The air around Elara was no longer still. Even breathing had beco difficult, as if an invisible pressure had settled onto her chest. The Moon spirit inside her was not retreating this ti; on the contrary, it was embedding itself deeper with every passing second. Elara was aware of this, but that awareness was not enough to stop it.
Kael and Rowan tried to move at the sa ti, but both were forced to stop before they could even take a single step. The energy forming around Elara was no longer just a wave; it had turned into an uncontrollable field. The ground cracked slightly, and dry leaves lifted into the air, circling around an unseen center.
"Elara..." Rowan said, his voice more careful this ti. He didn’t want to call her, he wanted to reach her. But Elara could no longer hear external voices clearly. Even her inner voice had begun to blur.
Kael clenched his teeth. This was unlike anything he had ever seen. Whatever was inside Elara was no longer just a power, it was an entity, and it was trying to rge with her. He didn’t know what that rge would beco, but he instinctively felt that its outco would not be good.
"Elara, pull yourself together," Kael said in a harsher tone. But it was clear that this call didn’t reach her either.
Elara’s knees bent slightly, but she didn’t fall. On the contrary, it felt as if sothing unseen was holding her upright. Her eyes had completely changed. The tallic orange glow was no longer just a color; it looked like a moving energy within itself. Sothing rose inside Elara. This aura was stronger and denser than Elara herself. And Elara was beginning to consider giving up trying to stop it.
Bursts of light spread outward. It wasn’t a loud explosion, but rather a force that pushed, suppressed, and scattered everything at once.
Kael and Rowan were not at the center of this power, but they were close enough. And that was enough. Both of them were thrown backward at the sa ti. Rowan slid several ters, his shoulder crashing hard into a tree. His breath was knocked out, but he didn’t take his eyes off Elara. Kael fell harder. When he hit the ground, his breath was completely cut off for a brief mont, but he quickly tried to recover. The anger was still there, but now sothing else had mixed into it. An awareness... the realization that Elara was no longer the sa Elara.
The energy wave expanded and then contracted. And suddenly— everything stopped. Elara’s body went completely still for a mont. The light in her eyes did not fade. But control shifted. It was as if Elara knew what she was doing and was beginning to take control of the power. She took a deep breath. And in that mont— the Moon fell silent. Elara’s body could not withstand the bursts of energy. Her eyes suddenly returned to normal. And in the next second— Elara collapsed to the ground.
Rowan was the first to move. Despite the pain, he got to his feet and staggered toward Elara. His steps were unsteady, but determined. Leaving her like this was not an option. "Elara..." he said, his voice breaking this ti.
Kael stood up as well. His movents had slowed due to the impact of being thrown. But his eyes were still sharp. Both of them were moving toward the sa target. And at that exact mont— the air changed, filling with whispers.
Rowan was the first to feel it, but he was already too late. A shadow ford right beside Elara’s body. The shadow appeared suddenly and silently. Rowan had never slled this scent before. He couldn’t recognize who it was. But Kael recognized this unsettling scent from before. Adrian...
Before either Rowan or Kael could fully react, Adrian knelt down and looked at Elara’s face. There was not a trace of hesitation in his eyes. It was very clear that he had been waiting for this mont. "Right on ti," he murmured. He brought his fingers closer to Elara’s forehead. The words he whispered could not be heard, but their effect was seen instantly. Elara’s breathing slowed completely. Her body relaxed, and her consciousness was pulled into a deep darkness.
"Stop!" Rowan shouted as he lunged forward. But Adrian had already moved. He lifted Elara with ease. And he took a step back.
This ti, Kael attacked Adrian without hesitation. But Adrian was ready, and unlike Kael, he was not exhausted. With a slight movent of his hand, the space between them twisted. Kael’s movent slowed instantly. It was as if he had hit an invisible wall.
"Not yet," Adrian said, his voice calm but absolute. "I can’t leave her to you now." And then— Adrian and Elara disappeared together. The forest sank back into a deep and empty silence.
When Elara opened her eyes, the first thing she felt was cold. She recognized the cold of the forest from being on the road for weeks. This was not that kind of cold. What she felt was a more artificial, tallic cold.
When she looked around, the first thing she noticed was boundaries. She was surrounded by vertical tal bars. It was enclosed on all sides and closed off. In that mont, she realized she was in a place with no escape. She was inside a cage.
When she tried to straighten up slightly, her head spun. It felt as if all her strength had been drained. Even the Moon inside her was silent. But this silence was not peaceful. Elara defined it within herself as a suppressed silence.
"You took a while to wake up."
Elara lifted her head toward the direction of the voice she heard. Adrian was standing in front of her.
As always, Adrian looked calm and controlled. And there was a clear expression of satisfaction on his face.
"Where did you bring ?" Elara asked in a weak voice. In truth, many questions had ford in her mind. "What happened to ? Why am I in a cage? Where is Rowan?" She didn’t have the strength to ask all of them, so this was the question she chose.
Adrian smiled slightly. "Where you’re supposed to be," he said. "There’s no need to hide you anymore." Elara narrowed her eyes. "What do you an?" she asked. Adrian took a few steps closer. "Elara... I’ve seen what you are now," he said. "And this... is not sothing that can be left in the wild."
Elara’s heart began to race. This reaction was not from fear, but from understanding what Adrian ant. "You’re in the waiting room of the World Governnt," Adrian said. After a brief pause, he continued, "You could also call it the place we built to bring things like you under control."
Elara’s gaze hardened. "I am not a thing." Adrian’s smile widened. "Not yet," he said. "That’s why I took you in ti." He took another step closer. "Your power... is sothing that can be claid. Of course... with the right equipnt." Elara’s eyes darkened. Because it was clear this was not a threat. It was the confession of a plan.
Adrian tilted his head slightly. "We need advanced laboratories," he said. "And you... will be our most valuable subject."
Elara couldn’t tell whether it was from exhaustion or shock, but a silence fell over her. She was in the hands of an organization no one knew, inside a cage.
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