Tower of Thorns Tower of Fangs Volume 5 Chapter 20 White and Gold

 

Chapter 20  White and Gold

The first Moon God departed at sunset. He left exactly as he had arrived. Without ceremony. Without farewell. Without concern. One moment he stood among the Chosen. The next his body dissolved into silver moonlight. The light scattered across the evening sky. And he was gone. Silence lingered long after his departure. No one celebrated. No one boasted. No one spoke. Because every surviving contestant understood something now. The Moon Gods were real. Not legends. Not stories. Not distant celestial myths. Real. Beautiful. Ancient. And terrifying beyond imagination.

That night, very few slept. The wilderness itself seemed uneasy. Monsters hid. The wind whispered warnings through the trees. Even the stars felt colder. Eemil sat alone beside a dying campfire. Orange embers reflected within silver eyes. Three enormous shadow wolves prowled around him in widening circles. Restless. Agitated. Their ears flattened against their heads. Their instincts sensed danger. Their master sensed something worse. 

Across the clearing Moon slept peacefully beneath a silver-barked tree. His long black hair spread around him like spilled silk. Tiny fairies glowed softly among the dark strands. Their pale light painted his sleeping face in silver. Nico sat nearby. Keeping watch. As always. The sight made something ugly twist inside Eemil's chest. Because Nico had everything. Moon's attention. Moon's trust. Moon's laughter. Moon's affection. And Eemil wanted all of it. Every smile. Every glance. Every moment. The realization frightened him. But not enough. Never enough. Dawn arrived colder than it should have.

The morning felt wrong. Heavy. Oppressive. As though the world itself were holding its breath. Moon noticed first. The celestial always noticed strange things. His fairies became restless. Several disappeared into his hair. Others fled entirely. One tiny silver fairy actually hid beneath his sleeve. Moon frowned. Something was coming. Something ancient. Something powerful. Something far older than the first. Then sunlight vanished. Not because clouds covered the sky. Because gold consumed it. The heavens split open once more. A vast golden fracture appeared among the clouds. Radiant light poured downward. Brilliant. Blinding. Divine. A pillar of gold connected heaven and earth. The forest trembled.

The surviving Chosen shielded their eyes. Even the trees bowed beneath the pressure. And from within the golden brilliance someone emerged. Young. Beautiful.Terrible. The Second Moon God descended. At first he appeared as a silhouette surrounded by endless gold.

Then the light softened. And the valley saw him clearly. A collective chill spread through the crowd. He looked younger than the first. Perhaps only a few years older than Moon's physical appearance. Yet his presence felt immeasurably older.

A tall, graceful figure clothed entirely in white and gold. Long black hair cascaded behind him in a flawless river of silk. The strands reached nearly to his calves. Not a single strand moved incorrectly. Everything about him seemed impossibly perfect. His skin glowed like polished ivory beneath the golden light. His features possessed an almost painful beauty. Delicate. Elegant. Androgynous.

His face looked sculpted by divine hands. Neither masculine nor feminine. Simply beautiful. Above his brow rested a golden crescent moon circlet. The metal gleamed like captured sunlight. Its radiance framed his face like a halo. Yet despite his beauty what unsettled people most were his eyes.

Jet black. Exactly like Moon's. Yet utterly different. There was nothing behind them. No warmth. No amusement. No curiosity. No cruelty. Nothing. The absence itself felt terrifying. As though he viewed the world from an immeasurable distance. As though emotions had become irrelevant centuries ago. 

Unlike the First Moon God who at least seemed capable of interest this deity appeared completely detached. The lives of mortals meant no more to him than falling leaves. Not because he hated them. Because he simply did not care. He landed silently atop a ruined stone arch overlooking the valley.

No sound accompanied his arrival. No impact. No disturbance. One moment he descended. The next he stood there. Perfectly still. Perfectly balanced. Perfectly divine. A golden bow rested in one hand. The weapon immediately drew attention. It looked less like a crafted object and more like a fragment of the sun itself. Ancient runes shimmered along its surface. Golden moonlight flowed across its limbs. Power radiated from it in waves. The bow felt alive. Watching. Waiting. Hungry.

The Moon God looked down at the gathered Chosen. Silence followed. Long silence. The kind that makes hearts pound.

 Then he finally spoke. One word. Cold. Emotionless. Absolute.

"Fight."

Nothing more. No speech. No explanation. No challenge. Just one command. And chaos erupted. Several Chosen attacked instantly. The result was humiliating. The Moon God didn't even draw an arrow. A swordsman charged first. Steel screamed through the air. The god moved. Barely. The golden bow shifted. Wood met steel. The sword exploded into fragments. The warrior stared in disbelief. The bow struck his chest once.

A gentle tap. The man launched backward like a stone from a catapult. He crashed through three trees before collapsing unconscious. Another warrior attacked immediately. Twin axes glowing with magic. The Moon God intercepted both strikes with the bow. One motion. One movement. The axes shattered. The warrior never even saw the counterattack. The bow's lower limb struck his shoulder. He spun through the air and disappeared into the valley wall. The crowd froze. Then more attacked. Fire. Lightning. Ice. Wind. Steel. Magic erupted from every direction. The Moon God stepped forward. And transformed into a blur. The battlefield became his dance floor. The bow moved continuously. Parrying. Redirecting. Deflecting. Destroying. Every strike landed exactly where it needed to. Never excessive. Never wasteful. Perfect efficiency. A fire spear lunged toward his throat. The bow twisted. The spear shattered. A lightning blade descended from above. The bow intercepted it. The lightning dispersed harmlessly. Three warriors attacked simultaneously. The god flowed between them.

The bow struck three times. Three bodies collapsed. None injured. All defeated. He moved like sunlight through water. Like gold given life. Like a dream no mortal could follow. Then for the first time he reached for an arrow. The atmosphere changed instantly.

Even Moon looked upward. Interested. The Moon God nocked a single golden arrow. The string drew back. The valley held its breath.

Release. The arrow vanished. Not flew. Vanished. Several seconds passed. Nothing happened. Then somewhere beyond the distant mountains a hidden monster died. The arrow curved around forests. Around cliffs. Around obstacles.

It struck a target nobody else could even see. Perfectly. The Moon God nocked another. Then another. Then another. Three arrows rested between his fingers. The motion happened so quickly nobody saw him draw them. Release. Three golden streaks erupted skyward. They curved. Twisted. Turned. Like living creatures.

Moments later three distant monsters fell dead. Each pierced directly through the heart. The Chosen stared in horror. Impossible.

The Moon God's expression never changed. To him this was nothing. Then the attacks resumed. And this time the valley truly witnessed his divinity. A beast-summoner unleashed twelve magical wolves. The Moon God fired once. One arrow split into twelve. Twelve wolves collapsed simultaneously. A storm mage summoned a tornado. The deity shot directly into its center. The storm unraveled instantly. A spear user enhanced by wind magic descended from the sky like a meteor.

The Moon God spun the bow. Blocked the spear. Caught the shaft. Snapped it in half. All before the warrior touched the ground.

Then Eemil moved. The future Shadow King finally entered the battle. Darkness exploded outward. The valley dimmed. Three colossal shadow wolves emerged from the darkness. Larger than houses. Silver eyes blazing. They charged. The earth shook beneath their paws.

The Moon God watched them approach. For the first time something resembling interest flickered across his face. His bow rose. One arrow. Release. The arrow curved. Twisted. Split. Three arrows became thirty. Thirty became hundreds.

Golden rain filled the sky.

The wolves vanished beneath a storm of light. When the attack ended the beasts remained alive. But pinned to the ground. Hundreds of arrows surrounded them. Not one touched flesh. Every shot landed perfectly around their bodies.

A prison. Not an execution. 

Eemil's eyes widened. The message was clear. The Moon God could have killed them. He simply chose not to. Then Matias attacked. Paper charms exploded across the valley. Thousands. Each transforming into laughing copies. An army of illusions. The valley became a carnival of chaos.

The Moon God closed his eyes. One breath. One arrow. Release. Golden light swept across the battlefield. Every illusion vanished instantly. Only the real Matias remained. For the first time the joker looked genuinely frightened.

The Moon God lowered his bow.

"Interesting."

The single word stunned everyone. The smallest fragment of approval. The highest praise most mortals would ever receive. Hours seemed to pass. Warriors attacked.

Failed.

Attacked again.

Failed again.

Broken weapons littered the valley floor.

Exhausted contestants collapsed one after another. And throughout it all the Moon God remained untouched. Not a scratch. Not a wrinkle. Not a single strand of hair out of place. Perfect. Beautiful. Terrifying.

Meanwhile Moon watched quietly. Not impressed. Not surprised. Only thoughtful. Because he knew exactly how powerful his elder brother truly was.

And that realization frightened him more than anyone realized. For this was only the second Moon. Four more still waited beyond the heavens. And each one carried a different kind of nightmare.

High above the valley golden birds filled the sky. Thousands upon thousands. Creatures made entirely of divine light.

They spread across Elyria. Watching. Searching. Judging.

The Moon God finally looked toward the heavens.

"The worthy survive."

Then he vanished. Golden feathers drifted downward. Sunlight returned. And he was gone. The Chosen stood frozen. Two Moon Gods. Two impossible beings. And four more yet to come. Nearby

Moon sat beside Nico.

Golden feathers drifted around them. The celestial watched them thoughtfully. Quiet. Beautiful. Sad. Nico found himself watching Moon instead.

As always.

And hidden among the trees a black fox watched both of them. Silver eyes narrowed.

Jealousy deepened. Twisting. Growing. Transforming slowly into obsession.

Far above the clouds thousands of golden birds crossed the sky. Watching. Searching. Waiting. And beyond the heavens the remaining Moon Children had already begun their descent.