Chapter 146: Binding Ties

Chapter 146: Binding Ties
Chapter 146: Binding Ties

Melissa’s POV

With only faint moonlight to illuminate it, the temple remained silent. I stood by myself at the holy altar, where my name had been inscribed on stone. I required clarification.

I pressed my hand against the icy stone and said, "Please." "I must comprehend."

The wind slowed. The air glistened.

Then my goddess came into view. Mom. Her face seemed both celestial and familiar, a spirit encased in light.

With a voice like the sound of stars, she uttered, "You seek truth." "But there is pain associated with truth."

I took a swallow. "My sister, Selene. Why was I unaware of her?

"She was concealed," the goddess said softly. "Where your light could not reach, I was born under a dark moon."

I whispered, "She said I stole everything from her."

The goddess declared, "You did not steal." "You two were parted by fate. To light, one. One to cast a shadow.

I balled my fists up. She is upset. Lost. She is still my blood, though.

The goddess cautioned, "She is more than blood." "She is tied to the curse that existed before either of you were born, as well as to the forgotten ones."

"What's the curse?"

Her voice became farther away as the spirit gradually disappeared. "You have to make a decision, Melissa, when you see her under the eclipse. Power or mercy? Duty or love?

The vision came to an end. Moonlight grew dimmer.

And my heart was heavier than ever as I stood by myself once more.

My sister was Selene.

She was something old, though.

And saving her was part of that. It could be costly.

As he threw a bright blade across the field, Kane shouted sharply, "Focus."

Just in time, I lifted my arm to create a barrier of light to prevent it.

With clinched teeth, I said, "I'm trying."

He stepped forward and responded, "You're holding back." "When it comes to her, you always do."

I turned my head away. "Kane, I don't want to harm her."

He yelled, "She'll hurt you if you don't," before his tone softened. "She's not the young girl you were looking for."

I took a seat on the grass, exhausted. She said that I abandoned her. But what if she's correct?

With his hand resting on my shoulder, Kane knelt next to me. "This is not the fate you chose. She didn't either. However, you must now choose the type of conclusion you will use.

I said, "I want to save her."

"What if you are unable to?"

I didn't respond.

The quiet was sufficient.

He got back up and grabbed my hand. "Come on. Let's give it another go. You won't be caught off guard by her.

Until the moon rose high, we trained. My brilliant, piercing light flickered. However, my heart?

It was supple.

Torn.

Selene's face, damaged and angry, appeared every time I closed my eyes. And so recognisable.

Was it possible for me to point a firearm at her?

Or would I shatter even before the combat started?

Lydia was pacing close to the edge of the stone courtyard when I arrived, her arms folded tightly across her chest and her brows furrowed.

As soon as she saw me, she exclaimed, "Zephyr went ahead." Selene's presence was monitored by him well beyond the Eclipse Peaks.

The lump in my throat was swallowed. "Did he locate her?"

Lydia gave a sad nod. "He discovered something more detrimental."

She gave me a scroll that she had taken out of her purse. It was old, cracked, and had an ashy scent. However, it had softly illuminating symbols on it.

Lydia clarified, "These are the Forgotten Clans' marks." "Those that disappeared before the first moon appeared."

With frightful strength, I traced the broken lines connecting ancient names on the map as I stared at it. "I believed they had gone extinct."

She stated, "They were." "Until they were called back by Selene."

I felt cold. "She's assembling an army?"

"No. "She's advancing a cause," Lydia remarked. These animals were hunted and banished. They are offered a queen by Selene.

"And they think she's real?"

"They revere her."

I held on to the scroll's edge until my fingertips became white. She's not only getting ready for the fight. She is getting ready for battle.

Lydia gave a nod. "Melissa, she is not coming to fight you. She is here to complete the task that centuries of darkness started.

I raised my look to the full, silent, and brilliant moon in the sky.

Selene wasn't trying to hide.

She was getting up.

Furthermore, time was running short.

I had trouble sleeping that night. The stars had a strange appearance. The moon seemed colder. The world was more silent than it ought to have been.

Wearing a thin cloak, I sat by myself outside the camp and stared into the fire until the embers became blurry.

Then, she arrived.

Not within the body.

In my head.

Melissa...

She said softly. Broken. Injured. It didn't seem dangerous. It had the sound of a request.

Selene? I said to myself.

You hear me. Even now?

I didn't stop.

Quiet.

Then her voice, a little softer.

This is not what I wanted to be. However, they forced me to. The quiet. The chill. The falsehoods they spread to you

My chest constricted. "Where are you?" Even though I knew she wouldn't respond, I whispered out loud.

She said, "I can't stop the storm inside me." Peace is too late, and light is too late.

"No," I said. It isn't.

I sensed her—lost, strong, and torn.

Her voice then broke like a child's.

Either liberate me or ruin me.

The bond was broken.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I gasped.

She felt afraid.

She was in pain.

And she had let me make the decision.

My hands shook as I looked into the flames.

I would soon have to confront her.

Sisterly rivalry.

And only one would be completely unharmed.