Chapter 66: The Second Life of the Shadow Queen?

[Imperial Palace — Audience Chamber — Continuation]

For several heartbeats, nobody moved; the window remained open. Cold evening wind poured into the audience chamber, sending the curtains flying inward as fragments of glass glittered across the marble floor.

Kael stood frozen beside the window as his amber eyes remained fixed upon the darkness where Lytharion had disappeared.

"...Lytharion."

No answer, only the distant echo of a wolf’s growl fading somewhere beyond the palace walls. Kael’s fingers tightened against the stone windowsill; something was wrong. He had seen Lytharion furious before, and he had watched the Lord of Darkness tear through enemies without even blinking.

But this...this had been different.

It had been recognition and betrayal.

As if Enki’s words had not revealed something new to Lytharion...but had awakened something he had desperately tried to bury.

Kael slowly turned around.

"Enki."

The High Mage remained standing near the table, his gaze still fixed upon the broken window. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"What exactly did you mean?"

Enki hesitated. Kael stepped toward him. "You said the crystal can show glimpses of the future."

"Yes."

"And Lytharion reacted as though he already knew what kind of power created it."

Enki’s expression became solemn. "That is what concerns me."

Kael’s brows drew together. "What does that mean?"

Enki looked toward the crystal resting upon the table. "For centuries, scholars have recorded countless forms of divine power. Some can alter the body. Some can influence beasts. Some can manipulate memories."

He placed his hand beside the crystal.

"But very few powers can reveal what has not yet happened."

Kael stared at him. "How few?"

Enki’s voice lowered. "Perhaps three."

Silence.

Kael’s expression hardened. "Three?"

Enki nodded as his gaze lifted towards Kael.

"And if this crystal truly possesses the ability to reveal fragments of the future, then whoever created it does not merely possess extraordinary power; they possess knowledge of possibilities that even most deities cannot perceive."

Kael’s chest tightened; he stared through the open window, but his thoughts were no longer with the palace courtyard below.

They were with Lytharion, with the fury in his golden eyes and the way he had transformed without saying a single word.

Slowly, Kael’s fingers rose to his chest, touching the place where the invisible protection had been carved into his life force.

"Then...the Grimfang King wasn’t simply being controlled by some ordinary power?"

Enki’s expression grew grave.

"No, Your Majesty."

He stepped closer to the table where the crystal rested, his gaze remaining fixed upon it. "I believe the power behind the Grimfangs was far beyond anything a mortal could possess. The crystal itself is proof of that."

Kael’s brows furrowed.

"How certain are you?"

"Certain enough to say this..." Enki’s voice lowered. "Whoever placed that crystal inside the Grimfang King understood powers that belong beyond the mortal realm."

Silence settled over the chamber.

Kael slowly looked toward the doorway through which Lytharion had disappeared; for several heartbeats, there was only silence.

Outside, the evening wind moved through the palace banners, their crimson fabric snapping softly against the towers. His eyes followed the darkness beyond the walls.

Then he whispered,

"So...he was right; the real enemy isn’t mortal...it’s divine."

***

[Temple of Lord Vaelthorn — Same Time]

SLAMMMMM—!!!

The enormous doors of the Temple of Lord Vaelthorn shook as something crashed through them. Stone fragments scattered across the obsidian floor.

An enormous black wolf landed heavily upon the temple steps, claws scraping against the ancient stone.

GROOOOOWWWWWLLLLL...

Golden eyes burned through the darkness.

Lytharion, his enormous body surrounded by rippling shadows, his black fur bristling as he slowly raised his head.

The temple was empty with no priests, no servants, and no worshippers. Only the ancient statues of the divine beings stood silently beneath the towering pillars.

Lytharion’s nostrils flared; he could smell him, that familiar presence and that scent of sunlight and divine fire.

His golden eyes narrowed as he walked deeper into the temple.

CLAW...

CLAW...

CLAW...

Each step echoed through the enormous sanctuary; the walls were carved with ancient depictions of gods, wolves, celestial beasts, and the first kings who had once worshipped beneath this very roof.

Lytharion barely looked at them as his rage had narrowed his world to one thing. One presence, one name.

Then—

"Lytharion?"

The familiar voice echoed through the temple; the black wolf stopped and slowly...he turned. At the far end of the hall stood a man dressed in the ceremonial robes of a priest. Golden ornaments rested across his shoulders, and the symbol of the sun was carved upon his chest.

His expression shifted from surprise to confusion.

"Lord of Darkness?"

It was Shamash.

The Sun Deity, one of the few beings Lytharion had trusted enough to stand beside him across countless ages. Shamash took one step forward.

"What are you doing here—"

HOOOOOOOWWWWWLLLLLLL—!!!

Lytharion launched himself.

BOOOOOOM—!!!

Shamash barely had time to react as the enormous black wolf slammed into him, sending both of them crashing across the temple floor.

CRAAAAASH—!!!

Stone shattered.

Shamash’s body struck a pillar hard enough to crack the ancient structure, but the Sun Deity reacted instantly; a burst of golden-red light erupted from his body.

FWOOM—!!!

His human form disappeared, and now In its place stood an enormous wolf covered in crimson and golden fur. His eyes burned like twin fire.

GROOOOOOOOOWWWWWLLLLL—!!!

Shamash skidded across the obsidian floor before digging his claws into the stone. He lifted his head as his eyes blazed with fury.

"HAS THE LORD OF DARKNESS FINALLY LOST CONTROL OF HIMSELF?!"

Lytharion stood opposite him; his enormous black body slowly rose. Shadows crawled across his claws as his golden eyes were no longer merely angry. They were filled with something far more dangerous.

Betrayal.

His voice came from deep within his chest, low, ancient, and deadly.

"YOU TRAITOR!!!! HOW DARE YOU....!!!"

Shamash’s ears lowered. "Traitor? What are you talking about?"

Lytharion took one slow step forward.

THUD.

The temple floor trembled.

"You dare ask me that?"

Another step.

THUD.

"You..." His claws dug into the obsidian. "...in the end...you were like them too."

Shamash’s expression changed. Lytharion’s voice became colder.

"You were there when the first shadows were born. You stood beside me when the old kingdoms burned; you knew the laws of the divine realms."

The shadows surrounding Lytharion began twisting violently.

"And you knew exactly what would happen if you touched what belonged to me."

Shamash’s eyes narrowed. "I have touched nothing of yours."

Lytharion’s lips curled, revealing his enormous fangs.

"LIAR."

The word exploded through the temple, and every candle went out with the shadows around the temple.

WHOOSH—!!!

Darkness swallowed the sanctuary. Only the crimson-gold glow surrounding Shamash remained. Shamash stared at him, and for the first time...he understood what Lytharion was talking about.

"What did you discover?"

Lytharion’s eyes burned with fury, and his voice came in a growl. "So you admit there is something to discover."

Shamash froze.

Silence.

A terrible silence.

Lytharion’s claws slowly extended.

SCRAAAAAPE...

The sound of them dragging against the stone made the ancient temple seem to hold its breath as his voice became dangerously calm.

"Tell me, Shamash. Why was my mate attacked?"

Shamash’s expression hardened. Lytharion continued as his golden eyes burned brighter and Shamash’s expression became strangely sorrowful.

"Because you have forgotten what you are. You are not merely a husband; you are a deity."

Lytharion’s lips curled. "I know exactly what I am."

"No." Shamash’s voice became colder, and the words that came were the only words Lytharion, the shadow deity, never wanted to hear. "You have forgotten...your mate has been reborn."

Silence.

Lytharion froze as the temple seemed to stop breathing. Shamash continued. "The mortal you call Kael...is not merely your chosen mate, and you knew since the day you both bonded under the Lunar Convent. Isn’t that why you abandoned him for one year and left him to die?"

"Enough," Lytharion’s voice echoed.

"He is the same soul." The world seemed to fall silent. Shamash stared directly into the Lord of Darkness’s golden eyes. "Your beloved has returned to this world, and yet you forgot he is carrying the same fate as the previous one."

Lytharion’s body became utterly still as his breathing stopped. Shamash spoke again.

"Kael is living his second life."

The words struck harder than any weapon. Lytharion’s claws slowly curled into the stone, and Shamash’s gaze remained merciless.

"Your mate died once already, and even this time...you cannot protect him."

CRACK.

The stone beneath Lytharion’s paw fractured, and his golden eyes trembled. "Utter another word, and I shall kill you right away."

Shamash said nothing, and then his eyes hardened.

"I was preventing history from repeating itself, the same fate that ended his first life. That mortal’s child will end the entire wolf clan, and we all deities have come to the same solution, and I insist you do the duty of deity, not as someone’s mate."

Lytharion’s eyes burned with rage and memory...a memory that gave him pain and a memory where he almost destroyed the entire world.