Chapter 4
The system's voice echoed through the empty room, hollow and final. "True Luna Elara Voss: lunar core extinguished. Life force—zero. Blood Moon Seal collapse initiated. Shadow Plague will reach all territories in 18 days. There is no cure. There is no alternative vessel. This world is ending."
Dominic was mid-stride toward Serena's quarters when the words hit him.
He stopped.
His whole body went rigid, like he'd been struck by lightning.
"...What?"
The system repeated it. Cold. Clinical. Absolute. "Elara Voss is dead. The Blood Moon Seal is broken. The Shadow Plague is now inevitable. Estimated casualties: total extinction."
His legs gave out.
He grabbed the wall, sliding down until he sat on the cold floor of the corridor, staring at nothing.
"No. No, that's—she was stable this morning. The readings—"
"You ordered her nutrient lines disconnected six hours ago. Her body, already at critical levels, could not sustain itself. She died alone, in the dark, believing the man she loved wanted her dead." The system paused. "Because he did."
Dominic's hands were shaking.
His mind raced. "The core transfer—we can still—if we extract it before full decomposition—"
"The lunar core dies with its host. It was NEVER transferable. Every researcher who told you otherwise was paid by Serena Vale to lie. There is no extraction. There is no transfer. There never was."
Something cracked behind his eyes.
He scrambled up and ran.
Full sprint down the corridor, through the medical wing, slamming through every door until he reached the isolation chamber.
The pod was dark. The monitors showed flatlines.
And inside—
My body lay still. Eyes open. Staring at nothing.
The tube was still in my throat. The IV ports were dry. The burn scars on my skin looked like maps of everything he'd done to me.
Dominic pressed his hands against the glass, then his forehead, then his fists.
"Elara. Elara, wake up. This isn't—you don't just DIE. You're the True Luna. You've survived everything. Every war, every beast, every—"
His voice cracked.
The system said, "She survived everything except you."
He slammed his fist into the glass. Again. Again. Until it cracked and his knuckles split and blood smeared across the surface.
"BRING HER BACK!" he roared. "You're the Moon Goddess System! You control fate! Reverse it!"
"I warned you seventeen times. You ignored every single one. Fate doesn't offer infinite chances."
He sank to his knees before the broken glass, blood dripping from his hands onto the sterile floor.
"I was going to heal her," he whispered, as if that meant anything now. "After the extraction—I had everything ready—the best elixirs, the best healers—"
"You were going to rip out her soul and then heal the empty shell. That was your plan. And you genuinely believed that was mercy."
The system's voice carried no pity now. Only contempt.
"You know what Elara did for you, Dominic? She crossed three Shadow territories alone—ALONE—to find the Moonstone that healed your blood curse last winter. She nearly died. She came back with half her ribs broken and never told you, because you were too busy celebrating Serena's birthday to notice."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"She gave up her place in the Alpha Summit so Serena could attend in her stead—because Serena cried about feeling 'excluded.' Elara spent that night fighting off a rogue attack on the eastern border. Alone. While you slow-danced with Serena and told her she was 'the only one who truly understood you.'"
Each word was a blade.
"And when Serena told you Elara was 'hoarding lunar energy' and 'refusing to share her power with the pack'—you believed it. Without asking Elara. Without checking. You chose a liar over your own fated mate every single time."
Dominic's body folded in on itself.
A sound left him—not a word. A howl. Broken and animal and too late.
Dominic was mid-stride toward Serena's quarters when the words hit him.
He stopped.
His whole body went rigid, like he'd been struck by lightning.
"...What?"
The system repeated it. Cold. Clinical. Absolute. "Elara Voss is dead. The Blood Moon Seal is broken. The Shadow Plague is now inevitable. Estimated casualties: total extinction."
His legs gave out.
He grabbed the wall, sliding down until he sat on the cold floor of the corridor, staring at nothing.
"No. No, that's—she was stable this morning. The readings—"
"You ordered her nutrient lines disconnected six hours ago. Her body, already at critical levels, could not sustain itself. She died alone, in the dark, believing the man she loved wanted her dead." The system paused. "Because he did."
Dominic's hands were shaking.
His mind raced. "The core transfer—we can still—if we extract it before full decomposition—"
"The lunar core dies with its host. It was NEVER transferable. Every researcher who told you otherwise was paid by Serena Vale to lie. There is no extraction. There is no transfer. There never was."
Something cracked behind his eyes.
He scrambled up and ran.
Full sprint down the corridor, through the medical wing, slamming through every door until he reached the isolation chamber.
The pod was dark. The monitors showed flatlines.
And inside—
My body lay still. Eyes open. Staring at nothing.
The tube was still in my throat. The IV ports were dry. The burn scars on my skin looked like maps of everything he'd done to me.
Dominic pressed his hands against the glass, then his forehead, then his fists.
"Elara. Elara, wake up. This isn't—you don't just DIE. You're the True Luna. You've survived everything. Every war, every beast, every—"
His voice cracked.
The system said, "She survived everything except you."
He slammed his fist into the glass. Again. Again. Until it cracked and his knuckles split and blood smeared across the surface.
"BRING HER BACK!" he roared. "You're the Moon Goddess System! You control fate! Reverse it!"
"I warned you seventeen times. You ignored every single one. Fate doesn't offer infinite chances."
He sank to his knees before the broken glass, blood dripping from his hands onto the sterile floor.
"I was going to heal her," he whispered, as if that meant anything now. "After the extraction—I had everything ready—the best elixirs, the best healers—"
"You were going to rip out her soul and then heal the empty shell. That was your plan. And you genuinely believed that was mercy."
The system's voice carried no pity now. Only contempt.
"You know what Elara did for you, Dominic? She crossed three Shadow territories alone—ALONE—to find the Moonstone that healed your blood curse last winter. She nearly died. She came back with half her ribs broken and never told you, because you were too busy celebrating Serena's birthday to notice."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"She gave up her place in the Alpha Summit so Serena could attend in her stead—because Serena cried about feeling 'excluded.' Elara spent that night fighting off a rogue attack on the eastern border. Alone. While you slow-danced with Serena and told her she was 'the only one who truly understood you.'"
Each word was a blade.
"And when Serena told you Elara was 'hoarding lunar energy' and 'refusing to share her power with the pack'—you believed it. Without asking Elara. Without checking. You chose a liar over your own fated mate every single time."
Dominic's body folded in on itself.
A sound left him—not a word. A howl. Broken and animal and too late.