Realm of Monsters-Chapter 712: I’m Sorry

Chapter 712: I’m Sorry

Lunae channeled the chaos flowing through her veins and summoned a massive blade of ice that towered high above her. She let the blade fall in front of her. The sheer weight of the sword pushed it deep into the soft earth. Holding onto the sword with her mind, she threw her hands apart, and the ice expanded, forming a deep hole in the middle of the clearing.

Frost-mist swirled around the corpse of Syleth, the purple dragon she had placed in charge of watching over Stryg’s village. The mist raised the mangled corpse a few centimeters off the ground and carried it into the pit of ice.

With a wave of her hand, Lunae commanded ice to form over the dragon, encasing Syleth in a coffin of ice for all eternity.

A few frost wolves arrived at her call and began to dig up dirt and pile it over the frozen coffin. Lunae gave one last look at the dragon she had considered a friend, then turned and left for her familiar grove.

Trees formed a ring around the grove. A crystal clear pond sat at the center, revealing smooth stones at its bottom. The whole grove was enchanted with her magic, hidden from the rest of the world, forming a refuge of solitude where she could meditate. Though for the last few centuries, it had become a prison for her to wallow in her own depression. That is, until a small blue infant had found her, day after day.

How he found her, Lunae never quite understood. But she had long stopped questioning it. She was grateful to the pup who had brought a light back into her world of darkness. Stryg had saved her, even though he did not know it. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

And now, a monster threatened to take him away from her. Although neither had admitted to what happened to Solis, it was clear Caligo suspected her of betrayal. They had come to Vulture Woods for revenge. Whether they meant to strike sooner rather than later, Lunae did not know.

Could she defeat Caligo if it came to that? Certainly, on a full moon things would be different. Even a dragonlord would avoid fighting her under the light of a full moon.

But what if it wasn’t such a night? What if it were a new moon? Or worse, during the day of a new moon?

Lunae could hardly summon forth a third of her strength under such times. And without the ability to draw upon the power of the sun from her brother, daylight had become the perfect time to strike her.

Caligo and Solis had been close. Her brother would have told Caligo about the twins’ day and night cycle of power. If Caligo attacked when she was at her weakest, could Lunae win?

The god of secrets had emerged in the Azure Realm only eight centuries ago. A young titan hybrid by all accounts. The youngest titan god alive, several centuries younger than Bellum even.

But what Caligo said about a time before the Sundering gave Lunae pause. What if Caligo was older than they had all thought? Lunae didn’t even know Caligo’s true form. Was the titan a male or female? Tall? Short? Skinny? Muscular? In what ways had chaos touched their nature? Did they have horns? A tail? An extra pair of eyes? Did Caligo have a second animal-like form, as was common among titans?

What exactly were the Aspects Caligo embodied? Certainly, they had some form of control over darkness and the earth itself, but to what extent, Lunae was unsure. What was the root of their power?

The answers to all these questions could determine victory or defeat. Lunae needed to know who Caligo was to understand her opponent.

Death had always eluded to Caligo being more than they seemed whenever Lunae had asked about the young god, but her husband had always refused to tell her anything more. Death and Caligo had an understanding; they kept out of each other’s business.

That wasn’t uncommon for her husband. Death rarely had malice towards anyone. So long as they didn’t bother him, Death wouldn’t bother them either; unless that person had caught Death’s attention for one reason or another.

Still, Caligo would be a fool to antagonize Death via his children or herself. Caligo had made it clear that they were aware of Lunae’s relationship with the Calamity. But the anger in Caligo’s voice made Lunae doubt the rationale of such a being.

The god of secrets was out for blood, no matter the consequences. No one understood why Caligo did what they did. It was why the mortals had given them the title of ‘The Mystery.’

But now, Lunae needed answers, and she would get them from the one person who could give them to her.

Death.

She hadn’t talked to her husband ever since he fucked around with one of her acolytes— her Favoured acolyte. Lunae frowned at the thought. Still, now was not the time for grudges. Their son was in danger, for if Lunae were to die, the Sigte bond would claim Stryg’s life as well.

Opening her diving sight, Lunae checked for her husband. He wasn’t in the Ebon Realm. She searched for Caligo, and just as she had feared, the god had hidden themselves away in their shadows.

Hunting Caligo down under the power of the full moon became a moot point. If Caligo could hide, then they certainly wouldn’t face her when she was at her strongest. She needed Death’s help.

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But the Realm Bridges had fallen centuries ago and unlike her husband, Lunae could not freely travel from one realm to another. There was no way to directly contact Death from the Scarlet Realm, if he was even in that realm. His wanderlust was much greater than any of his siblings; he never stayed in one place for too long.

The only way to find him was through the Dreamscape. Using her divine sight one more time to check on Stryg, she saw him not too far away, cuddling with his frost wolf, Blueberry.

Usually, the two would run around and play, but the dragon’s death had hit Stryg hard. He sat on the grass, holding his giant wolf close. Blueberry could sense the pain from him and lay still, offering comfort where he could.

Guilt ate at Lunae. She closed off her divine sight. Now was not the time to wallow in remorse. She needed to protect Stryg and that was what she was going to do.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, she closed her eyes, and steadied her breath. The sounds of the birds and the whispers of the breeze faded away. It didn’t take long until she found herself in the blurred surroundings of the Dreamscape.

This place was never her strong suit, but she could get around this ethereal realm well enough. The Dreamscape was an echo of Aleirune’s dreams and it connected the people of all the Null Realms together, if one knew how to look. Dreams were a place of constant change and chaos, and none thrived more there than the titans.

Lunae extricated herself from the swirling dream trees all around her and stepped forward, the world reforming into the place she wished to be. Without warning, she struck a wall of darkness. Lunae spun around, only to find the shadows stretched all around her.

Something or someone was blocking her connection with the rest of the Dreamscape. A sudden feeling of fear began to reach over her shoulders.

Lunae woke up with a gasp. She looked around, relieved to find the solid world of the living all around her once more.

It was clear now more than ever how much danger she truly was in. Caligo had set a trap for her in the Dreamscape and had cut off all her connections. She couldn’t contact Death if she tried.

What was she supposed to do? She needed help. There were other ways to contact someone from across the realms. Lunae could have Aurelia go with her to an island far in the north that lay at the center of Hoarfrost Bay. A chrome gate still lay intact on the island.

Aurelia Veres was a prime archmage. She could operate the Great Artificer’s gate. But would they even make it in time? Such a journey would take weeks and Lunae suspected Caligo did not intend to wait so long.

There had to be another way.

The horn of the fire giants came to mind. It was somewhat rudimentary for the purpose she sought it for, but its voice could reach across all the realms without trouble. Bellum had the horn among her treasures, a gift from her mother’s people.

Standing to her feet, Lunae walked over to the crystal-clear pond. She took a deep breath and exhaled cold mist over the water. A thin layer of smooth ice covered the pond and transformed it into a mirror.

Focusing on a familiar face, she called forth the power of the moon and channeled it into the mirror. Soon, the ice shifted and revealed her niece, lying in bed.

“Bellum, it’s been a long time,” Lunae smiled.

The goddess of war opened her eyes and furrowed her brow. “Aunt Lunae, is that you?”

“Yes. Apologies for waking you.” Lunae slumped her shoulders, “Honestly, I’m sorry for a lot of things. I know I’ve been distant. These last decades were— difficult, for me. I know that’s no excuse, but—”

“You shouldn’t have reached out.”

Lunae’s smile fell. “I’m sorry. I know you don’t like it when I use the mirror, but this is urgent. You can hate me all you want later, but I need your help.”

“No, you don’t understand. I can’t be talking to you.”

“What do you mean you can’t—”

“It was part of the deal.”

Lunae furrowed her brow. “What deal?”

Bellum slowly sat up in bed and grimaced at the motion. The blanket fell away to reveal bloodied bandages all over her brown skin.

“Who did this to you?” Lunae whispered.

To hurt a titan goddess was no mere feat. But to leave injuries so deeply in their bodies that they could not regenerate spoke of a potent power that had sunk deep into the goddess’ flesh.

Bellum looked away at the question.

Lunae narrowed her eyes. “Who hurt you?”

“...Caligo found out the truth about what happened to my father.”

Her words confirmed Lunae’s greatest fears. “No…”

Bellum swallowed hard. “Caligo came in the middle of the night and attacked my home. I fought them. I-I… I fought them with everything I had. I reached out to you. I called out to the moon, hoping you’d see me and help. You didn’t.”

“I’m sorry, Bellum, I—”

“I lost him, too. He was my father. I was born in Lunis. It was my home, too.” A tear slipped down Bellum’s cheek. “But while you shut yourself off from the rest of the world and hid in that wretched forest, I tried to keep what little was left of the realm together.”

“I’m sorry. I should have been there,” Lunae whispered and touched the mirror, wishing she could reach through and hug her niece.

“I lost. I fought Caligo and I lost them.” Bellum’s lips curled in a broken smile, tears running down her face. “Caligo killed my children. Every single one. And not just my sons and daughters, but their children too, and theirs. …My family is all dead.”

Horror choked Lunae’s voice. All she could do was stare in stunned silence at the revelation.

“Caligo spared only little Belle and for only one reason, so that they could have something over me. Caligo promised to spare Belle if I stayed out of their business from now on, and that includes not associating with you. If I don’t, they will come back and rip out my daughter’s beating heart.”

Lunae was at a loss for words. There were no words she could give. What could she say to the woman who had lost everyone? Her niece must despise her for failing her. There was no amount of words that could ever undo such pain.

Bellum bit her trembling lip, “I’m sorry, Aunt Lunae. I really am. Whatever it is, I can’t help you. I can’t lose Belle, she is all I have left.”

Her words struck Lunae like a hammer. She shook her head vehemently and gave a bittersweet smile. “Oh, darling. Don’t you dare apologize. I am the one who is sorry. …I should have been there. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be alright. I… I love you.”

Bellum wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffed. “I love you too.”

The mirror cracked and the ice melted into the pond, leaving Lunae alone, staring at her own reflection.

No one would be coming to help her. Not this time. And she deserved it. Only, Stryg did not.