Fengari traced his claw along the carved symbols in the rock, squinting at their curves and angles. The ancient space runes shimmered faintly in the afternoon light. He'd found three more since last week, each one different from the others. Somewhere in these strange markings was the answer to his curse—the reason he became a helpless sphere every full moon. His tail flicked with nervous energy. If he could just decode what the runes meant, maybe he could stop the transformations forever. He stepped back from the rock and looked around. The runes were scattered everywhere—on tree trunks, buried in dirt, carved into stones. He needed one place to study them all. One place where the stars stayed visible and the moon's patterns became clear. That's when he found it. The clearing sat tucked between ancient oaks, but something was wrong with the sky above it. Stars blazed overhead even though the sun still hung in the distance beyond the trees. Darkness pooled in the space like spilled ink. Fengari's chest tightened with hope. Here, he could watch the stars every hour. Here, he could track the lunar cycles without waiting for nightfall. He dragged his bag of supplies to the center and spread out his notes. The blue gem around his neck caught the starlight and glowed. This place felt like the cosmos had carved out a room just for him. Maybe it was a sign. Maybe this was where he'd finally crack the code and break his curse for good. But studying the moon from the ground wasn't enough. Fengari spent the next two days building a structure that curved like the moon itself. He carved lunar symbols into its surface and watched as star signs appeared around it, floating in slow circles. The planetary alignments drifted past like fish in a current. From inside the observatory, he could track exactly where the moon moved across the eternal night sky. He pressed his snout against the viewing lens and grinned despite himself. The moon looked close enough to touch. His claws trembled as he sketched its surface in his journal, noting every crater and shadow. This was it—his chance to understand the lunar patterns that controlled his transformations. The runes, the curse, the answers—they were all connected to that glowing sphere above him. And now he finally had the tools to figure out how.