The Betrayer Name
927 Words
The arena fell deathly silent.
Nysera stared at the hooded man as his words echoed through the sacred mountain.
“I did not kill your parents…”
“…your brother did.”
Every heartbeat thundered inside her ears.
“No…”
She shook her head violently.
“You’re lying.”
The hooded man smiled, almost sympathetically.
“I expected you to say that.”
Behind him, dozens of shadow wolves climbed from the cracked earth, forming a protective circle.
None of them attacked.
They simply watched.
Waiting.
Master Rowan stepped forward.
“Don’t listen to him, Your Majesty.”
“He’s trying to poison your mind.”
The stranger chuckled.
“Am I?”
He slowly removed the gloves covering his hands.
Etched into his skin was the ancient Moonborn royal crest.
A mark that could never be forged.
Gasps erupted through the arena.
The High Priestess’s face turned pale.
“Impossible…”
“Only members of the royal bloodline bear that mark.”
The stranger bowed respectfully toward Nysera.
“My name is Lucien.”
“I was the Royal Commander of the Moonborn Kingdom.”
“I swore my life to protect your family.”
Nysera’s heart pounded.
“If that’s true…”
“…then why are you serving the Shadow Emperor?”
Pain flashed across Lucien’s face.
“I serve no one.”
“I’ve spent twenty years searching for the truth.”
Far above the arena…
Draven gripped the stone railing until it cracked beneath his fingers.
Every instinct screamed at him to go to Nysera.
But the invisible barrier surrounding the arena refused to let anyone enter.
Kael stood beside him.
For the first time…
The two rivals weren’t glaring at each other.
They were both focused on one thing.
Protecting Nysera.
“If he hurts her…”
Kael growled.
“I’ll kill him.”
Draven’s voice remained calm.
“He isn’t here to kill her.”
Kael frowned.
“How can you tell?”
“Because he’s giving her something far more dangerous.”
“What?”
“The truth.”
Nysera’s breathing became uneven.
“My brother…”
“You said he killed my parents.”
Lucien nodded slowly.
“He believed he was saving the kingdom.”
She froze.
“What?”
“The Shadow Emperor didn’t destroy the Moonborn Kingdom.”
“He manipulated it.”
“The royal court turned against itself.”
“The nobles fought one another.”
“Trust became impossible.”
“And then…”
Lucien closed his eyes.
“Your brother made a choice.”
Cassian stepped forward.
“Enough.”
His crimson aura exploded across the arena.
“I won’t let you fill her head with lies.”
Lucien looked directly at him.
“You’re protecting the wrong secret.”
Cassian’s expression darkened.
“I warned you never to return.”
“And yet…”
Lucien smiled bitterly.
“Here I am.”
Nysera looked between them.
“You know each other?”
Neither man answered.
That silence spoke louder than words.
The Blood Moon suddenly glowed brighter.
Silver lightning tore across the sky.
The temple trembled violently.
The High Priestess dropped to one knee.
“The Moon Crown…”
“It’s responding.”
Ancient doors hidden within the mountain began opening one after another.
A powerful wave of moonlight flooded the arena.
At the center of the light…
A magnificent silver crown slowly rose into the air.
Every wolf present instinctively bowed.
The legendary Moon Crown had awakened.
Nysera couldn’t take her eyes off it.
Its beauty was beyond imagination.
It wasn’t made of gold.
It wasn’t made of silver.
It seemed to be woven from pure moonlight itself.
Lyra whispered inside her mind.
“It has been waiting for you.”
Without thinking…
Nysera took one step toward the crown.
Then another.
The moment she reached out.
A blast of black energy shot across the arena.
“Look out!”
Draven shouted.
Lucien moved first.
He threw himself in front of Nysera.
The dark spear pierced his shoulder.
Blood splattered across the white stone.
Nysera gasped.
“Lucien!”
He staggered but remained standing.
“I told you…”
“I made an oath to protect the Moonborn Queen.”
Before anyone could react.
A sinister laugh echoed from the heavens.
The sky split apart.
A gigantic black portal opened above the temple.
Thousands of shadow creatures poured from it.
At their center floated a figure cloaked in darkness.
His eyes burned like molten crimson.
The entire mountain shook beneath his presence.
Even the High Priestess trembled.
“No…”
“It can’t be…”
Draven slowly drew his sword.
Kael shifted into his wolf form.
Cassian’s aura ignited like crimson fire.
The hooded figure smiled.
“So…”
“The Moon Crown has finally awakened.”
His gaze settled on Nysera.
“We meet at last…”
“…daughter of my greatest enemy.”
Nysera’s blood ran cold.
She had never seen him before.
Yet every instinct inside her screamed one name.
The Shadow Emperor.
He raised one hand.
The portal behind him expanded.
An endless army of shadow wolves descended toward the temple.
Then he spoke the words that plunged the entire kingdom into despair.
“Kneel…”
“…or watch your world burn.”
As the Shadow Emperor’s army surrounded the Moon Temple, the Moon Crown suddenly flew toward Nysera but before she could touch it, another hand reached for the crown from the opposite side.
The newcomer whispered,
“The crown belongs to me.”
- Writer
