CHAPTER 11: THE FALLEN KING'S WRATH
1628 Words
The chains hit the stone floor with deafening crashes.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Each broken link was thicker than a man's arm, engraved with ancient silver runes that flickered before fading into dust.
The creature stepped out of the darkness.
Its presence alone made the underground kingdom tremble.
Selene couldn't breathe.
It stood nearly twenty feet tall, its body covered in midnight-black fur threaded with crimson veins that pulsed like molten lava beneath its skin. Jagged horns curved backward from its skull, and its claws carved deep grooves into the marble with every step.
Its eyes...
Were empty.
Not filled with rage.
Not hatred.
Just endless emptiness.
The Guardian Drake slowly lowered its head.
Its thunderous voice carried an emotion Selene hadn't expected.
Fear.
"The Fallen King..."
"...forgive us."
The creature didn't respond.
It simply inhaled.
A deep, slow breath.
The air in the cavern became icy.
Captain Nadia immediately drew her sword.
"Protect the Princess!"
The Royal Guards formed a wall around Selene, their silver spears glowing as ancient magic awakened within them.
Kael never took his eyes off the monster.
"Ethan."
"Yes, Alpha."
"If I lose control..."
Ethan's expression stiffened.
"...You won't."
Kael's jaw tightened.
"That wasn't an order."
"It was a possibility."
Silence hung between them.
Finally, Ethan lowered his head.
"...Understood."
Selene frowned.
"What do you mean, 'lose control'?"
No one answered.
The silence frightened her more than any explanation could have.
---
Across the plaza, Ronan smiled with quiet satisfaction.
"This is where legends end."
One of his commanders stepped beside him.
"My Alpha..."
"The beast doesn't obey anyone."
"I know."
"It doesn't have to."
Ronan folded his arms.
"It only has to destroy."
He looked directly at Kael.
"And while the Lycan King is busy surviving..."
He shifted his gaze to Selene.
"...I'll claim what's mine."
---
The Fallen King suddenly stopped.
Its empty eyes fixed on Selene.
The silver necklace around her neck grew warm.
Very warm.
Then it began to glow.
The creature tilted its massive head.
A strange rumble escaped its throat.
Not a growl.
Almost...
A whimper.
Selene frowned.
"It's looking at me."
The Guardian Drake nodded slowly.
"It remembers."
"Remembers what?"
"The royal blood."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"No..."
The Drake looked toward him.
"It served the Moon Throne long before it fell into darkness."
Selene took one cautious step forward.
Kael immediately reached for her wrist.
"Don't."
"What if it isn't trying to hurt me?"
"It has slaughtered entire armies."
"It no longer knows friend from enemy."
"But..."
She looked into the creature's empty red eyes.
"It looks..."
"...sad."
---
The Fallen King let out a low, mournful howl.
The sound echoed through every street of the forgotten kingdom.
Ancient buildings shook.
Several Royal Guards lowered their weapons.
One old guardian whispered,
"...I remember that cry."
Another slowly closed his glowing blue eyes.
"He used to sing that melody to the young princes."
Selene looked at them.
"What?"
The oldest guardian rested both hands on his spear.
"Before he became the Fallen King..."
"...he was General Orion."
"The greatest protector the Moon Kingdom ever knew."
Selene's heart skipped.
"He was one of us?"
"He was family."
The Guardian Drake lowered its massive head.
"He carried you in his arms the day you were born."
The world seemed to stop.
Selene stared at the towering beast.
This monster...
Had once protected her?
---
Suddenly—
The creature clutched its head.
A roar burst from its throat.
Black smoke poured from its body.
Its crimson eyes flickered.
For a single heartbeat...
They turned silver.
A deep, broken voice echoed from within the beast.
"...Run..."
Selene froze.
"What?"
Again.
Weaker this time.
"...Princess..."
"...run..."
Kael's expression changed instantly.
"That's Orion."
"He's still alive in there."
Ronan's smile vanished.
"Impossible."
The Fallen King threw back its head and roared.
The silver in its eyes disappeared beneath a flood of crimson once more.
Its chains exploded outward.
Stone pillars shattered.
The entire underground kingdom shook violently.
The monster's gaze locked onto Ronan.
Not Kael.
Not Selene.
Ronan.
For the first time...
The Alpha of the Shadow Wolves looked genuinely surprised.
"...Why are you looking at me?"
The Fallen King took one thunderous step forward.
Then another.
Its voice emerged in a tortured growl that echoed through the ancient city.
"...Traitor..."
The word hung in the air like a curse.
Every face turned toward Ronan.
Even Kael's golden eyes narrowed.
Ronan's calm mask cracked for the first time.
The Fallen King had remembered something.
Something that was never supposed to be remembered.
The single word echoed across the underground kingdom.
"...Traitor."
No one moved.
The Fallen King's crimson eyes remained fixed on Ronan, burning with a hatred so ancient that even the stone beneath his feet began to crack.
Ronan's smile disappeared.
For the first time since Selene had met him...
He looked unsettled.
"Interesting," he murmured.
"I thought your mind had been completely destroyed."
The giant creature let out another roar.
This one wasn't filled with rage.
It was agony.
Black smoke poured from every wound covering his body.
The enormous claws dug into the marble as if he were fighting against something inside himself.
The Guardian Drake lowered its head.
"He's resisting the corruption."
Captain Nadia frowned.
"Can he be saved?"
The Drake remained silent.
Finally, it answered,
"...I don't know."
---
Selene couldn't stop staring.
The creature looked terrifying.
Yet...
When its silver eyes had appeared for that brief moment...
She hadn't seen a monster.
She had seen a man begging for help.
"He called Ronan a traitor."
She looked toward Kael.
"What did he mean?"
Kael didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he kept his eyes locked on Ronan.
"When the Moon Kingdom fell..."
"There were rumors."
"What rumors?"
"That someone opened the palace gates from the inside."
Selene's heart skipped.
"...An insider?"
Kael nodded.
"No army could have breached the Moon Palace otherwise."
Her gaze slowly shifted to Ronan.
"You..."
"...you betrayed them?"
Ronan laughed softly.
"You really believe history is that simple?"
"Answer her."
Kael's voice was ice.
Ronan sighed dramatically.
"Fine."
"I opened the gates."
Silence crashed over the city.
Even his own followers stared at him in disbelief.
"But..."
He raised a finger.
"I wasn't the only one."
---
The Fallen King roared again.
His massive fist slammed into the ground.
BOOOOM!
The shockwave threw everyone backward.
Stone buildings trembled.
Ancient statues collapsed.
Selene stumbled, but Kael caught her before she hit the ground.
"Stay behind me."
"I'm tired of staying behind."
She looked around the battlefield.
"Everyone keeps fighting because of me."
"My mother was kidnapped because of me."
"This kingdom is waking up because of me."
She looked directly into Kael's eyes.
"If I'm really this Moon Princess..."
"...then stop treating me like someone who needs to be hidden."
Kael was silent.
"You asked me to trust you."
She took a deep breath.
"Then trust me too."
For several long seconds...
Neither of them spoke.
Finally...
Kael nodded.
"Very well."
He reached to his belt and unclipped a short silver dagger.
Its blade shimmered beneath the moonlight.
He placed it gently in her hands.
"This belonged to your father."
Selene's eyes widened.
"My..."
"...father?"
"I've kept it for twenty-one years."
She ran her fingers over the engraved crescent moon on the hilt.
It felt strangely familiar.
As though it had always belonged in her hand.
---
Across the plaza, Ronan watched with narrowed eyes.
"So."
"You finally gave it back."
Kael stepped forward.
"It was never mine to keep."
Ronan slowly drew his sword.
"You know what happens now."
"I do."
"The old laws."
"The rightful heir has returned."
Ronan's smile became cold.
"And there can only be one ruler."
Without warning—
He charged.
His speed rivaled Kael's.
The two Alphas collided in the center of the plaza.
BOOM!
The impact shattered the marble beneath them.
Their claws and blades clashed again and again.
Neither gained an advantage.
Selene watched in disbelief.
They weren't simply fighting.
They knew each other's movements.
Every strike.
Every feint.
Every weakness.
"They've fought before..."
Ethan nodded.
"Many times."
"But never to the death."
---
As Kael and Ronan battled, the Fallen King suddenly froze.
His crimson eyes settled on the silver dagger in Selene's hand.
The madness within them flickered.
Silver returned.
Long enough...
For recognition.
His enormous body trembled.
"...Little..."
His broken voice echoed painfully.
"...Princess..."
Selene's breath caught.
She slowly stepped forward.
"General Orion?"
Captain Nadia gasped.
"Princess, don't!"
But Selene ignored her.
The giant monster dropped to one knee.
His head lowered.
Like a knight before his queen.
Tears—actual tears—rolled down his scarred face.
"I..."
"...failed..."
His voice cracked.
"I couldn't..."
"...save them..."
Selene's heart ached.
"You tried."
He slowly lifted his head.
"I promised..."
"...your father..."
"...I'd protect you."
His body shook violently.
The black smoke grew thicker.
The corruption was returning.
He looked at Selene with desperate silver eyes.
"You..."
"...must..."
His expression twisted in pain.
Then, with the last of his strength, he roared—
"DON'T TRUST THE SILVER CROWN!"
A blast of dark energy exploded from his body.
The silver disappeared from his eyes.
The crimson returned.
Stronger than before.
The Guardian Drake closed its eyes in sorrow.
"His mind..."
"...has fallen again."
The Fallen King rose to his full height.
This time...
He wasn't looking at Ronan.
Or Kael.
He was looking at the silver dagger in Selene's hands.
Then he let out a roar so powerful that the cavern ceiling split open.
Huge chunks of rock crashed toward the ancient city.
Kael looked up—and his face changed.
"Selene!"
High above them, an entire section of the ceiling was collapsing.
There was no time to run.
No time to hide.
Only one chance to survive.
- Writer
