For what felt like an eternity, Dawn remained lost in unconsciousness, his mind adrift in a void of darkness. When he finally woke, his eyes fluttered open, revealing the harrowing battlefield before him. The Being of Light and the Moon Walker still clashed, their battle unrelenting. The once-dazzling brilliance of the Being of Light now flickered like a dying ember, its radiance diminishing as if consumed by an insidious force.Darkness and light intertwined violently, their collision painting the air and ground with streaks of chaos. The Being of Light was faltering, succumbing, its strength ebbing with each passing moment.
Then it happened—an act of unspeakable horror. The Moon Walker, with an unholy swiftness, pinned the Being of Light beneath it, its monstrous appendages a cruel mockery of power. Two limbs restrained the being, while the other two plunged mercilessly into its chest, shattering the sanctity of its core. The light was extinguished—utterly snuffed out. What remained was a hollow husk, a void of despair, where hope once resided.
The weight of the situation crashed down upon Dawn like a tidal wave. He stumbled to his feet, his instincts screaming at him to flee. He dashed toward the temple, his heart pounding with the rhythm of raw terror. Safety lay within its ancient walls—or so he hoped. But his fragile sense of security was shattered as the Moon Walker slithered menacingly after him, its grotesque laughter reverberating through the temple's hallowed halls.
"Now that the Guardian is dead," it sneered, its voice a chilling symphony of malice, "there is nothing to protect you, useless worm."
Panic seized Dawn's soul as he sprinted deeper into the temple, his breath ragged and his mind a whirlwind of desperation. Fear contorted his face into a mask of unrestrained terror. His frantic flight faltered—he stumbled, fell, and skidded across the cold stone floor. He twisted around just in time to see the abomination closing the distance, its shadowy form looming ever larger. That laugh—it pierced the air like a jagged blade, each note slicing through his resolve.
Scrambling to his feet, Dawn stumbled again—this time against an altar. He collapsed onto its smooth, white marble surface, blood from the gash on his head streaking its pristine surface in jagged rivulets. His thoughts spiraled into chaos, a cacophony of despair.
"Am I going to die like this? So pathetically? No—there must be something! Anything! I can't die here! I have to get back to Sunny! I promised! Damn it all! Why didn't I ask for help? Why? Damn it, all, this is all my fault!"
His voice cracked, each anguished word tearing through his throat. Pain exploded in his head as the strain of his cries aggravated his wound. "Damn you, creature! Damn you and your corruption! I see now why Aaron fought you—to the bitter end. But why? Why can't I accept this? Death should be simple. Accept it, move on. Yet, I can't! I don't want to die. There has to be a way… right?"
Tears brimmed in his eyes as he uttered those words, his face twisted into a grotesque tableau of fear, despair, and raw, unyielding sorrow. And then, the creature spoke again—its voice a rasping chorus of mockery and malice.
"I'll be honest," it said, its grotesque maw curling into a sinister semblance of a grin. "You gave me a decent challenge, brat. But in the end, you're still far too naive."
With monstrous strength, the Moon Walker snared him, its appendages wrapping around his neck and lifting him off the ground. Dawn clawed helplessly at the abomination's grip, his breaths shallow and labored. Tears streamed down his face as he whispered, "I'm sorry, Sunny… I'm sorry. I'm going to leave you alone, brother."
In his final act of desperation, his thoughts turned to the Sun God. He prayed, not with hope, but with the faintest flicker of defiance, begging that his devotion might grant him one last reprieve.
Dawn's whispered prayer hung in the air, fragile and desperate. Silence answered him, stretching ominously. Then, with a deafening crack, the torches lining the temple extinguished in unison, plunging the space into suffocating darkness. The temperature dropped sharply, biting at his skin as an unnatural stillness smothered him. His heart sank further into despair, the weight of abandonment crushing his spirit.
Suddenly, the Moon Walker's grotesque voice broke through the silence, sharper and crueler than before. "Do you feel it? Your God has heard you… but he turns away." The creature chuckled, a guttural, malevolent sound that echoed through the chamber. "You trusted him—and for what? Look around you. His light fades; his legacy crumbles. He has forsaken you, little worm."
Dawn's trembling grew uncontrollable, tears streaming down his face as the crushing realization set in. He screamed in torment, his voice echoing through the darkened hall as if pleading for an answer, a reprieve, *anything*.
And then, it came—not salvation, but something far darker.
The shadows of the extinguished torches began to writhe unnaturally, spilling into Dawn's vision like ink spreading across paper. A voice slithered into his ears, smooth and cold, dripping with eerie reverence:
*[Your God does not answer, for he no longer cares. But another watches, intrigued—awed by your devotion to what you cannot understand.]*
The shadows twisted and coiled, their movements mesmerizing yet deeply unsettling. The voice continued:
*[The Shadow God, in his wisdom, sees your desperation. He delights in your insight into death and your devotion to the treacherous shadow. Child of the sun, abandoned by light… he offers you sanctuary within the embrace of shadow.]*
Before Dawn could react, the shadows surged forth, engulfing the Moon Walker in a chaotic storm. The tendrils lashed out with a vengeance, their movements swift and merciless. The abomination howled in rage and agony as it was torn apart limb by limb in a grotesque display of power. Darkness consumed everything—the Moon Walker, the battle, and the temple itself—until only Dawn remained.
Cradled gently within the shadowy embrace, Dawn felt the cold voice whisper once more:
[The awakened tyrant, Moon Walker has been vanquished.]
[Wake up Dawning! your nightmare is over.]
[Prepare for appraisal.]