I've already crossed a whole city by walking to and fro in my house. "So you're saying... Haiban gave you a weak body to make you useless for the moon's purpose?"
"Yep," he said while caressing his wolf, sitting uncomfortably like he's stuck in a box.
"Because the moon will use her silver wolves to exterminate her children? You knew she would do this all this time!?"
"Yep."
"Why didn't you tell me!?"
"We're both occupied by our own issues, there was no room for more until I forgot about it when there's room available."
I plummet my butt on the couch. "You got a point," I agreed. These issues have been scrambling my mind and time. Although I can only solve them one at a time... without taking a break! "Why do you have to cage yourself in there?" Ever since we heard the moon's force call, he imprisons himself inside the cage I made, together with his wolf.
"Dan! I don't want to hurt you again unconsciously! The moon will use me against you. She told me to 'kill them' and I couldn't feel my own control over my body. Your smartest move to make is to bind me with chains to make sure I can't harm anyone. Or just take me back in the dungeon."
"Can't you suggest anything convenient? I can make you my special prisoner than you can imagine." I unlock the cage and strictly pull his wrist, and he pulls his wolf by its tail and his wolf pulls Acro, toward my room. I made them sit on the bed and I stood a few steps away from them as I performed the enchantment. My spellbook appears, so as my enchast on my right hand, then I grab the air in front of me therein a bar forms until it multiplies and extends to form a wider cage surrounding the bed. Hessuel explores his eyes while the bars are assembling magically. I ended the enchantment. "This would be better but I won't let you stay there longer."
"But Dan, what if I can destroy it?"
"You're weak, remember?"
"Ouch."
"Plus, it's the same cage used against you when you were arrested in Lanbarc during our pair for a crime."
He's dozing at the bar until he snaps. "Oh, yes, I remember that. It's an elastic bar."
"Hessuel..." I reach for his hand by passing between the bars, he holds my hand and tries to kiss it but I was pulled, my elbow jammed because of horizontal bars! He apologizes and I reach for his face instead. I rub his cheek with my thumb. "Withstand it for now. I will do everything I can to change the moon's mind and set you free."
"... I... don't want to sit here and do nothing. Tell me what I can help with."
"Maybe not now. You said this is my smartest move to make, no?"
"I wasn't the same back in the living room," he spoke swiftly.
"Whatever!" I pinch his perfect nose after he earned a laugh from me. "I'm going to do this to save you. Don't worry. I can do this."
"I know you can," he slid my palm to his lips and kissed it, "but that doesn't mean nothing might harm you," what he said made me smile. I left him with his little companions in the cell. Not just him, but both of us have to keep our distance from each other for now.
Stars are twinkling in the night sky already but I came out to the palace to address this urgent issue—since I'm sure this won't let me find myself in my night dreams unless my twins demand. Just outside my house, I had a mini heart attack when I chilled in Hessuel's howl—whom I thought was from the Moon Goddess again! His voice penetrated my head.
["Hear me, all ye inhabitants of Plandreas. I am Hessuel of the silver wolves. The moon is gathering her wolves to be slaughtered by us and it is none of our control. Stay away from any silver wolves or die. The Moon Priestess Dandeline is doing everything to alter the moon's plan. Hence, do everything to help her succeed... for your family, for your mate, for your friends, or for your pack. Protect her at all costs."]
I glance at the window of my room. He got something in his sleeves too. He's trying... Makes me want to gnaw his arm again!
["To you, my mate, I love you."]
"What—" Does he have to announce it to the whole werewolf race here!? I can't suffer from the teasing smiles of the Vengeance pack later!
["Take care. Sleep."]
At that command, I came into my house again and slept on the couch, adjourning my plan for tomorrow morning. And he's right. I feel refreshed and bold to advance into the palace.
To my surprise, Linly is with the moon priests inside the moon's sacred chamber.
"Aunt!" She rushes to hug me and she's somewhat uncomfortable.
"What are you doing here?"
"They insisted us to come here," Manjiro says with his arms folded, "when the goddess appeared to her last night to call the wolves." And I wouldn't have noticed him in the corner if he remained silent.
"It's true," Eleus says. "We were informed by the local pack that they heard the moon's call and the silver wolf's warning. Last night was a full moon. What if we can make the goddess appear on a full moon? It'll prove herewith that this girl is the vessel."
Linly asserts, "I told you. She possessed me."
"And what is your purpose for this trial?" I asked the old man.
"To be able for us to communicate with her face to face," he answered.
I look at them with a questioning eyebrow. As days passed, wherein the truth revealed itself effortlessly but according to its timing, this work will not be my own anymore. The moon servants shall little by little adapt my works. My hands slide down to Linly's hands from her shoulders and say,
"We deserve to know what's in the Moon Goddess's mind. We have to do this. Will you trust me?"
She nods without hesitation. "It's my pleasure to help you," she confirms. After I used her as the goddess's vessel, rather than holding a grudge against me, she's stepping up for the title of the saints!
"She's so willing not even me to stop her," Manjiro complains.
Skipping the potential conflict, the 2 Moon Priests surround Linly and I remain attached to her. I held her hand tight when the priests began the enchantment with their spellbooks. Logically, if the goddess appears every full moon, we'll have to divert the time of the universe. I summon a glowing enchast underneath us. As the moon priests rotated their arms like a hand of the clock, we saw from the window how the sky turns light to dark, then dark to light again. It changes a few more times before the time stops at midnight.
The full moon.
The enchast beneath is shining immensely. "Linly! Dandeline, if something wrong happens to her—!"
"Shut your mouth, child," I warned.
Linly's countenance is glowing. Her eyes are closed and judging from her stance, I know the moon priests succeeded. I didn't release her hands. It's remarkable how the priests circle their eyes and mouth as they witness the goddess before them.
"Moon Goddess."
She opens her eyes in response to my call. "... It isn't my time yet to visit this body."
"Neither can you control your own schedules. You are controlled by the moon because you weren't the creator of it. And that resulted in our method to approach you."
"Moon Priestess! You're talking to a goddess!" Eleus scolds.
"What is your demand, my child?" She speaks tenderly again.
"Stop playing with us in the mist. Why do you want to exterminate your children? The werewolves are gradually uniting. The rulers are doing their best to prevail in peace. They've created their own family and life, then now you want to destroy everything? What reasons do you have to conclude this? What pushed you into this decision!?"
"Hey!" the young priest follows. "What an incredible audacity—"
"My children will suffer in the near future because of humans," the goddess said with all her heart. "This is not their world. Humans shall hunt them ‘til the last breed. And they are starting to lose faith in me. I gave them the blessing as a consequence of their worship of me. The longer they stay in this world, the harder their hearts become. As the mother who created them all, it is my responsibility to decide what is best: to erase the spread of anomalies in my children."
"What kind of mother will destroy her children for the sake of purging? I cannot take this as a valid reason."
"Take it as my will. Or else, you are one of those who harden their hearts."
"Absurd! I've been serving you more than half of my life! I cannot accept your will for I'm certain the best way other than your decision is right under our noses. Please don't give up on your children!"
She releases her hand from my clenches. With her hands, she creates a small moon within her grasp that has the same radiant as the real moon. "That only means you will hamper my plan. You never should've asked the truth you didn't want to hear." She tosses the moon upward and blinded our vision by its flash of light, the room is bombarded with extreme brightness. And in a span of that brief moment, my knees lost their strength together with the priests and Linly. Manjiro rushes to catch her before the floor does.
"Linly! Dandeline!"
We found ourselves enfeebled on the floor. The countenance of the Moon Goddess is gone. Linly clings to Manjiro's shoulders. "Auntie... What shall we do now?" her voice quivers.
Why is this so hard? All I want is to have a happy family. To live like normal humans with the people dearest to me. Just when I thought that I already had it in my hands, it slipped away quickly. How impossible is that dream to me?
"Auntie!" Linly's touch on my cheeks snaps me back to reality. "Please don't cry," she pleads although her eyes are flooded with tears already. Funny how it pulled back my tears.
Eleus says, "The power and authority from the moon... is gone."
I open my spellbook to check on the spell from the moon and he's right, all presented to me are blank pages.
"There's only one meaning of this..."