Chapter 163 ORIGINS AND BETRAYAL
The Nexus Fortress trembled beneath the fractured sky.
Cracks of silver lightning tore through the clouds as if the heavens themselves were warning the world.
Amanda stood at the center of the courtyard, her body humming with power. The fragments inside her stirred violently, one whispering in cold voices, another fluttering like a flickering flame. Her silver eyes glowed, half hers, half the fragments’.
Andrew gripped her hand tightly. “Amanda, you have to listen to me. You can’t let them any of them control you.”
Ethan’s Alpha aura flared beside her, protective and ready. “Stay close. Don’t let Victor manipulate you again.”
Victor stepped into the light, his dark presence swallowing everything around him. He looked at Amanda with a calm smile, one hand raised, black flames flickering at his fingertips.
“You’ve grown,” he said softly, but the words carried weight heavier than any chain. “The first time I saw you, you were nothing but a fragment. Now… you are nearly complete.”
Amanda’s chest tightened. “Complete? What do you mean?” she demanded.
Victor’s gaze darkened. “You were never just born, Amanda. You were created a fragment of the First Luna, forged from the Origin herself. I didn’t make you alone; the fragments, the Nexus, even the moon… they were all part of shaping you. A weapon… a goddess… a harbinger.”
Andrew staggered back. “What? You made her?”
Victor’s smile widened faintly. “Not entirely. But I guided her destiny. Every moment, every trial… all designed to awaken the fragments within her. And now they call to her.”
Amanda felt the fragments inside her surge. Their voices overlapped, a cacophony of power and memories she had never lived.
You were meant to unite us.
You were meant to destroy us.
You were never alone.
The air shimmered. The moon cracked further, a silver scar across the sky. And then, from the top in the heavens, a figure descended.
It was the warrior woman, her silver armor gleaming, her eyes blazing with authority. Hundreds of moon warriors followed her, descending like a silver tide, filling the courtyard with an unholy light.
“You,” she said, pointing at Victor, “are a heretic. You dare manipulate the First Luna’s fragment for your own purposes?”
Victor laughed softly. “Heretic? No… I am a father.” His gaze shifted to Amanda. “She is mine. My design. My daughter.”
Amanda froze.
Andrew’s voice shook. “Your… daughter?!”
“Yes,” Victor said calmly. “She is not just the Lost Luna. She is my creation, the weapon I forged from the Origin. And the fragments? They are pieces of what I could not destroy what the moon could not forgive. All of it… all of you… revolves around her now.”
Ethan’s claws flexed, silver flames sparking around him. “You’ll pay for this,” he growled. “Not one step closer to her!”
Victor tilted his head, studying Ethan with amusement. “You are strong… but strength alone does not protect her from her destiny. And destiny… is not kind.”
The warrior woman raised her sword. “Then we will decide her destiny for her.”
Amanda’s heart pounded. She could feel the fragments screaming, hungry for unity, for power. The Hollow inside her thrashed violently, demanding release. The other fragments whispered warnings and pleas.
Andrew stepped in front of her, defiance burning in his eyes. “She belongs to no one,” he shouted. “Not you. Not the moon. Not the fragments. She decides for herself!”
Victor’s expression darkened. “Brave words… for someone who cannot see the whole picture.”
Suddenly, a surge of energy erupted from Amanda. Silver flames and black shadows intertwined, shooting into the sky, creating a massive aura that forced both Victor and the moon warriors to step back.
“I… am not a weapon!” Amanda shouted, her voice echoing across the fortress. “I am Amanda! I am the Lost Luna! And I… will decide my own fate!”
Victor’s smile returned, calm and dangerous. “Good. I was beginning to worry you might forget the purpose of your existence.”
The warrior woman stepped forward, sword raised. “Then show us. Unite the fragments… or we will take them by force.”
Amanda felt the Hollow inside her twist violently, its laughter echoing in her mind. Finally… the moment of truth.
The fragments surged outward, spinning around her like a cyclone of silver and shadow. Her power had never felt this raw, this alive.
Andrew gripped her arm. “Amanda… fight it. Control it!”
Amanda’s eyes glowed fully silver as she faced Victor. “I will control it. I will decide. And no one no one will take my life, my fragments, or my destiny from me!”
Victor’s dark flames met her silver fire in a collision that shook the fortress. Moon warriors screamed as energy tore through the courtyard, rocks flying, cracks splitting the ground.
The sky above broke further, a final decision in the heavens. From it, the second fragment began to appear a massive being of shadow and silver, its form twisting like smoke and steel.
Amanda’s chest tightened. She understood now: the fight was far from over. The fragments were awakening fully. And every choice she made would either forge her into a goddess… or destroy her completely.
The second fragment’s eyes locked onto Amanda. Its voice thundered through her soul:
You are mine. You cannot hide. You cannot run.
Amanda’s silver flames roared in response. She lifted her head, her voice steady, defiant:
“I am Amanda. I am the Lost Luna. And I will not belong to anyone… not even you.”
The fortress shook violently. The fragments surged. Victor stepped closer. The moon warriors raised their swords. And Amanda’s destiny… was about to be rewritten in fire and blood.