The full moon hung in the sky over Haneul like a silent sentinel. The base had already retired for the night, but Kael couldn't sleep. When he went out to breathe the night air, he saw Selene sitting on top of the structure, wrapped in a silvery cloak of energy.
"I didn't expect to see anyone up here," he said, approaching slowly.
"I talk to the moon sometimes," she replied, with a slight smile. "It's the only piece of home I can still touch."
Kael sat down next to him, curious. "Where was your home?"
Selene looked up at the sky, her eyes reflecting stars. "A village called Daebak-ri, in the countryside. Isolated, surrounded by forests and open fields. A place where time seemed to stand still. My father was a stargazer. My mother, a healer. And I… have always been connected to the night. She touched her own skin, which seemed to reflect the moonlight as if it were made of liquid silver. "Ever since I was a child, the moon answered me. When it cried, clouds covered the sky. When it smiled, the breeze danced around it. But I didn't understand what it meant… until HelionTech arrived." Kael remained silent, listening. "They said I was a 'lunar phenomenon,' an ancient remnant of forgotten natural energies. They took me with promises of understanding who I was. But I was just another experiment for them. They tried to shape my energy. Cut my bond with the moon. But the longer they imprisoned me… the stronger my light grew." She raised her palm and a silver sphere appeared, floating like a miniature of the moon itself. "I escaped during the eclipse." When light and darkness crossed in the sky… I, too, crossed the line between fear and courage.
Kael watched in silence, amazed at the serenity she carried, even with so much weight on her past.
"Have you never thought of revenge?"
Selene sighed.
"I have. But the moon does not seek revenge. It reflects. It illuminates the darkness, but does not try to erase it. My role is to balance… not destroy. That is why I joined you."
She looked at Kael with a steady, serene gaze.
"Because your light… is warm enough to reignite the world."
Kael felt the heat in his own chest vibrate. For the first time, he understood that their energy was not just strength—it was history, pain, and purpose.
And there, under the silvery glow of the night, a deeper bond formed between them.