"It wasn't just an organization, Raphael."
Selena spoke the words in a quiet voice, as if pulling a thorn from her chest that life had long embedded in the flesh of her memory. The night behind her was thick, drowning the sky with no stars to pierce it almost as if the truth she was about to utter had snuffed out the lights too.
Raphael stood beside her, his body, as always, a rock carved from patience and embers, and his clear eyes watching her tone rather than her words like someone guarding an old wound unsure whether to open it or let it fade.
She continued, her voice low but clear:
"The Black Moon Organization… It never sought power. Nor chaos. Not even money. That was never its aim. It was a tool. A means. A gateway…"
She paused, as if holding back a wave of psychological nausea.
"A gate, Raphael. A gate for the Arkanis."
His breath caught, and he looked up at her, but didn't speak.
