Chapter 63 Chapter 63
Leonidas's POV
"You need to run."
The First Child's voice shattered the silence in the chamber.
And the moment she said it, the Origin Heart exploded.
A deafening crack tore through the crystal chamber as silver–black light burst outward like a storm. The chains wrapped around the Heart snapped violently tight, trying to contain whatever was forcing itself through from the other side.
But it still wasn't enough as he massive claw pressing against the inside of the Heart pushed harder.
The entire mountain shook as crystal rained from the ceiling.
Sable stumbled as the ground split beneath us, but I caught her instantly, pulling her against me before she could fall.
"Move!" I roared.
The dragon was already shifting forward, it wings spreading protectively across the chamber.
"Everyone get behind me!"
Kael grabbed Zander by the jacket and yanked him backward just as another pulse of darkness erupted from the Heart.
"Why does every ancient thing explode?!" Kael shouted.
"No idea!" Zander snapped back.
The Creator's laughter echoed again from inside the Heart.
And gods—
it sounded victorious.
"He found you," he whispered.
The claw slammed harder against the crystal surface.
Cracks spread everywhere.
The First Child stared at it silently, her silver–black eyes became darker than before.
The Shadow King stepped beside her.
"You can stop this, can't you?"
The child didn't answer immediately and that alone terrified me.
Because until now, she had looked untouchable.
Absolute.
But now—
she looked uncertain.
Sable noticed it too.
"What happens if it gets through?"
The First Child looked at her slowly.
"Everything ends."
Simple.
Calm.
But filled with certainty.
The chamber trembled again.
Then suddenly, the claw moved scratching every where.
Long black talons dragged across the inside of the Heart, creating a horrible screeching sound that echoed through the chamber like metal tearing apart reality itself.
My wolf snarled violently inside me.
Danger.
Ancient danger.
Predator above predators.
The Devourer wasn't just a monster.
It was hunger itself.
The First Child lifted one hand slowly, while the silver–black light exploded around her body as the entire chamber responded instantly.
The glowing veins in the walls lit up brighter.
The mountain groaned.
And for the first time—
I felt power greater than the throne itself.
Older.
Limitless.
The child's voice echoed unnaturally.
"Sleep."
The Origin Heart pulsed.
The claw froze.
The darkness pushing through the cracks hesitated, and for one brief second, everything stopped.
Then suddenly, the claw twitched.
The First Child's eyes widened slightly.
"Impossible", she whispered softly but we could still hear.
She pushed more power forward.
The chamber shook violently.
"Sleep."
The claw slowly curled inward. Retreating as the darkness weakened.
The Creator screamed furiously.
"No!"
The chains tightened around him again as the claw disappeared slowly back into the darkness beyond the Heart.
The cracks across the chamber sealed little by little.
Silence returned.
Heavy but unstable.
The First Child lowered her hand slowly.
And staggered.
The dragon moved instantly.
"You used too much."
The child frowned at her own trembling fingers.
"He's stronger than before."
The Shadow King looked grim.
"How much stronger?"
The child looked toward the Heart.
Then at us.
"Enough to kill me."
Nobody spoke.
Because hearing something ancient and all–powerful admit that felt catastrophic.
Kael looked horrified.
"That thing can kill you?"
The child nodded once.
"Yes."
Sable stepped forward carefully.
"You said you created the gods."
"I did."
"Then how is the Devourer stronger than you?"
The First Child's expression changed slightly.
Sadness.
"Because I made him too."
The chamber went still again.
I stared at her.
"What?"
The child looked at the Heart quietly.
"I created hunger."
No one had a response to that.
Because how do you respond to something like that?
The dragon lowered its head.
"The Devourer was never meant to exist fully."
The First Child nodded slowly.
"He was supposed to consume endings."
Sable frowned.
"Endings?"
The child pointed toward the crystal walls surrounding us.
"Worlds die."
Her voice was soft now.
"Stars die. Realms die. Gods die."
The Heart pulsed slowly behind her.
"He was created to carry away what no longer survived."
A silence followed those words.
Not evil.
Not destruction.
Purpose.
The Devourer had purpose once.
Then what changed?
Sable asked the question before I could.
"So why did he become this?"
The First Child looked at her.
"Loneliness."
The word hit strangely hard.
The child sat slowly on the edge of the crystal platform again.
"He existed outside everything."
Her gaze drifted toward the Heart.
"He watched life endlessly."
A pause.
"Until hunger became obsession."
The dragon's voice turned grim.
"He stopped consuming endings."
The child nodded.
"And began consuming beginnings."
That explained the terror.
The Devourer didn't destroy dead worlds anymore.
It devoured living ones.
Growing stronger each time.
The mountain shook again lightly, not an attack this time but as a warning.
The First Child looked upward.
"He knows I'm awake now."
Zander crossed his arms tightly.
"And that's bad."
"Yes."
Kael sighed heavily.
"Fantastic."
Sable stepped closer to the child slowly.
"Can he reach this world?"
The child was silent for too long.
Then—
"Yes."
My jaw tightened instantly.
"How long?"
The First Child looked directly at me.
"Soon."
Not helpful.
At all.
Sable looked frustrated too.
"What does soon mean?"
The child's gaze shifted toward the ceiling again.
"The Veil won't survive another breach."
The dragon growled softly.
"The throne can reinforce it."
The child shook her head.
"Not anymore."
Sable stiffened.
"What do you mean?"
The First Child looked at her carefully.
"You changed the throne."
Right.
The twin throne.
The balance split between darkness and light.
The First Child's voice softened slightly.
"You made it mortal."
That word chilled me.
The throne was no longer absolute.
No longer eternal.
It could weaken now.
It could die.
Just like everything else.
The Creator laughed weakly from inside the Heart again.
"She broke your perfect prison."
The child ignored him.
But I noticed something.
She never denied it.
The throne truly was weaker now.
The Heart pulsed again, this time slower.
The dragon frowned deeply.
"The Origin Heart is draining."
The child nodded.
"He's feeding on it."
The Devourer.
Every crack.
Every weakness.
Every imbalance.
He was consuming it slowly from beyond the Veil.
Sable looked pale.
"So what do we do?"
The First Child finally stood again.
And when she looked at Sable—
something changed in her expression.
Almost gentle.
"There is one way."
Of course there was.
And judging by everyone's faces, none of us were going to like it.
The Shadow King spoke first.
"What kind of way?"
The child looked at me.
Then Sable.
Then the bond glowing faintly between our hands.
And suddenly, I knew.
Before she even said it.
"No."
Sable turned toward me sharply.
"What?"
The First Child’s voice echoed quietly through the chamber.
"The throne must become whole again."
My wolf snarled instantly.
Absolutely not.
Sable frowned.
"It already is."
The child shook her head slowly.
"No."
Her silver–black eyes locked onto ours.
"
The Queen and her Alpha must fully merge with the throne."
Silence.
Cold.
Heavy silence.
Kael looked uncomfortable immediately.
"That sounds incredibly dangerous."
The child answered calmly.
"It is."
Sable's breathing slowed.
"What happens if we do that?"
The First Child looked at her sadly.
"You become its guardians forever."
No.
No.
Absolutely not.
I stepped in front of Sable instantly.
"That's not happening."
The child tilted her head.
"The Devourer will eventually break through otherwise."
"I don't care."
The words came out sharper than intended.
Because I already understood what she meant.
Forever.
Not death.
Worse.
Bound to the throne.
Trapped.
Existing endlessly.
The way the First Queen once had.
The way the Creator still did.
Sable looked at me carefully.
"Leonidas—"
"No."
I grabbed her shoulders.
"We'll find another way."
Her eyes softened painfully.
"What if there isn't one?"
"There is."
Even if I had to tear apart worlds to find it.
The child watched us silently.
Then whispered—
"That is why the wolf always suffers most."
The chamber trembled again.
The Heart cracked slightly.
Another roar echoed faintly from beyond the Veil.
Closer this time.
The child looked toward the darkness.
Then back at us.
"You don't have much time left."