Episode 3: A Shadow in the Light

The castle was no longer the haven it once had been.

Ash floated through the air like snow, and the scent of smoke clung to every corner of the broken stone walls. Aria moved quietly through the halls with Auren at her side, the necklace still warm in her hand. The glow had faded, but she could feel a subtle pulse in its core as if something ancient had stirred and was now breathing slowly beneath its surface.

“We lost too many at the eastern gate,” Auren muttered, scanning the hallway ahead. “But... we gained something terrifying in return.”

Aria glanced up. “Selene?”

He nodded grimly. “She wiped out an entire battalion in seconds. Soldiers say she’s a phantom. Some are calling her a demon.”

“But she protected us,” Aria whispered, tightening her grip on the pendant. “She protected me.”

Auren didn’t answer. His silence said enough.

They rounded a corner just as the air shifted.

It began as a faint wind unnatural and cold curling through the corridor like fingers searching in the dark. Then, from the shadows themselves, a figure emerged without sound.

Selene.

She moved like a mist, as if her body was woven from the same magic that once filled Aria’s storybooks. Her long black cloak flowed behind her, and her hood framed a pale face, eyes unreadable and sharp like polished obsidian.

“You’re late,” she said simply.

Auren instinctively stepped in front of Aria, his sword hand twitching. “We’re holding things together.”

“Barely,” Selene said. “The outer wall will fall by nightfall if no one commands your army.”

Auren’s jaw tightened. “You think we need you to lead it?”

“I don’t think,” Selene said. “I know.”

Aria moved beside him. “Please,” she said softly. “He’s just being cautious. Everything is changing too fast.”

Selene looked at her truly looked at her and something flickered in her eyes. Not emotion. Memory.

“Caution is good,” Selene said. “But hesitation is fatal.”

Auren’s temper flared. “You’re acting like this is your kingdom. It’s not.”

Selene turned her gaze to him. “This kingdom still breathes because of me. Whether you like it or not.”

Aria raised her voice gently. “Why are you helping us?”

Selene paused. Her cloak fluttered in a sudden breeze that had no source.

“I made a promise,” she said after a moment. “To a man who once believed I wasn’t a monster.”

“Who was he?” Aria asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Selene didn’t answer. She turned and vanished her body dissolving into mist and shadow, leaving only silence in her place.

...----------------...

Later, on the outer wall...

Selene stood atop the battlement, staring into the distance where smoke curled into the darkening sky. The enemy army had retreated, but not far. They were regrouping, and night would bring more blood.

She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the mana in the air twisted and foul. Whoever led them was no ordinary warlord. There was magic here. Old magic. Darker than her own.

Behind her, footsteps approached.

She didn’t need to turn. “I thought you didn’t trust me.”

Auren stood a few feet away, sword strapped across his back. His armor was dented, dust clinging to his gloves.

“I still don’t,” he said bluntly. “But I saw what you did today.”

“And?”

“I’m not blind,” he said. “You saved her. And everyone else. You could’ve let them burn.”

Selene opened her eyes. “I could’ve.”

“Why didn’t you?”

She turned slightly, just enough for him to see the edge of her face in profile.

“Because once, long ago... someone believed I was more than a weapon.”

There was a pause. Auren looked at her closely, trying to read the woman behind the shadows. She seemed untouchable. Eternal. But somewhere behind that calm mask... he sensed grief. Deep, buried grief.

“I don’t know if we can trust you,” he said finally.

Selene smiled faintly though the expression never reached her eyes. “You don’t have to trust me. You just have to follow me until the war ends.”

“And after that?”

“We’ll see.”

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