Chapter 103 | Beneath the Light Source | Leah
The Light Source Priestess's hall was an inverted vortex.
Not pointing upward, but downward—the ground was a huge pit, with spiral stairs winding along the inner wall, leading to a point at the center. That point wasn't dark, but blindingly bright. So bright that even with eyes closed, you could see a patch of blood-red.
I was brought to the top of the stairs.
Elune stood beside me. Her glowing body looked even more see-through in the harsh brightness, almost melting into the background. But her voice stayed clear, like bells cutting through fog.
"Silver Moon Returned," she said, "what do you see?"
I looked down toward the center of the vortex.
There—I saw the bloodline network. Not the vampires', but the Dawnlight Clan's. Like a huge glowing web spread across the entire land. Every junction was a Light-Keeper, every thread was energy flowing. But it was sick.
At the edges of the web, there were black spots. Not still, but moving, like living things eating away at the light. Dead junctions went dark one by one, like candles being blown out.
"What is that?" I asked.
"The Light-Eaters," Elune said. "In your language, they are Shadow Walkers."
My blood went cold.
Shadow Walkers. Here. Already eating into the Dawnlight Clan's network.
"They don't just belong to you," Elune said, her voice carrying three thousand years of exhaustion. "They are the network's shadows. Where there's light, there's shadow. Your Progenitor Queen knew this. So she built a seal, locking the shadows at the network's edge. But now—"
She turned to me.
"The seal is breaking. Not from outside force. But because the network itself is losing balance."
"Losing balance?"
"The split between Silver Moon and Waning Moon," Elune said. "The prophecy says when Silver Moon and Waning Moon come back together, the two networks will reconnect, and the shadows will be pushed back. But if the Waning Moon falls—"
A flash of fear crossed her eyes. Real fear, not fake.
"—the shadows will eat everything. Not just the Dawnlight Clan. Your vampire world too."
I said nothing.
Wind rushed up from the center of the vortex, carrying some ancient smell. Not rot, but something colder, more pure—emptiness. I could feel the Light-Eaters' presence, even from this far away. They weren't living things. They were some kind of... absence. A black hole made from broken network junctions, pushed-down feelings, forgotten deaths.
"What do you need me to do?" I asked.
"Become the connection point," Elune said. "Your Progenitor bloodline can link both networks at once. Through you, vampire and Dawnlight Clan energy can flow together, and the shadows will be balanced. You'll save two worlds."
It sounded amazing.
It sounded—familiar.
Three thousand years ago, did the Progenitor Queen hear these same words? Then she chose to sacrifice herself, merge into the network, guard the seal alone.
I don't want to become her.
"What if I refuse?" I asked.
Elune's body went stiff for a moment. Just a little, but I caught it.
"Refuse?" She repeated the word like she didn't understand it.
"If I refuse to become the connection point," I said. "If I refuse to save two worlds. If I—just want to be a regular vampire, living a regular life with the person I love?"
Elune went quiet.
The light at the center of the vortex flickered during her silence, like a broken heartbeat. The black spots took the chance to spread a bit more, swallowing three edge junctions.
"Then you'll watch two worlds die," she finally said. "Including him. The fall of the Waning Moon can't be stopped."
My heart jumped.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning—" Elune reached out, pointing at the black spots in the center of the vortex. "The Light-Eaters have already sensed you're here. They want the Waning Moon. Because when darkness dies out, they get stronger."
Her finger moved toward me.
"Silver Moon Returned, you have no choice. This is your fate."
I didn't answer.
Because right then, through the Bloodbond, I felt what Kael was sending me—not weakness, not fear, but something firm and cold—determination. He sent me an image: the carving on the light wall.
"Don't believe the light."
Then a clearer image—Ophelia's face, flashing past.
Ophelia was here.
No, Ophelia had been here.
I whipped my head around to look at Elune. Her glowing body looked so holy, so untouchable in the harsh brightness. But if Ophelia left that warning—
"Who brought me here?" I asked.
"The Light-Keepers."
"No," I said. "Who guided the Light-Keepers to find me? Who spread the prophecy? Who—set up this invitation system?"
Elune's glowing body flickered. Too fast, like it might have been my imagination.
"Silver Moon Returned," she said, her voice getting colder, "what are you accusing me of?"
I'm accusing everything.
But I didn't say it out loud. Because I saw the black spots at the center of the vortex moving, gathering, forming some kind of shape. Not random, but on purpose. They were copying—
copying someone I knew.
Silver-black hair. Ice-blue slit pupils. Dark red wings.
They were copying Kael.
"What is that?" I pointed at the center, my voice shaking.
Elune turned her head. Her body froze in that moment, like a statue made of ice.