Episode 7 The Betrayer's Name - WHISPERS OF THE MOON

📖 Whispers of the Moon

By Rapwizzy Debaron

Episode 7: The Betrayer's Name

Juvia stared at Ha-jun, her chest rising and falling with confusion.

"My brother? I don't remember any brother."

Ha-jun's eyes darkened. "You wouldn't. The memory of him was sealed in your soul when you died the first time. It was part of the curse."

Juvia's voice cracked. "Why would my own brother betray me?"

Ha-jun walked to the far side of the chamber and pressed his hand against the stone wall. A section of it trembled—then slid open, revealing a hidden mural covered in dust and time.

He wiped it clean.

Juvia gasped.

Two children stood under a moonlit tree in the painting—one clearly her, with her long white hair and soft features. The other was a boy, a few years older, holding her hand with a smile so deceptive it hurt.

"That's… him?" she whispered.

Ha-jun nodded. "His name was Rian. A Moonblood warrior, like you. But his heart was turned by the Shadow Order. He believed the goddess favored you and not him. That jealousy consumed him."

Juvia's eyes stung with tears. "He gave me away…"

"No. He sacrificed you," Ha-jun said bitterly. "He handed you over to the Eclipse Prince in exchange for immortality."

She felt the floor shift under her feet. The idea that someone once so close could choose betrayal—it shattered something inside her.

"Where is he now?"

"We don't know. After you died, Rian vanished into the in-between realms. But if we find the Moon Relic, he'll come. He won't let you break the cycle."

Juvia wiped her tears. "Then let him come. I'm not the same girl he betrayed."

Before Ha-jun could respond, the stone beneath them began to glow.

"What's happening?" she asked, startled.

"The chamber… it's reacting to your memory returning."

A soft hum filled the room. The murals lit up one by one, and a column of silver light erupted in the center of the temple.

Inside it hovered a shimmering orb—small, delicate, ancient.

"The Moon Mirror," Ha-jun breathed. "It sees through time and soul. It may show you what the curse tried to erase."

Juvia stepped forward, breath shaking. She reached out… and touched it.

In an instant, her body stilled, eyes wide.

She wasn't in the temple anymore.

She stood in a golden palace, barefoot, dressed in silken robes. Laughter echoed from the hallway. She turned and saw him—Rian—with a child's smile and starry eyes.

"Promise you'll never leave me, Juvia," he whispered, holding her hand tightly.

"I promise," she had replied, innocent and full of love.

Then—a flash.

Screams. Fire. Betrayal. A dagger in the dark.

Rian's face, now older, twisted by pain and rage.

"I was supposed to be chosen!"

And her own voice, filled with heartbreak—

"Rian, please—don't do this."

She gasped and stumbled back as the vision ended.

Ha-jun caught her.

"You saw it," he said.

She nodded, tears streaming. "He was good once. We loved each other… and then he broke everything."

Silence fell between them until Juvia spoke again.

"I have to find him. Not for revenge—but to understand why. To stop this before it happens again."

Ha-jun placed a hand on her shoulder. "Then we begin tomorrow. But tonight, rest. You'll need your strength. The moon has awakened… and so has everything hiding in its shadow."

Far beyond the forest, a cloaked figure stood in the fog—watching. Listening.

His voice whispered to the wind:

"You finally remember me, little sister. Let's see if you still remember how to survive."

Chapter 7 - Episode 7 The Betrayer's Name