Aeryn did not return to her chambers that night.
She remained at the highest tower of the library, watching the shattered moon as if waiting for it to speak.
If this was a cycle…
She needed to remember.
Even if it hurt.
She raised her hand, and small particles of light gathered around her fingers.
Stellar Memory.
This time, she would not search for recent recollections.
She would seek the origin.
The symbol on her chest began to glow.
And the world around her dissolved.
—
The moon was whole.
White.
Majestic.
Unscarred.
The air smelled of grass and summer.
Aeryn was kneeling in a golden field, laughing.
Laughing.
She barely recognized that version of herself.
Lighter.
Less broken.
— You always get too serious when you think — a voice said behind her.
Kael.
But different.
His eyes were clearer.
Without that constant haze.
Without that emptiness.
He walked over and sat beside her in the grass.
— What are you trying to figure out this time?
She turned to him.
In that memory, she was smiling.
A real smile.
— Whether destiny can be deceived.
He laughed.
— And can it?
She hesitated.
Then she took his hand.
— If I have you… maybe.
The present Aeryn's heart tightened.
She was watching.
But she was also feeling.
Every heartbeat.
Every breath.
The sky in that memory began to vibrate.
An omen.
— It's happening sooner than I thought — she murmured.
Kael frowned.
— What is?
She stood.
The symbol on her chest burned brightly.
— I'm going to break the cycle.
— What cycle?
She turned to him.
And there was fear in her eyes.
— In every timeline… you're the one who pays the price.
The wind roared.
The moon began to tremble in the sky.
— I would rather forget you — she said, her voice breaking — than watch you disappear again.
The world cracked.
Light exploded.
The sky split open.
And the scream that echoed that night was not only pain—
It was choice.
—
Aeryn fell back into the tower, gasping.
Tears streamed down her face before she even realized.
Now she knew.
She had made a pact.
At some point before the Shattered Moon.
A forbidden ritual.
To save Kael from a death that repeated itself.
But magic demanded balance.
If he was destined to die…
Then he would live.
But without memory.
Without permanence.
Without her.
And to sustain the pact—
She had needed to break something greater.
The moon itself.
—
In the city, Kael was walking absentmindedly when he saw something strange.
A girl standing before him.
Silver hair.
Violet eyes.
He felt the world pause.
— Aeryn.
The name came naturally.
She froze.
— You… remember?
He blinked.
Confused.
— Remember what?
Her heart sank.
Ah.
So it was still working.
She stepped closer slowly.
— Kael… if I asked you… would you trust me?
He tilted his head, studying her.
There was something familiar.
Something his chest recognized even when his mind could not.
— I feel like I should — he answered.
She extended her hand.
For a moment, she hesitated.
If she touched him—
She might lose another memory.
But if she didn't—
The cycle would never break.
She took his hand.
Magic exploded between them.
This time, it was not gentle.
It was violent.
Images collided.
Golden fields.
Promises.
Blood.
The moon cracking.
Him falling into her arms.
And a sentence echoing like an eternal vow:
"Even if the world erases us… I will always choose you."
Kael fell to his knees.
Aeryn caught him before he hit the ground.
He stared at her, breathless.
And something had changed.
Not total clarity.
But a fracture in the haze.
— I… saw you — he whispered. — Beneath the whole moon.
Tears slipped from her eyes.
— I tried to save you.
He looked at her.
And for the first time—
There was no emptiness in his gaze.
There was fear.
— From what?
She swallowed.
Because now came the part she had never had the courage to say in any of the previous cycles.
— From me.
Thunder rolled across the sky.
And above them—
The fissure in the moon glowed brighter.
As if something had just been altered.