. The two forces collided midair, tearing the ground apart in a violent flash.
He didn't need to think anymore; his instincts flowed with Elira's precision. She guided his motions from within — one heartbeat, one breath. Together, they moved like a storm.
> "Left!" she warned.
He twisted, catching another blade mid-swing and shattering it with his bare hand. The shards dissolved into mist. A second Sentinel leapt, chanting under its breath, summoning a black flame that crackled through the night.
Kaelen stretched his arm and whispered, "Lux Umbra."
The world answered.
A crescent of light carved through the darkness, sweeping across the field — silent, elegant, deadly. The Sentinels vanished one by one, erased into nothing but dust carried by the wind.
When silence returned, Kaelen fell to his knees, panting, his hands shaking. His veins glowed faintly — half silver, half black. His body was changing, rejecting and accepting the celestial power at once.
> "You pushed too far," Elira murmured inside him. "Our fusion isn't stable yet."
"I had no choice," he said, clutching his chest. "They would've killed us."
> "Then we need to find the others."
Kaelen looked up, confused. "Others?"
> "Ardyn isn't the only one who knew of the Pact. There are others — guardians scattered across the realms. If we can find them, maybe… we can balance the power before it consumes you."
He nodded slowly. "Then we find them."
The wind carried a soft hum — almost like a song. He turned, spotting faint trails of blue fire leading toward the distant mountains. The air there shimmered unnaturally. It wasn't just light — it was a gate.
The Realm of Mirrors.
Hours later, Kaelen climbed through the jagged mountain paths, guided by that eerie glow. His body felt heavy, but Elira's voice kept him steady, whispering in rhythm with his steps.
> "Do you remember what this place was?"
He nodded faintly. "Where the first Pact was signed."
> "And where it ended."
As he reached the summit, the gate revealed itself — a massive arch of silver stone, inscribed with celestial runes. In its reflection shimmered another world — a sky of swirling blue and white flame.
He stepped closer. The reflection rippled — and someone stepped out.
It wasn't Ardyn.
It was a woman — tall, clad in robes woven from both light and shadow. Her hair floated around her like silver mist, and her eyes were hollow, glowing faintly violet.
"Welcome, child of the two moons," she said softly. "I've been expecting you."
Kaelen froze. "Who are you?"
She smiled faintly. "A remnant of what once was. I am Noctara, the Keeper of Mirrors. The one who remembers every version of your soul."
Elira's voice trembled inside him. "Noctara… she's one of the Celestial Keepers. But she shouldn't be alive."
Noctara tilted her head. "Alive? No. Bound, perhaps. Eternity has a cruel way of keeping memories in cages."
She stepped closer, the ground blooming with light where her feet touched. "You've done what none before you dared — merging light and darkness. But it is incomplete. You stand at the edge of becoming… or unraveling."
Kaelen straightened. "Then help me complete it."
Her eyes darkened. "I can — but every choice has a cost. To stabilize your soul, you must surrender your anchor."
"My anchor?"
Elira's voice grew faint, uneasy. "Kaelen… don't."
But he already knew what Noctara meant. His anchor — the last thread binding Elira's soul to his. To balance his power, he'd have to let her fade completely.
His fists tightened. "There has to be another way."
Noctara smiled sadly. "Always the same answer. Every vessel said those words before the end."
He stepped forward, defiance flaring in his eyes. "I'm not them."
"Then prove it."
Her hand lifted, and the gate behind her roared to life, light swirling violently. "Enter the Mirror Realm. Face your reflection — your fear, your doubt, your guilt. Only if you conquer what lies within will you find a way to keep her and survive."
Kaelen looked at the gate, its surface rippling like liquid starlight.
> "Kaelen," Elira whispered. "If you enter, there's no guarantee we'll both come back."
He smiled faintly. "You trusted me when I was weak. Now trust me when I'm strong."
And without another word, he stepped through the mirror.
The world dissolved around him.
He fell through endless reflections — thousands of versions of himself, all screaming, all fighting, all dying. Each one showed a different choice, a different regret. A Kaelen who let Elira die. A Kaelen who killed Ardyn. A Kaelen who became a god. A Kaelen who became nothing.
He landed hard on glass.
When he looked up, his reflection was already waiting — identical in every way except for the eyes. This version's were completely black.
"You shouldn't have come here," the reflection said, smirking. "You're not ready to bear her soul."
Kaelen stood, his expression hard. "Then take your shot."
The reflection's grin widened. "Gladly."
They clashed — light and shadow colliding so violently the mirror beneath them cracked. Their blades sang through the void, each strike releasing ripples of divine energy. Kaelen fought like a storm — wild but precise — but his reflection matched every move perfectly.
> "He's feeding on your fear!" Elira shouted inside his mind.
Kaelen gritted his teeth, forcing the shadows back. "Then let him choke on it!"
He summoned both halves of his essence — one arm blazing with moonlight, the other bleeding darkness. The reflection tried to mimic him but faltered, hesitating. Kaelen felt Elira's strength surge through him — her faith anchoring his power.
He drove his blade forward. "You're just the echo of who I was."
The reflection's eyes widened as Kaelen's strike pierced its chest. "Then… become who you're meant to be."
It shattered, scattering into countless shards of light.
Kaelen fell to his knees, breathing heavily. His reflection's voice faded with the echo: "The dawn… is coming."
Then the gate reopened, pulling him back into the mortal world.
He stumbled out of the portal and collapsed on the mountain floor. Noctara stood waiting, eyes filled with something close to sorrow.
"You did it," she said softly. "The balance within you is shifting. But beware — the dawn will not favor you. The gods will not let their vessel live free."
Kaelen rose, his expression calm, resolute. "Then let them try."
The horizon began to glow with the first light of morning — two faint suns rising together, bleeding silver and gold across the clouds.
And for the first time since the merging, Kaelen smiled.
Because for the first time, he didn't feel broken.
He felt whole...