"True love waits, or so ive been told"
"In the future with you
My heart beats there too"
Chapter 35 The Road Forward
The world did not end. For a long time Moon wished it had. The pain would have been easier. The silence would have been kinder. The darkness would have hurt less. Yet the world continued. As worlds always do. The sun still rose. The wind still moved through trees. Flowers still bloomed. Birds still sang. And somewhere beyond the walls of the Tower of Tears Life continued. Without asking permission from the brokenhearted. Moon survived. That fact alone changed history. Had he died upon the roses The White King would have become something far worse. The Blood Wraith would have wandered forever. The Dark King would have drowned completely in despair. Entire kingdoms might never have existed. Entire ages might never have begun. Instead Moon lived. And because he lived Everything changed. The Tower of Tears rose. The White King froze the North. The Shadow King gathered wolves. The Reaper King embraced death. The Dark King ruled corruption. And the world slowly marched toward a future none of them could yet see.
Moon spent many days asleep. Many weeks. Perhaps months. Time blurred. The wound in his chest healed. The wound in his heart did not. Some nights he stood upon the highest balcony. Looking toward distant forests. Toward distant horizons. Toward memories. Toward blue eyes hidden behind a black hood. Sometimes he remembered laughter. Sometimes he remembered dandelions. Sometimes he remembered a ruined church. Sometimes he remembered a promise. And sometimes When the night became too quiet He remembered the stake. He puts his hand in his chest to feel the pain. "my heart" Then he would close his eyes. And wait for dawn. Because dawn always came. Even after the longest winter. Even after betrayal. Even after love. Especially after love. Far away Centuries later Another young man stared into the night.
Toivo stood atop a frozen cliff overlooking the northern wilderness. The stars stretched endlessly above him. Cold. Beautiful. Ancient. The same stars Moon once watched. The same stars that had witnessed every story. Every loss. Every reunion. Every promise. Snow drifted quietly around him.The Wolfskin Cloak rested across his shoulders. The northern wind tugged at golden hair. The mountains slept beneath moonlight. And in his hand He held the Angel's Egg. The silver pendant glowed softly. The tiny cherub slumbered peacefully inside. Waiting. Growing. Dreaming. Toivo stared at it. Then lifted his gaze toward the heavens. Toward the northern sky. Toward wherever Moon might be. The pain remained. Of course it did. Some wounds never healed. The White King had taught him that. The Dark King had taught him that. Life itself had taught him that. The ache in his chest never truly disappeared. Moon's absence still hurt. His smile still haunted him. His voice still lingered. His memory still made Toivo's heart race. But something had changed. The heartbreak no longer controlled him. The despair no longer owned him. The loss no longer defined him. Because now When Toivo thought of Moon He did not think about what had been taken. He thought about what still remained. Hope. The promise. The future. The road ahead. He was no longer the frightened boy who had cried beneath a sunrise. He was the Wolf of the North. A warrior. A leader. A man. And one day Their paths would cross again. Not by accident. Not by fate. By choice. By determination. By the strength he continued to build with every battle.
Toivo closed his fingers around the Angel's Egg. Silver light glimmered between them. The northern wind carried his words into the night. A promise. A prayer. A vow.
"Wait for me."
"In the future, with you my heart.."
"my heart beats there too"
The stars seemed brighter. The world seemed wider. The road stretched endlessly before him. And for the first time Toivo smiled. Not with sorrow. Not with longing.With certainty.
"Next time, I will stand beside you."
Above him the northern sky shimmered. And somewhere far beyond the horizon The moon shone quietly over the world.
End of Volume V — The Wolf of the North
Some wounds never heal.
They simply become part of who we are.
But
Time Heals all Sorrows
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