Tower of Thorns Tower of Fangs Volume 5 chapter 19

 

Chapter 19  Moon Children

From the heavens the celestials watched the chosen. Summer ended the day the first Moon God descended. No battle announced it. No trumpet sounded. The world simply changed. Every surviving Chosen felt it. The forests grew unnaturally still. The wind that had whispered through Elyria's endless wilderness slowed until even the leaves seemed afraid to move. Birdsong vanished. Insects disappeared. Predators retreated into caves and shadows. Ancient monsters that feared nothing lowered their heads and fled. Something had entered the world. Something older than kingdoms. Older than civilization. Older than memory itself. Something divine. Something beautiful. And something terrifying.

The surviving Chosen gathered within an ancient valley surrounded by towering stone cliffs. Only a handful remained now. The hundreds who had once stepped through Cielo's heavenly gate had become dozens. And those dozens had become fewer still. The battle royale had consumed them. Blood stained the forests. Broken weapons rusted beneath trees. Entire dreams had vanished into unmarked graves. Friendships had died. Families had died. Hope had died. Only the strongest remained. Only the worthy. Or so they believed. Eemil stood among them. The cheerful boy from the beginning was gone. In his place stood something sharper. Something darker. Three enormous shadow wolves prowled silently around him. Their fur resembled liquid darkness. Silver eyes glowed beneath the valley's growing shadows. They moved like extensions of his will. Like living fragments of a future king. Power suited Eemil. Far too well. Nearby stood Matias. Even now nobody fully understood him. The joker laughed less these days. That frightened people more than his laughter ever had. Colorful paper charms hung from his clothing, fluttering despite the absence of wind. Sometimes they whispered. Sometimes they giggled. Sometimes they spoke in voices that weren't his. Even Matias looked uneasy. Even he understood something terrible was approaching. And Nico, Nico barely noticed anyone else. His eyes searched the crowd. Searching for only one person. Finding him immediately. As always. Moon stood beneath a great silver-barked tree near the edge of the valley. White robes drifted softly around him. Tiny fairies floated through his long black hair like stars trapped inside midnight silk. The afternoon sunlight illuminated his pale skin until he seemed almost luminous. Beautiful. The most beautiful thing Nico had ever seen. Moon noticed him looking. Of course he did. The celestial smiled. A small smile. Soft. Warm. Entirely for him. And instantly everything felt right again. The fear vanished. The tension disappeared. The world narrowed to black eyes and sunlight. For one brief moment Nico forgot there was a battle royale at all. 

The clouds parted and a bar of light beamed down to the earth, it grew wider and   Then the sky opened. Not metaphorically. Literally. The heavens split apart. A vast silver fracture tore through the clouds. Moonlight erupted downward. Brilliant. Blinding. Impossible. It poured from the opening like a river flowing from another world. The valley froze. Every Chosen stared upward. Every monster fled. Even the ancient cliffs seemed to tremble. Then someone descended. At first he appeared only as a silhouette within the silver light. From angelic heights a radiant being slowly descends to earth A figure walking calmly through empty air. Not falling. Not floating. Walking. As though the heavens themselves were solid beneath his feet. As he descended lower the valley saw him clearly.  And silence deepened. He was beautiful. Painfully so. A tall, lean man whose presence felt less like a person and more like a force of nature given form. Long black jet black hair flowed behind him in an endless cascade of silk. It reached nearly to his calves. The strands shimmered beneath the moonlight like dark water beneath a midnight sky. His skin was impossibly fair. Flawless. Untouched by age. Untouched by mortality. His face possessed a delicate and androgynous beauty that made it impossible to determine whether he resembled a king, a queen, or something entirely beyond such concepts. Perfect symmetry. A beauty so overwhelming it felt almost cruel. Yet his eyes drew attention most of all. Jet black. Exactly like Moon's. Dark enough to swallow light itself. Ancient enough to make mountains seem young. The resemblance struck everyone immediately. Yet where Moon radiated warmth this being radiated distance. Where Moon felt gentle this being felt mercilessly logical. Cold. Analytical. Unreachable. His expression remained calm. Perfectly composed. Not arrogance. Not cruelty. Merely certainty. The certainty of a being who had witnessed civilizations rise and collapse like waves upon a shore. The certainty of a god. This was one of the Seven Moon Children. The first Moon God.

A warrior spoken of in forgotten celestial legends. Among his siblings he was known for his intelligence. His discipline. His ability to dissect problems with frightening precision. While others acted through emotion he acted through logic. And like many Moon deities he viewed humanity with little affection. Humans built kingdoms. Humans built empires. Humans destroyed worlds. Humans killed forests. Humans hunted gods. Again. And again. And again. Yet despite his disdain new gods still had to be chosen. The old age was ending. A new world required new divinities And that responsibility belonged to the Moon Children.

The god touched the valley floor. Instantly silence consumed everything. No one moved. No one breathed. His gaze swept across the gathered Chosen. Not with hatred. Not with kindness. With assessment. Like a scholar examining specimens. Interesting creatures. Potential candidates. Nothing more. Then his eyes found Moon. For the first time something changed. Recognition. A faint softening. Nothing anyone else would notice. Moon lowered his head respectfully. The elder deity responded with the slightest nod. Then looked away. The interaction lasted barely a second. Yet Nico felt it. Suddenly Moon seemed younger. Not weaker. Just young. A flower standing beside a mountain. The god finally spoke. His voice carried effortlessly through the valley. Calm. Clear. Cold.

"The Chosen."

Every warrior straightened instinctively. Black eyes studied them.Then looked through them.

"You seek divinity."

Silence.

"You seek immortality."

More silence.

"You seek power."

His expression never changed.

"Very well."

He raised one hand. Moonlight condensed. Silver gathered. A weapon appeared. A saber. Long. Slender. Elegant. Beautiful. The blade seemed impossibly thin. Yet everyone instinctively understood it could cut through almost anything in existence. Moonlight flowed along its edge. Ancient runes shimmered beneath the steel. The weapon looked less forged and more born. The god rested it casually upon one shoulder. Then smiled. The expression contained no warmth. No cruelty. Only challenge.

"Show me."

Then he vanished. Chaos erupted. One moment he stood motionless. The next he was everywhere. A warrior lunged. The god stepped aside. Effortless. The attack missed completely. A single flash of silver. The warrior's weapon shattered into fragments. Another charged. Moonlight flickered. Armor split apart. Not flesh. Never flesh. Armor. Weapons. Pride. The Moon God never harmed them. He merely demonstrated the difference between mortals and gods. He moved like flowing water. Like dancing moonlight. Like an impossible dream. Every attack missed. Every defense failed. Entire groups challenged him simultaneously. None touched him. The valley became his stage. And he danced. Beautiful. Terrifying. Perfect. 

Then one of the  Chosen roared and unleashed a torrent of fire. A wall of flames surged across the valley floor. Heat exploded outward. Grass blackened instantly. The fire swallowed the Moon God whole. Several warriors cheered. For half a second. Then the flames split apart. The Moon God emerged from the inferno untouched. His robes remained pristine. His expression unchanged. A silver flash crossed the battlefield. The fire mage blinked. His staff shattered into dozens of pieces. The flames vanished. The mage collapsed to one knee in disbelief. Another Chosen attacked from above. A spear user enhanced by wind magic. He descended like a meteor. The spear screamed through the air. The Moon God tilted his head. Barely. The spear missed. The god's saber moved once. A single elegant arc. The spear split cleanly down the middle. The warrior landed and stared at the ruined halves in horror. Before he could react the god tapped his chest with two fingers. The impact launched him backward across the valley. He crashed through three boulders before stopping. Still alive. Still unharmed. Defeated. A group of six rushed him together. Swords. Axes. Magic. Shadows. Lightning. Steel and spells converged from every direction. The Moon God disappeared. The attackers froze. Confused. Then silver light erupted around them. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. The god reappeared behind them. Every weapon shattered simultaneously. Sword blades snapped. Axes broke apart. Magic circles collapsed. Lightning dispersed harmlessly into the air. The six warriors stood speechless. The battle had ended before they even understood what happened. Even Eemil narrowed his eyes. His wolves growled. The shadow beasts lunged. Three living nightmares raced across the valley. Darkness spilled from their paws. Their jaws opened wide enough to crush armor. The Moon God watched them approach. Calm. Analytical. Interested. For the first time all day he moved before being attacked. His saber flashed. Not toward the wolves. Around them. Silver arcs appeared in the air. Perfect circles. The wolves slammed into invisible barriers of moonlight. The impact shook the valley. The beasts snarled and clawed. The barriers never moved. The Moon God studied them. Evaluating. Testing. Then he flicked his wrist. The moonlight shattered. The wolves tumbled backward unharmed. Eemil's eyes widened. His strongest summons had been stopped effortlessly. Not defeated.Dismissed. Like children. Then Matias laughed. A strange laugh. Not entirely his own. Dozens of paper charms exploded into the air. The valley filled with colorful talismans. Each one transformed into a copy of Matias. Twenty. Thirty. Fifty illusions. They rushed the Moon God from every direction. Laughing. Mocking. Dancing. The god stood still. Watching. Calculating. Then he closed his eyes. For a brief moment everything became silent. His saber moved. One strike. The valley flashed silver. Every illusion vanished instantly. The real Matias stumbled backward. His smile faltered. For the first time in months he looked genuinely shocked. The Moon God lowered his blade.

"Interesting."

It was the first emotion he had shown. The smallest hint of approval. The battle continued. Warriors attacked. Failed. Attacked again. Failed again. Hours seemed to pass within minutes. The valley floor became littered with broken weapons and exhausted fighters. Yet the Moon God remained untouched. Not a scratch. Not a wrinkle in his robes. Not a strand of hair out of place. Moon watched quietly. Not impressed. Not surprised.

Moon watched quietly. Not impressed. Not surprised. Only thoughtful. Because he knew. He knew exactly how terrifying his elder brother truly was. Meanwhile Eemil stared at the deity. Then at Moon. Then back again. The resemblance was undeniable. The hair. The eyes. The beauty. The grace. The truth clicked into place. Moon wasn't merely celestial. Moon was one of them. One of the Moon Children. One of the beings sent to judge the future gods. One of the beings who stood above humanity. The realization poisoned something inside Eemil. Because if Moon belonged with them, then Moon could never belong with him. The thought planted a seed. Dark. Small. Dangerous. A seed that would soon grow into something monstrous.

High above the valley Cielo the angel watched silently. One wing white. One wing dark. His crystal-blue eyes reflected the scene below.

"The first moon has descended."

His voice carried sorrow. Because he knew what came next. five more would follow. And before the end love would become betrayal. Summer would become winter. Friendship would become tragedy. And a god's heart would break.At the center of the valley, the Moon God stood among defeated warriors. Untouched. Unmatched. Beautiful as moonlight. Cold as death. And beneath the silver-barked tree hidden from everyone else's attention Moon quietly reached for Nico's hand. Their fingers touched. Just for a moment. A brief secret. A fragile comfort. Then Moon let go. As though already sensing the storm approaching. As though some part of him already knew that happiness never remained untouched for long.