"She offered us a choice when we were on the verge of dying: cling to life even if our bodies changed, or embrace death and find eternal rest. I-I was too scared."
She lowered her head, remembering the cold freezing her limbs and stiffening her eyelids.
When she thought her life would end and darkness encroached on her thoughts like a ravenous beast ready to swallow her in a gulp, she heard Hecate' gentle voice.
She shook her head, sealing those memories in a deep corner of her mind and stopping her shivers. Then, she continued before the silence could become awkward.
"Even if I survived, I also died that day. The werewolves are like us: the two sides of the same coin. We're living dead, creatures that weren't meant to exist. Poor souls too scared of the netherworld and its creatures."
She paused, biting her lips and clenching her fists as determination sparkled in her eyes.
"Individuals who fought against fate and natural order."
She turned to him, gripping his shoulder and halting their march through the intricate network of streets and under the eyes of curious vampires.
"That's why we'll fight Selene. Hecate will never let him enslave or force her to do his bidding."
He felt her turmoil through her trembling hand.
Twisting his lips in a grimace, he nodded.
"I don't want you to join him, either. I'll share my plan with your duchess, and we'll find a solution to avoid that scenario."
No matter what, he couldn't give Selene an army of powerful creatures. It would shatter the already skewed balance and make the beast emperor the absolute overlord.
Despite his disinterest in their species, Gaston's words rang in his ears. He had messed up this world's political landscape, and the consequences would engulf everyone.
'I must salvage the situation as much as I can.'
He gritted his teeth, feeling guilt press on his shoulders as thoughts raged in his mind.
He had to protect his friends and the earthlings from the impending chaos.
The worst part? With Selene and Ossian's growth, the beast emperor's flying fortress construction would rocket from a decade to a few years.
His soul throbbed in the puppet. The threat was too high, and his options were limited.
Truthfully, he could only see one.
'Forge my body and surpass them before they're ready...'
He had to wait until next year to get the bones promised to the inter-academy tournament's winner. Besides that, he still had no trail on where to find a tier-seven dan tian and tier-eight mana circuits.
'It's even worse than that. I can forget about my dream if I don't find carcass fragments like Durgrim's hands.'
He massaged his eyes as they passed a cathedral-like building as imposing as a monument. Yet, it was only a regular habitation for the scarce but powerful vampires.
Sadly, he had no time to appreciate the grand vista and sighed in frustration.
No matter how well-crafted his puppets and blades were, they were mere toys in the face of a true magical beast in the seventh tier, not to mention the eighth.
He gulped at the thought, remembering Prometheus' fight against the magus.
They were on the same level, but the difference was vaster than the distance between the moon and the sun.
Face somber, he walked, trying to find a solution.
However, even when he stood before an obsidian castle engraved with magnificent arcs and towers, he passed his palm over his face and gritted his teeth indefeat.
'I'll focus on the tendons. The rest comes after.'
He narrowed his eyes, forgetting about future troubles as he always did because, in the end, the present was already uncertain enough.
As he inhaled a bowl of fresh air to relax his mind, the gates split open, letting the hall's grand chandelier sparkle in his eyes. Narrowing them, he followed the red velvet carpet extending from the entrance to the majestic scarlet throne.
Then, he met the scarlet eyes of the woman sitting on it.
"Welcome to Shadowfall."
Her gentle voice echoed in his ears as she rose and stepped in their direction, her blood-colored hair swirling behind her.
However, she ignored him and instead hugged Soma.
"It's been a while, brother."
The werewolf leader's body stiffened. He even noticed his pointed ears burn and heard him swallow with difficulty.
"Y-Yeah. I missed you too, big sister."
'I guess she calls the shots in their brotherhood, hahaha.'
A soft giggle escaped his lips at the comedic scene. After all, he had never seen tier-six individuals in such a warm relationship.
She pulled back a second later and focused on him, her intemporal beauty striking him from this close.
"I know why you're here. But I'd rather die than return to Selene's side."
The warmth displayed to Soma melted like ice under the burning sun, and her voice chilled.
He felt her determination, anger, and the sorrow she desperately tried to hide deep within yet threatened to barge out.
But as cold-hearted as he may appear, he had to ignore her emotions... because one of them would have to give up on what they wanted.
With a voice matching hers in intensity, he replied.
"What you want doesn't matter. Selene is an archmage already and is building a second Sunfire bastion for The Beast Emperor. Despite your resistance, you won't die even if you want to. He'll just come in person and shine his solar flames on you until you give up. Even if you don't, he still has the option to brand a slave spell onto your souls and force you to comply."
A steely glint flashed in his eyes as he clenched his fists in regret. No matter how much he tried to veil his face, his own words disgusted him.
'I feel like that bastard nightmare trying to manipulate others.'
A bitter taste filled his mouth at the thought, even if his words were correct.