NOVPUB
Chapter 160: Moonless Night (II)
She looked at him for a moment, then at Seren’s sleeping form beside him.
A flicker of concern crossed her face.
"She’s having nightmares?"
Zayn nodded. "Yeah, I guess it’s because of what happened today.."
"Right..." She sat down beside him, brushing a hand over Seren’s hair. "Poor girl. No one her age should be burdened with something like that."
Zayn hummed in agreement.
"...Mind if I sleep here tonight?" Elisse asked after a moment.
Zayn blinked. "You?"
"Yeah." She gave him a tired smile. "I just... don’t want to be alone right now. I know it’s dumb. But today was..."
"It’s not dumb," he interrupted gently. "Not at all."
Her smile softened. "Thanks."
Without waiting for an invitation, she pulled the blanket back and slid in beside him.
She snuggled in close, her back against his side, hair falling over his arm.
Zayn tried not to think too much about the softness of her massive breasts or the way her scent wrapped around him like a lullaby.
He was surrounded now — Seren on one side, Elisse on the other.
"I feel safe like this," Elisse murmured, already drifting. "With you here."
Zayn stared up at the ceiling.
’Yeah... but how long will that last?’
He placed a hand on Elisse’s waist, gently pulling her just a bit closer.
She smiled in her sleep and murmured something incoherent.
Seren let out a soft sigh and snuggled tighter against his chest.
Zayn closed his eyes.
"Nothing’s going to happen tonight," he whispered. "Not on my watch."
...
How did a night look without a moon?
Without the full moon casting moonlight down or even the crescent moon giving a bit of it?
Zayn had to admit — it didn’t look that nice.
The stars were the only thing scattered across the night sky like tiny specks of hope in a dark sea.
The moon was missing, and the world just felt... wrong.
He stood by his window, arms folded.
Elisse and Seren were curled up together on his bed behind him, the gentle rise and fall of their breathing oddly comforting.
But something outside had caught his attention.
Twitching darkness.
At first, it was subtle. A faint ripple at the edge of the courtyard.
It moved unnaturally, swaying not with the breeze, but in opposition to it — like something alive.
Zayn narrowed his eyes. He knew that feeling.
The same sense of dark magical energy he’d felt at the square earlier.
It was faint... but definitely there.
Then, without warning, a black tendril shot toward his window.
It was fast. But Zayn was faster.
In one instant, the tendril neared his face —
In the next, it was split in half, falling to the ground in twitching pieces.
The sword was in his hand, but no one had seen him draw it.
Not even the wind seemed to register the movement.
"...Tch," he muttered.
The door burst open behind him.
Bran stood at the entrance, panting slightly. "I felt something... What the hell happened?"
"Someone’s outside," Zayn said calmly, his eyes drifting over to Bran, he was the real one... he couldn’t overlook any possibilities.
"A cultist, probably."
Bran’s axe was already in his hand. "We fight?"
"No. You protect them." He nodded toward the bed.
Bran looked back and nodded, understanding instantly.
Zayn turned back to the window, gripping the frame before vaulting out, landing silently on the gravel below.
The courtyard was darker than it should’ve been.
Not just moonless — but as if something was draining the light. The air was still and heavy.
He spotted the figure instantly.
A person in tattered black robes stood near the garden’s edge, a large hood draped over their head.
Their hands were outstretched, shadows coiling around them like snakes, and two dead guards lay at their feet.
"You again," Zayn muttered, recognizing the robe’s half-moon insignia.
At least it wasn’t one of the tops, probably another priest.
The cultist turned toward him, voice guttural and wrong. "You... You severed the thread. The chosen shall not be delayed—"
Zayn didn’t waste time.
He flashed forward in a blink, his sword raised in a wide arc.
The cultist leapt back, barely dodging in time as dark tentacles shot from his sleeves, spinning and dancing toward Zayn.
Zayn moved like water. He ducked, rolled, parried.
A tendril aimed for his head — he bent back and slashed upward, severing it.
The cultist snarled, raising both hands as the shadows thickened.
From the ground itself, massive black appendages erupted, flailing and slamming in all directions.
The earth cracked from the force.
Zayn gritted his teeth. "Trying to hide behind big tricks?"
Golden-pink soul energy flared from his body, coating his blade in radiant force.
He dashed in again.
This time, the ground behind him exploded with each step.
He moved through the chaos, weaving through the tendrils like a ghost.
The cultist raised a wall of darkness — Zayn sliced through it.
Another tendril came from the side — he spun, ducked, and let momentum carry his blade across the cultist’s side.
Blood — black as tar — splashed across the stones.
The cultist shrieked, stumbling back. "You... heretic!"
Zayn’s gaze was cold.
"That’s rich coming from a heretic himself."
The guy tried to speak, but Zayn didn’t let him.
"I don’t care what religion you worship." He pointed his blade at the man. "You threatened my home."
The cultist’s shadow began warping again, trying to lift him up, it was obvious he was trying to flee.
Zayn wouldn’t allow that.
With a flick of his wrist, soul energy surged through his arm and into the blade.
He muttered something under his breath and stepped forward.
One clean slash.
The cultist didn’t even scream.
His body crumpled, the shadows dispersing with a hiss.
Zayn stood above the corpse, breathing out slowly.
The air began to lighten. The oppressive weight lifted.
He planted his sword into the ground beside the corpse and examined it.
The same emblem, the half-moon, was branded into the back of the man’s back.
Just like the others.
[Author’s Note:]
Happy New month fam, special new month and thanks to Eldeel, we’re glad to have you back and the others who have supported me so far, you guys should try leaving comments once in a while, I’d appreciate.
This second arc will be interesting, I have a lot of things planned for it. Hehe till next month then!
