Luna and Aria walked down the corridor, their footsteps soft against the carpeted floor, the silence between them stretching comfortably.
Finally, Aria turned to Luna, her voice light but curious. "Do you want to join me for another class?" she asked, her gaze expectant.
Luna paused, her mind already drifting elsewhere. After a moment of thought, she shook her head, her voice steady. "I think I'll explore the academy. Can I?"
Aria let out a soft sigh, a hint of concern flashing in her eyes. "Alright," she agreed reluctantly. "But don't stray too far from the fenced area. If you go beyond the barrier, you'll be outside the protection that keeps us safe from the monsters."
Luna nodded, determination sparkling in her eyes. "I'll be careful, I promise."
With a sudden burst of energy, she grabbed Aria's hand, shaking it up and down with a grin. Then, just as quickly, she let go, taking a few steps back.
"I'm off to explore!" she called, her voice bright. The gleam in her gaze told Aria she had something mischievous in mind.
Without waiting for a reply, Luna dashed down the corridor, waving back at her sister as she disappeared around the corner.
Aria scoffed but smiled softly, warmth blooming in her chest. With a final glance after Luna, she turned toward her class.
And so, the two sisters parted ways for now — each following a different path.
Luna pushed open the gate to the Academy's back garden, stepping into the quiet space beyond. Ahead loomed the entrance to the forest. She hesitated, remembering Aria's warning... but curiosity tugged harder.
With a decisive breath, she swung the gate open and stepped into the woods.
As she crossed the barrier, her heart pounded with excitement.
The forest welcomed her with golden light filtering through a canopy of ancient trees. Mist hugged the ground, swirling gently around her boots. The scent of damp earth and growing things filled the air, each step forward like stepping deeper into a dream.
Then Luna froze.
A mongoose stood before her, upright on its hind legs, staring directly at her. For a long, strange moment, they simply looked at one another. Then, without warning, the mongoose darted away into the trees.
Luna blinked, confused. "What...?" she muttered, then shook her head with a shrug. Strange things always seemed to find her.
She continued forward.
At the edge of the forest, a beautiful meadow opened up, bathed in sunlight. Tall grasses shimmered like a sea of green and gold. Unable to resist, Luna ran forward, leaping into the grass, tumbling onto her back.
She laughed, heart light and free, lying there watching the clouds drift lazily across the sky.
After a while, she stood up, brushing herself off. She turned to head back—
And froze.
Eyes.
Bright, ice-blue eyes watching her from the shadowed trees.
She stared, heart hammering in her chest, but in a blink, the eyes vanished into the woods.
A shiver crawled down her spine. She turned quickly, steps hurried, making her way back toward the Academy.
As Luna approached the edge of the forest, something strange stirred in the air.
Confusion clouded her mind, like invisible hands rearranging the world around her.
The moment she crossed the tree line, everything changed.
The warm, sunlit woods were gone — replaced by a winter landscape. Snow weighed heavy on the branches above, muffling the world in silence. The ground was blanketed in white, the air sharp with biting cold.
Luna stumbled, bewildered. "It didn't even snow... it's hot outside," she whispered, staring around.
She broke into a run, following the path back toward the Academy. But no matter how far she went, the gate remained stubbornly out of sight.
Panic flickered in her chest. "How is this possible?" she muttered.
Unseen in the trees, something was watching her.
It moved effortlessly through the branches, leaving only drifting snowflakes in its wake. It stayed hidden, but always close.
A soft noise above made Luna stop.
Snowflakes drifted down to touch her face. She looked up, heart pounding — and there, high in the trees, something glowed faintly with a hollow, icy blue light.
A low, rumbling growl vibrated through the air — not quite a wolf, not quite anything she knew.
Luna tensed, preparing to run.
With a shaky breath, she called out into the trees, "Who's there?"
The creature's eyes locked onto hers from above, ancient and cold.
It moved, silent and fluid, leaping from branch to branch with unnatural grace. Snow spiraled behind it, until finally, it landed just above the path.
It stared down at her — patient, calculating.
The snowfall thickened, the temperature plunging. The world shrank, narrowed to just Luna and the creature.
Then it spoke — a voice like breaking ice and distant thunder.
"You," it growled, "Dualist. What are you doing here?"
Luna flinched, caught between terror and defiance. "Who... who are you?" she whispered.
The creature's gaze sharpened, merciless.
"You cunning one... you leech," it hissed.
With a fluid leap, it dropped lower, coming into full view.
It was beautiful in a way that felt wrong.
A towering wolf-like body, massive paws crushing the snow beneath it. Dark blue fur shimmered like frost under starlight, fading to a belly of pure white. Fox-like ears, dusted with frost, perched atop its head, and its elongated mouth curled into something that might have once been a smile — but wasn't anymore.
Mist bled from its mouth, swirling like a living thing.
It was not a creature of this world.
It was something older.
Something that had been meant to cross paths with Luna Lockheart.
Luna stared, frozen.
Her voice came out as a whisper stolen by the wind. "What are you?"
The air thickened around them, shadows twisting, and then—
"Daemon," the creature spoke. The word slammed into the earth like a drumbeat. "Answer my question... and you will be rewarded."
The blizzard around them roared to life, the storm rising with his command.
Luna narrowed her eyes, heart thundering, standing her ground despite the terror surging through her veins.
"What do you want?" she demanded, teeth chattering.
The creature moved to the branch's edge, and the storm itself bowed, as if the very wind dared not defy it.
"Do you understand what you are?" he asked, voice low and terrible.
Luna shook her head, her body trembling — not with fear, but with something deeper, something she couldn't explain. "I... I don't understand. Please... let me go."
The creature watched her in silence — as if measuring her soul.
Then he summoned something from the air between them.
A snowflake.
Perfect.
Pure.
Impossible.
It floated downward with a grace that defied the roaring storm around it.
And as it touched Luna's forehead—
Pain.
Not of the body — but deeper, a shudder tearing through her very soul.
Visions flickered behind her closed eyes — a snowstorm, a tower crumbling in the snow, ancient ruins half-buried, and a girl who felt both unfamiliar and hauntingly familiar, like Luna herself, but not quite.
The snowflake melted, vanishing without a trace, but the mark it left behind burned cold and unseen beneath her bangs.
Above her, the creature's form dissolved into swirling snow, the storm devouring him.
The world twisted and howled—
And then, silence.
Luna opened her eyes.
She was standing at the gate of the Academy.
The forest was warm and green again, as if nothing had ever happened.
But she knew better.
Something had changed.
Wordlessly, Luna slipped back through the gate, her body moving on instinct alone.
She returned to her room, closed the door softly behind her, and leaned against it — heart racing, the phantom touch of the snowflake still tingling against her skin.
She slid to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest, staring blankly ahead.
No one else knew it yet.
But something ancient had awakened within her.
And it had seen her.