Chapter 20: The Eye of Eclipse
792 Words
Chapter 20: The Eye of Eclipse
The crimson eye opened slowly above the Eclipse Spire.
It was enormous, larger than the full moon itself, suspended in the dark clouds like a living wound in the sky.
The moment it blinked, every warrior on the battlefield felt an unbearable pressure.
Some dropped to their knees.
Others cried out as terrifying visions flooded their minds.
A young Blackwood warrior threw down his sword.
"They're coming!" he screamed. "They're all coming!"
"There’s nothing there!" Damon shouted, grabbing the frightened man.
But the warrior couldn't hear him.
The Eye of Eclipse wasn't attacking their bodies.
It was attacking their minds.
---
Lyra felt the pressure too.
A whisper echoed through her thoughts.
"You failed your mother."
Another voice followed.
"Your people died because you were too weak."
Then another.
"Kael never loved you."
She squeezed her eyes shut.
The whispers grew louder.
"You will lose everyone."
"You were never meant to be Queen."
Her hands began to tremble.
The Moonblade flickered.
Her wolf growled fiercely.
Don't listen.
Those aren't your thoughts.
Lyra took a slow breath.
She remembered Orion's first lesson.
Fight with balance.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Balance.
She opened her eyes.
The whispers weakened.
"They're lies," she whispered.
The Eye pulsed violently, as if angered that she had resisted.
---
Nearby, Kael wasn't as fortunate.
The Eye showed him a different vision.
He saw Lyra lying lifeless in his arms.
The Moon Temple in ruins.
Blackwood burning.
Then he saw himself standing alone on a mountain of corpses.
"This is your future," the voice hissed.
"Everything you touch dies."
Kael staggered backward.
His wolf cried out in pain.
Damon caught his arm.
"Kael!"
The Alpha's breathing became ragged.
"I can see them..."
"My parents..."
"My warriors..."
"They're all dead."
Damon looked toward Lyra desperately.
"The Eye is breaking him!"
---
Seraphine floated beside Lyra.
"The Eye feeds on guilt."
"The greater the regret..."
"The stronger its illusion."
Lyra looked around.
Warriors on both sides had stopped fighting.
Many were frozen in place, trapped by their own fears.
Even some of the Shadow King's soldiers were affected.
Only the Shadow King himself remained untouched.
He laughed as chaos spread.
"This is why no kingdom has ever defeated me."
"No army can win..."
"When it no longer believes in itself."
---
Lyra tightened her grip on the Moonblade.
"There has to be a way."
Fenrir stepped beside her.
"There is."
She looked up at him.
"The Eye spreads darkness."
"Answer it with light."
Orion suddenly understood.
"The Bell of Dawn."
Seraphine's eyes widened.
"It still exists?"
Orion nodded.
"It hangs in the highest tower of the Moon Temple."
"It was forged from the first moonstone."
"What does it do?" Lyra asked.
"It awakens hope."
"But only a true Moonborn Queen can ring it."
Lyra looked toward the distant temple.
It was miles away.
Beyond the battlefield.
Beyond the Shadow King's army.
---
The Shadow King smiled knowingly.
"You've remembered."
He raised his Blade of Eclipse.
"But you'll never reach it."
He pointed toward the valley.
The thousands of Shade Wolves began advancing.
An endless tide of darkness blocked the road to the Moon Temple.
Fenrir growled.
"I'll clear a path."
Kael stepped forward despite the visions still tormenting him.
"So will I."
Damon lifted his sword.
"Blackwood stands with its Alpha."
One by one, the warriors formed ranks.
The Guardian Golems lowered their spears.
Even the villagers stood together.
No one moved.
They were waiting for Lyra.
She looked at the faces around her.
Just days ago, many of them had mocked her.
Some had cheered when Kael rejected her.
Now...
They trusted her.
Not because she demanded it.
But because she had earned it.
She raised the Moonblade high.
Its silver light spread across the valley.
"We don't fight because we're fearless," she called.
"We fight because there are people worth protecting."
Her voice carried over every soldier.
"Stand together."
"Protect one another."
"And no darkness will ever defeat us."
A cheer erupted.
The fear gripping the army began to fade.
The Eye of Eclipse narrowed, its crimson glow flickering for the first time.
The Shadow King's smile vanished.
He had expected a broken queen.
Instead...
He had created a leader.
Lyra climbed onto Fenrir's broad back.
She looked toward the distant Moon Temple.
"Let's ring the Bell of Dawn."
Fenrir lowered his head.
"Hold on, my Queen."
With a thunderous roar, the great guardian charged forward.
Behind him, Kael, Orion, Damon, and the united warriors of Blackwood surged into battle, carving a path through the sea of Shade Wolves.
Above them, the Eye of Eclipse watched in silence.
Waiting.
Watching.
Preparing for the final confrontation that would decide the fate of every werewolf kingdom.
- Writer
