THE MOON'S GUARDIAN

CHAPTER 2 — THE MOON’S GUARDIAN

The crack in the moon didn’t look real.

It looked like something that shouldn’t exist.

Like a mistake in the universe.

I couldn’t stop staring at it.

The darkness inside it moved slowly, like smoke… but thicker. Heavier. Like it had weight. Like it was alive.

I took another step back without meaning to.

“This is… a prank, right?”

My voice sounded small. Weak.

Lune didn’t laugh. He didn’t even blink.

“If this was a prank, Zina… you wouldn’t have made it here alive.”

I swallowed hard. The air on the moon felt strange. Cold, but not freezing. Quiet, but not peaceful. It was the kind of silence that makes your skin itch.

“Lune…” I whispered. “What is that thing?”

He didn’t turn around.

“It’s not one thing,” he said, “It’s a hunger. A curse.”

The crack pulsed. And the darkness inside it… stretched. A thin shadowy arm reached out. Then another. Then another.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

“Oh my God.”

Lune’s voice was calm, but his hands weren’t. They were shaking.

“Yes,” he said. “And it knows you’re here now.”

I looked at him sharply.

“Wait… why does it care about me?”

Lune finally turned to face me. And his silver eyes were full of something I didn’t expect. Guilt.

“Because it’s not just eating the moon.”

My throat went dry.

“What does that mean?”

Lune stepped closer, lowering his voice like the creature could hear secrets.

“It’s eating the bond between the moon and the earth.”

I blinked.

“The bond?”

“The connection,” he said. “The thread that keeps the sky balanced. The reason tides move. The reason night exists.”

My stomach twisted.

“And if it breaks…”

Lune didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. I already knew.

No moon. No balance. No night. No world the way we know it. Just… darkness.

The creature took a step forward. The moon beneath its feet turned dull, like it was draining the light from the ground itself.

Lune raised his hand. Moonlight gathered around his palm, forming a blade. A sword made of pure silver glow.

My eyes widened.

“You have a sword??”

Lune glanced at me like I was insane.

“Zina… please focus.”

I almost laughed. Because how was I supposed to focus when I was literally on the moon, facing a shadow monster, and this fine boy had a glowing sword?

But I nodded quickly.

“Okay. Okay. Sorry.”

The creature lunged. Lune moved. Fast. Like lightning. He swung the sword, and moonlight sliced through the air, hitting the creature.

The shadow screamed and stumbled back. But it didn’t bleed. It just… reformed. Like smoke. Like darkness couldn’t be killed.

Lune gritted his teeth.

“No…”

The creature lunged again. This time it moved faster. Its shadow claws slashed toward Lune’s chest—

And without thinking, I screamed:

“LUNE!”

Something inside me snapped. A heat burst from my chest. A bright flash exploded from my hands.

The creature flew backward like it had been punched by the sun.

I froze. My hands were glowing. My fingers looked like they were holding starlight.

I stared at them, shocked.

“I… I did that?”

Lune turned, eyes wide.

“Zina…” His voice sounded almost… relieved. Like he’d been praying for that.

The creature hissed. It crawled back up, shaking its head like it was angry. Then it looked straight at me. Not at Lune. At me.

And suddenly I understood. This thing wasn’t just hungry. It was hunting. It wanted me.

The creature tilted its head. And then—It smiled. A slow, horrifying smile.

“MOOOOON-THIEF…”

The voice wasn’t spoken. It entered my mind like poison. I clutched my head and gasped.

“Get out of my head!”

Lune grabbed my wrist.

“Don’t listen to it!”

The creature’s voice returned, deeper now.

“YOU CARRY THE LIGHT… YOU WILL FEED ME.”

My eyes burned. My chest hurt. I couldn’t breathe.

Lune stepped in front of me again, sword raised.

“You will not touch her.”

The creature laughed. A sound like broken glass.

“YOU ARE WEAK, GUARDIAN.”

Lune’s jaw tightened.

“Maybe.” Then he glanced at me over his shoulder. “But she isn’t.”

I blinked.

“What??”

Lune’s voice was urgent now.

“Zina, you need to open your hands.”

I stared at him, panicked.

“I don’t know how! I didn’t even mean to—”

“DO IT,” he snapped.

And something about his tone made me obey.

I opened my palms. The moonlight inside me responded immediately, like it had been waiting for permission. Light swirled around my arms. It felt warm. Alive.

Lune took my hands and positioned them forward.

“Think of the brightest thing you’ve ever seen,” he said. “The brightest moment.”

I tried. My mind raced. Brightest moment? I didn’t have many. But then… I remembered. The one time I was small, and my dad lifted me onto his shoulders at a festival before he left our lives. The lights. The music. The sky. The way I felt like I mattered.

Tears filled my eyes. The light in my hands grew stronger.

Lune whispered:

“Now… release it.”

I screamed and pushed my hands forward. A beam of moonlight shot out like a comet. It hit the creature directly.

The shadow screamed. Its body cracked. For the first time… the creature looked afraid. It fell backward, sliding toward the crack.

Lune lifted his sword and slammed it into the ground. A circle of moonlight exploded outward. The creature was dragged into the crack like something pulled it.

And then—Silence.

Lune knelt beside me.

“You did it,” he whispered.

I looked up at him, tears on my face.

“What is happening to me?”

Lune didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached out slowly and wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb. His touch was cold. But gentle. Like moonlight.

“You were always meant to come here,” he said softly.

💖 END OF CHAPTER 2

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