The Moonbound Bride

Chapter 17

The Past Ⅱ

LYRA

The pulse in every part of my body quickened, throbbing so hard I could hear it echo in the silent cabin. My blood ran cold—I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. It wasn’t just a story Blade told me—it was a memory. My memory.

No… I didn’t imagine it. The memories came back.

This is my reincarnation. A new body, yes—but the structure, the soul… it's all the same. I am the same.

I wasn’t truly dead that night. The night of the sacrifice. The night I was handed over like a feast to the bloodthirsty monsters. My body had vanished, but my soul endured.

And before Blade could say another word, I interrupted—because I remembered everything. Not just the past, but what happened after Viktor murdered me. Blade had lost all of that. His memories stopped there.

But mine didn't.

Now here he is—kneeling in front of me, almost curling into my lap, warm and vulnerable, as I run my fingers gently through his silky black hair.

“You want to know what happened next?” I asked softly.

He looked up at me, eyes wide with surprise.

“Next?” he echoed. “You remember the past?”

His gaze searched mine desperately, his grip tightening around my thighs and the folds of my dress.

I nodded faintly.

“There’s more to it,” I said, scoffing lightly.

His expression shifted to one of deep concern, his eyes frantic.

“Your memories were erased… but I didn’t actually die,” I told him, voice trembling slightly.

“What?” he breathed, frowning, rushing back closer to me. He dropped to his knees again, clutching my hands in his, eyes locked on mine.

He began caressing my fingers, his warmth spreading through my chilled skin like sunlight.

And then, as he knelt there—his eyes filled with love, confusion, and hunger for the truth—I began telling him the part of the story he never got to remember.

After my death, everything fell silent. You were forcefully taken back by your soldiers on Grandmother Mildered’s orders. Your parents witnessed it all, yet not a word left their lips in the presence of your poison-tongued, vicious grandmother.

When Viktor came to kill me, I had tried to activate my powers—but your grandmother had something dark at her disposal. Some kind of black magic. It rendered me powerless. I couldn’t resist the force with which Viktor came at me. I gave in to my death, helpless… but still, I waited for your return.

When they assumed I was gone, they discarded my body—tossing it into the valley like waste, left for wild animals to devour. But a sliver of my soul remained. My brain still flickered with awareness, piecing together the horror of what had happened.

I was covered in wet mud, leaves, and jungle debris—wrapped in nature's cold silence. But the rain you summoned with your grief began to cleanse me. It washed away the dirt, the filth, the remnants of betrayal. The tears you cried shook the heavens—and the sky cried with you.

The moon watched in silence, his light dimmed and distant. No glow. No silver beam. He was mourning. Whether it was my death or your betrayal, I don’t know. But we broke something sacred that day. He had trusted us… and we gave that trust away—for love. And in doing so, we brought doom upon him. Upon ourselves.

Chunks of him began to fall—just like we saw in your cabin that day when we held each other close. The rain turned torrential. Thunder roared. Lightning tore through the trees like blades from the sky.

I don’t know what happened to you after that. I don’t know how your family treated you through all these years. Maybe you can tell me… once I finish telling you how I’m still alive.

But I do know what happened to me. The moon—despite the pain—lifted my body into the sky. He took me into his arms. Held me in his lightless embrace.

And in that moment, it was as if the entire sky wept for me.

The moon saved me that night. It wouldn’t let me die—I knew that. How could it? I was its strongest warrior, its proof that goodness could still prevail in this world. But something had shifted… something was different in the way the moon moved that night.

When I opened my eyes slightly, I found myself lying peacefully in its cold, luminous realm. I knew immediately where I was. I wasn’t surprised—but I was aching for answers. Why had it saved me? I had broken its trust. I carried its light no longer. So why?

I looked around, searching for its presence. It used to speak to me in dreams, as a whisper in my mind. But now… now it felt like I was being held captive in its gleaming world of silence.

Just as I struggled to rise—bruised, bloodied, barely breathing—I saw it approaching. A silvery halo. Drifting closer, slowly. It had no form, just a divine energy, radiant and unshaped. Only its shimmering hands broke through the shadow, reaching forward to gently lift my chin.

“You are fine, my dear?” it asked, in a voice as soft as wind.

I nodded, barely.

I reached out instinctively to touch its hand—but my fingers slipped through. I couldn’t hold it. It was like trying to grasp a dream.

“Viktor gave you much pain, I see, dear,” it murmured, circling me with its silver aura. I sat still, letting its voice wash over me.

Inside, my heart was screaming. Not from the pain of my wounds—but from imagining how you must be feeling. Grieving me. Lost. Alone. I wanted to cry out to you—to let you know I was still alive.

It interrupted my thoughts.

“Thinking of the Tiger King, dear?”

Its voice was certain—too certain. I swallowed hard at the mention of him.

“He will be fine,” it said, almost dismissively.

“You both broke my rules. Abandoned my trust. Made me fall from grace in front of my master,” it continued, voice steady but tinged with a strange sorrow.

“Yet… I’m okay with that. I only cursed the Tiger,” it added with a twisted tone.

I ran toward it, desperate. “What did you do to him? What curse?” I cried out. “Let me go to him! Now that I’m saved, I want to see him—touch him, hold him tight in my arms. Please… let me go to him!” My voice cracked as I begged, heart shattering with every breath.

It didn’t waver.

“You fool,” it said, “you still don’t understand? Your love was forbidden. That’s why Sunñir killed you.”

Its form pulsed with anger, its silvery glow flaring into a deep, violent red.

“I saved you only because a part of my soul lives within you. But I do not forgive you for what you did.”

The realm darkened with its fury. And it—once calm and soft—burned now like a bleeding scar in the sky.

I was taken aback by its fury, collapsing to the ground as its wrath consumed me.

“Exactly why? Why can’t we be together?” I cried out, my voice raw with anguish.

“Because it’s forbidden. A tamer and a beast cannot be allies. Two different species. Two different entities. But only one rule...”

I cut it off. “And the same origin—both from the moon, from you. Did you forget that?”

“Silence, you insolent brat!” it thundered. “Don’t talk back to me. I was sent to remind you of the rules—by my master.” Its voice echoed, followed by a cruel, twisted laugh.

“Who’s your master?” I asked, my voice trembling.

“The ruler of the sky, the planets, the stars... the energy that lies beyond your understanding—or mine. The one who made the laws. The one who decreed that I remind you: you cannot defy fate or what has been written. He is the universe himself.”

As it spoke, the realm of the moon began to quake. The universe was responding. I trembled, eyes darting around, searching for cover—but in front of me, the moon descended, glowing ever brighter.

“Look,” it said. “It loves us. The universe. So don’t test it again. Keep your emotions at bay.”

But I wasn’t listening anymore. I didn’t care about the rules, or the universe, or their ancient laws. All I cared about was you.

“What did you do to my Marcus? My Blade?” I asked, my voice barely holding together.

It turned towards me, and answered. “I took his memories. I cursed him. He’s now powerless—forever, for getting blood on his fangs. I’m angry with both of you. How could you do this?”

“No!” I screamed. “You erased his memories? That means… he doesn’t remember me anymore. And you stripped his powers too? How can you be so heartless?” I wailed, shaking with grief.

“Heartless?” it scoffed.

“Thank the universe itself that I even saved you. You’ll remain here with me. Preserved. And then, I’ll let you vanish into your own thoughts—until you slowly forget about Blade.” Its voice was cold. Cruel.

“Then why not erase me now, like you did to him?” I challenged, trembling. “What’s stopping you? Are you afraid I’ll grow stronger than you? That I’ll unleash a power you can’t contain? I just need to get through it. That’s all.”

It laughed, an eerie echo that rang through the realm. “You do have the potential to surpass me, dear one. But for now, your life is mine to give. I resurrected you. I granted you immortality. You can’t do anything.”

“How cruel of you,” I hissed.

“Cruel?” it repeated. “Say what you will—but I am your father. The great Gibbous. You are a part of me. I wanted to keep you safe—or you’d have died that night, along with your beloved Marcus. And yet, you still despise me?”

“Then why don’t you beg the universe for more?” I challenged.

“I can’t,” it continued before I could answer. “I am bound by the rules; the laws of the universe. I saved you both. That’s all I could do. I can’t do more.”

And with that, it moved closer—its hands of light grabbing mine. It dragged me across the pale dust, toward a prison made of cold stone and iron walls that didn’t breathe. The darkness inside swallowed me whole.

I don’t know how long I was trapped in that darkness, Blade. It felt like an eternity. No one to talk to. Nothing to do. Just the weight of silence and stone.My mind slowly unraveled. I forgot you. I forgot that I was a beast tamer. I lost everything.

Each day, the moon would visit—not with warmth, but only to remind me that I was still serving my punishment. I grew paler. The walls around me grew darker. Even my thoughts became shadows of what they used to be.

But then—

One day, I saw a flicker of something.

Hope.

A strange light, unlike anything I—or any being—had ever seen before. It slipped in through a tiny crack in the prison wall, delicate and pure, yet so powerful that it fractured the stone and iron with just a touch.I was still in chains. Weak. Barely holding on. But this light… it breathed life back into me. It was as if the universe was shifting. Something was healing. Something was coming.

From that day on, the light returned to me—every single day. It fed me its shimmering essence, and I slowly began to recover. The moon stopped visiting.

And I wondered: What is happening?

I began to wait for the light like a wanderer desperate for an oasis in the middle of a burning desert. It became my only hope. My only friend.

And deep inside, I felt it— Change was coming.

One day, the beautiful light burst through the prison, nearly shattering everything—its stone-cold walls, the iron bars, all of it melting away. And for the first time in what felt like forever, I felt free. That light, that force… it wrapped around me like an ally, like hope itself. I still don’t know what it was, but it danced around my body like it knew me. Like it came just for me.

But as always, fate had other plans. What’s meant to happen will always find its way. Just as I began to move, to escape that place, the moon returned. And this time, it didn’t hold back. It trapped me again, locking me inside an even harsher prison. This one forged by the sun’s scorching heat and thunder’s unrelenting bolts of lightning. Each time I tried to resist—each time I banged on the walls—an electric shock surged through me, leaving me writhing in pain.

I was being punished. Tortured.

The moon’s voice echoed around me, cold and merciless. “You are cursed now, dear one. I gave you a chance, but your stubbornness outweighs reason. So now, you will face the consequences. Because the Tiger King's family never accepted you, and you never accepted my part in your fate, I forbid and curse you. You and Blade will never be allowed to fall in love or be close again. If you try, you will suffer my wrath. Always.”

“No, please,” I pleaded, falling to my knees.

The best part was—I still remembered you. Remembered us, even if just in fragments. Our love was that strong. But when the moon realized the fading of memories wasn’t working on me, it warned that on the night of the Blood Moon—when it turns fully red—it would cast me into a deep, endless sleep, one I wouldn’t awaken from for centuries.

Then, on one quiet day as I waited helplessly for the Blood Moon’s arrival, the celestial force—the light—came again. And for the first time, it spoke to me.

“I will be there for you, Lyra,” it said gently. “I’m trapped now, cursed like you... but one day, I will help you. If not today, then someday.”

Then it vanished just as quickly as it came, leaving me breathless, with only its promise to hold on to.

The day of the Blood Moon finally came. That’s when I first saw the Primordial Book appear before me. The moon’s stars—his apprentices—had written it for him. Even the moon hadn’t yet read all its contentsnas the time was running out. He had to act fast.

And then, he slashed my upper arm and let the blood drip onto its sacred pages. I don’t know why my blood was needed… maybe to seal something… or maybe to erase something. The pain was unbearable. And then, without warning, he placed his cold hand on my forehead. Darkness took over. My thoughts grew sluggish, my eyelids heavier with each passing second... until I surrendered.

The next thing I remember—I was someone else’s daughter. Lyra Faxon. I grew up like a normal girl. Same body, same eyes… just no memories of who I really was. It wasn’t even reincarnation, Blade. It was a reset. A rewrite.

So tell me... if the moon didn’t want us together, if the laws of the stars forbade it... why did fate bring us back together again in this lifetime? Why, Blade?

Blade looked at me, stunned. He had no answers. He just cried. Silent tears streamed down his cheeks. He could feel the pain, the wrath, the unbearable weight I carried all these years. His lips trembled, but no words came out. He just held my hands tighter. He knew now. He felt it all.