"My daughter."
The words echoed through the ruined arena.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
I stared at the First Alpha in complete disbelief.
"No."
The whisper escaped my lips automatically.
"That's impossible."
The First Alpha took another step forward.
Not aggressively.
Not threateningly.
Almost carefully.
Like he was afraid I would disappear.
His golden eyes shone with emotions I couldn't understand.
Hope.
Love.
Grief.
"My little moon," he whispered.
Aether immediately stepped in front of me.
"No."
For the first time since his awakening, the Eternal King looked genuinely angry.
"She is not Aria."
The First Alpha slowly turned his gaze toward his son.
The pressure in the room doubled instantly.
"You dare stand against me?"
Aether didn't move.
"Yes."
The answer came without hesitation.
"She isn't her."
Silence.
Then the First Alpha's expression hardened.
"Do not speak her name."
Nyra suddenly stepped forward.
"Enough!"
Everyone turned.
Tears still stained her face, but her voice was steady.
"Look at her properly!"
The First Alpha frowned.
Nyra pointed toward me.
"She carries Aria's blood."
"Yes."
"She carries Aria's power."
"Yes."
"But she is not Aria!"
The words echoed through the shattered arena.
The First Alpha became still.
Very still.
For several long seconds, he simply stared at me.
Then slowly.
His expression changed.
Hope died in his eyes.
And what replaced it was far worse.
Pain.
Pure heartbreak.
He whispered:
"No."
My chest tightened painfully.
Because despite everything.
I felt sorry for him.
He looked like a father who had spent centuries searching for someone already gone.
His shoulders dropped.
And suddenly.
He looked old.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Aether lowered his guard slightly.
"Father."
The First Alpha raised one hand.
Silencing him.
His golden eyes returned to me.
"What is your name?"
"Selene."
He closed his eyes briefly.
"Beautiful."
When he opened them again, the madness of hope had disappeared.
"Forgive me."
The apology surprised everyone.
"I mistook memory for reality."
Another tremor shook the mountain.
This time stronger.
The First Alpha frowned.
"Something is wrong."
Aether's expression darkened.
"You feel it too?"
The old Alpha nodded slowly.
"The seal."
Nyra immediately turned pale.
"No."
Lucien looked confused.
"What seal?"
The First Alpha's face became grim.
"The true prison."
Everyone froze.
"There's more?" Orion asked in disbelief.
"Much more."
Aether's voice became heavy.
"We weren't imprisoned to protect the world from us."
My blood ran cold.
"Then why?"
The First Alpha answered quietly:
"We were imprisoned to guard something."
Silence.
Magnus folded his arms.
"And what exactly requires three legendary beings to guard it?"
Nobody answered immediately.
Because suddenly.
The chained creature beneath the arena began screaming.
Not roaring.
Not growling.
Screaming.
Terrified.
"My Lord!"
The creature threw itself against the floor.
"Forgive us!"
Every corrupted beast outside the fortress howled in fear.
Fear.
Not rage.
Not bloodlust.
Fear.
The First Alpha's expression changed instantly.
And for the first time since awakening.
He looked afraid.
"Impossible."
Aether whispered the same word.
Nyra grabbed his arm.
"Aether."
The Eternal King looked shaken.
"That's not possible."
The First Alpha slowly turned toward the deepest crack in the earth.
Darkness.
Absolute darkness.
No silver light.
No ancient energy.
Nothing.
And somehow.
That nothingness felt worse than anything we had faced.
Then a voice emerged from below.
Not male.
Not female.
Not human.
Not wolf.
Something else.
Something wrong.
Something ancient.
"At last."
The temperature dropped instantly.
"My jailers have awakened."
The First Alpha closed his eyes in despair.
And whispered the name that no legend had ever recorded.
"The Void Mother."