The forest remained silent after the stranger’s words.

Ash floated slowly between the trees, glowing faintly in the pale moonlight. Lira stood frozen, her heart racing as the stranger’s eyes remained fixed on her arm.

“The night the sky burned… was only the beginning.”

His words echoed in her mind.

“What does that mean?” she asked, her voice shaking slightly.

The stranger did not answer immediately.

Instead, he looked up toward the cracked moon hanging above the forest.

For a moment, his expression darkened.

“The moon was never meant to break,” he said quietly.

“But when it did, it awakened something that had been sleeping for centuries.”

Lira frowned.

“You’re not making any sense.”

The stranger sighed softly.

“I suppose you deserve some truth.”

He stepped closer, though he kept a careful distance.

“My name is Kael,” he said. “And for most of my life, I’ve been searching for a sign.”

“What sign?”

Kael’s eyes moved to her arm again.

“The Ash Mark.”

Lira instinctively covered it.

“You mean this thing?”

Kael nodded.

“Long ago, before the kingdoms existed, there was a prophecy about the Moonfall.”

The wind stirred slightly through the trees as he spoke.

“The prophecy said that when the moon fractures and ash falls from the sky, one person will awaken with the mark of the broken moon.”

Lira felt a cold chill run down her spine.

“That person,” Kael continued, “would be able to command the ashesthemselves.”

Lira glanced down at the ground where the ash had moved earlier.

“That… that was just an accident.”

Kael shook his head.

“No.”

His voice was calm but certain.

“It was power.”

Lira’s heart pounded harder.

“But the prophecy doesn’t end there.”

The forest suddenly felt colder.

“What else does it say?” she asked quietly.

Kael hesitated.

Then he finally spoke.

“It says the Ash-Marked will either save the world…”

He paused.

“…or destroy it.”

The words hung heavily in the air.

Lira stared at him in disbelief.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it?” Kael replied.

He gestured toward the sky.

“The moon is breaking apart. Ash is falling across the land. Strange things are waking in the dark.”

His voice lowered.

“And you carry the only mark that appears when Moonfall begins.”

Lira didn’t know what to say.

Everything felt impossible.

Then suddenly—

A distant sound echoed through the forest.

A low, unnatural growl.

Both of them turned toward the darkness.

The trees ahead of them trembled slightly.

Something was moving.

Slowly.

Kael’s expression instantly changed.

“Stay behind me,” he said quietly.

“What is that?” Lira whispered.

Kael’s eyes narrowed.

“The kind of creature that appears when ancient powers start waking again.”

Another growl echoed through the trees.

This one closer.

The shadows shifted.

Then a pair of glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness.

Lira’s breath caught in her throat.

The creature stepped forward.

Its body looked like a wolf—but twisted and unnatural. Black ash clung to its fur like smoke, and its eyes burned with crimson light.

Kael’s voice dropped to a whisper.

“They’re called Ashborn.”

The creature snarled.

And they hunt the marked.”

Lira’s arm suddenly began to burn again.

The mark glowed brighter.

The ash around them began to rise once more.

And Kael realized something.

The prophecy wasn’t just beginning.

It had already begun to move.

✨ End of Chapter 5