Chapter 287: The path forward...
Narrator POV
The heavy air in the dimly lit chamber was filled with tension as Kragen’s father, Verrian, paced restlessly. His footsteps echoed off the stone walls, his mind troubled by a storm of thoughts he could not shake. It had been almost a week since he had seen the Moon Goddess in person, and yet, her presence now did little to comfort him. Instead, it reminded him of how deeply he had failed—failed his wife, failed Kragen, and, in the end, failed himself.
Verrian’s dark hair fell into his eyes as he stopped abruptly, his jaw tight, fists clenched. He turned to face the Moon Goddess, who stood still as a statue by the flickering flames of the hearth. Her ethereal form shimmered faintly in the light, her eyes dark pools of wisdom and sorrow. But there was a coldness there too, a distance that had always unnerved Verrian.
"They are coming, you know," he muttered, his voice rough. "The witches. They will come for him. They’ll come for Kragen."
The Moon Goddess did not immediately respond, her gaze never wavering. Verrian couldn’t stand it—the calmness, the patience. It enraged him in the face of the danger they were all facing. He threw his arms wide as if trying to grasp the enormity of the situation.
"They won’t hold back this time," Verrian continued, his voice rising in desperation. "The witches have grown in power. Their magic is dark, darker than it’s ever been. They’ll use everything at their disposal, including exploiting the evil that lies dormant in Kragen. I see it in him. The anger. The bitterness. It’s a seed they’ll water until it consumes him."
At that, the Moon Goddess blinked a subtle motion that spoke volumes. But Verrian wasn’t finished.
"And what have I done to stop it?" he asked, his voice breaking. "What have I done, except fail at every turn? I promised her... I promised my wife, Tehilia, that I would protect him. That I would care for him."
His voice trembled as he spoke his wife’s name, the ache of old wounds rising to the surface. Tehilia had been the love of his life, a light in the darkness, a beacon of hope when everything else had fallen apart. Her death had been the beginning of his failures.
"I told her," Verrian went on, his eyes wet with unshed tears, "I swore on my soul that I would guide Kragen. That I would never let him walk the path of darkness that his blood calls for. But I’ve failed, haven’t I?"
The Moon Goddess remained still, her face as unreadable as ever. But there was a shift in the air, a faint hum of energy that signalled she was listening.