CHAPTER 177: Rowan Comes to Terms with His Shadowed Past
CHAPTER 177: Rowan Comes to Terms with His Shadowed Past
The countryside was in ruins. The earth was scarred by the destructive power of the eclipse, and the once-gleaming battlefield was now twisted and torn. However, the conflict had not ended. Not quite yet.
Standing in the middle of the confusion, Rowan's breath was short and his hands were shaking at his sides. He had always believed that the Eclipse's power was his greatest weapon and his birthright, but after seeing the devastation, he came to the horrifying realization. The eclipse wasn't only a present. It was a curse.
Now the child, the Eclipse child was standing in front of him, her ethereal light pulsing with a force he could not fathom. Even though her little, frail body was surrounded by the broken remains of the battleground, she exuded a serenity that seemed unaffected by the mayhem that had overtaken everything else.
Rowan's pulse was racing, and he kept thinking about the child's words, "I am what you could never understand."
He had been aware of the reality for a while, but he didn't really get it until he was standing in front of the kid who represented the same power he had fought his whole life against. He wasn't the only one with this ability. It had never been. Indeed, it had always been a part of him, but at a cost.
The kid whispered gently, "You're afraid," her voice cutting through the whirlpool of ideas racing through his head. "Of your current state. of who you are.
Although Rowan winced, the statements were accurate. "I've never experienced fear of anything."
The child's eyes became softer. "You ought to be."
Rowan clinched his hands at his sides. Like the insidious crawl of darkness at the periphery of his awareness, the knowledge tore at him. His bloodline was polluted, his ancestry cloaked in darkness, and he could no longer deny what he had always dreaded. Devastation had been left in their wake by his forefathers' careless use of this ability. And it seemed like history was being repeated as I stood here.
He had attempted to battle against his history and flee it, but the more he struggled, the more it engulfed him.
It seems like he was forced to face it at this point.
His voice cracked a little as he spoke, "I never wanted this." His long-suppressed weakness sprang to the surface. "I never requested this authority. But isn't that a part of who I am?
The youngster nodded and moved onward, her radiance becoming brighter. Yes, Rowan, it is. However, you are more than that. You have to accept it before it takes over your life.
With the weight of her words bearing down on him, Rowan closed his eyes. He had devoted so much of his life to battling this inner darkness and separating himself from his heritage and the authority that had corrupted so many others before him. In actuality, however, he was unable to avoid it. No more.
"You need to reconcile with the darkness," the kid said. Since they are a part of you, embrace them. You won't have the power to alter the future until then.
Rowan's breathing became labored. Was this the solution he had been looking for? Was this the secret to ending the centuries-long cycle of devastation that had afflicted his family? When he opened his eyes, he saw the child's calm, almost angelic, expression.
However, when his eyes met hers, an odd thing started to occur. As if it had been waiting for this very moment waiting for him to finally recognize it the darkness within him awoke. For a moment, he felt as if he was being pushed in two different ways as a burst of force passed through his body. Something gentler, something human, struggled against the Eclipse power that screamed within him, its old pull pulling him toward the chaos and carnage he had always known.
His legs were shaking under him as he stumbled. The youngster put a soft touch on his shoulder and reached out.
"Rowan, you have the ability to make a decision. But you have to make a smart decision.
The words struck him with the force of a sledgehammer. He had always believed that his decisions shaped who he was and that he had control over his fate. However, he became aware of how little he had really comprehended at this point. Although he had been battling and fleeing from his heritage, it was a part of who he was. He was unable to deny it anymore.
The youngster said, "Choose," again, her voice becoming more demanding. "Select your course. And decide what kind of future you want to build.
Rowan closed his eyes once again, his blood throbbing with the black force of the Eclipse's power as it swirled about him. The temptation was to give in, to allow the power to take over and mold the universe to fit his vision. He felt something else stirring within him, a glimmer of something wonderful and pure, as he stood there surrounded by the shattered remains of all he had known.
A warmth that had long been hidden behind layers of anger and dread was suddenly palpable in his chest. It was affection. The affection he had felt for Selene. The affection that had motivated him to defend his pack and struggle for their existence. And now he was being pushed to choose by that same love.
He had three options: he could utilize the Eclipse's power to destroy all in his path, he could choose to seek revenge, or he could let the darkness lead him. He might also decide on love. He had the option to strive for a brighter future and pay tribute to the people he had lost.
"Rowan," the youngster said in a hushed tone. "Force alone will not fight the darkness. It needs to be comprehended. Agreed. It can only be managed after that.
He opened his eyes and looked back into the child's eyes. He had a feeling of clarity for the first time in a long time. He understood what he had to do, even if the road ahead was unclear.
He said, "I choose," in a calm but passionate voice. "I have decided to embrace who I am. I decide to reconcile with my ancestry.
For a minute, the world seemed to hold its breath as the youngster nodded, her radiance becoming brighter. Rowan experienced a burst of strength that was distinct from the Eclipse's devastating energy. Something more regulated, more balanced.
The earth underneath him started to tremor again before he could comprehend what had just transpired. There was a new presence on the battlefield, one that appeared to exude a tangible feeling of danger and was considerably more menacing than the youngster.
A vaguely shaped entity, like a ghost of smoke and ash, emerged from the darkness. It hung over the earth, oppressive in its presence. Rowan felt his heart pulse faster.
The voice was low and resonant as it said, "Fool." "You believe you can avoid your family's fate? It's not enough to just "accept" the eclipse. It will devour you like it devoured them.
Rowan felt sick to his stomach. Something appeared to have been set off by the power he had just accepted, by the peace he had just established with himself. He was not yet finished with the darkness.
"You can't escape your fate," the voice went on, becoming louder. "Controlling it was never intended for you. You were supposed to fall.
The darkness of the figure grew deeper, around Rowan like a vise, and he remained still, his thoughts racing. It seems that while he had embraced the Eclipse, the Eclipse had not reciprocated.
The fight had not yet ended.
And the emergence of something more worse than even he could have envisioned was imminent.