Asleep in Alex's ArmsLuna's eyes burned, but no tears fell as Alex held her tightly. His embrace was a silent promise, his strength a tether keeping her grounded. She didn't yield easily to exhaustion, her mind raging against the pull of unnatural drowsiness. But the weight grew heavier, like unseen chains dragging her into the depths of an unseen nightmare.Her vision blurred, her body surrendering to the unnatural pull. Alex's warmth faded into the void.The Dark CellLuna woke abruptly, her breath sharp and steady despite the oppressive cold. Darkness pressed against her from all sides, a tangible, suffocating force. The walls around her felt ancient, carved from jagged stone damp with moisture. The air was heavy with decay, carrying the faint, metallic tang of blood.She stood, her body solid yet unfamiliar, as if something deep within her had shifted. Whispers crawled through the silence, guttural and echoing, taunting her. Shadows writhed unnaturally along the walls, their movements too deliberate to be tricks of the light.Her reflection shimmered faintly in a pool of blackened water at her feet. But what stared back wasn't her.The face in the water was hers, yet not. The familiar silver hair and sharp features remained, but the eyes were wrong—dark, bottomless, radiating sinister energy that felt like a wound in the fabric of reality.The reflection moved.The EncounterA shape rose from the pool, fluid and shadowy, coalescing into a mirror image of Luna. The clone smiled—a cruel, knowing twist of her lips."Finally," it said, the voice both hers and utterly alien, vibrating with a deep, menacing resonance.Luna straightened, her jaw tightening. "You dare to wear my face?"The clone chuckled, circling her with a predatory grace. "I don't wear it. I am it. I'm the part of you that never left—the divinity you abandoned, corrupted by the filth of this world."Luna's gaze sharpened, her voice calm and commanding. "I left that life because it was the only way to survive.""You survived," the clone sneered, "but at what cost? You shattered yourself, scattering your power like dust. I am what's left—a fragment that clung to you, warped by your weakness."Luna stepped forward, unyielding. "You've no claim to weakness, nor to power. You are nothing but a shadow."The clone's black eyes glimmered with malice. "A shadow strong enough to consume you. To take what you were and twist it into something monstrous."The RevelationLuna's voice held steady, though an icy dread coiled within her. "What have you done?"The clone's smile widened, vicious and gleeful. "The missing wolves? You already know the answer."Luna's lips pressed into a firm line. "Was it you?"The clone's laughter echoed, dark and mocking. "Not just me, us. We are one, Luna. Their blood stains your hands as much as mine. But don't worry—they live. For now."The weight of the words bore down on Luna, her mind racing. "What do you mean?"The clone tilted her head, feigning pity. "On the battlefield with Quintus, you abandoned me. On your wedding night, you shattered your soul. Fragments of your power found hosts—desperate, broken creatures who craved strength. The rogues. Each fragment thrives on destruction, far darker and more dangerous than I."Memories flashed through Luna's mind—rogues with eyes like hers, their bodies twisted, their power disturbingly familiar.The clone nodded, seeing the recognition in her face. "They've watched you, waiting for the day you'd remember. Even the Supreme Lord gave you a chance to return, but you chose Alex instead. Foolish. Weak."Luna's breath steadied, her voice a low growl. "I chose humanity because I believed in it. I won't regret that.""Won't you?" the clone hissed. "Your choice has made you a shadow, an empty vessel clinging to mortal dreams. And yet, even in your frailty, I've tried to help you. Killing rogues wasn't to save anyone—it was to reclaim what you lost. To draw their darkness back into you. To make you whole."The realization struck Luna like a thunderclap. She saw herself fighting the rogues, the power she'd absorbed, the darkness seeping into her."No," she said, her voice firm, though her heart ached with the weight of the truth.The ChoiceThe clone summoned a glowing blade from the shadows—a crystalline sword etched with ancient runes, its glow like moonlight carved into steel."The Moon Sword," the clone said, holding it out to Luna. "The only weapon capable of ending this. You have two choices: let me take control, and we'll embrace the darkness together. Or you take the sword and finish what you started. The choice is yours."Luna's fingers closed around the hilt, the blade's cool surface grounding her. She met her reflection's gaze, her silver eyes steady and unflinching."What happens if I fail?" she asked, her voice unwavering.The clone leaned closer, her voice a chilling whisper. "Then you'll destroy everything. Alex, your pack, this world—consumed by flames ignited by your hands. And when it's done, you'll fade into nothing, forgotten like the gods you once stood beside."Luna lifted the sword, its glow illuminating the darkness. Her reflection in its surface was fractured—half her own, half the sinister visage of the clone."I won't fail," she said, her voice resolute.The clone's form began to dissolve, her smile twisting into a final, haunting grin. "Then prove it. End this, Luna. Once and for all."