Chapter 177 Daughter of the Moon

Chapter 177 Daughter of the Moon

Avery stared down at Alex's lifeless body in her arms, holding on tightly to him with trembling fingers. The world around them had fallen completely silent, and even the wailing emergency sirens had ceased. The war itself was at a standstill, and even reality itself watched the moment of grief.
She pressed her forehead to his, with the tears still falling freely as memories flashed through her mind without mercy–The first time she had seen his picture with Jessica, she had wondered about the wolf that had seemed to be behind him. She remembered the kiss he stole from her in his office, the contract, all the way to their adventures in Serynthia.
“You–you can't just leave me like this, Alex. I don't care about the contract anymore, I just want you back.”
The words broke open something old in her heart as she continued to sob into his limp body, rocking him gently even with her trembling shoulders.
“I fell in love with you a long time ago, even before I found the courage to express it. I should have screamed it long ago.”
A sympathetic hand reached forward to pull her away, but Avery punched it in anger.
“Stay away from us! Don't you dare touch him.”
Her eyes met Simon's eyes, red and brimming with tears. Melora and Rufus backed away slowly, consumed by the terrible grief also.
Avery shook her head violently. “No. There has to be something–some way…”
And then something inside her snapped immediately. Her pulse slowed, and her eyes began to glow with a brilliant white light as she lifted her head and howled at the moon.
There was a low rumble spreading across the square as the clouds in the sky began to gather in unnatural patterns, blocking out the sun. To the shock and amazement of everyone present, the moon appeared in the sky, taking its place where the clouds had hidden the sun.
Then came the moonbeam.
A wide stream of silver light pouring from the moon itself, and filling the entire atmosphere with lunar essence. The light wrapped itself around Avery and Alex, and began lifting them gently into the air until they were suspended a few feet away from the ground. Gasps and whispers spread through the stunned onlookers, but no one made any move to interfere.
As they watched the strange occurrence happening before their very eyes, the moonlight became more than just an illumination, it was a living force, one that they felt its energy flow through their very bones. Jessica clutched Melora’s arm. Simon closed his eyes in reverence, and even Marlboro stumbled to his knees, crawling forward slowly. They dared not breathe. They dared not move. The only sound was Avery’s ragged sobs, which still echoed in the light.
Within the beam of the moonbeam, Avery suddenly sensed a presence–A powerful and ancient presence that felt timeless. Something that understood true grief and sacrifice. She looked up again, and saw an unbelievable sight unfolding right before her. A figure was descending from the moon, and as she got closer, Avery could see it was a young and beautiful lady–almost of the same age as her, yet looked older than time itself.
She floated down casually, covered in a beautiful white robe, holding a crystal in one hand, and a pendant in the other. Her eyes sparkled brightly like galaxies in the night sky, and she hovered between myth and wonder.
She had come with another form, but Avery recognized her mother instantly–The moon goddess. Her heart beat faster as the goddess approached, lost for words and staring in awe.
It was the goddess who eventually broke the silence as she finally spoke to Avery.
“My daughter,” she began softly, with her gentle voice sounding like sacred hymns. “Once again you have done the impossible and summoned me from my celestial abode. I felt your call through your pain and sorrow, and the immense love which you feel for the great Alpha.”
Rufus scrambled to reach where Simon, Melora, and Jessica were watching with wide eyes. “What in the world is going on up there? And who is the creepy lady?”
Simon and Jessica hushed him quickly, but it was Melora who smiled a knowing smile and began to whisper the answer to his questions softly.
“The Moon Goddess has come,” she said with her eyes wet with tears. “Avery's grief has unlocked another hidden power and summoned the moon goddess herself. The ancient ones were right all along, she really is the daughter of the moon.”
Melora's revelation was whispered across various ears, and soon everyone gathered suddenly began to feel a wave of optimism.
Up in the air however, Avery felt the goddess’s touch on her cheek, a feeling of distant comfort.
“Speak, daughter,” the goddess cooed softly. “What is it that your heart so painfully desires?”
Avery’s tears began to fall afresh as she nodded towards Alex’s suspended form beside her. “His life, mother. I am asking–for his life.”
The goddess inhaled deeply, as though pulling in every star and every longing.
“According to the laws of realms in the universe, no soul that has crossed the veil that separates realms may return. Not even the gods themselves can reclaim it.”
Avery’s tiny voice cracked. “But–he can't be gone just like that, he can't just leave me here all alone–he can't just abandon us.”
A deep silence stretched so deep that it shook the moonbeam. Avery pressed her palm over Alex’s heart and it remained cool. She dared not breathe.
The goddess lifted her head thoughtfully, with sorrow filling her eyes beyond the centuries.
“Your Alpha has not abandoned you, dear one,” the goddess finally whispered with a small smile. “It seems the love and bond you share has been powerful enough to rewrite even the laws of the universe. Alex's soul has refused to cross the veil, he wanders aimlessly at the borders, searching for you.”
Avery trembled as more tears poured from her. “Is there no way to bring him home? We are helpless without him.”
The goddess regarded her thoughtfully. The world seemed to stand still, until finally she smiled at Avery again.
“There is a way, my daughter,” she whispered. “I can bring him back since he has refused to cross.”
She lifted her hands and rested them over Alex’s chest. Light flowed from her hands–tender, soft and warm at the same time. The glow began to seep into Alex’s body like a river into a dried patch of earth. Avery felt the warmth there, a spark, and a glimmer of hope.
The eyes of the goddess turned solemnly to Avery, and her face took on a stern look.
“Let it be known to you my child, that in this moment, death itself has no claim. You have given him back to life, but you must know one thing. This kind of mercy is rare in the universe. It is not an act of resurrection, but an act of reclamation from death. This return was born of pure and unconditional love, and it may never be seen again in a thousand years.”
With that she floated backward, and the moonbeam began to fade along with her. Her form blurred along with the moon in the sky, and soon she was nothing but sparkling glitters floating in the wind. The clouds had parted, and the sun was shining again.
Avery and Alex drifted downward, slowly guided by the invisible currents that had taken them up in the first place. She softly brushed her hands against his cheek, feeling the sudden warmth in his chest as she rested her head on it.
Then his chest rose in a breath so forceful it startled her.
“Avery...?” he murmured.
Avery gasped aloud, quickly sitting upright. She pressed her face to his, crying, “You–Alex, you’re alive! You're back!”
He rubbed his eyes in confusion. “I died?” he whispered in disbelief.
“Yeah,” Avery sobbed back. “You did. And then–the moon goddess brought you back.”
He sat up slowly, gazing at the sky as if the moon goddess was still hovering there.
“The goddess?”
“Of course the goddess,” Avery replied with mock annoyance before realizing that he was teasing her.
They looked at one another, tears of joy brimming their eyes, while the square around them erupted.
A roaring cheer, fierce and filled with relief, broke through the silence. Cries of joy rang through broken alleys and ruined towers. Guards roared, volunteers ran forward, Celestial Guards knelt. Marlboro stood, head bowed in awe. Jessica grabbed Simon’s hand and shook. Rufus punched the air, laughing until tears streamed. It was pandemonium reborn into jubilation.
Melora was still stunned by what she had just witnessed, and soon there was complete silence again as they all watched her slow and reverent movement towards Avery and Alex.
“That–that was the Lunar Resurrection,” she said in a very reverent voice that everyone strained to hear her. “We have heard legends of it, how the gods possessed it in various forms. This was a direct intervention by the Moon Goddess. But I never believed…”
She knelt on one knee before Avery and Alex. And others joined her without knowing. One by one, they dropped to the earth in reverent worship–not out of compulsion, but true awe.
Avery held on to Alex as if he was a fragile being that could still vanish at any moment. He slowly, and gently held her shoulder.
“No one... no one gets to see that and not believe,” he breathed.
Jessica knelt with them. “We witnessed something sacred.”
Simon stood tall, his eyes shining bright. “Tenebrous’s heart beats again. And it's because you called the moon, Ave.”
Rufus offered Avery a shaky thumbs-up. “That was... wow.”
Avery let Alex lean against her as the shockwave of light faded into memory. The sun overhead shone even brighter, like silent applause.
The Alpha was back.