Chương 198: Chapter 197 - Shore of the Moonlight Solitude

Across the shore between jagged rock cliffs, she sat. The cold gentle evening breeze touched her skin like fingers made of winter air. Her own fingers trailed through the water. The liquid was dark and calm. It moved around her hand in slow ripples that caught the moonlight and broke it into pieces. She wore dark robes that made her pale skin look even paler in the glow above. Both moons were up tonight. She watched them with eyes that held no color in their centers. Her dark eyes were void of irises.

They soaked in the light from above and reflected it back without warmth. White from Sellenia. Red from Morwen. The smaller moon was chipped along one edge. Red dust coated the night sky slightly where the chip had scattered. It blended with the silver light from Sellenia but also carried a tinge of crimson that made everything look like it was seen through old blood. She looked up at them. The moons that had defined her entire existence.

She spoke words she had almost forgotten but had said millions of times before. Words that had become ritual. Words that had lost their meaning through repetition but still carried weight.

"Sellenia shines so gently. As if the heavens were never cruel." Her voice was quiet. Flat. Like she was reading from a script written by someone else. Someone who had believed these words once held power.

"Morwen. The world calls you cursed. They hunted us for your name. Your benevolence was a curse upon my clan." She paused. The water lapped at the rocks near her feet. The sound was rhythmic. Constant. It reminded her of breathing. Of heartbeats. Of time passing whether she wanted it to or not.

"Sellenia. Your gift tied my mother to fate. Bound her. Chained her. Made her nothing more than a vessel for your will." She was silent for a long moment after that. She did not usually speak this much. She was quiet by nature. Blunt when she did speak. Observant in a way that made others uncomfortable. Sharp enough to cut through lies and false comfort. This night was a rare opportunity for her to express herself.

To let the words that lived inside her chest finally escape into the air where they could dissipate like smoke. She did not know why tonight felt different. But it felt oddly nice. Like Morwen was calling for her in a way that was less demand and more invitation. The bleeding had started to commence. Thin lines appeared along her collarbone like someone had drawn them with a brush dipped in red ink. Her forearm showed the same marks. Her side. Up to her throat. She did not make a single sound as they appeared.

But it hurt. It always hurt. The pain was sharp and burning. Like her blood was trying to escape through cuts that opened from the inside out.

"Tell me, Morwen and Sellenia. Was it worth it? All the suffering you demanded. All the lives you took. All the futures you destroyed. Was it worth it?" Tonight both moons shone brighter than usual. The light they cast was stronger. More insistent. She had recalled how each time she resisted her fate, each time she tried to step away from the path Morwen and Sellenia had laid out for her, she bled. The marks appeared. The pain came. It was their way of reminding her that she belonged to them.

That her blood was theirs to command. But strangely, when he had come, when Lucid was close to her, she did not feel their pull as strongly. It was as if his presence dampened their call. Like he was something they could not touch. Could not influence. There was something unfolding inside her that she did not understand. Something that felt like possibility.

"I want to be with him. The pain. I do not want to feel it anymore, Morwen." She stood up slowly. Her robes fell around her legs. Water dripped from her fingers back into the ocean. She thought about going back to her little group. Back to where they had set up camp. Back to where he was sleeping or sitting or doing whatever he did when she was not watching. She wondered if it truly was right for her to go with them. After all, she had killed many humans. Good ones who had done nothing wrong except be in her way.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Wicked ones who deserved what they got. Why was she fighting for the greater good now? She did not care for morals. Did not care about right and wrong in the way others seemed to. All she wanted was to be by his side. That was what mattered most to her. That would seem the closest path to revive her clan. To bring back what had been taken.

To sever her tie to the twin moons that had cursed her legacy and turned her blood into something that belonged to forces she could not control. As she stood and began to walk back toward camp, she felt an irresistible pull. She did not know what it was at first. But it was an extreme desire. A want that felt like need. Much like the desire to feast on his blood. The hunger that came when she was near him. It radiated the same intensity. The same desperation. She turned.

There, just over the waves that rushed to the sand and pulled back in endless repetition, she saw something in the air. A red glow. It shimmered in the very air itself like a cut to the reality around it. Like someone had taken a knife and sliced open the fabric of the world. Her eyes shone redder than they usually did. Brighter. She could hear a voice, it was faint. Distant. But clear enough to understand.

"Come to us, heir."

"Come." Whispers. Multiple voices speaking at once. Ushering her in. Calling her forward. She took a step toward it. Almost captivated. Her body moved without her fully deciding to move it. Like she was sleepwalking toward something she could not resist.

'No. This cannot be.'

"It is a rift." She managed to break the trance enough to speak the words out loud. Her voice sounded strange in her own ears. Distant. Like it belonged to someone else. She wanted to enter it. The desire was overwhelming. But another thought came through the haze. If she entered it, it would separate her from Lucid. The thought grew stronger by the second. She wanted to enter the rift. She wanted to go in. It was desirable in a way that made her chest hurt. Like a sensation of lust for flesh. For blood.

For something she could sink her teeth into. She had completely ignored her surroundings. The sound of the ocean faded. The feeling of the breeze stopped registering. Her dark robes slipped. They fell to her waist. The upper half of her elegant body was exposed in the pale moonlight. She felt vulnerable. She felt exposed. The air touched her skin in places that were usually covered. But she also felt a desire to go in there that was stronger than shame. With each step, she walked toward it.

The red glow grew brighter. Larger. It pulsed like a living thing. Like it had a heartbeat that matched her own. Then the rift changed. The red glow shifted. Moved. Reformed itself into a shape. A figure. The figure was tall. Familiar. It took the form of him. Of Lucid. His face was obstructed. Covered in mist or shadow or something that prevented her from seeing his features clearly. But she knew it was him. Could feel it. Could recognize the shape of him even without seeing details.

She felt a slight hunger rise in her throat. Her fangs showed. They extended past her lips. Sharp. Ready. For the first time in this entire night, she smiled. It was not a happy smile. It was hungry. Desperation filled with want that bordered on madness. She walked in closer. Almost lusting for him. The rift ushered her in with his image. With the promise of him. With the shape of what she wanted most.

"Please," she muttered. Her voice was low. Hungry.

"Stay by my side and feed me your blood." The words echoed. Once. Twice. Three times. They bounced back to her from the rift itself. From the air around her. From somewhere deep inside her own chest. She stepped into the red glow. It surrounded her. Warm. Welcoming. It felt like being submerged in something thick and alive. The world shifted. The shore disappeared. The moons disappeared. The sound of waves disappeared. Everything she knew was gone. Then words appeared. Not spoken.

Not written on anything she could see. Just there. In her mind. In the air. Everywhere and nowhere at once. They filled her vision. Filled her thoughts. Demanded her attention.

Welcome, lost soul. The trial shall commence. Any failure in completing the target in due time will result in one's forfeit of life. Objective: Kill your blood relatives and clan. Participant: Ayame, Heir of the Twin Moon Legacy. Trial scenario: C. Required time: 24 hours. May your journey lead you towards Enlightenment.