The field in front of the Kingdom no longer resembled anything human. The ground was furrowed with black marks, like deep burns, and the air vibrated with a tension that made breathing difficult. The shadows no longer attacked chaotically. They moved with purpose, learning, adapting.
Vlad, Alexandra, and Paul were in the center of the storm.
— Don't back down! Paul shouted, his voice cracked with fatigue. Whatever it is, we hold the line here!
The shadows attacked from the flanks, gliding close to the ground. One hit Vlad in the shoulder, but he didn't even flinch. The shadow inside him woke up completely.
He felt her cold, but also her clarity.
— Now, he whispered.
He stepped forward. He didn't rush. He chose each move. The shadow came out of him like a silent blade, cutting through opponents with almost inhuman precision. One. Two. Five. Ten.
When it stopped, twelve shadow bodies were slowly falling apart, as if the world was pushing them away.
Alexandra looked at him with a mixture of admiration and fear.
— I can do it too… I can do this…
She tried to force the shadow out of her, mimicking the attack.
The pain came instantly. Not physical, but deeper. Like a push.
Her knees gave out.
— Alexandra! Paul shouted.
Vlad turned and caught her before she fell.
— No, he said, calmly but firmly. Not like that.
She looked at him, frustrated.
— But you…
— I am me. You are you. Don't copy me.
If you try to be someone else, the Shadow will break you.
The words hung between them.
Alexandra closed her eyes. She breathed. She let her desire for power fall.
Instead of pushing the Shadow, she pulled it towards her. She squeezed it. She molded it.
Not into a weapon.
But into a promise.
The Shadow expanded and took shape around them, like a living, elastic barrier that absorbed blows. The shadows struck the shield, but they didn't pass.
Alexandra opened her eyes.
"I don't want to destroy," she said quietly.
I want to protect you.
Paul felt a lump in his throat.
"Then that's your power. And it's a rare one."
At the edge of the battlefield, Alex stood alone.
The shadows surrounded him, attacking one by one, slowly. Testing him.
He was breathing heavily. His arms were shaking.
"Not yet… not now…"
The ring on his hand suddenly burned, as if it had decided for him.
The power erupted.
His hair turned as black as the deep night, and points of light seemed to move under his skin, like stars. A cold, clear moon appeared on his forehead, shining faintly.
The shadows retreated for a moment.
Alex attacked.
His blows were cold, controlled. There was no anger in them, but a heavy responsibility. He knew what he was doing. He knew the price.
He cleared the area.
When everything stopped, the power suddenly withdrew.
Alex fell to his knees. Then to his side.
Ana had managed to take the King and Queen to a hidden place, away from the Shadows' eyes. The children were trembling, but they were alive.
— Stay here, she told them, in a low voice. Whatever you hear… don't come out.
The Queen took her hand.
— Take care of him.
Ana nodded.
Then she turned towards the fight, without looking back.
Oana and Ion
On the edge of the fight, Oana noticed something different.
A young man was fighting alone.
His sword was broken, the blade chipped, but he wouldn't retreat. He struck, defended himself, fell, got up.
A Shadow attacked from the side.
Oana's light struck first.
The Shadow disintegrated in a short scream.
Oana approached and held out a blade of light, still hot with energy.
— Hold it straight. Don't rush.
The boy grabbed the gun, surprised.
— Ion, he said, after a moment.
— Oana.
That's it.
No questions. No explanations.
They returned to the fight.
They moved well together, as if someone had trained for years for this moment. When one attacked, the other covered. When one weakened, the other supported him.
Shadows were falling.
But fatigue was gathering.
Ion noticed first.
— Oana… you're breathing hard.
— I can still, she said.
— Then give it your all. I'm by your side. If I have to… I'll protect you.
Oana looked at him in surprise.
— You don't have to…
— Yes, he said simply. I haven't known you long. But I know what I see.
His words touched something deep.
Oana took a deep breath.
The power erupted.
The light engulfed her completely. Her hair turned a brilliant golden white. A fine crown of light formed above her forehead, and luminous wings spread from behind her.
Ion was speechless.
Oana raised a barrier around him.
— Stay here.
Then she released the light.
The wave swept the surrounding field, erasing the remaining Shadows. When everything died down, Oana collapsed.
Ion caught her before she could fall.
— I caught you… he whispered.
He took her to a safe place.
Regrouping
Paul arrived again next to Vlad and Alexandra. He said nothing. He supported them. That was enough.
Ana returned with the King, Queen, and the rescued people. Alex emerged later, weakened but alive.
When they were reunited, no one spoke.
Regina hugged her children to her chest and leaned toward one of them.
— "Where's your big brother?" she asked softly.
The child shook his head.
— "I don't know…"
Paul looked up at the oppressive sky.
— "Go. Now."
People listened.
Ion knelt next to Oana, supporting her carefully. Her body was light, far too light for someone who, moments before, had erased the Shadows from around her like dust.
— "It's cold," he said softly, without looking up.
Ana came closer and touched her forehead. She closed her eyes for a second, concentrating.
— "She's alive. But she's crossed the line."
Ion felt her stomach tighten.
— "Because of me," she murmured.
Ana looked at him directly.
— "No, Because of what she chose to be."
He said nothing more, but the words remained.
Then the air changed.
Not like a wind.
Like a pressure.
Vlad tensed first.
— Wait.
Alexandra immediately felt the vibration in her barrier.
— What's happening?
Vlad put his hand to his chest. The shadow inside him was no longer violent, but it pulsed, like a deep echo.
— The shadows are no longer separate.
Paul gritted his teeth.
— They gather.
Far away, at the edge of the field, the dark remnants began to move. They weren't running. They weren't attacking. They were flowing toward each other, like thoughts returning to a single mind.
Alex raised his head, leaning heavily.
— All that's left of them, he said. A single will.
— The last, Vlad added.
The Shadow That Wouldn't Be Killed
When the form rose completely, no one could breathe normally.
It had no face.
It had no body.
But it occupied the space like a sentence.
The shadow didn't attack. It just existed. And its existence pressed down on the mind, making memories hurt and desires become dangerous.
Alexandra raised the barrier without being asked. The shadow touched her.
It didn't hit.
It pressed.
— I can't stop it for long, she said through her teeth.
Paul came closer.
— You don't even have to. Just hold it.
Vlad took a step forward.
— This shadow can't be destroyed from the outside.
Alex looked at him carefully.
— And the plan is…?
— We're going into it.
For a second, no one spoke.
Alexandra clenched her fists.
— Vlad…
— If I stay on the surface, he will consume us one by one, he said calmly. But if I take his center… he has nothing left to control.
Alexandra opened the barrier just enough.
Vlad entered.
Inside it was not dark.
It was too much.
Fear, anger, desire for power, all mixed together. The shadow tried to swallow him, to offer him control, to promise him relief.
Vlad did not reject it.
Nor did he accept it.
— You are no longer in control, he said clearly. But I am no longer hiding.
The shadow struggled.
Outside, Alexandra felt the barrier give way.
— Vlad… I can't hold on anymore!
Alex raised his hand. The moon on his forehead lit up again, weaker but steady.
— I can fix it.
Paul spread his arms.
— Then now.
Ion and Oana – what remains
Ion wasn't watching the fight.
He was watching Oana.
Her eyes slowly opened.
— Ion…?
Her heart jumped.
— I'm here. Don't move.
She blinked, confused.
— The shadows…?
— The others are holding them. You've done enough.
Oana wanted to smile, but she couldn't.
— I hate being weak.
— It's not weakness, he said. It's strength.
She looked at him carefully.
— Why did you stay?
Ion was silent for a moment.
— Because when I saw you fighting… I realized that I didn't want to be alone in this anymore.
Oana closed her eyes.
— Me neither.
The earth vibrated violently.
Alexandra shouted:
— Now! I can't anymore!
Ion looked up.
— Oana… if you have anything else…
She squeezed his hand.
— Not alone.
Ion helped her to her feet. The light didn't explode. It came slowly, controlled, like a shared breath.
No wings.
No crown.
Just real light.
— I'm not destroying it, Oana said. I'm emptying it.
Ion put his hand over hers.
— I'm holding it too.
Light and will united.
The shadow began to fall apart not through force, but through lack. It had no more fear. It had no more desire. It had nothing left to consume.
Alex released the last ray of the Moon.
Alexandra tightened the barrier to the limit.
Vlad remained in the center.
The shadow faded.
Forever.
After
The air cleared.
The earth was wounded, but alive.
Alexandra fell to her knees. Paul caught her immediately.
— You chose well, he told her.
Vlad came out slowly. The shadow inside him was quiet.
Alex sat down on the ground, exhausted.
Ana came to him.
— You live.
— Unfortunately for you, he smiled weakly.
Ion held Oana in his arms.
— It's over.
She looked at him.
— No. Just start.
And kissed him.
The sun rose over the Kingdom.
The shadows were gone.