Chapter 16 - The First King
1820 Words
The underground city fell silent.
Millions of Lunarians stood motionless beneath the violet glow of the ancient crystals.
At the center of the city, the Lunar Gate remained open.
Beyond it was nothing but darkness.
And within that darkness...
Two enormous violet eyes stared at Luna.
“Moonfang...”
The voice shook the ancient halls.
Luna felt the words inside her bones.
Kael stepped directly in front of her.
His sword was raised.
“Stay behind me.”
Luna placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Kael.”
“I don't care what that thing is.”
His golden eyes remained fixed on the darkness.
“It isn't getting near you.”
A deep rumble came from beyond the gate.
Then a gigantic hand emerged.
Black armor covered its fingers.
Ancient silver symbols glowed across its surface.
The hand gripped the edge of the Lunar Gate.
And slowly...
Something stepped through.
The first thing Luna saw was its height.
It was enormous.
Nearly twice the height of an ordinary werewolf.
Its body was covered in ancient black armor, but beneath the armor was pale skin marked with glowing violet lines.
Long silver hair fell across its shoulders.
Two enormous horns curved backward from its head.
And its eyes...
They were the same violet as Lyra's.
But infinitely older.
Selene whispered:
“Impossible.”
Luna looked at her.
“Mother?”
Selene took a step backward.
“I thought he was a legend.”
The ancient being looked toward Selene.
“You know my name.”
Selene's face became pale.
“Azrael.”
The creature smiled.
“After all these centuries... someone still remembers.”
---
Kael tightened his grip.
“Who is Azrael?”
Selene answered without taking her eyes off the creature.
“The First King of the Lunarians.”
Luna stared at him.
“The first king?”
Selene nodded.
“And the first being to wield the power that eventually created the Moon Eaters.”
Azrael slowly descended from the gate.
Each step caused the ground to shake.
Lunarians bowed as he passed.
Even Seraphine lowered her head.
Azrael stopped before Luna.
For several seconds, he simply stared at her.
Then he smiled.
“You look like her.”
Luna's expression hardened.
“Who?”
“Your grandmother.”
Luna froze.
“My grandmother?”
Azrael nodded.
“The last Moonfang queen before your father.”
Selene immediately stepped forward.
“Don't speak of her.”
Azrael looked at Selene.
“You still carry her anger.”
“And you still carry the reason she died.”
Silence.
Luna looked between them.
“Mother... what are you talking about?”
Selene hesitated.
Azrael answered.
“Your family has hidden much from you.”
Luna looked at him.
“Then tell me the truth.”
---
Azrael raised one hand.
The entire city changed.
The crystal walls became transparent.
Luna suddenly saw images moving through them.
An ancient world.
A world without Lunaris.
Without the known werewolf clans.
Without Moonfang kings.
The Lunarians walked across vast cities beneath a silver moon.
They possessed incredible magic.
They could manipulate darkness.
They could move through shadows.
They could shape lunar energy.
And they had built the Lunar Gate.
But then Luna saw something else.
A group of Lunarian warriors standing before a massive silver crystal.
Inside the crystal was a strange black energy.
Azrael's voice echoed.
“We discovered the power of the First Moon.”
The vision changed.
The Lunarians began using that power.
Their civilization grew stronger.
Their kingdoms expanded.
But eventually...
The power began changing them.
Their eyes turned violet.
Their shadows became alive.
Their bodies became stronger.
Their minds became darker.
Luna watched in horror as the first Moon Eaters were born.
“We believed we could control it,” Azrael said.
“We were wrong.”
The vision shifted again.
Lunarian cities burned.
Moon Eaters hunted their own people.
The Lunar Kingdom collapsed.
And the survivors disappeared beneath the earth.
Luna whispered:
“You went into hiding.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To wait.”
“For what?”
Azrael looked directly at her.
“For the return of the Moonfang bloodline.”
---
Kael stepped forward.
“Why Luna?”
Azrael turned toward him.
For the first time, his expression changed.
Recognition.
“You.”
Kael's sword rose.
“What?”
Azrael stared into his golden eyes.
“The Night Guardian.”
Kael froze.
Luna looked at him.
Azrael smiled.
“So the ancient order survived.”
Kael's voice was cold.
“What do you know about my bloodline?”
“Everything.”
The chamber became tense.
Azrael raised his hand.
A shadow appeared behind Kael.
It transformed into an image of ancient warriors.
They wore black armor.
Their faces were hidden beneath silver masks.
Each carried a crescent-shaped blade.
Kael stared at them.
“The Night Guardians.”
Azrael nodded.
“They were created to protect the Lunar Gate.”
Kael lowered his sword slightly.
“Protect it from what?”
Azrael's eyes narrowed.
“From the Moonfangs.”
Luna's heart stopped.
Kael looked at Luna.
“No.”
Azrael continued.
“The Moonfangs were given the power to rule the surface world. But their blood eventually became too powerful.”
He looked at Luna.
“Your ancestors feared us.”
Luna shook her head.
“So they created the Night Guardians?”
“No.”
Azrael smiled.
“The Moon Eaters created them.”
Kael's expression hardened.
“To hunt Moonfang heirs.”
“Yes.”
Luna looked at Kael.
“And you were born from them.”
Kael's jaw tightened.
“I don't care what my ancestors were.”
He stepped beside Luna.
“I choose what I am.”
Azrael studied him.
“Interesting.”
---
Suddenly, the Lunar Gate began shaking.
A violent wave of darkness erupted from it.
Luna stumbled.
Kael caught her.
“What's happening?”
Seraphine shouted:
“The gate is unstable!”
Azrael turned toward it.
“Someone is forcing it open.”
Luna immediately knew.
“Lyra.”
Azrael's expression darkened.
“Yes.”
He looked toward the surface.
“The descendant of the corrupted blood.”
---
Far above them...
Lunaris was under attack.
The sky turned violet.
Black clouds surrounded the castle.
Lyra stood on the highest tower.
Beside her stood Elder Rowan.
But they were not alone.
Thousands of shadow creatures had entered the kingdom.
Werewolves fought desperately across the streets.
Silverfang warriors defended the eastern gate.
Bloodfang survivors fought beside them.
Even former enemies had joined together.
But the creatures kept coming.
Lyra raised both hands.
A giant shadow formed above the castle.
Rowan looked at her.
“Is this necessary?”
“Yes.”
“What happens if you lose control?”
Lyra smiled.
“I won't.”
Then she looked toward the ground.
“Because Luna will stop me.”
Rowan frowned.
“You're counting on her?”
“Of course.”
Lyra's violet eyes glowed.
“She always chooses to protect people.”
“And?”
“That makes her predictable.”
---
Deep beneath the city, Luna suddenly felt a sharp pain in her hand.
The Unification Mark changed.
The four symbols surrounding it began moving.
Moonfang.
Lucian.
Bloodfang.
Silverfang.
They rotated around a fifth symbol.
A crescent.
Luna stared at it.
“There's another bloodline.”
Azrael nodded.
“Yes.”
“Which one?”
Azrael looked toward the Lunar Gate.
“None.”
Luna frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“The fifth symbol does not represent a bloodline.”
He looked at her.
“It represents a choice.”
Luna's eyes widened.
“What choice?”
Azrael's voice became solemn.
“To decide whether the ancient races remain divided...”
He paused.
“...or become one.”
---
Suddenly, a figure appeared inside the gate.
A woman.
Long black hair.
Violet eyes.
Black markings.
Small horns.
Lyra.
She stepped through the darkness.
Rowan appeared behind her.
Luna's expression hardened.
“You.”
Lyra smiled.
“Hello, Princess.”
Kael stepped forward.
“You're not taking her.”
Lyra looked at him.
“I don't need to take her.”
She pointed toward Luna.
“She will come willingly.”
Luna shook her head.
“Never.”
Lyra's smile disappeared.
“You don't understand.”
She raised her hand.
The entire city shook.
“I don't want your death, Luna.”
“Then what do you want?”
Lyra looked toward the Lunar Gate.
“I want you to become the bridge.”
“Between what?”
“Between our worlds.”
Luna stared at her.
Lyra continued.
“The werewolves have ruled the surface for thousands of years.”
She looked toward Azrael.
“The Lunarians ruled before them.”
Then she looked at Luna.
“You are the only one capable of uniting both.”
Luna shook her head.
“You want to use me.”
“No.”
Lyra's voice became softer.
“I want you to rule with us.”
Kael immediately stepped forward.
“She isn't joining you.”
Lyra looked at him.
“You speak for her?”
“No.”
Kael looked at Luna.
“She speaks for herself.”
Luna nodded.
“I do.”
She stepped forward.
“I will not become your queen.”
Lyra's eyes narrowed.
“Then what will you become?”
Luna looked at the thousands of Lunarians.
Then at Kael.
Then at her mother.
Finally, she looked at the Lunar Gate.
“I'll become the person who decides what happens next.”
---
Azrael suddenly laughed.
Everyone turned toward him.
“You truly are her descendant.”
Luna looked at him.
“Whose?”
“Your grandmother's.”
He raised his hand.
The ancient city began glowing.
Millions of Lunarian symbols illuminated at once.
The Lunar Gate expanded.
And something even larger appeared behind it.
A massive silhouette.
A creature so enormous that its head reached beyond the gate.
Kael stared.
“What is that?”
Azrael's smile vanished.
“The guardian of the Lunar Gate.”
Luna's eyes widened.
“Another Moon Eater?”
“No.”
Azrael looked toward the creature.
“It is the thing that killed the first Moon Eaters.”
Silence.
Luna felt her blood turn cold.
“Then what is it?”
Azrael looked at her.
“The Eclipse Beast.”
The creature opened its mouth.
A roar exploded through the underground city.
Above them, the mountains of Lunaris cracked.
The sky turned completely black.
And every living creature in the kingdom looked upward.
Luna realized something terrifying.
The Lunarians had not awakened to start a war.
They had awakened because something worse was coming.
Something even the ancient Moon Eaters had feared.
Something that had been sleeping beyond the Lunar Gate.
And now...
It was awake.
To be continued...
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