Chapter 584: The Price of Revenge (I)

The Moon Goddess answered softly, "Yes."

Rose’s chest tightened so painfully that she struggled to breathe. "You heard him asking for your help?"

"Yes."

Rose gritted her teeth. "And you still let him die?"

The Moon Goddess fell silent and that silence hurt more than any answer could have.

Rose remembered that Edmond had once told her a story about the Moon Goddess.

According to him, the Moon Goddess had once lived among the other Gods in the heavens, but she was cast down after speaking against them because many of them could not remain faithful to a single partner.

Instead of listening to her, the other Gods punished her. They banished her from the heavens and stripped away most of her power, leaving her weak for centuries.

Things only began to change when some Lycans and werewolves learned about her story. They started building small temples for her, hoping that a Goddess who valued loyalty above everything else would bless their relationships and help them stay together.

It was also during that time that the Moon Goddess realized something.

Werewolves and Lycans could be far more loyal to their partners than humans. Their relationships were not held together by marriage alone. Once they chose someone and marked each other, they formed a bond that connected them in a much deeper way.

Perhaps that was why the Moon Goddess eventually grew fond of them.

As more Lycans and werewolves began worshiping her, she slowly regained the strength she had lost. In return, she started giving them her blessings. The more faith they placed in her, the more she gave back to them.

However, knowing that story only made Primrose more confused than Rose was.

Until now, Primrose had always believed that the Moon Goddess had been born from the pure love, grief, and sacrifice of the woman carved into the Mourning Veil Statue.

And that woman was Rose.

But if Edmond’s story was true, then the Moon Goddess had already existed long before Rose became the woman in the Mourning Veil Statue.

Then what exactly happened between Rose and the Moon Goddess?

The more Primrose learned, the less she understood.

At this point, Primrose was beginning to think that anything involving the Gods was unnecessarily complicated and enough to give her a headache.

On the other side, Rose suddenly grabbed the wooden box with both hands. "Then why are you talking to me now?!" she shouted, her voice breaking through the quiet room. "Why now?!"

The tears she had been holding back finally spilled down her cheeks.

"When our daughter died, where were you?" Rose demanded. "She was just a child! She didn’t even understand why people were hurting us!"

Her voice cracked, forcing her to stop and breathe.

"When they burned our home, where were you?" Rose continued, her words turning into sobs. "When everything Edmond worked so hard to build disappeared in front of us, where were you?"

Her strength finally gave out. Rose bent forward, curling herself around Edmond until her forehead rested against his.

"And when they killed him..." Her voice became so small that she could barely hear herself. "When they cut off his head and threw him in front of me... where were you?"

Her hands trembled. Rose could still see Edmond whenever she closed her eyes. She remembered the way he had carried their daughter, the way he had worked until his hands became rough so they could have a home, and the way he had always looked at Rose as though the life they had built together was enough for him.

She remembered promising that she would become a monster with him.

She remembered believing they would survive together.

But Edmond had died first, leaving her behind in a world where everything reminded her of what she had lost.

"Why didn’t you save him?" Rose whispered. "He believed in you."

The Moon Goddess didn’t answer immediately.

Rose waited, but every second of silence only made the wound inside her chest feel deeper.

A broken laugh finally escaped her. "Of course."

In the end, what difference did it make?

Whether they were the fifteen Gods inside the Holy Temple or the Goddess Edmond had worshiped, none of them had saved the people she loved.

Rose closed her eyes as tears continued slipping down her face. "If you came here because you want my devotion too, then leave," she whispered. "I already gave enough of my life to Gods who did nothing for me."

"I did not come for your devotion."

Rose’s eyes slowly opened.

The Moon Goddess’s voice remained gentle as she said, "I came because I want to give you the power to take your revenge."

Rose widened her eyes and for the first time since the voice had appeared, she wondered if she had heard it correctly. "Revenge?"

"Yes."

Rose slowly raised her head toward the window. The moonlight still filled the room, falling across her pale face and the tears that had yet to dry on her cheeks.

"You want to give me power?" she asked.

"I can give you enough power to punish those who took everything from you," the Moon Goddess answered. "Enough for you to make the Gods who watched your suffering understand what it feels like to lose something."

Rose stared at the moon without saying anything.

If those words had been spoken to the Rose from several years ago, perhaps she would have been horrified by them. She had spent most of her life serving the Gods. Even when she hated the Holy Temple, there had once been a part of her that still feared the heavens and what would happen if she went against them.

But that Rose had died along with her family.

"What will it cost me?" Rose finally asked.

She wasn’t foolish enough to believe that a Goddess would simply hand such power to her without wanting something in return.

The Moon Goddess became quiet for a moment before answering, "More than you can imagine."