“I’m going to write your name down on the same page as the strongest members that ever lived. You better live up to what my sisters see in you.” Her words themselves may have been a little threatening, but she said it with a heartwarming smile, and I felt no pressure at all as she effortlessly carved the name into the book.

Siyasavide, The One Who Fights Alone.

Siyasavide, The Forsaken and scarred.

‘She wrote my name twice? But why…’

The ink glowed, and another book popped out of the stone slab, much smaller, with my name burning into it with golden black ink.

She opened it up and began writing down the other names and titles I had, keeping it like a record. When she was done she closed it and sent it back to the stone, which ate it.

“Was… That it? I guess I was expecting more.”

She closed the massive book and the table began to change shape again, creating a massive staircase spiraling upward. “Not quite. Come with me.”

I followed her up the stairs and before long it was like everything around us faded, and I was standing in the abyss, with the giant moons staring back at me.

they were even larger, and closer. One was ash grey with a hollow light, swirling with darkness. Behind it, there was a second moon, overshadowed, and barely visible, glowing a pure white. Trailing behind them lay the other two, a perfect blue hue and another that shined like frost.

She extended her hand, and as I took it we began to rise higher into the air, getting even closer to the stars. “It is said that when a human soul leaves the earth it floats into the sky, resting on a moon before it continues on its way to heaven or to hell.” As the platform underneath us steadied itself she gestured to the celestial display before us.

“Each soul is inexplicably linked to the moons, and each moon is linked to each soul. So which moon does your soul yearn for? The frigid cold of solitude perhaps? Or maybe the moon of beasts? Surely it’s not the white moon…” She paused, her eyes growing sad as she forced a smile. “Oh… I see. So that’s why she chose you. I suppose you are an interesting one…”

I was just as confused as ever, but I was used to not getting any of the answers… Someday I would need to have a long chat with them… But with how crazy it all was I decided to just let her do her thing.

“The moon of wisdom, we call it the silver moon. It calls out to you, and you to it… May it guide your path, and may you heal its rotting core and bring it out of the darkness… Before I continue, while it’s still just the two of us… I want to say thank you.”

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“I don’t understand.”

“No, you don’t.” She chuckled. “And I bet that drives you crazy.” Her hazel eye turned black as night, and the other two formed alongside her, their voices becoming one, echoing as three as they turned to specters. All three of them joined hands and moved in sync, stepping up to me and placing a hand on my head.

“In the ethereal embrace of moonlight, under the celestial gaze, I anoint you with courage and grace. As shadows dance, let this sacred baptism empower your spirit to face the demons that dwell beyond the rift. May the luminous touch of the moons guide your every step, and may the echoes of whispers guard your heart in the face of darkness.”

My whole body began to glow, and I could feel an intense burning heat start to run through me like my soul had been set on fire. It was hot… But somehow I could tell I wasn’t being burned. Within my body started to swirl three of the energies. the white glow, the full blue, and the darkened silver. They all swirled through me, joining together as one, merging with the energy of my soul only lacking the frost moon which stayed silent.

Before, dark magic had felt difficult to use, and the more I focused on it the more drained I was by the most basic techniques. Now though, it was almost hard to not use it. It was like I was overflowing with energy.

My magic started to go wild, bursts of ice and fire flowing out of me as long streaks scattered in spirals through the ground. Eventually, it all burst out at once, erupting as a massive explosion that let out ice and darkness, scarring my body with swirled dark grey marks, the color my skin had turned before when I had been cursed.

The massive increase in soul energy was causing my body to overflow, and since the soul lay underneath the manna, my manna was bursting out over the rim. All of my energy seemed to fade away in an instant, and I fell to my knees. I continued to fall, about to hit my head on the ground, but before I did my eyes rolled shut, and then opened, with me lying calmly in my bed. I woke up covered in sweat, but my body felt cool.

Whispers began to echo through my mind as if one voice was echoing as three. “Siya, be careful. It’s lurking nearby.” The words were more clear than I had ever heard them before.

I slowly got up, unsure of how to talk back, speaking out loud. “That doesn’t mean it’s ready to strike though. It knows I can’t hurt it unless it shows itself.”

‘You’re right, it’s still cautious. It will be extremely picky about the time that it chooses to strike, so don’t put yourself in a bad spot.’

I took a deep breath, rubbing my tired eyes as I got changed and grabbed my things, my mind still waking up from what felt like a restless night filled with bad dreams. Just as I reached for the door handle I realized the marks on my skin were still there. ‘That’s… probably not good…’ Black swirls and markings that only stood out all the more against my pale skin practically shined with an ominous glow.

It wasn’t necessarily that I thought they were a bad omen or anything… But… seeing as how I got them from using dark magic, somehow I doubted my family would be too happy about it. I paused, thinking carefully. ‘The marks have already faded a bit, at least from how they were when I first got them…’

I grabbed my armor and fastened it, to cover as much skin as I could before sneaking out my window. I didn’t realize it at first but it was still well before sunrise. ‘I should go see Finlo, he usually knows lots of weird things.’

I made my way over to the barracks and walked around to the side. ‘Finlo’s room should be… This one.’

His window shutters were locked tight, but I didn’t think that would be much of an issue. He was such a light sleeper it almost felt like he never actually slept at all.

I knocked softly. “Finlo!” I whispered.

I could hear some rustling from the other side, but nothing happened. Pressing my ear up against the shutters, it almost seemed like there were two people inside, and as I focused deeper it became clear.

There were two heartbeats, and two breathing patterns, one of which was right next to the window.