Chapter 66 Chapter 66
Sable's POV
"He stopped listening a very long time ago."
Orion's words settled over the chamber like a curse.
For the first time since he appeared, he looked afraid.
But it was not for us neither was it for the throne.
But of the thing behind him.
The darkness pouring through the widening crack shifted violently, and a deep sound rolled through the chamber.
Breathing massively, slowly and just like other ancient beings—hungry.
The Devourer was now close enough that I could feel it watching us through Orion's black eye as the realization made my stomach twist. Orion wasn't controlling it anymore, instead he was barely trying to survive it.
The First Child stepped backward slowly.
"That's impossible."
Orion laughed bitterly.
"You left me with it for eternity."
Pain flickered across her face again.
Raw guilt.
The dragon moved protectively in front of us all, it wings spreading wide.
"The breach must be sealed now."
Orion looked toward the dragon.
"And trap him outside forever?"
The dragon's silver eyes narrowed.
"Yes."
The blackness behind Orion suddenly moved as a massive shape shifted appear beyond the crack.
The chamber trembled violently. And then suddenly—
a voice echoed from the darkness.
Infinite.
"Hunger....."
The single word shattered crystal along the walls.
Kael dropped to one knee again with a curse.
Blood dripped down from Zander's nose. The Shadow King staggered slightly.
Even Leonidas's grip on me tightened painfully as his wolf struggled beneath the pressure.
But the worst part was the sadness in the voice.
Not rage.
Not hatred.
Loneliness.
Endless loneliness.
The Devourer spoke again.
"So..... bright......"
The black eye inside Orion's face widened slightly as the presence behind the crack focused completely on me.
My power reacted instantly.
Silver–black light exploded around my body.
The throne above answered.
The Origin Heart pulsed violently.
And suddenly, the darkness surged forward.
Leonidas moved instantly.
A growl ripped from his chest as he shoved me behind him.
"No."
The word echoed with Alpha command. The chamber shook.
Orion watched him carefully.
Then smiled faintly.
"He loves you enough to challenge oblivion."
Leonidas ignored him completely yet every muscle in his body was tense, ready to attack even though we all knew he couldn't fight something like this physically.
But he would anyway.
For me.
Always for me.
The darkness behind Orion pressed harder against the crack.
And suddenly, a massive claw emerged halfway through as the chamber split apart beneath it. Crystal shattered everywhere.
The dragon roared furiously and lunged forward, slamming its full weight against the claw.
The impact shook the mountain. The claw stopped moving for half a second.
Then casually pushed forward again as the dragon was thrown backward violently.
Its enormous body crashed through several crystal pillars before finally stopping.
Silence fell.
Horrified silence.
The Devourer had just thrown the First Guardian aside like it weighed nothing.
Kael stared wide-eyed.
"That's...... not normal."
"No," the Shadow King muttered darkly. "It's not."
The claw flexed slowly against the chamber floor.
And the moment it touched the crystal everything it touched began turning black.
Not burned.
Consumed.
The crystal simply ceased existing. The First Child’s expression tightened.
"He's already feeding."
The darkness spread wider across the chamber floor.
The Origin Heart began pulsing erratically behind us.
The Creator screamed inside it.
"SEAL THE BREACH!"
Orion closed his eyes briefly.
"He's afraid now."
The First Child glared at him.
"You brought this here!"
Orion's mismatched eyes snapped toward her.
"I brought him home."
The chamber shook violently again. The claw pushed further through as another one followed behind it.
Larger than before.
The mountain groaned loudly around us.
The Devourer was forcing itself into our world.
And reality itself was struggling to survive it.
Leonidas stepped closer to me.
"Sable."
His voice was low, sharp and urgent.
I looked at him immediately.
"We don't have time."
I knew what he meant.
The throne.
The bond.
The merging.
The sacrifice.
No.
My chest tightened painfully.
"No."
The mate bond surged between us.
Fear.
Love.
Desperation.
He touched my face gently despite the chaos around us.
"If that thing fully enters this world—"
"I know."
My voice broke.
Because I knew.
Everyone here knew.
The First Child suddenly stepped forward.
"There may still be another way."
Every head turned toward her instantly.
Kael nearly looked emotional.
"Finally."
The child ignored him.
Her silver–black eyes locked onto Orion.
"You can still hold him back."
Orion laughed softly.
"Tried that."
"You never had help before."
The chamber went quiet.
Orion's expression slowly faded. The First Child stepped closer carefully.
"We were created together."
The darkness behind Orion stirred violently.
Unhappy.
The black eye flickered sharply.
Orion grimaced slightly.
"He doesn't like this conversation."
The First Child stopped directly in front of him now.
For the first time—
they looked alike.
Not physically but emotionally. Two ancient beings carrying endless loneliness differently.
"You said I abandoned you," she whispered.
"You did."
Pain flashed across her face again.
"Then let me fix it."
The chamber fell silent.
Even the Devourer paused.
Orion stared at her.
And for a moment the blackness inside his eye weakened slightly.
The silver eye brightened.
Hope.
It was tiny, fragile but still there.
The First Child reached toward him slowly.
And the darkness behind the crack exploded.
A roar tore through the chamber so violently the entire mountain split somewhere above us.
The black eye consumed Orion's face instantly.
Dark veins spread across his skin. The Devourer was fighting back.
Orion screamed.
The sound was horrifying.
Not monstrous.
Human.
But an agonized sound.
The darkness wrapped around his body looked like chains trying to drag him backward into the breach.
The First Child grabbed him immediately.
Silver–black light burst around both of them.
The chamber shook violently as two ancient powers collided.
Leonidas pulled me backward as the crystal floor cracked beneath us.
"What are they doing?!" Kael shouted.
The dragon forced itself upright again.
"She's trying to separate them!"
Orion screamed again.
The darkness behind him surged harder.
And suddenly—
I saw it.
The Devourer.
Not fully.
But just enough for me to recognize him.
An enormous shape moving beyond the breach.
Too massive to fit inside reality properly while countless eyes opening in the darkness were watching.
Hungry.
Lonely.
But most of all they were ancient too.
Its attention locked onto me instantly. The pressure slammed into my chest so hard that I gasped.
And then—
I heard it inside my mind.
Not words.
Feeling. Need.
The Devourer wasn’t looking at me like prey instead it was looking at me like salvation.
The realization horrified me.
"Sable!"
Leonidas's voice snapped me back as I realized my body had started moving toward the breach without me noticing.
Toward it.
The darkness pulsed again.
Calling me.
The throne inside me responded instinctively.
The Origin Heart beat faster.
The Devourer wanted the Queen.
Not to destroy.
To fill the emptiness.
The First Child suddenly looked at me in horror.
"Don't let him touch you!"
Too late.
The darkness surged forward violently straight toward me.
Leonidas moved instantly.
He shoved me backward—
and the darkness struck him instead.
Everything stopped.
Leonidas froze.
The darkness wrapped around his arm slowly like living shadow.
My heart stopped.
"Leonidas!"
His silver eyes widened sharply.
Pain flashed across his face first, then followed by horror.
Because the darkness wasn't attacking him.
It was consuming memories.
I felt it through the bond instantly.
His childhood.
His pack.
His mother's face.
Everything.
Being devoured.
Piece by piece.
Leonidas dropped to one knee with a strangled gasp.
And the Devourer whispered softly through the chamber—
"Mine."