Chapter 761: The Endless Circle
Chapter 760: The Endless Circle
13 Days To Go
Tobias reached up and touched his earring absently, his fingers twirling the silver-colored feather between his thumb and forefinger. His eyes were fixed on the parchment, but his mind was clearly elsewhere.
"What exactly are you getting at?" he asked Sophia.
Sophia met his gaze.
"We know who the Nightshade Pack descends from. We know that it’s exactly because of that that many things are happening in the pack. Fate is after us." She paused, letting the words settle. "So what if this part about the cage being life is actually referring to us? The members of the Nightshade Pack?"
She looked around the table, her gaze sweeping across each of their faces.
"Like we’re stuck in this cycle for life. Fighting to survive. Always running, always hiding, always struggling against something we didn’t choose. Something that was forced upon us before we were even born."
Tobias twirled his earring again, his brow furrowing deeply. He was quiet for a long moment, his gaze drifting toward the parchment. His fingers stilled on the feather, and he let out a slow breath.
"I find that hard to believe, though," he said finally. "Sure, it kind of makes sense. But what if it’s actually just Dolion?" He paused, choosing his next words carefully. "The cage is life. Dolion was obviously meant to be trapped for life as punishment. He wasn’t meant to die. He was meant to suffer. To be locked away forever, never able to escape. That is a cage."
Eldric adjusted his glasses, his fingers tapping against the table. His eyes were fixed on the parchment, his brow furrowed in thought.
"Or it’s both," he said slowly. "That it relates to us in the Nightshade Pack and also to Dolion, linking both of us together."
Eldric continued, his voice thoughtful and measured.
"Perhaps you aren’t wrong, Sophia. Honestly, this curse on us is like a cage, and it is for life too. Even after we resolve everything with Victoria now, it will still continue. The bloodline we carry, the legacy we’ve inherited—it doesn’t end with us. It will follow us for life, and honestly, it already is."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
"So yes, you may be right. But Tobias is right too. It’s both. It’s Dolion, and it’s us. The cage is life, and we’re all trapped in it. Bound by blood, bound by fate, bound by something we never asked for but can never escape."
Sophia nodded slowly, her gaze dropping to the parchment. Her fingers brushed against the faded words, tracing the lines as if she could feel the weight of them beneath her skin.
"I’ll take this to the goddess too," she said quietly.
Jarek leaned forward then. His eyes were fixed on the translation.
"What about the part about power devouring power?" he asked, his voice hesitant but growing stronger. "Could that be the black magic too?"
The others nodded in agreement.
"Yes," Madam Tyler said. "That seems likely. Black magic consumes. It devours everything it touches. It doesn’t just take—it destroys. Power devouring power fits that perfectly."
Jarek’s finger moved to the next line.
"Then what about the shadow? What’s the shadow then?"
Tobias frowned, his fingers stilling on his earring. His gaze was distant, his mind clearly working through the words.
"Wait a minute," he said slowly, his voice dropping. "If we read that part in a different way..."
He paused, his eyes fixed on the parchment as he turned the words over in his mind.
"The shadow hungers," he said, his voice low and deliberate. "And power devours power. Is this Victoria?"
Sophia nodded, her expression thoughtful.
"That makes sense. In the first rock, it was written that an ancient shadow no longer remains a shadow. We attributed that to Victoria. So this too—Victoria wants power. She’s the shadow who hungers for more, just like Dolion did. And she will use her power to devour me, or get rid of me."
She paused, then added, "At least, that’s what she plans."
Jarek shook his head slowly, his eyes still fixed on the parchment.
"What if it’s also more than that?"
Everyone turned to him.
He continued, his voice hesitant but growing stronger.
"I know we concluded these writings were perhaps a warning we failed to heed. So what if there’s the slightest chance that these writings don’t just tie to the past but to what is happening now? What if they’re still unfolding?"
Eldric adjusted his glasses.
"We already know that," he said. "That’s why our interpretations tie to what’s happening now."
Madam Tyler shot Eldric a sharp look.
"Shut up and let him speak."
Eldric blinked, caught off guard, but he fell silent. His mouth opened as if to argue, then closed again. He leaned back in his chair, his arms crossing over his chest.
Jarek swallowed, his gaze dropping to the parchment before lifting again. He took a breath, steadying himself.
"We’re focused on power devouring power, but it says endless. The writing says power devours power, endless. We attribute it to Victoria. But if we defeat her, it ends, right?" He paused, his voice dropping lower. "But it says endless. So what if it’s not just Victoria then? What if it’s the rot in our world?"
"Think about it," he said. "Most rogue wolves are not even normally meant to be rogues. They’ve been cast aside because their families fought against the oppressive powers in the other territories. Wolves driven out of what they once called home because of those in power—the Enclave and even more. And it’s an endless circle."
He looked around the table, his eyes meeting each of theirs in turn.
"So what if that’s what this actually means? Even after everything, there must still be those who want Victoria gone so they can take her place. Who want her power. And who would actually kill to get said power. So what if that was it? What if the endless circle is the cycle itself? Power devouring power, never ending, never stopping. One ruler falls, another rises. One tyrant is defeated, another takes their place?"
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