Reign of the Forsaken Moon - Chapter 15: Chapter 15
You are reading Reign of the Forsaken Moon, Chapter 15: Chapter 15. Read more chapters of Reign of the Forsaken Moon.
They crossed the border in silence.
No maps marked it.
No stories dared name it.
To most wolves, the Starfall Expanse was myth—a northern void of shattered terrain and shifting skies. But Seraphina had always known it was real. And now, as her boots touched frost-stained ground and the air buzzed with forgotten power, she understood:
This was where gods were buried.
And where nightmares were born.
A March Through Madness
The land itself rebelled.
Trees grew upside-down, their roots curling into the heavens. Rivers ran backward, and the stars above blinked in unfamiliar constellations. Gravity pulsed with moods, not laws—some steps dragged, others lifted.
Darian muttered, “It’s like the world is drunk.”
Seraphina didn’t laugh.
Mira walked with a spell barrier glowing around her. “Reality is thin here. You feel it, don’t you?”
“I feel everything,” Seraphina whispered. “And something… is watching.”
Camp of Echoes
They made camp in the husk of a broken temple—its pillars scorched, inscriptions half-erased by time. That night, no one slept easily.
In her tent, Seraphina dreamed.
Of stars falling like fire.
Of wolves made of starlight, howling as their bodies unraveled.
Of a voice—a mother's voice, filled with sorrow.
> “You were born here, little flame. Not of this world, but for it.”
She woke with her hands glowing.
Mira's Discovery
By midday, Mira halted them.
She knelt beside a pool of black water. Inside it, stars shimmered like oil and flame.
“This is the Veil Mirror,” she said. “It shows truth. But only if you're willing to pay.”
“What price?” Darian asked.
“Memory. Emotion. A piece of who you are.”
Without hesitation, Seraphina knelt.
The water rippled.
And the image shifted.
A Truth Revealed
She saw herself as a child—but not the child of the Moonclaw Pack.
She was older.
Taller.
Wrapped in silver cloth and chains of living metal.
She stood on a pedestal, hands outstretched, a ring of ethereal wolves bowing before her.
A voice echoed:
> “Lunaria, First Flame. Mother of Wolves. Guardian of the Last Star.”
The image shimmered.
Seraphina gasped.
She had lived before.
As a goddess.
A protector.
And when the Devourer rose from the void between stars, she had been the one to seal it—at the cost of her divinity.
“Why would I forget this?” she whispered.
Mira’s face was pale. “Because you were reborn. The seal broke. You died as a Luna… to return as a goddess reawakened.”
Darian stepped back. “That’s why Thorne fears you. That’s why Shael can’t kill you.”
“Because I already did this once,” Seraphina said, eyes blazing.
“But this time,” she added, “I’ll make sure it ends for good.”
The Thing Beneath the Stars
As they pressed further into the expanse, a structure appeared—a ruin carved into a cliffside like a ribcage.
It pulsed with dark light.
Symbols older than language twisted across the stone. Wolves whimpered at its presence.
And standing at the gate… was Shael.
Alone.
Unarmed.
Smiling.
“I thought you’d make it here,” she said.
Darian growled, stepping forward. “You’re outnumbered.”
She tilted her head. “I’m not here to fight.”
“Lies,” Seraphina spat.
Shael’s smile faded.
“No. This place changes you. Even me. I remember things now. Things I shouldn’t.”
Seraphina stepped forward, slow and wary. “Like what?”
Shael looked up, eyes wide. “Like how… I was created. Not born.”
A Shared Past
Inside the ruin, as the ceiling pulsed with constellations that blinked like breathing eyes, Shael spoke.
“I was made from your shadow, Seraphina. Your fears. Your grief. When you sealed the Devourer, you fractured. The part of you that doubted… became me.”
Mira whispered, “You’re her echo.”
“I am her price,” Shael replied.
Darian stared between them. “So what now? You want forgiveness?”
“No,” Shael said. “I want it over. I want to die.”
She handed Seraphina a blade of starlight.
> “He waits below. The Devourer. He’s ready to feed on every soul. Including your children.”
> “Finish it. Burn me first… or I’ll become him.”
Seraphina hesitated.
For so long, she had hated Shael.
Hunted her.
Feared her.
But now, she saw the truth.
This was a part of herself—twisted, but real.
“Go,” Seraphina whispered. “Face him with me. Die if you must. But not as a shadow. As a warrior.”
Shael nodded.
For the first time… she cried.
Into the Heart
They entered the Devourer’s lair beneath the ruin.
The descent was endless—a spiral of memory, of voices, of falling stars.
And at the bottom… a pit.
Vast.
Empty.
And within it, a single child’s voice.
“Mother?”
Seraphina’s heart seized.
“Kael?” she whispered.
Then came Lyra’s voice.
“Don’t let him in, Mama. Please don’t let him—”
The pit erupted in shadow.
A mouth formed—lined with teeth made of names.
The Devourer had arrived.
No maps marked it.
No stories dared name it.
To most wolves, the Starfall Expanse was myth—a northern void of shattered terrain and shifting skies. But Seraphina had always known it was real. And now, as her boots touched frost-stained ground and the air buzzed with forgotten power, she understood:
This was where gods were buried.
And where nightmares were born.
A March Through Madness
The land itself rebelled.
Trees grew upside-down, their roots curling into the heavens. Rivers ran backward, and the stars above blinked in unfamiliar constellations. Gravity pulsed with moods, not laws—some steps dragged, others lifted.
Darian muttered, “It’s like the world is drunk.”
Seraphina didn’t laugh.
Mira walked with a spell barrier glowing around her. “Reality is thin here. You feel it, don’t you?”
“I feel everything,” Seraphina whispered. “And something… is watching.”
Camp of Echoes
They made camp in the husk of a broken temple—its pillars scorched, inscriptions half-erased by time. That night, no one slept easily.
In her tent, Seraphina dreamed.
Of stars falling like fire.
Of wolves made of starlight, howling as their bodies unraveled.
Of a voice—a mother's voice, filled with sorrow.
> “You were born here, little flame. Not of this world, but for it.”
She woke with her hands glowing.
Mira's Discovery
By midday, Mira halted them.
She knelt beside a pool of black water. Inside it, stars shimmered like oil and flame.
“This is the Veil Mirror,” she said. “It shows truth. But only if you're willing to pay.”
“What price?” Darian asked.
“Memory. Emotion. A piece of who you are.”
Without hesitation, Seraphina knelt.
The water rippled.
And the image shifted.
A Truth Revealed
She saw herself as a child—but not the child of the Moonclaw Pack.
She was older.
Taller.
Wrapped in silver cloth and chains of living metal.
She stood on a pedestal, hands outstretched, a ring of ethereal wolves bowing before her.
A voice echoed:
> “Lunaria, First Flame. Mother of Wolves. Guardian of the Last Star.”
The image shimmered.
Seraphina gasped.
She had lived before.
As a goddess.
A protector.
And when the Devourer rose from the void between stars, she had been the one to seal it—at the cost of her divinity.
“Why would I forget this?” she whispered.
Mira’s face was pale. “Because you were reborn. The seal broke. You died as a Luna… to return as a goddess reawakened.”
Darian stepped back. “That’s why Thorne fears you. That’s why Shael can’t kill you.”
“Because I already did this once,” Seraphina said, eyes blazing.
“But this time,” she added, “I’ll make sure it ends for good.”
The Thing Beneath the Stars
As they pressed further into the expanse, a structure appeared—a ruin carved into a cliffside like a ribcage.
It pulsed with dark light.
Symbols older than language twisted across the stone. Wolves whimpered at its presence.
And standing at the gate… was Shael.
Alone.
Unarmed.
Smiling.
“I thought you’d make it here,” she said.
Darian growled, stepping forward. “You’re outnumbered.”
She tilted her head. “I’m not here to fight.”
“Lies,” Seraphina spat.
Shael’s smile faded.
“No. This place changes you. Even me. I remember things now. Things I shouldn’t.”
Seraphina stepped forward, slow and wary. “Like what?”
Shael looked up, eyes wide. “Like how… I was created. Not born.”
A Shared Past
Inside the ruin, as the ceiling pulsed with constellations that blinked like breathing eyes, Shael spoke.
“I was made from your shadow, Seraphina. Your fears. Your grief. When you sealed the Devourer, you fractured. The part of you that doubted… became me.”
Mira whispered, “You’re her echo.”
“I am her price,” Shael replied.
Darian stared between them. “So what now? You want forgiveness?”
“No,” Shael said. “I want it over. I want to die.”
She handed Seraphina a blade of starlight.
> “He waits below. The Devourer. He’s ready to feed on every soul. Including your children.”
> “Finish it. Burn me first… or I’ll become him.”
Seraphina hesitated.
For so long, she had hated Shael.
Hunted her.
Feared her.
But now, she saw the truth.
This was a part of herself—twisted, but real.
“Go,” Seraphina whispered. “Face him with me. Die if you must. But not as a shadow. As a warrior.”
Shael nodded.
For the first time… she cried.
Into the Heart
They entered the Devourer’s lair beneath the ruin.
The descent was endless—a spiral of memory, of voices, of falling stars.
And at the bottom… a pit.
Vast.
Empty.
And within it, a single child’s voice.
“Mother?”
Seraphina’s heart seized.
“Kael?” she whispered.
Then came Lyra’s voice.
“Don’t let him in, Mama. Please don’t let him—”
The pit erupted in shadow.
A mouth formed—lined with teeth made of names.
The Devourer had arrived.
End of Reign of the Forsaken Moon Chapter 15. Continue reading Chapter 16 or return to Reign of the Forsaken Moon book page.