Chapter 731: The Words Time Forgot
Chapter 730: The Words Time Forgot
*Yes, Oculum was right. The prophecy your generation knows is... what do you call it? Watered down?*
Orion huffed a laugh, the sound low and dry in the quiet room. "If that’s the term you’re going for."
*Well... the prophecy your generation knows is watered down. There are parts missing. Important parts. Parts that would have changed everything if they had been told correctly.*
"Tell me the detailed version you know then," Orion told him, settling deeper into the chair.
The wolf was silent for a long moment, as if gathering words that had not been spoken aloud in centuries. When he finally spoke, his voice in Orion’s mind was different—slower, more deliberate, as though he was reciting something sacred.
*For magic was meant to be beautiful.
For the world was meant to rejoice and bask within its warmth.
To strengthen the beasts of the earth.
To enrich the lands beneath the moon.
To bind hearts together and forge unbreakable bonds.
To bring prosperity where there was hunger.
To bring life where there was none.*
Noctis paused.
The fire crackled softly, outside, snow continued to fall.
Then the wolf continued.
*But there shall come one who walks the night.
One who twists what was meant to be beautiful.
One who burdens the land and poisons what was blessed.
One who turns abundance into famine.
One who turns devotion into suffering.
One who takes and takes until nothing remains.*
Orion listened quietly.
*And there shall come a time when the suffering of his kind grows too great.
When prayers rise from every corner of the world.
When mothers cry for their children.
When mates weep for those they have lost.
When the earth itself groans beneath the weight of darkness.
And when hope becomes scarce.
Then shall salvation come.*
*She shall come as a Luna unlike any before her.
The living representation of the goddess who once walked among mortals.
Her hair shall shine like untouched snow beneath the moonlight.
Her eyes shall mirror the moon on the clearest of nights.
And beside her shall walk a wolf bearing the image of the goddess herself.
For she shall carry gifts beyond understanding.
She shall see what others cannot.
She shall know what others fear.
She shall witness what has yet to come.
And through her visions, the future shall reveal itself.*
The room felt quieter somehow.
Even the wind beyond the window seemed distant.
*She shall stand against the ruler of the night.
She shall bring blessings where corruption has spread.
She shall restore what was broken.
She shall rewrite what was thought immutable.
For she is the child favored by the goddess.
What the goddess blesses shall remain blessed.
What the goddess takes shall be taken.
And through her hands shall history be changed.
So beware, all those who walk the darkness for a time will come when even the darkness will become too bright to walk in.*
Orion was quiet once more as he absorbed the words.
It almost sounded like some of the writings Sophia had gotten from the altar in the shrine—but with the way Noctis spoke now, yes, it sounded more like a prophecy than ’the watered-down version’ his generation knew.
Everything that was said in the prophecy... it had come to pass. They had killed the ruler of the night. But the successor still remained. Which meant that part was still only about fifty percent achieved.
And what annoyed him the most was actually the fact that Victoria—who had known from the very beginning who her daughter was—did everything to keep Sophia under her thumb. She sought the full control of Sophia. Not out of love. Not out of protection. Just because she wanted to be the Luna from the prophecy herself. She wanted the title. The power. The legacy. And she had been willing to destroy her own daughter to get it.
Orion rubbed a hand down his face, the weight of it pressing behind his eyes.
"Quite the elaborate prophecy," he said, his voice tired.
*It is,* Noctis told him. Then, after a pause, he added, *You know, Orion, we still have not finished the discussion regarding my past.*
Orion lowered his hand and looked toward the window, where snow continued to fall in patient silence.
"I’m not curious about it, though," Orion told him.
*You are not?* Noctis asked his voice depicting surprise.
"No, Noctis. Your past is your past, and honestly, you don’t owe me any explanations." He turned his gaze back to Sophia, watching the slow rise and fall of her chest beneath the blankets. "We’ve been with each other for years now. You and I are both extensions of each other, and I can boast that I know you and you know me. You may have belonged to Dolion at first, but I feel like the goddess made a mistake. We should have belonged to each other from the beginning."
Noctis was silent.
Orion continued, his voice soft, "You are the one who makes me think twice whenever I rush into reckless things. You make me pause and examine situations from a different perspective. You give me the push I need to do certain things. You are smart. And above all—we love Sophia."
Noctis didn’t say anything. He only listened as Orion spoke.
"So do I care about your past with Dolion? No." Orion shook his head. "I know what I need to know about that. The goddess fucked up making someone like Dolion her mate. You tried to stop him whenever he was going astray, and then the goddess took you away from him. Then she decided—oh, Noctis was the one who fucked up, not me. So he should go be with the descendant that I made the mistake of falling in love with."
He exhaled slowly, a long breath that carried years of unspoken things.
"It was not your fault, Noctis. That’s what I’m trying to say. So the guilt you carried and the part you still carry now—let it go." His voice was firm but kind. "The only request I have from you is that you help us. Eldric may be the most knowledgeable in the pack. Madam Tyler may know almost all things spiritual and everything that has to do with rituals. But you are older. You know what black magic looks like. You know how it feels. And the things we fight now—the majority of them are from that time. So whatever knowledge you have, Noctis. Whatever that can help me or Sophia or the pack as a whole—I’ll appreciate it if you use it."
Noctis spoke up then, his voice holding a hint of a smile.
*You’ve changed from the boy you were years ago. And even from the one you were when you met Sophia.*
Orion shrugged, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Perhaps she rubbed off on me," he said.
