Chapter 233 I Will Break It

Chapter 233 I Will Break It
The silver light pouring from the tear in the sky bathed the ruined plaza in a cold, sterile glow. I stood over Wex’s lifeless body, my boots planted firmly in the gray ash. I gripped the pale leather handle of the Star-Forge Hammer with both hands, pointing the solid silver head directly at the Moon Goddess’s chest.

The deity stared at me. The serene, detached pity was completely gone from her glowing silver eyes. In its place was a sharp, piercing anger. The bright static in the air flared, prickling across my exposed, bleeding skin like tiny needles.

"I am giving you a choice," I repeated, my voice steady despite the violent shaking in my arms.

"You are giving me a choice?" the Moon Goddess asked. Her voice no longer sounded like a gentle breeze or a soothing chime. It was sharp, cracking like thick ice under immense pressure. "You are a mortal, Eddena Halia Harris. A fleeting spark in the dark. You do not dictate terms to the heavens."

"I dictate terms down here," I answered. I did not lower the heavy weapon. "You gave me this crown. You gave me this hammer. You told me to fix your broken world, and I did it. I paid the price. But you are not taking him as the tax."

The Goddess took a step toward me.

The moment her bare foot touched the pavement, a massive, crushing wave of gravity slammed down over the central square. It was not a physical push, but a divine command forcing every living creature to submit.

Behind me, the unified army collapsed. General Ralph Uilleag Wilson hit the dirt with a loud grunt, his scarred face pressed flat against the ash. Commander McKenna Leann Conaill’s knees buckled, her silver armor clattering harshly against the stones as she was forced down. Even Shamus Senán Murray and Sacheverell, two kings in their own right, were pressed into the rubble, entirely unable to lift their heads against the weight of a deity’s presence.

The pressure hit my shoulders like a falling boulder. My knees bent. The joints in my legs popped, screaming in protest. I tasted fresh copper blood on my tongue as I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying out.

I refused to kneel.

I slammed the base of the Star-Forge Hammer down onto the cobblestones. I used the heavy silver handle as a prop, locking my arms straight and forcing my spine to remain upright. My muscles burned, twitching wildly under the strain, but I kept my head high, glaring directly into her glowing silver eyes.

The Goddess stopped just two feet away. A flicker of genuine surprise crossed her flawless, pearl-colored face.

"You are blinded by a temporary grief," the Moon Goddess stated, her tone shifting back to that maternal, placating rhythm that made my stomach churn. "You are young. A century from now, you will sit on your throne, and you will barely remember the shape of his face. You will understand that this sacrifice was necessary for the cosmic balance."

"I don't care about your balance," I spat, the words tearing out of my raw throat. "I will remember the shape of his face every single second for the rest of my life."

I looked down at Wex. His large frame lay perfectly still in the dirt. The terrible burns on his cheek and the charred, blackened bone of his right hand were stark and cruel in the harsh silver light. He had thrown his life away to give me the tool to win this fight. He had climbed into the toxic dark because he loved me.

I looked back up at the deity.

"Bring him back," I demanded.

"I cannot," she replied smoothly, though the sharp edge remained beneath her words. "The starlight creates and purges. It does not reverse death. His thread is cut."

"Then weave a new one," I snarled.

I lifted the Star-Forge Hammer from the ground. I gripped the handle tightly, holding the weapon horizontally in front of me. The divine tool pulsed with a steady, bright light, completely ignoring the Goddess and answering only to my touch.

"Do you know what happens if you damage that weapon, Eddena?" the Goddess warned, her silver eyes narrowing. The air around her grew freezing cold. "That hammer holds the seal to the deep-earth vault. If you shatter it, the seal will crack wide open. The abyss will swallow Lycanthia. The shadow horde will return, and the Eclipse King’s darkness will cover this continent forever. Everything this man died to protect will be consumed."

"Then let it be consumed," I said.

The silence that followed my words was terrifying. The wind died completely. The cheering from the distant districts ceased. The world simply held its breath.

"I will let the shadows swallow the capital," I continued, my voice dropping into a low, fierce promise. "I will let the beasts tear down every kingdom, every pack, and every city on this continent. I will plunge this entire realm right back into the dark."