Chapter 84: CELESTE’S GAMBIT
Chapter 84: Celeste’s Gambit
The roar from beneath the mountain shook the air, but Celeste ignored it. She floated above them all, the Heart of Shadows pulsing in her chest like a cancerous star.
"I’m tired of fate deciding my worth," she said, her voice echoing with stolen power.
"Time to write my own story." She pressed both hands against the Heart, and dark energy burst outward.
Reality twisted around her like melted glass. "I reject the Moon Goddess’s plan," Celeste stated. "I reject every forecast that made me second place.
I choose to be Luna. I choose to be Alpha. I choose to be everything I was refused!" The Heart reacted to her will, but not the way she expected.
Instead of granting her wishes, it started consuming her. Her perfect skin cracked like dried earth, showing spaces between that held nothing but swirling darkness. "What’s happening to me?" she gasped, watching her hand become transparent.
"The Heart doesn’t grant wishes, you fool," Lyra struggled to her feet, her own beauty now shattered and showing the horror beneath. "It devours them.
Every wish, every dream, every piece of your soul - it feeds on all of it." Celeste tried to let go of the Heart, but her hands had already combined with the crystal.