Chapter 17 - The Eclipse Beast
1965 Words
The roar shook the world.
Far above the underground city, mountains cracked.
Trees fell.
The ancient castle of Lunaris trembled as dust poured from the ceiling.
Every werewolf in the kingdom stopped fighting.
For one terrifying moment, there was complete silence.
Then the sky disappeared.
A black circle slowly covered the moon.
An eclipse.
But this was no natural eclipse.
The darkness moved.
It spread across the sky like ink.
And from somewhere beneath the earth came another roar.
BOOOOOOM!
Luna fell to one knee.
Kael caught her.
“Luna!”
She pressed a hand against her chest.
“My heart...”
Her silver eyes flashed.
She could feel something approaching.
Not from the underground city.
Not from the Lunar Gate.
From somewhere much deeper.
Something ancient.
Something hungry.
Something that recognized her.
“It knows me,” Luna whispered.
Kael looked at Azrael.
“What is that thing?”
Azrael didn't answer immediately.
For the first time since his awakening, the ancient king looked afraid.
“The Eclipse Beast,” he finally said.
“What is it?”
Azrael looked toward the gate.
“The end of the first age.”
---
The enormous creature moved beyond the Lunar Gate.
Only a portion of its body could be seen.
Its skin was black like the night sky.
Ancient silver markings covered its enormous limbs.
Six glowing eyes opened in the darkness.
Luna stared at them.
The creature was too large to be called a wolf.
Too powerful to be called a beast.
It was something older.
Something that existed before the werewolves.
Before the Moonfangs.
Before the Lunarians.
Azrael spoke quietly.
“It was born from the first eclipse.”
Luna looked at him.
“Born?”
“The ancient Lunarians discovered that the moon had a shadow.”
He paused.
“They believed that shadow was simply darkness.”
His expression became grim.
“They were wrong.”
---
A vision appeared before Luna.
She saw the ancient world.
A silver moon hung over a vast Lunarian civilization.
Thousands of people celebrated beneath it.
Then the moon turned black.
A shadow descended.
The ground split apart.
The Eclipse Beast emerged.
Lunarians screamed.
Cities burned.
Entire armies attacked it.
Nothing worked.
Then Luna saw the first Moon Eaters.
They gathered their power.
Hundreds of them.
Thousands.
They attacked together.
The Eclipse Beast swallowed their energy.
One after another, the Moon Eaters disappeared.
Luna watched in horror.
“They couldn't defeat it.”
Azrael nodded.
“They couldn't.”
“What happened?”
“The Lunarians created the Lunar Gate.”
Luna looked at the massive structure.
“They trapped it?”
“No.”
Azrael shook his head.
“They trapped themselves.”
---
Luna looked toward the gate.
“You mean...”
“The gate was never created to bring the Lunarians into the world.”
Azrael's voice became cold.
“It was created to keep the Eclipse Beast away from the world.”
Luna's eyes widened.
Lyra stepped backward.
For the first time, fear appeared on her face.
“No.”
Azrael looked at her.
“You opened the prison.”
Lyra stared at the gate.
“I thought the gate would awaken our kingdom.”
“It did.”
Azrael pointed toward the darkness.
“And it awakened what was beneath it.”
Lyra's face became pale.
“No...”
Rowan suddenly grabbed her arm.
“We have to leave.”
Lyra didn't move.
“Lyra!”
She continued staring at the gate.
“What have I done?”
---
A massive claw slammed against the other side.
BOOM!
The Lunar Gate cracked.
Everyone was thrown backward.
Luna hit the ground.
Kael landed beside her.
“Are you hurt?”
Luna shook her head.
“No.”
She looked toward the gate.
“Not yet.”
Kael stood.
His sword began glowing.
“We need to close it.”
Luna nodded.
“But how?”
Azrael answered.
“Only the Unification Mark can seal it.”
Luna stared at her hand.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
Azrael looked at her.
“Because you would have tried to do it alone.”
Luna's expression hardened.
“Maybe I should.”
Kael immediately shook his head.
“No.”
Luna looked at him.
“Kael—”
“I've watched you sacrifice yourself enough.”
He stepped closer.
“This time, you don't do it alone.”
Luna's expression softened.
“You're stubborn.”
“Yes.”
She smiled.
“Very.”
---
Suddenly, Rowan stepped forward.
Everyone turned.
The ancient Lucian held a strange black crystal.
Luna's eyes narrowed.
“Rowan.”
He smiled.
“I believe I can help.”
Kael raised his sword.
“Stay where you are.”
Rowan ignored him.
He looked toward Azrael.
“The Lucians guarded the First Moon Throne.”
Azrael nodded.
“We did.”
“And the Lunar Gate?”
Azrael stared at him.
“The Lucians were never meant to control it.”
Rowan smiled.
“But we can.”
He lifted the crystal.
Ancient Lucian symbols appeared in the air.
The Eclipse Beast suddenly stopped.
Its six eyes turned toward Rowan.
Luna felt something wrong.
“Rowan... what are you doing?”
“Taking control of the creature.”
Azrael's expression changed.
“Fool!”
Rowan laughed.
“You've spent centuries hiding beneath the earth.”
He raised the crystal higher.
“I spent years learning how your powers work.”
The crystal began absorbing the darkness.
The Eclipse Beast roared.
Rowan smiled.
“Now I will become its master.”
---
The darkness suddenly exploded.
Rowan was thrown across the chamber.
The crystal shattered.
He crashed against a stone pillar.
Kael looked at him.
“You idiot.”
Rowan slowly stood.
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
But he was smiling.
“It didn't obey me.”
Luna looked at him.
“Because you can't control it.”
“No.”
Rowan looked toward the Eclipse Beast.
“Because it doesn't have a master.”
He looked at Luna.
“It has a target.”
Luna's stomach tightened.
“What target?”
Rowan pointed at her.
“You.”
---
The Eclipse Beast roared.
Its enormous eyes locked onto Luna.
The Unification Mark burned.
Luna screamed.
Silver energy exploded from her body.
Kael grabbed her.
“Luna!”
She fell against him.
“I can feel it.”
“What?”
“It wants my blood.”
Azrael stepped forward.
“Of course.”
Luna looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because you are the first heir in thousands of years to carry all four ancient bloodlines.”
Luna stared at him.
“Moonfang.”
Azrael nodded.
“Lucian.”
He looked toward the mark.
“Bloodfang.”
The symbol shifted.
“Silverfang.”
Then the fifth symbol appeared.
“The bridge.”
Luna understood.
“The Unification Mark.”
“Yes.”
Azrael looked toward the Eclipse Beast.
“To the creature, you are not merely a princess.”
“What am I?”
Azrael's answer was terrifying.
“You are the key to everything.”
---
Above them, the eclipse reached its peak.
The moon disappeared completely.
Darkness covered Lunaris.
The werewolves looked upward.
Selene stood upon the castle balcony.
She saw the sky.
Then she heard a whisper.
Her daughter's voice.
“Mother...”
Selene's eyes widened.
“Luna?”
The whisper came again.
“Help me.”
Selene immediately ran toward the ancient passage.
---
Inside the underground city, Kael held Luna's hand.
“Can you control the Mark?”
Luna nodded weakly.
“I think so.”
“Then tell me what you need.”
“I need everyone.”
Kael looked around.
“Everyone?”
“Moonfangs.”
She looked toward the Lunarian army.
“Lunarians.”
Then toward Rowan.
“Lucians.”
She looked toward the surface.
“And every werewolf clan.”
Kael understood.
“You're going to unite them.”
Luna nodded.
“Not just for peace.”
She looked toward the gate.
“To close it.”
---
Luna stepped forward.
The Unification Mark spread across her arm.
Silver light covered her body.
The Lunarians began to kneel.
Then something unexpected happened.
A Bloodfang warrior entered the underground city.
Behind him came Silverfang warriors.
Moonfang survivors followed.
And finally...
Selene arrived.
She ran toward Luna.
“My daughter!”
Luna turned.
“Mother!”
They embraced.
Selene held her tightly.
“I felt you calling me.”
Luna looked at her.
“Mother, I need the truth.”
Selene nodded.
“Ask.”
“Was the Eclipse Beast responsible for the fall of Lunaris?”
Selene hesitated.
“No.”
Luna frowned.
“Then what happened?”
Selene looked toward the Lunar Gate.
“Your father tried to stop it.”
Luna froze.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
Selene's eyes filled with tears.
“He discovered that the Eclipse Beast would eventually awaken.”
She took Luna's hands.
“He tried to unite the clans.”
“Then why did Lunaris fall?”
“Because someone betrayed him.”
Luna immediately looked at Rowan.
Rowan's smile disappeared.
Selene continued.
“Your father trusted the wrong people.”
She looked at Rowan.
“And the kingdom was divided.”
Luna's eyes narrowed.
“You knew?”
Rowan said nothing.
Selene pointed at him.
“He helped cause the fall of Lunaris.”
Rowan finally laughed.
“Yes.”
The chamber went silent.
“But I wasn't trying to destroy your kingdom.”
Luna stared at him.
“Then what were you trying to do?”
Rowan's eyes gleamed.
“I was trying to prepare for this day.”
---
The Eclipse Beast slammed against the gate again.
A massive crack appeared.
Azrael shouted:
“We have minutes!”
Luna looked around.
Every race was now watching her.
Werewolves.
Lunarians.
Lucians.
Her mother.
Kael.
Everyone waited.
Luna raised her hand.
The Unification Mark exploded with light.
“I am Luna of the Moonfang.”
Silver energy spread across the chamber.
“I am the heir of Lunaris.”
The Moonfang warriors raised their weapons.
“I am the bridge between ancient bloodlines.”
The Lucians stood.
“I will not allow the past to decide our future.”
The Lunarians raised their heads.
“And I will not let the Eclipse Beast destroy our world.”
Kael stepped beside her.
His golden eyes began glowing.
“I stand with Luna.”
One by one, warriors joined them.
Moonfang.
Lucian.
Bloodfang.
Silverfang.
Lunarian.
Their powers merged.
The entire underground city illuminated.
The Eclipse Beast roared.
The Lunar Gate began closing.
For one moment...
It worked.
Then Luna heard a voice.
Not Azrael.
Not Lyra.
Not Kael.
A voice inside her own mind.
“You cannot seal me.”
Luna froze.
The voice continued.
“Because I am already inside you.”
Her eyes widened.
The Unification Mark suddenly turned black.
Kael looked at her.
“Luna?”
She couldn't answer.
A dark symbol appeared across her chest.
Azrael stared in horror.
“No...”
Selene grabbed Luna.
“What happened?”
Azrael whispered:
“The Eclipse Beast isn't trying to enter the world.”
He looked at Luna.
“It has already entered.”
Luna slowly raised her head.
Her silver eyes had become half silver...
Half violet.
And behind her...
A gigantic shadow began forming.
Kael stared at it.
“Luna...”
She looked at him.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Kael...”
The shadow opened six glowing eyes.
Then Luna heard the ancient voice again.
“The eclipse has begun.”
To be continued...
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