The moon turned red at exactly 02:17 a.m.
Not everywhere.
Only where the Chosen stood.
---
Global Awakening
In Seoul, a hospital went dark.
In Cairo, shadows climbed the pyramids like living scars.
In Rio, the ocean pulled back in silence before returning blood-tinted.
And in Japan—
A subway train stopped between stations.
Lights flickered.
Passengers screamed.
Then the screams stopped.
---
The Japanese Chosen
Luna arrived first.
The underground station reeked of iron and ozone.
Bodies lay collapsed—not dead, but emptied, eyes staring at nothing.
At the center of the platform stood a young woman in a school uniform, barefoot, blood floating upward around her like mist.
Her eyes glowed crescent-white.
"I didn't mean to wake up," the girl said softly.
"They wouldn't stop hurting me."
Luna recognized the look.
The silence before violence.
"What's your name?" Luna asked.
The girl tilted her head.
"Yuki."
---
Mirror of the Past
Yuki raised her hands.
The air screamed.
Metal warped.
Walls folded inward.
"You were like me," Yuki said, tears running down her face.
"Quiet. Invisible. Until the moon spoke."
Luna felt her chest tighten.
"Yes," she replied.
"And that's why you have to stop."
---
The Choice
Yuki laughed—broken, terrified.
"Stop? I finally feel safe."
Shadows surged toward the fleeing rescue teams.
Luna stepped between them.
"I will carry the fear," she said.
"You don't have to."
The crescent mark on Luna's wrist ignited—burning white, not black.
The Watcher's voice thundered:
"CHOOSE."
---
Defiance
Luna dropped her blade.
She opened her arms.
"Yuki," she said quietly,
"Look at me."
The shadows hesitated.
Yuki's hands trembled.
"I don't want to be a monster," Yuki whispered.
"Then don't be," Luna answered.
The red moon flickered.
---
Breaking the Pattern
The Watcher screamed.
"YOU WERE NOT MEANT TO SAVE THEM."
Luna stepped forward.
"I decide what I become," she said.
"And what they become."
She touched Yuki's forehead.
Light exploded.
Not destruction—
Release.
---
Aftermath
The moon returned to white.
Yuki collapsed, alive.
Around the world, the awakenings faltered—paused, not ended.
Bren's voice came through comms, shaking.
"Luna… whatever you did—everything just changed."
Luna stared at her glowing hand.
"So did I."
---
Final Lines
High above the world, beyond reality—
The Watcher recoiled.
For the first time…
It felt fear.