Moonrise ✔ [Complete]

32 Faith (Part 2)

Cursed was she to protect mankind, the wicked blight that plagued the world.

Maeyune brought her legs to her chest and buried her head into her knees. She fought to regain her sense of purpose, to reevaluate her role as the Moon God's chosen warrior.

How could man do that to innocent children? she seethed.

She could not remove Reo's memories from her head. They were ingrained into her mind, into her soul. She remembered his pain and his fury; she relived Yunra's anguish and Shivra's sorrow.

It all made sense to her now. Reo's rage, the fire... The discovery of the heinous crime had changed him and corrupted Yunra's life force.

Maeyune had wanted to end the lives of those scientists. Every inch of her body had yearned for their obliteration. Even though none of them had contributed to the experimentation themselves, they had all known the abominable truth.

She had been so close to killing them. With her own hands, she had wanted to claim senseless justice.

She clasped her arms around her head, shuddering to take a breath.

Was this the path she wanted to take?

"May I join you?"

She lifted her head and found Reo standing a short distance away. Despite her deliberate attempt to hide, he had managed to find her. She'd eloped to a spot outside one of the hangars, away from prying eyes. Although she wanted to be alone, his presence was comforting.

She nodded wordlessly. He sat beside her and rested his elbows on his knees. And for a long time, neither of them spoke. Words only seemed unnecessary as they gave each other space for their own thoughts.

Closing her eyes, Maeyune inhaled fresh air and smelled the stench of metal. She missed the scent of forest and trees, of gardens and stone. They were the perfumes of the moon temple, of home.

It was a long while before Reo broke the silence and shared the words she had been waiting to hear.

"Five years ago," he began softly, "a few celestials started to disappear. No one knew where they went, and no one asked any questions. Everyone assumed they had quit and returned home, that training had finally pushed them to their limit. And then one day, I overheard my friend, Dodge, yelling at his colleagues about exposing their practice to the world. He went missing, too."

Maeyune listened silently. A tiny pebble on the ground became the subject of her distant stare.

"I started having these nightmares," Reo continued, "of a dark room with children crying for their parents. One night, I finally had enough. I couldn't sleep, so I decided to wander the base to find some peace of mind. And that's when I found the hidden lab."

He paused to gather his thoughts, his brow creasing. "They were experimenting on celestials, on children. The scientists were trying to learn the source of celestial energy, how to...extract it from their blood."

Horror molded Maeyune's face.

"I found Dodge chained to a chair," Reo said, voice quiet. "His skin...What happened to Trix and Benny, those scientists did the same thing to him with some kind of black smoke. I watched him die right in front of my eyes. And then, I just lost control.

"I burned everyone alive," he confessed. "I killed those scientists and the celestials that they had kidnapped. All I could see was red. I was so angry, I accidentally killed Dodge's daughter, Kyra, too. So I did the only thing I could after that. I ran."

Although he spoke with a hushed voice, Maeyune heard a thick layer of remorse. His gaze traced the compact clouds in the sky. There was no sign of hate in his auburn eyes, only a look of atonement.