The air in the spiritual realm was thicker than usual, pressing against the senses with a suffocating weight. Odesse stood in the center of the quiet forest clearing, her eyes locked on the immense form of the Moon Spirit hovering above.

"What is it you need, moon child?" the Spirit’s voice echoed, cold and resonant.

Desperation lined Odesse’s face, her voice tight with panic. "Azure... she has placed a lethal spell on the Hisponians. A countdown."

"I am aware of that," the Moon Spirit replied smoothly. "What is it you need?"

Odesse’s hands trembled at her sides, her voice cracking as she stepped forward. "Please... I know you said you cannot protect anyone else but me. But can you please protect them?"

"I cannot do that, moon child," the Spirit interrupted, its tone entirely flat.

Odesse’s eyes welled with tears, her expression shifting into one of pure pleading. "Please, I beg of you! I beg you, please... help them. They saved my life!"

The Moon Spirit hovered higher into the canopy, the light of the distant stars illuminating its form. "That will be impossible. You see, moon child, I am bound to you by an ancient covenant. You are the only soul I am permitted to protect. It does not matter who else faces destruction in the waking world; if you are not in the absolute midst of that danger, I will not move. If you were among them, I would save the whole to ensure you do not die. But you are safe within your palace walls."

Hot tears spilled down Odesse’s pale cheeks. She tightened her fists, her gaze hardening. "Why are you so wicked?"

The Moon Spirit lowered itself slowly, its luminous presence chilling the air. "What do you mean?"

Odesse looked down, watching her tears strike the soil. Her entire frame shook with a mixture of grief and fury. "Why are you so heartless? Do you possess no emotions at all?"

"No," the Moon Spirit replied abruptly. "I do not."

Odesse snapped her head up, her lips quivering as a buried trauma surfaced. "Is this why my mother... is this why she broke away?"

"The reason your mother decided to break the covenant was because she knew she was weak, Odesse," the Moon Spirit interrupted coldly. "She ran away with a mortal man, and they both got killed. Your mother was afraid. She never wanted greatness; she wanted to be normal, and normality brought about her swift death."

Odesse glared at the deity, her jaw clenching tightly as the Spirit continued to dismantle her past.

"Your mother... she possessed the potential to rule with absolute authority, just like her brother. But she chose to ruin her own destiny. I was never against her marriage to your father; had she kept the covenant, she would have easily possessed the power to protect both her husband and herself. But she chose her own fate, Odesse."

The Spirit hovered backward, its gaze fixed on the young queen. "I may lack the fragile emotions of humans, but I possess the ancient knowledge to know that humans completely lack understanding of their own feelings. Look at you, Odesse. The anger inside you bottles up simply because I spoke the truth of your mother, and because I refuse to shield the Hisponians. All of that raw energy can be channeled into something useful, rather than directed against me. People will die, Odesse. But it is entirely up to you to use the knowledge you have to bend the twisted lies of fate and reality."

The rigid tension in Odesse’s face slightly softened, her mind processing the weight of the words.

The Moon Spirit drifted closer. "You, Odesse... you are entirely different from your mother. You carry the unyielding fire of Kaelith, your uncle—the High Chief. Greatness is written into the very fabric of your destiny. But you carry far too much doubt and fear the moment a single thing fails to go your way."

Odesse stared back, her legs feeling slightly numb from the sheer weight of the confrontation.

"I am not here to feed your desires, Odesse," the Spirit continued. "I am here with you to teach, to guide, and—if the covenant demands it—to protect you."

The spirit moved back, and suddenly, a vibrant string of pure white light erected directly from Odesse’s chest. Odesse gasped, looking down at the radiant tether in fear as she took a faltering step backward. The string stretched across the clearing, making its way directly to the Moon Spirit, remaining securely connected to Odesse’s heart as it began to coil around the deity’s form.

The Moon Spirit ascended high into the sky, and the glowing string followed its movement. Odesse watched in absolute amazement, her fear instantly dissolving into wonder. The Spirit began a majestic, swirling dance across the sky. In response, the stars beamed with intense brilliance, the moon shone brighter than ever before, and the entire celestial canopy seemed to expand into something grand. Odesse’s eyes reflected the beautiful light, a faint smile parting her lips.

After a long moment, the Moon Spirit lowered itself back toward the earth, and the glowing string receded, returning safely back into Odesse’s chest. Odesse looked down at her blouse, then back up at the deity, her face completely softened.

"You see, moon child," the Spirit murmured, "it does not take much of a human heart to become amazed by such simple things."

"What was that string?" Odesse whispered.

"That is the absolute connection between you and I," the Spirit answered. "The eternal covenant I hold for you, Odesse."

Odesse lowered her gaze as the spirit added, "Sadness does absolutely nothing in times like this, moon child. Channel every single emotion you possess toward the singular goal your heart has set. Which is?"

Odesse looked up, her expression turning completely stoic. "Delete Azure. But how? I cannot physically kill her while the countdown spell remains tethered to the Hisponians."

"That is something you must calculate very carefully, moon child," the Spirit replied.

Odesse looked back down at the dirt, her mind racing as she bit her lower lip. What can I do? I cannot let a single innocent life be taken. I cannot allow Azure to hurt anyone any longer. I must find a loophole.

The Spirit watched her in silence as she thought deeply. Suddenly, Odesse snapped her head up, a sharp realization dawning in her eyes. "Is it possible to transfer a countdown spell from one target to another?"

The Moon Spirit paused. "Yes. Why do you ask such a question?"

Odesse’s hands shook, but her voice remained firm. "This might be foolish... but I am going to transfer the curse to myself."

The Moon Spirit’s voice instantly boomed, echoing through the trees. "You cannot do that!"

"Why not?" Odesse demanded.

"You will be actively endangering your own life," the Spirit countered.

A small, knowing smile touched Odesse’s lips. "You said it yourself—I am destined for greatness. And you also said you are bound to protect me. You won’t let me die. If you cannot protect the Hisponians because of your rules, then you will be forced to protect me once the curse is inside my veins."

"It still does not mean you should attempt this, moon child," the Spirit warned.

Odesse’s eyes turned completely ice-cold. "I am not letting innocent people get slaughtered for a conflict they know nothing about just because I cower in fear."

Without another word, Odesse dropped straight down onto the grass, crossing her legs into a tight meditative stance and shutting her eyes.

"What are you going to do?" the Moon Spirit demanded.

Odesse spoke through clenched teeth, her eyes remaining closed. "I am going to transfer the curse. One way or another."

"You do not even know the technique, moon child," the Spirit stated in a harsh, level tone.

"Then I shall try every single technique until I get it right," Odesse fired back. "And you will protect me."

Instantly, Odesse’s eyes began moving frantically beneath her eyelids. Her mouth moved in a silent and rapid way as her consciousness was violently dragged out of the clearing. With full, terrifying force, her soul began falling endlessly into a dark, bottomless pit.

Back in the physical forest clearing, her seated body began to radiate a freezing white aura, the temperature dropping so rapidly that the passing wind began to freeze into frost.

Deep inside the endless void of her mind, Odesse screamed internally, I have to connect myself to Azure’s magic... but where is the tether?

Suddenly, the distorted, distant screams of people—the young, the old, and children—echoed through the darkness. Odesse turned her falling body mid-air and spotted it: a thick, radiating red string cutting through the abyss.

"This string," she whispered as the wind whipped past her. "It connects the Hisponians to the curse. It connects them to Azure."

She fought against the gravity of the void, trying to move closer to touch it. But the sheer velocity and toxic power of Azure’s dark magic struck her soul, making her spiritual body burn with agonizing pain.

In the forest clearing, the pure white aura surrounding her physical body began to violently corrupt, turning a deep, unnatural black.

Seeing the corruption, the Moon Spirit hovered higher into the air. The spirit unleashed its power, creating a massive globe of brilliant white light around Odesse’s physical form. Instantly, shiny white strings erupted from every part of Odesse’s flesh, connecting her directly to the protective globe. The Moon Spirit began an everlasting, glorious dance in the sky above; the entire spiritual realm turned a blinding white, and the stars radiated with unprecedented power to keep her soul anchored.

Inside the void, Odesse could feel her spiritual form burning away under the heat of the curse. "What sort of ancient magic did Azure use? she thought in agony."

Using the sudden surge of the Moon Spirit’s anchored light, Odesse stabilized her body against the compressed air of the endless abyss. She closed her eyes, forcing her hands forward as a brilliant white aura emitted from her palms. She reached out and gripped the radiating red string.

The curse violently sparked, but it did not reject her touch.

Odesse stared at the connection, surrounded by nothing but the vast darkness, the bleeding red string of the curse, and the fierce white aura burning from her own palms. "What do I do now?"