Lunar Legacy: Rise Of The Beastlord-Chapter 251: Divine Patroness

Jayden raised a brow. "An oracle?" he murmured. "Like the oracle of Delphi? That kind of oracle?"

Ava nodded slowly, her gaze drifting to the horizon where the pale aurora flickered faintly across the clouds. "Yeah. He sees fragments, not certainties. Possibilities branching out like veins of lightning. Each one a path, a ’maybe’," she explained. "And he can only act on what’s most likely to happen. Not what will happen."

Jayden’s jaw tightened. "So, he saw what might happen to my family... and just let it happen?"

Ava’s eyes softened. "No, Jayden. He saw thousands of possible outcomes. Saving your mother might’ve doomed ten others. He makes choices... impossible ones," she said. "He’s not a god that can just save everything."

Jayden’s breath steamed into the cold, trembling just slightly. "That’s easy for him to say. He didn’t lose everything."

Ava stared at him quietly for a moment. "You think he didn’t?" she murmured. "You have no idea how much blood sits on his conscience."

Jayden scoffed. "Then he’s no better than the people he lets die."

Ava looked at him like he was a naive kid. "Maybe," she said. "But at least he’s still fighting. He still helps out from time to time. Most Oracles don’t even interfere with the affairs of humans. They just drop the most cryptic messages and leave the rest for us to figure out. Castor chose to be different even though it might lead to his destruction."

"He’s lost a lot in the past, Jayden," she added. "And... so have you."

Jayden didn’t respond. The snow fell heavier now, whispering across their boots. His fists clenched, veins pulsing faintly beneath his skin.

Ava’s eyes flickered, studying him. "You hate the EVA," she said quietly. "I can see it."

Jayden’s voice was a low growl. "They slaughtered my friends. Took my sister. And probably experimented on my mother’s corpse. So yeah," he said, his tone trembling, "hate’s a soft word."

Ava’s eyes darkened with empathy. "I get it. The EVA hunted my kind too, and they did for centuries even before they were known as the EVA," she stated. "My point is... humans in general fear anyone not fully human. They want to dissect what they can’t control."

"And even now, we hear rumors of the EVA carrying out experiments on aliens," she added. "An act of preservation maybe... but it’s barbaric."

Jayden’s eyes flicked to hers. "Why don’t you stop them? You’re powerful."

Ava gave a short, bitter laugh. "Fighting them without any charge against our empire would be uncivil," she said. "And also, there are rumors that they have weapons that erase energy signatures. Kill immortals permanently."

Jayden’s expression hardened. "I don’t care about their make-believe weapons," he said firmly. "I’ll destroy them either way."

Ava raised an eyebrow. "You? On your own?"

He looked at her dead in the eye. "If I have to."

For a moment, neither spoke. Only the wind filled the silence. Then Ava exhaled softly, stepping closer.

"You really are her son," she whispered. "That same fire. That same madness."

Jayden looked up. "Yeah well, I guess madness runs in the family?" he chuckled.

Ava smiled faintly. "Your mum once told me, ’The world doesn’t need more heroes... it needs monsters who choose to protect it.’"

Jayden’s eyes softened. "Yeah... that sounds like her."

They stood there for a while. The cold didn’t touch them anymore. Just two relics of a broken world standing in the snow, connected by bloodlines and ghosts.

Then Jayden cleared his throat, breaking the silence

"So, enough about the EVA," he began. "I have some questions about... Lycans that I hope you don’t mind answering."

Ava stared at him for a while as if contemplating whether to give in to his demands. Then she chuckled. "Of course, go ahead. Ask away," she said.

Jayden exhaled in relief, finally taking a seat on the snow. "I want to know all I can about the Lycan empire," he said. "But first, what... or where is Lunaria? You mentioned something earlier about expecting me to be in Lunaria... like it’s a place?"

Ava smiled. "Yes, Lunaria isn’t just your name... it’s your home," she said.

Jayden sat straight, listening intently to everything Ava was going to say. And for the next few hours, they sat on the snow, talking and chatting.

Jayden learnt a lot of new things about his family, about other supernatural races, and about the universe itself.

Lunaria was a planet far away in another galaxy, and it was the home of all Lycans. Apparently, his mother had come to earth with him and sister when they were babies. She did it as an act of preserving the royal bloodline should anything happen to the Lycan Queen, her mother.

Callisto Lunaria, the Lycan Queen and Jayden’s grandmother was exactly the same Callisto he knew from the myths. She was the daughter of Lycaon; the first Lycan. And the sister of fifty brothers, including Castor.

Callisto became queen after her father and forty-seven of her brothers were killed. She had supposedly been ruling the Lycan empire for thousands of years. This made Jayden wonder just how old his mother truly was. He never bothered to ask, thinking she was around thirty or forty.

He also learnt that the Lycans revered and basically worshipped Artemis. The goddess of the hunt was the divine patroness of the Lycans, and the creator of Lunaria. She helped the Lycans escape from earth when they were being hunted by humans, and she gifted them the ability to switch forms using the moons power. The Lycans later learnt to switch forms without the moon. But still, Artemis remained their messiah.

This single detail gave Jayden enough pieces to conclude that Artemis was the creator of the Beastlord system... she had to be. Because that would be explain how the system ended up in his necklace. Though he made a note to do some further research on that later.

Jayden got insights on a lot of things and he still had lots of questions. But even Ava seemed to have just little knowledge on some topics. She either didn’t know or didn’t want him to know.

Still, Jayden was grateful for all the information she had given him. It was more than he had ever gotten from anyone, and it helped him clarify a lot of things.

After a while of telling Jayden about his mother’s many conquests, Ava finally stood up.

"Alright, Jayden... or is it Jay you prefer?" she chuckled.

Jayden smiled wryly. "Both works for me,"

Ava dusted snow off her hands. "Okay, then Jayden it is," she said. "I have to get going. It’s way past my bedtime here on the other side of the world."

Jayden chuckled. "Alright. Thank you for taking your time to give me answers. I am forever grateful," he said with a respectful bow. It was clear to him now that Ava was way older than she looked. And she was definitely more powerful.

Ava shrugged with a teasing smile. "It’s fine. I’m just happy to be reunited with my long lost student," she giggled.

Jayden sighed at that remark but didn’t retort. Because Ava claimed that when he was a child, he used to beg her to teach him how to use a spear. She even claimed that it was through her that he became fascinated with spears.

Of course Jayden didn’t remember this, but he didn’t have proof that she was lying either. So he just went along with it.

"Guess I should start calling you sensei then?" he chuckled.

Ava nodded with a smug smile. "Yes, you should," she said. "Though I’m curious about something,"

Jayden raised a brow. "What’s that?"

Ava tilted her head. "Yesterday, why did you tell me you were Lunaria? It was pretty obvious that you were lying to protect your name ’Starrk’," she pointed out. "But Lunaria is also your name and you knew that, so why tell me anyway? You could have just picked another random name."

Jayden smiled. "Well," he began. "I once learnt that the best way to lie to someone... is to tell the truth in a way they’d think is a lie."

Ava smirked, impressed with his mindset. "Hiding in plain sight. That’s clever," she said.

Jayden exhaled. "I told you I was Lunaria in the hopes that you would believe it, but at the same time in the hopes that you won’t," he said. "I was fine with either outcome."

Ava chuckled. "Try that with someone who truly works for the Queen and you just might end up having your head on that pike,"

Jayden laughed softly. Then he stared at Ava with a smile. "If your dad’s Lunaria, that makes us family, right?" he asked.

Ava nodded. "Yes, it does," she replied. "I’m sort of like your second cousin."

Jayden smiled. "Alright, cuz. Have a good night," he chuckled.

Ava smiled back. "Yeah, see you around, Jayden," she said with a sigh, a mischievous glint lighting her eyes. "Though... It’s such a shame I’ll have to kill you again so the match can end."

Jayden’s brow furrowed, confusion flickering across his face. Then, suddenly, he felt it... a surge of energy coalescing above him. His gaze snapped upward to see a massive orb of shimmering blue light, pulsating with raw power, and descending rapidly toward him.

The orb hadn’t been there a moment ago. He hadn’t even seen Ava conjure it. Not a flicker, not a sign. She had conjured it silently, swiftly, and with devastating intent.