Lumina lay alone in her chambers, the soft glow of starlight filtering through the quartz walls doing nothing to chase away the shadows in her heart.

Tears streamed down her face in endless rivers, her body shaking with sobs that echoed the thunder rumbling outside.

Each crack of lightning illuminated the room in harsh flashes, making her flinch as though the storm itself judged her.

Her father’s voice echoed loudly in her ears, relentless, accusing, from the nightmare that had just torn her from sleep.

Deep in her nightmare her father stood at the far end, his robes were plain white mourning silk, the same color the realm wore when burying its own. In his right hand burned a sword forged entirely of captured starlight long, slender, its edge so sharp it seemed to cut the air itself.

He looked at her with disappointment that cut deep. "You should never have come back," he said quietly. His voice echoed off the walls, multiplying until it felt like a thousand fathers condemning her at once.

Lumina’s heart cracked open. "Father, I only wanted..."

He moved and the sword flashed upward in a perfect arc.

Lumina reacted without thought, her right hand lifted, palm outward. From deep within her chest rose the power she had inherited from her mother, the enchantress whose name was still whispered in fear.

It was not fire or lightning it was a thread of invisible will spun outward from her fingertips, shimmering like a heat haze over desert sand. They reached for her father’s sword arm, seeking to wrap around muscle and tendon, to steal the strike before it landed.

He felt them and his eyes narrowed. With a sharp twist of his wrist, he shattered the threads of celestial fire flaring along his blade in a blinding pulse. The backlash stung her like a thousand needles under her skin. She gasped, staggering half a step.

He lunged and the sword came down in a diagonal slash meant to cleave her from shoulder to hip.

Lumina threw both hands forward. This time the power surged wilder, stronger. She redirected the sword as it twisted just enough that the starlight edge sliced only air inches from her cheek. The displaced force sent sparks cascading across the floor, scorching black lines into the moonstone.

Her father pivoted, left hand snapping out. A whip of pure celestial flame lashed toward her face. Lumina ducked, rolling to the side. As she came up she extended her mind again this time toward his legs.

Invisible threads coiled around his ankles, seeking to lock his stance. He snarled, stomping once. The floor beneath him erupted in a ring of white fire that burned her threads to nothing.

She felt the power inside her swell, hungry, almost alive. It frightened her how easily it answered, how eagerly it wanted to grow. But she had no choice.

He charged again, sword leading, a continuous blur of starlight and rage. Each swing released arcs of flame that forced her to weave and dodge.

He advanced slowly now, sword lowered but still burning. "You carry her curse," he said, voice thick with grief and fury. "The same power that betrayed this realm once before. I should have ended it when you were born.... I regret birthing you!"

Thunder struck again, jolting Lumina fully awake. She jumped up from the bed, heart pounding, screaming,

"Ashen! Ashen!" But the name died on her lips as reality crashed down. She was not in Drakonis. She was in the Celestial Realm.

The thunder mocked her, and she collapsed to her knees, crying bitterly. Sobs wracked her body, shoulders heaving, as she clutched the sheets like a lifeline.

The nightmare’s echo lingered in her father’s dying words, the regret in his eyes. She had only defended herself in real life, but the dream twisted it into murder. Guilt clawed at her chest, mixing with the fresh wound of his real anger, his preference for Rhynera, his hand around her throat.

She pushed herself up, stumbling to the ornate mirror across the room. Thunder flashed again, illuminating her tear-streaked face, pale skin blotched red, silver eyes swollen and rimmed with exhaustion. She stared at her reflection, seeing the memory of her father’s fall and the shock on his face, the pain as he hit the ground.

Hurt flooded her, deep and unrelenting. She could not take it anymore. The weight of his words, the nightmare, the isolation it was suffocating. She needed guidance. She needed her aunt Seraphina, the one person who had always seen her true heart.

Eyes closed, she whispered the summoning words. "Aunt Seraphina... please come." She called again and again, voice breaking each time. But there was nothing.

Lumina opened her eyes, frustration mixing with her tears. Seraphina never entered the Celestial Realm.

She wiped her face roughly and made her decision to leave the realm to meet Seraphina in the outer realm.

The moment she slipped out the trees towered as branches twisted into unnatural shapes under the stormy sky.

Rain began to fall, heavy drops pattering on leaves and soaking her cloak.

Thunder rolled again, but she pressed on, recalling the path from months ago, even though she was blind then; after all, it was the place where she had first met her aunt.

Her feet sank into mud, the forest floor alive with the scent of wet earth and decay. She walked until she saw the giant hut, half-swallowed by the wilderness.

It looked abandoned. Vines choked the entrance, and the thatched roof sagged under years of neglect.

Cobwebs draped every surface like ghostly veils, thick and dusty, spanning from wall to wall. She pushed aside a curtain of webs, sticky threads clinging to her fingers, and stepped inside.

The air was stale, heavy with mold and forgotten time. She lit a small torch from her cloak’s hidden pocket the flame sputtered to life, casting flickering shadows that danced across crumbling wooden beams and scattered debris.

More cobwebs hung in sheets from the ceiling, swaying gently in the draft, while dust motes swirled in the torchlight. Broken pottery littered the floor, and faint scratches marred the walls, as though something had clawed at them long ago.

Lumina moved deeper, heart pounding. "Aunt Seraphina," she whispered. Her foot caught on a loose root hidden beneath the dust. She slipped, arms windmilling, and crashed to the ground. The torch rolled away, flame guttering low.

Something stirred in the darkness.

A low growl rumbled through the hut, vibrating the floor beneath her. Lumina scrambled back, eyes wide.

It was a creature blending serpent and spider, body armored in iridescent black scales that shifted like oil on water.

Eight long, tentacle-like legs ended in razor-sharp hooks, dripping with viscous slime that hissed on contact with the ground.

Its maw gaped wide, rows of jagged teeth spiraling inward like a vortex, eyes dozens of them glowing red in clusters across its bulbous head. Fins flared along its back, edged with spines that quivered with menace.

The beast towered over her, easily twice her height even crouched, its growl deepening into a thunderous roar that shook cobwebs loose from the ceiling.

"Kraken Beast," Lumina whispered in terror.

She turned to run but the beast lunged. One hooked leg slammed into her side, sending her flying into the wall. Pain exploded through her ribs.

She hit the ground hard, breath knocked from her lungs, struggling to stand. Blood trickled from a gash on her arm.

The beast attacked again, tentacles whipping forward. Lumina covered her face, tears streaming down her cheeks, a sob escaping her lips. Her fingers brushed the bracelet on her wrist unconsciously the silver band Ashen had given her, warm against her skin.

A surge of power rippled through the air.

Just then she felt a presence materialize between her and the beast. Ashen stood there, broad-shouldered and fierce, his presence a shield of raw strength. Lumina’s breath caught. He had come.

The Kraken Beast roared, charging. Ashen met it head-on. He dodged the first tentacle swipe with lightning speed, drawing his dragon-forged sword in a blur of motion.

The blade sang through the air, slicing deep into one hooked leg. Black ichor sprayed, sizzling on the ground.

The beast shrieked, recoiling, but lashed out with three tentacles at once.

Ashen leaped aside, one grazing his shoulder and tearing cloth, drawing blood. Instead, he countered with a powerful thrust, piercing the beast’s underbelly where scales were thinnest. The creature thrashed, its roar shaking the hut’s foundations, cobwebs raining down like snow.

Ashen pressed the advantage. He circled the beast with predatory grace, sword flashing in the torchlight.

A tentacle whipped toward his head he ducked and severed it at the base with a two-handed swing. More ichor gushed, the stump writhing uselessly.

The beast’s eyes blazed brighter, and it unleashed a barrage of legs stabbing downward like spears.

Ashen rolled aside, coming up behind it. He slashed at the fins on its back, cutting through spines that snapped like brittle bone. The creature spun, maw gaping to engulf him. He thrust his blade upward, lodging it in the roof of its mouth. It howled, shaking its head violently, but Ashen held fast, twisting the sword deeper.

The Kraken Beast shuddered, a final roar fading to a gurgle. It collapsed to the ground, body twitching, then stilling. Ashen slid off, breathing hard, sword dripping ichor.

He had put the beast to sleep; he couldn’t kill it, for such guardians reformed in time but subdued it completely.

Lumina stared, heart pounding. Ashen turned, wiping blood from his face, and met her gaze. Shock widened his eyes.

"Lumina..." he called in disbelief.

She rose unsteadily, tears fresh on her cheeks.