Chapter 7: The Traitor's Truth
Chapter 7: The Traitor's Truth
Silence swallowed the courtyard.
Even the clash of steel faded beneath the weight of Lucien's confession.
Aria stared at the man whose face was carved by scars and regret.
"You... betrayed my father?"
Lucien lowered his head for a brief moment.
"I did."
His voice carried no pride.
Only exhaustion.
"But betrayal always has a price."
The Blood Moon burned brighter overhead.
Its crimson light reflected in the Heartstone still floating above Aria's chest.
The tiny crystal pulsed like a living heart.
The Guardian tightened his grip on his spear.
"Don't listen to him."
"He twists truth into poison."
Lucien laughed bitterly.
"Do I?"
He slowly spread his arms.
"Tell her then."
"Tell her how Adrian Vale really died."
The Guardian remained silent.
Aria looked from one man to the other.
"My father died protecting the Vault."
Lucien's eyes narrowed.
"No."
"He died protecting you."
The words struck Aria harder than any blade.
Selene suddenly stepped forward.
"Enough."
Her normally calm voice cracked.
"You've taken enough from this family."
Lucien's gaze softened for the first time.
"Selene..."
"I begged him not to leave that night."
"He refused."
"He believed the Council could still be saved."
The Guardian slammed the butt of his spear into the stone.
"Stop."
Lucien ignored him.
"Your father discovered someone inside the Moon Council was feeding information to the Crimson Eclipse."
"He trusted the wrong people."
"He trusted me."
Kael watched silently.
Every sentence unraveled another piece of history.
"So you sold him?"
Lucien slowly nodded.
"I believed the Eclipse wanted power."
"I never knew they intended genocide."
His hands trembled.
"When I realized the truth..."
"It was already too late."
A deep rumble echoed beneath the valley.
The Vault itself shook.
Silver cracks spread across its ancient walls.
The Guardian looked toward the entrance.
"The seals are weakening."
Lydia frowned.
"What seals?"
Selene answered quietly.
"The prison beneath the Vault."
Everyone froze.
"There is... a prison?"
The Guardian nodded.
"For centuries."
"It holds something that must never awaken."
Lucien's expression darkened.
"They're too late."
"The Blood Moon feeds the prison."
"The Heartstone unlocks it."
Aria instinctively reached for the floating crystal.
It refused to move.
Instead, beams of silver light shot into the sky.
Ancient symbols appeared across the moon itself.
Every wolf in the valley suddenly dropped to one knee.
An overwhelming pressure crushed the air.
Kael gritted his teeth.
"What... is this?"
The Guardian whispered,
"The First Alpha..."
A massive howl erupted beneath the earth.
Not from the forest.
Not from the mountains.
From below.
The ground split open.
Stone pillars burst upward around the Vault.
Chains thicker than tree trunks emerged from the darkness.
Each chain glowed with ancient runes.
Then—
One snapped.
The sound echoed like thunder.
Another chain shattered.
Then another.
Lucien's face turned pale.
"No..."
"It shouldn't be happening this fast."
The Guardian looked directly at Aria.
"You must claim the Heartstone."
"I don't know how!"
"You don't have time to learn."
The crystal suddenly shot toward her palm.
The instant her fingers touched it—
A flood of memories exploded inside her mind.
A young warrior standing beneath a silver tree.
Her father smiling as he placed the pendant around a little girl's neck.
The Moon Council gathered around a circular stone table.
Then—
Fire.
Screams.
Blood.
Lucien standing beside masked warriors.
Her father fighting alone against dozens of enemies.
Finally...
One impossible image.
A towering black wolf with glowing crimson eyes chained beneath the earth.
Its roar shook the heavens.
Aria gasped as the vision ended.
She stumbled backward.
"That wasn't a prison..."
The Guardian slowly closed his eyes.
"No."
"It was never meant to imprison evil."
"It was meant to imprison a king."
Kael frowned.
"A king?"
Lucien whispered the name every ancient wolf feared.
"Fenrir."
The valley instantly fell silent.
Even the wind stopped.
Selene's face lost all color.
"The First Alpha..."
"The Father of Every Bloodline."
Another chain exploded beneath the earth.
A deafening roar followed.
The mountains trembled.
Snow slid from distant peaks.
The Blood Wolf suddenly lowered its head toward the cracking ground.
Not in fear.
In obedience.
Lucien raised the Shadow Spear.
His soldiers immediately retreated.
"We've done our part."
The Guardian's eyes widened.
"You never wanted the Vault."
Lucien smiled sadly.
"I wanted the chains broken."
He looked directly at Aria.
"Only the Heir could awaken the Heartstone."
"And only the Heartstone could weaken Fenrir's prison."
Aria's heart stopped.
"You used me."
"I had no choice."
The Guardian roared in fury and charged.
Their weapons collided in a shower of silver and black sparks.
The impact shattered the remaining statues.
As the battle erupted once more, a colossal claw—larger than an entire house—slowly emerged from the darkness beneath the Vault.
Its black claws gripped the broken stone.
Ancient runes burned away like paper.
A voice, impossibly deep and ancient, echoed across the valley.
May you like
"After a thousand years..."
"...my children have finally come home."
