Thunder cracked overhead, but it wasn't from the sky.
It came from the moment Kael and Ayden opened the front door and stared out into the street—where the creature waited.
Tall. Twisted. Shadow dripping from its limbs like molten ink.
No face. No eyes. Just that grin, stretching from one side of its skull to the other.
It hissed, a sound like stars dying.
Ayden stumbled back. "What the hell is that?!"
Kael stepped in front of him, hand glowing gold.
"A Shadowfiend," she whispered. "Sent from the Void. It smells Stellar essence—and it wants you."
---
The Fight Begins
The creature lunged.
Kael moved like light itself—faster than Ayden could blink.
Wings flickered behind her back, invisible to human eyes but burning bright in her own dimension. She summoned a blade of pure starlight and met the monster mid-air.
The impact shook the street. Cars rattled. Windows cracked.
Ayden stood frozen, breath caught in his throat.
Kael twisted midair, wings slicing through the air like blades. But the Shadowfiend adapted. It multiplied. One became two. Then three.
She gasped. Her energy wasn't enough.
"Stay back!" she screamed at Ayden.
But he didn't listen.
He stepped forward—and the symbol on his palm began to glow.
---
The Awakening
The Shadowfiend lunged at him.
Ayden raised his hand out of instinct.
Light exploded.
The creature screeched, thrown across the street like smoke in a windstorm.
Ayden stared in disbelief as golden lightning cracked down his arm.
His blood was humming. His bones felt like fire.
Kael stared, stunned. "That… That's my power."
He blinked. "What the hell's happening to me?"
And then—her memory returned.
Not all of it.
But just one—
A celestial courtroom. Stars hanging like chandeliers.
Kael standing before the Tribunal.
And Ayden… a baby wrapped in silver cloth, glowing faintly.
Kael gasped.
"You were marked at birth," she whispered.
Ayden's face turned pale. "What do you mean?"
She looked at him slowly. "You're not just a human I saved. You were always meant to be tied to the stars."
---
The Aftermath
They stood in the ruins of the front yard. The Shadowfiends were gone—dispersed by the light.
Ayden sat on the steps, still shaking.
Kael sat beside him.
"I remember now," she said quietly. "Why I fell. Why I broke the Law."
He looked at her, eyes wide.
"I was assigned to watch over you. From birth. You were a celestial-born mortal—part human, part something else. But they told me not to interfere."
Ayden frowned. "Then why did you save me?"
She smiled sadly. "Because I fell in love with you. A long time ago. Before you even knew I existed."
His breath caught.
"You don't have to love me back," she added. "But if we don't fix this—you'll die."
---
Elsewhere – In the Shadows
Veylen stood on a rooftop across the city, staring up at the sky.
He held a crystal shard—the same shape as the sigil now burned into Ayden's skin.
Behind him, Zion appeared, cloaked in rain and suspicion.
"You knew he was marked," Zion said.
"I did," Veylen replied, pocketing the shard. "I just didn't know he would awaken this early."
Zion's eyes
narrowed. "You're playing with fire."
"I'm playing with fate," Veylen corrected. "And fate doesn't like to be ignored."