The Forgotten Legend

Chapter 13 : The Moon’s Wrath and Blessing

**Chapter Thirteen : The Moon’s Wrath and Blessing**

The valley had turned to ash.

Nothing living moved freely anymore. Wolves hid in shattered ruins, some trembling, some screaming. Fires licked at jagged stones, smoke curling into the sky like veins of death.

Aeloria knelt over Kael, whose body was battered, broken, and bleeding. Shadow chains wrapped around him, coiling tight as if trying to strangle life itself. His chest rose and fell in shallow gasps, his golden blood flaring weakly, struggling to fight the poison Caelum had infused him with.

“I can’t save him,” she whispered, shaking. “I can’t.”

“You can,” a voice echoed.

The Moon broke through the clouds. Not gentle silver, but molten white, scorching and unyielding. It bathed the valley in harsh light, as if the sky itself had risen in judgment.

The golden veins in Aeloria’s arms flared violently. Kael’s eyes flickered open, glowing faint gold. The Moon was blessing them—but the energy was raw, wild, and punishing.

Aeloria felt it in her chest. It was not warmth. It was fire, ripping at her heart, at her bones, at her very soul. The Golden Blood responded, screaming, pulling, reshaping itself around the Moon’s gift.

Kael coughed blood, the chains rattling. “What… is happening?” he gasped.

“They’re blessing us,” she whispered. “The Moon… it’s trying to save us.”

The Moon’s light intensified. Shadows screamed, recoiling from its brilliance. The Voidbound faltered for the first time, their hollow eyes flaring gold.

But the blessing came with a cost.

Aeloria felt it first. Every ounce of life around her pulsed in rhythm with hers—wolves, Kael, even some of the shadows. Pain struck like lightning. Every breath burned. Every heartbeat threatened to tear her apart.

Kael’s arm twitched. His body convulsed. His vision blurred, and he screamed—not in fear, but in agony.

“Aeloria… it burns!”

“Yes,” she whispered through gritted teeth. “It’s supposed to!”

The Moon flared brighter still, and golden light intertwined with silver, pulsing into them both. Their bond screamed, straining to contain the energy. Every nerve, every vein, every memory they shared was amplified—pleasure and pain intertwined, love and terror fused into one searing reality.

Aeloria pressed herself against Kael. “Hold on! Hold on! I won’t let go!”

His hand found hers despite the pain, squeezing weakly. “You… promised,” he whispered, barely audible.

She kissed his forehead, and it was fire and ice at once. The blessing flowed through them, and Kael’s chains shattered as his body convulsed violently.

But even as he rose, stronger than before, their eyes met—and they knew: the Moon’s gift was not free.

Kael’s left arm hung slightly crooked. A scar burned across his chest from the energy that had fused into him. Aeloria felt every pain the Moon had inflicted on him as if it were hers. Her own heart throbbed violently, veins screaming, and her energy—her control over the Golden Blood—flickered, unstable.

The Moon’s blessing had saved them.

And yet, it had changed them forever.

Caelum stepped forward, shadows now retreating in fear of the Moon. “Clever,” he hissed. “You survived the blessing. But at what cost?”

Aeloria stood over Kael, golden fire still pulsing around her like molten chains. “Everything I am… everything we are… is ours to bear.”

Kael’s breathing came in ragged gasps. “We… we’ll bear it… together,” he rasped, touching her cheek weakly.

Aeloria shivered at the intimacy—the closeness was more than romantic. It was survival, shared agony, and the rawest form of trust. She pressed her forehead against his, whispering, “Always… even if it kills us.”

The Moon pulsed once more, as if acknowledging her vow. Shadows recoiled. Wolves slowly began to rise, and the valley trembled—not with fear, but with the power of two beings bound by blood, love, and unrelenting fire.

Yet the cost lingered. Every death they had witnessed, every wound that remained, every fear unresolved—it was still there. The blessing had saved them, but it had sharpened every edge of hatred, every blade of despair.

Caelum smiled, black and golden eyes glinting. “So much fire… yet you are still children. Let us see how long that lasts.”

Aeloria’s golden eyes burned as she raised her hands toward the sky. The Moon flared again, louder, brighter, heavier.

And beneath the molten light, she whispered: “We are no longer children. And no one will survive what comes next without paying… in blood.”