A thick fog rolled gently through the eastern forests of Ravencall, swallowing every sound except the rustling of leaves and the murmur of the river. There, Lyra hid, wearing a tattered silver hood; her body was still weak, but her resolve remained unwavering. 
Lyra gazed at the night sky, which was beginning to fade. The moon was now just a thin crescent, like a mirror of her half-lost soul.
“I want Ravencall to be peaceful again, without dark magic,” Lyra murmured as she offered a prayer.
Suddenly, the ground beneath her feet trembled. A sharp gust of wind carried a familiar scent—like the scent of the Nightfall Forest, thick and biting.
Lyra reflexively turned and realized something. Her expression changed as if she knew something was lurking.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the mist, and from the darkness emerged the figure of Kael Umbra. His blue eyes shone in the dim light; his face was weary, yet his eyes were full of turmoil.
“Lyra,” he whispered hoarsely.
Lyra froze, her body stiffening in place. “Kael?”
Before she could utter a single word, Kael had already pulled her into a strong, trembling embrace, one filled with the emotional wounds he had long kept buried.
“You came, Lyra,” Kael said.
A gentle rain began to fall, dripping between their shoulders.
“I searched for you to the ends of the earth,” Kael’s voice cracked, “and when I found you again, I was already bound to another woman.”
Kael still felt guilty. He also believed that fate had toyed with his feelings. 
Lyra looked down, trying to break free, but Kael’s embrace only tightened.
“Kael, let me go! This isn’t right.”
Kael took a deep breath, then slowly stepped back. Tears fell from his eyes, but his lips curved into a bitter smile.
“I’ve missed you. I’ve been waiting for you for so long, Lyra,” Kael confessed sincerely.
“What?” Lyra’s eyes widened in shock at his confession. “But I haven’t.”
“I know your heart belongs to him now. But I… I don’t know how to stop loving you.”
Lyra looked at him for a moment, her expression gentle yet firm.
“You cast me aside before, but now you’re saying this after you’ve married another woman. Don’t you care about your wife’s feelings?”
“I married Selene because I was desperate—I couldn’t have you. I deeply regret it, Lyra. Why do you love Draven more than me?” Kael lamented.
For the first time, Kael and Lyra were able to speak heart to heart, without emotion, without a war that could bring about the destruction of the world.
“I don’t hate you, Kael, but I can’t forget what you did to my family in the past. You and Draven are very different.”
“I know that. I realized it too late—that I love you so deeply. I thought that by having you, I could increase my power and strength. In reality, I’ve truly lost you, and I’m so fragile without you.”
“You’ve defied fate. It’s too late, Kael.”
Kael fell silent. Those words pierced his heart more sharply than any sword.
Silence stretched between them, accompanied by the song of night insects and the sound of the river flowing slowly.
Kael, filled with regret, could not turn back time. Now, he and Lyra were like sworn enemies still locked in a standoff.
“Go, Kael! Your wife is waiting for you. Forget me,” Lyra advised him.
“I won’t. I can’t forget you,” Kael replied.
“Never come near me again! No matter the reason. Never disturb our lives in Ravencall if you don’t want this world to be destroyed again because of me,” Lyra warned.
Kael fell silent again as he processed every word that had come from Lyra’s mouth. He would back down. But a man like Kael Umbra wouldn’t just give up on Lyra so easily. His greed only fueled his determination, driving him to reclaim Lyra from Draven Vale’s side.
“Alright! Take care of yourself, Lyra,” Kael finally said, his voice soft. “If Ravencall falls, I won’t stand idly by. Maybe I can still atone for all my sins by protecting you from afar.”
Lyra simply stared at him, her eyes brimming with tears, as Kael walked away into the fog.
Suddenly, from behind the trees, a pair of golden eyes watched them—Selene Ardyn, Luna Nightfall, stood motionless in the shadows.
Her hands clutched her maroon gown so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
“So, this is Luna Moonborn, the woman who still haunts his heart,” she muttered bitterly.
As soon as Kael disappeared, Selene emerged from her hiding place, her steps graceful yet cold. She stood before Lyra, her gaze sharp.
“I didn’t know you were still alive,” she said flatly, “but I hope you know your place, Luna Moonborn.”
Lyra furrowed her brow, holding back from being provoked.
“Who are you?” Lyra asked curiously.
“Kael Umbra’s wife,” Selene replied.
“Oh, I see.” Lyra understood and didn’t want to prolong her business with Selene. However, Selene, already furious, grabbed Lyra’s hand.
“You were presumed dead, so don’t act as if you’re still alive and destroy our world again. Understand?” Selene threatened.
Lyra roughly pulled her hand away from Selene. “I never went looking for Kael. He was the one who found me first.”
“But your presence is disrupting everything—our world,” Selene retorted sharply. “Don’t think I don’t know why Kael has turned cold toward me. If you still value your life, don’t meddle in Nightfall’s affairs again.”
Her tone held a threat, but her eyes held a sadness that almost mirrored Lyra’s—two women, both in love with a man torn between love and regret.
Lyra simply looked at her, then spoke softly.
“I don’t want to take anything from you, Luna Nightfall. I’m only trying to save a world that will be destroyed if love is used as a reason to go to war.”
“Kael’s feelings have been all over the place since you arrived.”
“That’s why I’m warning you. Take good care of him; don’t end up like me, cast out as a rogue.”
“What?” Selene’s eyes widened in shock.
“You know what I mean, right? You know what kind of man Kael is.”
“I know everything about him. Because of me, I like him very much,” Selene revealed.
“Good then. I’m relieved to hear that,” Lyra replied. 
Selene fell silent for a moment. 
“If you’re done talking to me, go!” Lyra added, gently shooing her away.
Selene stared at her for a few seconds, then turned and vanished into the night mist, leaving behind a piercing silence.
Meanwhile, amid the ruins of the ancient Nightfall altar, Elira knelt before Morrwyn, an old sorceress with eyes as white as fog.
A circle of purple fire blazed around them. A dark magic ritual was underway.
“I failed to subdue Draven,” Elira hissed, her voice hoarse. “Your old magic isn’t strong enough. I want a more powerful spell.”
Morrwyn laughed softly, her voice like shattering glass.
“The power of love cannot be defeated by mere shadows, Elira. You must bind him with something unbreakable—his own soul.”
“Then teach me,” Elira whispered, her eyes gleaming with fanaticism. “I will surrender anything, even my own soul.”
Morrwyn stared at her for a long moment, then raised her hand.
A blood-red magic circle emerged from the ground.
“If that is what you want,” he said softly, “then prepare yourself. Because after this, it won’t just be Lyra who loses her love—but all of Ravencall.”
The flames grew larger, engulfing Elira’s shadow in a flash of dark light.
In the distance, the moon seemed nearly extinguished, a sign that a new storm was about to arrive.