Page 66 of Crowned By the Shadow
“And now?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Now we can rest,” Fiona said, a smile of profound relief crossing her ethereal features. “You have succeeded where we could not. The Moon Goddess is restored, the corruption separated.”
“But not contained,” I pointed out, glancing at the writhing darkness that Wyn still held at bay. “It’s still a threat.”
“Yes,” another Aetherweaver agreed. “Which brings us to the final truth, the one we were forbidden to reveal until this moment.”
Thorn’s hand found mine, squeezing gently. Whatever was coming, we would face it together.
“The cosmic balance requires a guardian,” Fiona said, her voice heavy with the weight of ages. “Someone to maintain an equilibrium between light and darkness, between creation and destruction. Someone who understands both, who can channel both without being consumed by either.”
“An Eclipse Child,” I said, understanding dawning.
“Yes,” she confirmed. “But not as a mortal being. The power required... it would transform you.”
The Moon Goddess stepped forward, her silver light washing over me. “The corruption must have a vessel, one strong enough to contain it without being overwhelmed. One who can balance it with light.”
“You’re saying I need to become that vessel,” I said, not a question but a statement of fact. “To become the new guardian. Won’t that make me the new Void Dragon Empress?”
“Not quite. You are not a dragon, nor are you an empress. That being said, it is what we were all born for,” Fiona replied softly. “The ultimate purpose of the Eclipse Child. To ascend, to become the guardian of balance for all realms.”
“For how long?” Thorn demanded, his voice tight with fear.
Fiona’s eyes held mine, compassion and understanding shining in their depths. “Eternity,” she answered. “Or until the cycle begins anew.”
The enormity of it crashed over me. Eternity as a cosmic guardian, separated from the mortal realm, from everyone I loved. From Thorn.
“There must be another way,” he insisted, his grip on my hand tightening.
“There is not,” another Aetherweaver said. “We all sought alternatives. We all failed.”
“And your failure created this,” I gestured to their fragmented forms. “This half-existence.”
“Yes,” Fiona admitted. “When we refused our destiny, when we tried to find another path, the balance shattered. Our essence was fragmented, bound to this place as witnesses and guides for those who would come after.”
“And if I refuse?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“Then the corruption will seek another host, one less prepared, less capable of maintaining balance. It will spread across all realms, consuming everything in its path. And you will join us, another fragment in an endless cycle of failure.”
I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of countless lives, past and future, resting on my shoulders. The Twilight Crown hummed against my brow, a reminder of the power I now wielded, the responsibility I now bore.
“I need to think,” I said, my voice surprisingly steady.
“There is little time,” Fiona warned. “The corruption grows more frantic with each moment, and the barriers between realms are at their weakest.”
I turned to Thorn, my heart breaking at the pain in his eyes. “I don’t want to leave you,” I whispered.
“Then don’t,” he said fiercely. “We’ll find another way. We always do.”
The Moon Goddess approached, her newly restored radiance casting long shadows. “The choice must be yours, Eclipse Child. But know this: to become the guardian is not to cease existing. It is to transcend, to become more than you are now.”
“But I would be separated from the mortal realm,” I said. “From those I love.”
“Not entirely,” she replied. “The guardian moves between realms, maintaining balance wherever it is needed. You would not be confined to this prison, but free to travel the cosmic threads.”
A small comfort, but not enough. Not when it meant leaving behind the life I’d fought so hard to build, the people who had become my family.
I looked at my companions, at Thorn with his unwavering love, at Wyn with her newfound balance, at Ronan, Van, and Volker, each one having sacrificed so much to reach this point. Could I ask them to sacrifice more? Could I ask them to accept my ascension, my transformation into something beyond mortal understanding?
