The sky above the mountain changed.
Blue disappeared.
Stars vanished.
And slowly
The heavens turned blood red.
Every wolf in the Council territory stopped moving.
Warriors.
Alphas.
Even the corrupted beasts.
Everyone looked upward.
The blood moon had returned.
Aether's expression changed immediately.
"No…"
For the first time since awakening, a genuine alarm appeared on his face.
Nyra closed her eyes and smiled sadly.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
The crimson light illuminated her tears.
She wasn't smiling like a conqueror.
She looked like someone seeing an old memory.
Lucien frowned.
"What's happening?"
One of the Elders collapsed into a chair.
"The Blood Moon"
His voice trembled.
"It only appears at the end of an era."
Orion sighed softly.
"Wonderful. Ancient prophecies. My favourite."
Nobody laughed.
Because the air itself felt different.
Heavier.
Older.
My mark burned again.
But this time.
Something answered.
Not from below.
Not from Aether.
Not from Nyra.
From above.
I gasped.
A woman's voice whispered inside my mind.
"Child"
My body froze.
Not again.
Please not again.
"Selene?"
Kaiden's hand touched my shoulder gently.
I barely heard him.
The voice returned.
Soft.
Loving.
Heartbroken.
"You finally woke up."
Tears filled my eyes without warning.
Because somehow.
I knew that voice.
Not personally.
Not consciously.
But my soul recognised it.
Aether turned toward me instantly.
His silver eyes widened.
He could feel it.
"Impossible," he whispered.
Nyra's expression shattered.
"No…"
For the first time, fear appeared in her red eyes.
The voice inside my mind became stronger.
"Do not fear me."
Images flooded my vision.
A woman with silver hair.
Warm eyes.
A gentle smile.
The First Luna.
Not a legend.
Not a queen.
A person.
And she was crying.
"I'm sorry."
Pain exploded in my chest.
Not physical pain.
Sadness.
Loneliness.
Loss.
Centuries of it.
I fell to my knees.
Kaiden immediately knelt beside me.
"Selene!"
Magnus stepped closer.
Lucien looked worried.
But I could barely see them.
Because the First Luna's voice kept speaking.
"History lied."
Another vision flashed.
Aether.
Nyra.
The First Luna.
Together.
Laughing.
A family.
Not enemies.
Not rulers.
Family.
Then blood.
Fire.
Screaming.
Betrayal.
And one terrible truth.
I gasped violently and returned to reality.
Everyone stared at me.
Kaiden held my shoulders.
"What did you see?"
I looked toward Nyra.
She was crying openly now.
Aether looked broken.
And suddenly.
I understood.
"No one murdered the First Luna."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Nyra stopped breathing.
Aether froze.
"What?" Lucien whispered.
My voice shook.
"She sacrificed herself."
Aether staggered backwards.
"No"
Nyra's tears fell harder.
"Tell him," she whispered desperately.
"Please tell him."
The memories continued pouring into me.
The Blood Moon.
The corrupted beasts.
A war beyond control.
And the First Luna gave her life to seal everything away.
Including Aether.
Including Nyra.
To save the world.
I looked at Aether.
"She chose it."
His silver eyes widened in disbelief.
"No."
"She loved both of you."
Nyra collapsed to her knees.
Eight hundred years of pain shattered in her eyes.
"She didn't hate me?" Nyra whispered.
My own tears fell.
"No."
The Crimson Woman began sobbing.
Not from weakness.
Not from defeat.
From relief.
Aether looked completely lost.
Centuries of hatred.
Centuries of grief.
All built upon a lie.
Then the First Luna's voice whispered one final sentence inside my mind.
And my blood turned cold.
"It's too late."
The mountain exploded beneath us.
Not one prison.
Not two.
All of them.
Something far deeper than Aether had awakened.
And even the Eternal King's face turned white.
Because he recognised it immediately.
He whispered only one word.
"Father"