Chapter 118:
Aisha let out a sob—half relief, half joy—as she clung to him tightly. But in that very instant, time seemed to freeze once again, halting every movement, every floating particle of light suspended in the air.
From the shadows emerged a figure whose eyes shimmered with entire galaxies: Moira.
"This will be the decisive stage," he said in a solemn voice that echoed in the hearts of those who could still hear. "Fate flows like a river—it never strays… unless someone breaks it."
Still holding the medallion and Rasen close, Aisha raised her gaze to face Moira with a determination she had never felt before.
"I will forge my own fate," she said firmly, her voice resonating in the void. "One where no one has to die."
Moira tilted his head, intrigued.
"Would you trade the sacrifice of the white wolf... for the human who was brought back to life for you?"
The question pierced Aisha's mind, but she did not flinch.
"You're wrong. I never asked for this… but my feelings are real. For both of them."
Moira let out a soft chuckle, a sound that wrapped around her like a shroud of inevitability.
"Then you prefer things as they are."
"Wait… If I could give you what you want, I would. Even if it meant my own life."
"It's simple," he whispered aloud. "Give me something to anchor myself to—something that will let me return to the moment you are wounded by Lionel. Your daughter… the one who is a lantern in the abyss," Moira emphasized."What would you be willing to ignite… knowing it might consume the world?"
Suddenly, a foreign warmth pulsed in her belly. A soft golden light emerged from within, like a divine whisper.
"The child you carry inside you," said Moira, his eyes reflecting both understanding and coldness."Give her to me."
Horror flooded Aisha as she realized what Moira had just revealed:
"I'm pregnant."
"No... no, it can't be…" she murmured, instinctively placing a hand on her belly.
A silent tear rolled down her cheek. The pain wasn't physical. It was ancient.
Inside her, something stirred—not just life. It was deeper, older.
A primal awareness, wrapped in warmth and light.
And for a fleeting moment, Aisha heard it.
No words. No sentences. Just a heartbeat.
A soft echo, like a sacred drum answering the question she hadn't yet asked.
"Can you hear me…?" she whispered to herself.
The heartbeat quickened—as if the small being recognized her voice. As if it had chosen to stay.
"A spark of life. Not a burden. Not a weapon. Just… a daughter."
Moira sensed it too. His eyes flickered. For the first time, he hesitated.
"That girl… she won't only be a daughter of light," he said softly."She will be a daughter of endings… and what comes after."
A storm of emotions tore through Aisha.When had this new life begun?Before the sacrifice?During the days of chaos?
Love and fear intertwined, a new bond growing in the ruins of destruction. Her body trembled—not from weakness, but from the sheer weight of what it meant to bring life into a world drowning in death.
"Sanathiel and I… and now a new life growing inside me."
She clung to his memory, when suddenly a force tore through the space-time Moira had woven.
Varek appeared like a storm of fury, his eyes ablaze with dark light.
"That child will not be born under your conditions!" he roared, his voice rumbling like thunder in the void.
Moira froze him mid-stride with a flick of his hand.
"Fate still flows, Varek. Yours ended long ago."
"I no longer belong to time," Varek growled, his voice both echo and snarl."Because my love does not end… it's the one thing fate cannot kill."
But Varek's rage knew no limits.
In a desperate act, he unleashed a blast of power that shook the foundations of that fractured reality.
Moira raised his hand to stop him, confident in his absolute control—but Varek's energy wasn't from this world. It was ancient, dark, fed by a fury that even fate had long forgotten.
With a bone-shattering roar, he launched a lethal attack.
Moira's eyes widened—just for a second—seeing something he had not foreseen.
The impact was unavoidable.
Moira fell. His final words echoed in the air:
"In the end… fate always takes… what it's owed."
In the aftermath, Varek approached Aisha, now unconscious from the intensity of the confrontation. His eyes, full of guilt and tenderness, rested on her as he gently lifted her in his arms.
"Forgive me, Aisha," he whispered, brushing her face with his fingers."This time… I won't let fate steal what you still have left to love."
With Aisha in his arms, Varek vanished into the shadows, leaving behind a battlefield of ruin and uncertain hope.
His steps led him to the only place fate had no eyes. There, among whispers forgotten by time… their story awaited a new beginning.
"Fate always takes what it's owed.But when someone loves beyond the end…sometimes, fate forgets the change."
"I always knew. If I ever loved you… one day I would have to face everything for you."
He dropped a rose, bleeding onto its petals, and added with a whisper:
"Forgive me, Sanathiel… for letting you die without even trying to stop it.But I'll be a good brother now.I'll protect your legacy, in your place…Because that's what I am—An immortal."