Elara's POV
I burst through the Keep's doors into the courtyard.
Shadow creatures circle Nina like wolves. She's on her knees, clutching the baby to her chest. The child is crying—loud, terrified wails that cut through the night.
"GET AWAY FROM THEM!" I scream.
The shadows turn toward me. Red eyes gleaming. Hungry.
Kael crashes through the doors behind me. "Elara, don't—"
Too late. I'm already running toward Nina.
The shadows attack.
One lunges at me. I raise my marked palm without thinking. Silver light explodes outward. The creature screams and dissolves into smoke.
Another comes from the left. Kael's stone fist smashes through it.
"Stay close to me!" he shouts.
We fight our way to Nina. She looks up at us with tear-streaked face. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! They have my baby—they said they'd kill her if I didn't—"
"Save it!" I grab her arm, pull her up. "Can you walk?"
"I think—"
A shadow wraps around her ankle. She screams. The baby nearly falls. I catch the child just in time.
The moment the baby touches my palm, everything stops.
The shadows freeze. Kael freezes. Even Nina stops screaming.
And the baby—she's glowing.
Bright white light pours from her tiny body. Pure magic, raw and uncontrolled. It floods into me through the Moonmark, and I see—
Visions. Memories that aren't mine.
I see Theron meeting Nina five years ago in a dark alley. Making a deal. "Spy on the Corvain family. Report everything about the marked girl. I'll protect your unborn child from the father who wants her dead."
I see Nina watching me through keyholes. Listening to Lysander's plans. Stealing documents.
I see the baby being born with a mark on her chest—a black sun. Dark magic branded into her skin from the moment she took her first breath.
I see Theron's real plan.
The baby isn't a hostage. She's a key.
Her mark and my mark—dark and light, sun and moon—they're meant to connect. To unlock something ancient. Something that's been sleeping beneath the wasteland for three hundred years.
The vision ends. The world snaps back into motion.
I'm on my knees, gasping. The baby has stopped glowing but she's still in my arms, staring at me with eyes that are too aware for an infant.
"Elara!" Kael kneels beside me. "What happened? You just collapsed—"
"It's a trap," I wheeze. "The baby. She's cursed. Marked with dark magic. Theron wants her to touch my Moonmark because—"
The ground beneath us cracks.
We scramble backward. The crack widens, spreading across the courtyard like a spiderweb. From the darkness below, something rises.
A pillar of black stone. Ancient. Covered in symbols that hurt to look at.
"Oh no," Kael breathes. "No, no, no. That's—"
"The Seal," a voice says.
Theron materializes in front of us, grinning. "The Seal of the First King. The lock that's kept the original darkness trapped beneath the wasteland since before Lunaris existed. Before humans built cities. Before magic had rules."
He gestures at the pillar. "And you just gave me the first key."
"I didn't do anything!" I clutch the baby tighter.
"You touched her. Your Moonmark activated her Sunmark. The resonance awakened the Seal." Theron claps slowly. "Thank you, Elara. I've been waiting centuries for this moment."
Kael steps in front of me. "Whatever you're planning—"
"Has already succeeded." Theron points at the pillar. Symbols are lighting up one by one, glowing red. "The Seal has seven locks. You just opened the first. Six more to go, and the original darkness is free."
"Why?" I demand. "Why release something that dangerous?"
"Because I'm bored." Theron shrugs. "Three hundred years of watching the Sorcerer King mope around this depressing castle. Three hundred years of the same wasteland, the same monsters, the same tedious existence. I want chaos. I want change. I want the world to burn."
Nina sobs. "You promised to protect my daughter—"
"I did. She's perfectly safe. In fact, she's essential." Theron floats closer. "Each lock requires a different combination. Moon and Sun. Light and Dark. Old magic and new. Your baby and Elara will open them all."
"Over my dead body," Kael snarls.
"That can be arranged." Theron's eyes glow brighter. "But it would be wasteful. You're much more useful alive, watching helplessly as I unmake the world you tried so hard to protect."
Shadow creatures pour from the crack in the ground. Dozens of them. Too many to fight.
"RUN!" Kael grabs my arm, pulling me toward the Keep.
Nina stumbles after us. The shadows pursue.
We make it inside. Kael slams the doors shut. They rattle as creatures throw themselves against the wood.
"They won't hold long," he says.
I'm still holding the baby. She's stopped crying, just stares at me with those too-aware eyes. On her chest, beneath her clothes, I can feel the Sunmark burning hot.
"We have to get rid of her," Kael says. "Give her back to them. She's the key—without her, they can't open the other locks."
"She's a baby!" I pull her closer. "We can't just throw her to the monsters!"
"If we keep her, Theron wins! He'll find ways to force you to touch her again. He'll activate the other locks. He'll release something that could destroy everything!"
"So what's your solution? Murder an infant?"
Nina falls to her knees. "Please. Please don't hurt her. She's innocent. She didn't choose this."
None of us chose this, I think bitterly.
The doors crack. Shadows seep through the gaps.
"Elara, we don't have time—" Kael starts.
The baby grabs my finger.
Another vision slams into me. Shorter this time. Sharper.
I see the future. Multiple paths, branching like tree roots.
Path one: We give up the baby. Theron kills her out of spite. The first lock stays open, but the other six remain sealed. The wasteland slowly spreads. Stellaris falls in fifty years.
Path two: We keep the baby. Theron forces us to open all seven locks. The original darkness is freed. The world ends in fire and shadow.
Path three: We find the other keys before Theron does. We open the locks ourselves, but we control what comes out. We use the original darkness against Theron.
It's insane. Suicidal. Impossible.
But it's the only path where everyone might survive.
The vision fades. I look at Kael.
"I have an idea," I say. "You're going to hate it."
"I already hate everything about this situation."
"We keep the baby. We find the other six keys. And we open the Seal ourselves before Theron can."
Kael stares at me like I've lost my mind. "That's suicide."
"It's a chance."
"It's madness!"
"Do you have a better plan?"
Silence. The doors crack more. We have seconds at most.
"Fine," Kael says through gritted teeth. "But if this kills us all—"
"Then at least we die trying to save people instead of abandoning them." I look at Nina. "Can you fight?"
She wipes her tears, stands up straight. "I was Theron's spy for five years. I learned a few things."
"Good. Because we're about to do something incredibly stupid."
The doors explode inward.
Shadow creatures flood in.
Kael raises his stone fist. I lift my marked palm. Nina pulls a knife from her boot—where did she get that?
And the baby in my arms starts glowing again.
But this time, the light doesn't hurt.
It strengthens us.
White light pours from the baby's Sunmark, mixing with my Moonmark's silver glow. The combined magic washes over Kael, and I feel our bond surge with new power.
The shadows that touch the light dissolve screaming.
"What is this?" Kael gasps.
"Moon and Sun together," I realize. "They don't just open locks. They create shields. Weapons. Power."
The baby gurgles. Almost like she's laughing.
Maybe this child isn't just a key.
Maybe she's a weapon we can use.
The shadows retreat, hissing. Through the broken doorway, I see Theron watching us. His smile is gone.
"Interesting," he says slowly. "Very interesting. You're more clever than I expected, little Moon Princess."
"We're not your puppets," I call out. "We're not opening those locks for you."
"You already opened one. That's enough for now." Theron starts to fade into shadow. "Enjoy your new pet, Elara. Raise her well. Train her. Because in sixteen years, when she comes of age, her mark will activate fully whether you want it to or not."
"Sixteen years?" Nina whispers. "What happens in sixteen years?"
Theron's voice echoes as he disappears: "The Seal opens automatically. All seven locks at once. And what comes out will make me look like a minor inconvenience."
He's gone.
The shadow creatures are gone.
We stand in the ruined doorway, breathing hard, covered in dust and exhaustion.
I look down at the baby in my arms. She yawns, completely unconcerned.
"So," Kael says weakly. "We have sixteen years to figure out how to stop the apocalypse."
"And we're starting with a baby who might be the apocalypse," I add.
Nina reaches for her daughter. I hand her over carefully.
"What's her name?" I ask.
Nina's eyes fill with fresh tears. "I never named her. I was afraid if I loved her, it would hurt more when Theron took her."
"She needs a name," I say firmly. "Something strong. Something that means hope."
"Luna," Kael suggests quietly. "It means moon. And new beginnings."
Nina smiles through her tears. "Luna. Yes. That's perfect."
Little Luna giggles in her mother's arms.
And somewhere deep beneath the wasteland, in the darkness below the Seal, something ancient hears that giggle.
And wakes up.