The underground chamber trembled.
Metal groaned. Shadows danced across the walls like writhing serpents.
Luna stood firm, Bren barely conscious in her arms, her knife glinting under the flickering lights.
Across the chamber, the masked man lifted his hands, and the shadows of Lili, Hart, and Steve surged forward.
Eyes glowing red, veins crawling like living darkness across their bodies, they hissed and lunged.
---
The Silent Moon Strikes
Luna moved first.
Her movements were unnatural—fluid, precise, calculated.
She dodged Hart's twisted punch, slid under Lili's extended shadow-limbs, and kicked Steve's arm, sending him crashing into a wall.
The masked man watched, arms outstretched.
"You're strong… but are you strong enough to face all your sins?"
Luna didn't respond.
Her calm, empty stare said everything.
She lunged forward, blade cutting through the darkness.
The shadows recoiled but didn't dissipate.
---
Bren Awakens
Bren groaned, still in her arms.
"I… I can fight," he whispered, weak but trying.
Luna set him down behind cover.
"Stay alive," she commanded.
"Do not interfere… yet."
He nodded, gripping a broken metal rod.
Though his body was weaker, his will had returned.
---
The Villain's True Power
The masked man tilted his head.
"Impressive," he said, voice echoing unnaturally.
"And now… the truth."
He slammed his hands down on the floor.
The ground cracked, shadows lifting off the walls, forming grotesque, monstrous shapes.
From the largest shadow, a familiar face emerged—someone Luna had never expected:
Mira.
Her eyes were gone, replaced with hollow red orbs.
Her smile was wide, unnatural, monstrous.
A whisper escaped her lips:
"Luna… you left me… alone…"
The villain laughed.
"All five… are mine. You destroyed them once. Now they are reborn… to destroy you."
---
The Silent Moon's Resolve
For a brief moment, Luna's eyes reflected the twisted faces of her former bullies.
Pain? Regret? No.
Only focus.
She whispered under her breath:
"I gave you silence once… I will give you nothing now."
Her knife glowed faintly—
not with magic, but with the cold precision of her skill and intellect honed over years of darkness.
She moved.
Faster than thought.
Darker than shadows.
Silent as the moon itself.
---
The Clash
Luna's strikes were surgical.
She cut the shadows around Lili, Hart, and Steve, disrupting the villain's control.
Bren swung, hitting Hart's possessed shadow-limbs, giving Luna a path forward.
The villain screamed, voice cracking, as Luna advanced.
"You cannot touch me!" he yelled.
But Luna's eyes never left Bren.
Step by step, strike by strike, she advanced through the chamber, dismantling his shadow puppets.
The possessed forms began to falter, the villain losing control.
And in the chaos, Luna reached Bren and grabbed his hand.
---
The Final Moment
With a single, precise motion, Luna sliced through the cables feeding the villain's shadow control devices.
Machines sparked. Shadows screamed and dissipated.
The villain fell to his knees, mask cracking, voice breaking:
"No… this is impossible… you—"
Luna's voice was soft, emotionless:
"Your games end here."
She stepped back, letting the villain and his creations collapse into nothingness.
Bren looked at her, awe-struck.
"You… you saved them… all of them?"
Luna's eyes were still cold, unreadable.
"Not saved. Released. They were never mine. But you… you are mine to protect."
The chamber fell silent.
The only sound was the dripping of water and Luna's calm, unwavering breathing.
---