CHAPTER 176: Selene Decides on Love Rather Than Vengeance

CHAPTER 176: Selene Decides on Love Rather Than Vengeance

 There was anarchy on the battlefield.

Above, the sky was a furious whirlpool of silver and black, as if the heavens themselves were split between light and gloom.  The conflict between wolf and god, light and darkness, had turned the once-pure earth into a gory tapestry.  Selene stood in the center of the conflict, her eyes blazing with rage and her fur matted with blood and perspiration.  Although she felt the strength of the Eclipse in her veins, something older and more potent than anger was what blazed in her core.

Love.

She found it odd that love was the thing holding her together now after all she had gone through, including betrayal, grief, and wounds.  She was driven ahead by the hope that something lovely may be saved from this torment, not by retaliation or the desire to destroy.

Even though her heart was broken, she continued to hope that this was about more than just the fight.

She saw Kael, standing on the battlefield as if he were composed of stars, through the smoke and devastation.  His shape was enveloped in a halo of lunar energy as his body glowed with the eclipse's force.  Once all-powerful, the gods trembled in his presence, their focus divided between him and the earth.  It was obvious that Kael's magic had developed into something more powerful than even the gods could have imagined.

However, he had a different quality.  Something distinct.  She had never seen such a ferocious resolve and a coldness in his eyes.

A beat skipped in Selene's heart.  He was immediately surrounded by a familiar power, an aura so strong it almost choked him.  Although Kael had always been powerful, this was new to her.  Like the full moon, his might was evident and unwavering.  But was there anything more than his power that frightened her?

The next instant, a voice sounded, icy and authoritative, and the solution became clear.

"Selene, it's too late."

Through the haze, Rowan's form emerged, his eyes glimmering with the same weird light that Kael now had.  His shadow stretched over the battlefield like a giant, his shape unnaturally large.  The hilt of the Moonstone Blade crackled with Eclipse energy as he held it in his palm.  The reforged sword was more deadly than ever, glimmering with otherworldly might.

Rowan gave her a knowing, sour grin.  "I couldn't be stopped by you.  Nobody can.

Selene felt her heart sink.  Rowan underwent a spiritual as well as bodily metamorphosis, as if the Eclipse power had seized him and molded him into something different.

Her heart pounded.  The guy who had previously been her confidant and closest companion now appeared before her as a ruthless, sinister version of himself, a destructive force.  She sensed that the balance of power was changing.  She no longer loved Rowan as her brother.  Now he was someone different, someone far more threatening.

However, Kael continued to struggle for the light.  Was he not?

At that moment, Kael turned to face her, his gaze meeting hers.  Though it was now mixed with something darker, the flash of the man she loved and the familiar warmth were still there.  Something hazardous.  With the moonlight around him in an increasingly intense spiral, he raised his hand.

"Selene," he replied in a quiet, almost melancholy voice.  "You're not getting it.  Love is no longer the only factor here.  It all comes down to survival.

Feeling the force spark between them, she took a step toward him.  "What are you saying, Kael?  You're not this person.  

Rowan interrupted her before she could say anything more, his voice piercing like a razor.  "Selene, she's correct.  It has nothing to do with you or Kael.  This relates to what is intended to occur.  The eclipse will be in charge.

Selene felt her heart tighten.  "Don't you see, Rowan?  They're using you!  Together, we can put an end to this.  We can resolve this.

It was a bitter, hollow laugh, but Rowan's.  "Repair it?  Do you believe that what has already been done can be fixed?  What the Eclipse has already started cannot be undone.  The gods will be held accountable.  And when they do, Selene, they will destroy all you have ever known.

His comments were like a physical blow to her.  There was no regret in his eyes, just a deep conviction, as if the evil powers he had joined had sucked his soul.

What frightened her, however, was not that belief.  What came next, borne by the wind, was a soft murmur.

"You must make a decision, Selene."

She recognized the voice, and it made her shiver.  The kid was the one who had brought Kael back, the Eclipse child.  She sensed the child's presence as strong, uncompromising, and unstoppable but oddly, it wasn't malicious.  Like a shadow, it seemed as if the kid had always been bound to her destiny, ready to either lead or destroy her.

There was a brief silence on the battlefield, as if the whole world was holding its breath.

Selene remarked in a shaky voice, "I don't want to fight you, Rowan."  However, I will fight if you persist in opposing me against all of our past beliefs.  I'll stand up for love.  I'm going to defend the future.

Anger flared in Rowan's eyes.  The electricity crackled around the Moonstone Blade as he lifted it.  "Then you've already picked your side," he remarked in a venomous tone.  "And I've decided on mine."

Rowan roared as he sprang forward, his sword slicing deadly accuracy through the air.  Selene made a snap decision.  With her claws outstretched and her Eclipse magic fully activated, she confronted him.

But the heavens split with a thunderous boom as their powers clashed.  The earth shook, and the sky seemed to give way under the strain of the conflict.

Then a pulse of magic, so strong it sent shockwaves through the air, blasted from the middle of the battlefield, unlike anything they had ever experienced.  Selene's eyesight blurred as her body crashed into the ground after being flung backward.

She could see Kael through the mist, his body engulfed by the magic's power, his face contorted in agony.  He was fighting to keep control, his hands shaking as he tried to cling onto anything.

The kid then showed up.

Between Selene and Rowan, the tiny, shimmering figure materialized, her eyes brimming with old wisdom.  "Enough," she said in a firm and unambiguous voice.  The universe seemed to bend to her will as the energy around her surged with an uncontrollable strength.

Rowan's eyes flashed with astonishment as he halted, lowering his sword.  "What is this?  Who are you?

For the first time, Selene saw a flash of terror in Rowan's eyes as the child's gaze fixed itself on him.

The youngster said in a quiet but authoritative voice, "I am what you could never understand."  "And it will be up to me to determine your destiny."

As if the very fabric of reality itself were being torn apart, the earth underneath them started to split apart as the air around them became thicker.

Selene's breathing became labored.  "What have you done?"

A new presence, a black, swirling mass of shadows too big to ignore, appeared before the kid could react.  An old person, shrouded in darkness, stepped out of the fissure.

It was divine.

One they had never seen before, none of them.

And the deity shouted in a voice that shook the whole earth.

"Enough of this stupidity.  The end is near.