Chapter Ten: The First MemoryðĪ
1093 Words
Chapter Ten: The First Memory
White light consumed everything.
There was no palace.
No council.
No Ravencrest.
No Dante.
Only endless light stretching across eternity.
Aria couldn't breathe.
Couldn't move.
Couldn't even feel her own body.
Then suddenlyâ
She was falling.
Fast.
The white world shattered around her like glass.
Fragments of light spun through darkness.
Voices echoed.
Thousands of them.
Screaming.
Crying.
Praying.
Dying.
Aria covered her ears.
But the sounds only grew louder.
"What is this?" she whispered.
No one answered.
The darkness slowly faded.
And a new world appeared.
Aria froze.
A battlefield.
Not an ordinary battlefield.
An entire world at war.
The sky burned crimson.
Mountains collapsed in the distance.
Cities lay in ruins.
Rivers glowed with silver fire.
And everywhereâ
Bodies.
Thousands of them.
Humans.
Wolves.
Creatures Aria had never seen before.
Dead.
All dead.
A cold chill ran through her.
This wasn't imagination.
This was memory.
A real memory.
But not hers.
At least...
She hoped it wasn't.
A loud explosion shook the battlefield.
Aria turned.
Her breath caught instantly.
Something enormous stood at the center of the destruction.
A creature so massive its head touched the clouds.
Darkness flowed from its body like living smoke.
Its eyes burned gold.
Ancient.
Cruel.
Hungry.
Every step it took shattered the earth.
"What is that?" Aria whispered.
A voice answered behind her.
"The End."
Aria spun around.
And froze.
A girl stood there.
She looked familiar.
Too familiar.
Silver eyes.
Dark hair.
The same height.
The same face.
Aria felt her blood run cold.
It was her.
Or someone who looked exactly like her.
The girl smiled sadly.
"You finally arrived."
Aria stepped backward.
"Who are you?"
The girl's expression softened.
"I was wondering how long it would take."
Fear tightened inside Aria's chest.
"Answer me."
The girl's eyes lowered briefly.
Then she spoke.
"My name was Lyra."
A pause.
"The first Seal."
Silence.
Aria's heart stopped.
The first Seal.
The words echoed inside her head.
"No," she whispered.
Lyra smiled sadly.
"That was my reaction too."
Aria shook her head violently.
"This isn't real."
"It is."
"No."
"It happened."
The battlefield around them trembled.
The giant creature roared.
The sound split the sky apart.
Aria stumbled.
Lyra remained calm.
"As long as it exists, this memory will never disappear."
Aria swallowed hard.
"What is that thing?"
Lyra turned toward the monster.
For the first time, fear crossed her face.
Real fear.
"The Devourer."
The name alone felt wrong.
Ancient.
Forbidden.
Deadly.
Aria's heart pounded.
"The thing that ended the world?"
Lyra nodded.
"Almost."
A pause.
Thenâ
"We stopped it."
Aria looked around.
At the destruction.
At the ruined cities.
At the countless dead.
"This doesn't look like winning."
Pain flashed across Lyra's face.
"Because it wasn't."
Silence followed.
The giant creature roared again.
The world trembled.
Then Aria noticed something.
Chains.
Massive chains of silver light wrapped around the creature.
Holding it.
Binding it.
Imprisoning it.
The same chains she had seen in her earlier vision.
Aria pointed.
"What are those?"
Lyra looked at the chains.
"The Seal."
Aria's stomach dropped.
No.
No no no.
The realization hit instantly.
"The Seal isn't an object."
Lyra smiled sadly.
"No."
A pause.
"It never was."
Aria stared.
Then looked back at the chains.
Then back at Lyra.
Understanding slowly formed.
Horrible understanding.
"The Seal is a prison."
Lyra's silence confirmed everything.
Aria felt sick.
The giant creature roared again.
The chains shook violently.
For a brief momentâ
One chain cracked.
Only slightly.
But enough.
The battlefield darkened immediately.
The creature smiled.
And Aria realized something terrifying.
It knew she was there.
Its golden eyes locked onto her.
Directly.
A shiver raced through her entire body.
"No."
The creature smiled wider.
Then spoke.
Its voice echoed through reality itself.
"Another one."
Aria froze.
The Devourer laughed.
The sound shattered mountains.
"How many more children will they sacrifice?"
Fear consumed her instantly.
Lyra stepped in front of her.
Protective.
Defensive.
The creature continued laughing.
"It always ends the same."
The chains tightened.
Silver light exploded across the battlefield.
The creature snarled.
Its attention remained on Aria.
"We will meet soon."
Aria's blood turned cold.
"No."
The Devourer's smile widened.
"Soon."
The battlefield began collapsing.
The memory was ending.
Lyra turned toward Aria quickly.
"You must listen."
Aria forced herself to focus.
"What?"
Lyra grabbed her shoulders.
"The Seal is weakening."
The world shook violently.
"What do I do?"
Lyra's expression darkened.
"You survive."
Another tremor.
The battlefield cracked apart.
Aria felt herself being pulled away.
"No wait!"
Lyra's grip tightened.
"Trust Ravencrest."
Aria froze.
"Dante?"
Lyra nodded.
A faint smile touched her lips.
"He is not part of the cycle."
The world shattered.
Light exploded everywhere.
And Lyra's final words echoed through the chaos.
"That's why he matters."
Everything vanished.
Aria's eyes snapped open.
She gasped violently.
The throne hall returned instantly.
Stone.
Council.
Guards.
Chaos.
Dante was kneeling beside her.
One hand gripping hers.
His silver-black eyes filled her vision.
"Aria."
She stared at him.
Breathing hard.
Sweating.
Terrified.
Relieved.
"Dante..."
For the first time since she met himâ
She threw her arms around him.
The entire throne hall froze.
Council members stared.
Guards blinked.
Even the Warden seemed surprised.
Aria didn't care.
Because she had seen the truth.
The Seal.
The Devourer.
The cycle.
And somehowâ
Dante was the only thing that still felt real.
Slowly, the Alpha King wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Protective.
Steady.
Safe.
"What happened?" he asked quietly.
Aria looked up at him.
Fear filled her silver eyes.
Then she whispered the words that changed everything.
"The Seal isn't a weapon."
Silence.
"The Seal is a prison."
The Warden closed their eyes.
As if they had feared that answer.
Aria's voice trembled.
"And something inside it knows I'm alive."
The palace fell silent.
Because everyone understood what that meant.
The thing imprisoned by the Seal...
Had finally noticed its jailer.
And somewhere far beyond Ravencrestâ
Something ancient began to wake.
To Be Continued...
Author's Note âĪïļ
Thank you for reading Bound to the Alpha: Chapter 10 ððš
The truth about the Seal has finally begun to emerge, but every answer creates even more questions. What is the Devourer? Why is Aria connected to the ancient prison? And what role will Dante play in the fate of the world?
If you're enjoying the story, please vote, comment, and add it to your library. Your support means everything to me as a growing author! ðâĻ
â Ismotullah ðšðð
- Writer
