Kael's words struck Lyon like a blow.
Forbidden… heir… power that was not meant to exist.
The torchlight flickered as if reacting to the tension that suddenly thickened the air. Lyon's heartbeat pounded like distant war drums as something cold crept up his spine.
"What do you mean?" Lyon asked, his voice low but sharp. "Explain. Now."
Kael inhaled deeply, as if steadying himself before a truth he'd hoped never to speak.
"You weren't merely reborn, Lyon. You awakened something older… darker… and far more dangerous than anything the Moonfang Pack has ever seen."
Lyon's jaw tightened. "I've heard enough riddles for a lifetime. Spit it out."
Kael slowly raised his lantern, casting eerie shadows across the stone walls of the hidden chamber. The carvings etched into the rock—wolf sigils, broken runes, symbols of ancient battles—seemed to move in the shifting light.
"Do you remember the story of the Doomslayer?" Kael asked.
Lyon shook his head. "Only fragments. Old tales. My father mentioned them once when I was young."
Kael nodded. "The Doomslayer was not a monster," he said softly. "He was a protector—the strongest Alpha who ever lived. He was marked by the Moon Goddess with a power that could rewrite fate itself. But the Elders feared him. They feared what one wolf with limitless potential could do."
"So they killed him," Lyon said.
Kael's eyes glimmered. "They didn't just kill him. They erased him. Every record. Every mention. Every bloodline tied to him."
Lyon felt something twist painfully inside his chest.
"And I'm related to him?"
Kael stepped closer.
"No, Lyon. You are his successor."
Silence.
Lyon's breath hitched as his vision flickered with a faint golden glow. Memories that weren't his flashed in jagged glimpses—ashen battlefields, roars that shook mountains, a giant wolf made of fire and shadows, and a blade of midnight light carving through armies.
He stumbled backward, gripping his head.
Kael rushed to steady him. "Easy! The memories… they come to those who awaken the blood too quickly. You're fighting centuries of buried power."
Lyon forced the visions down, teeth gritted.
"Why now? Why me?"
Kael hesitated.
"Because the Moon Goddess chose you. And because someone is coming who wants you dead before you realize what you are."
Lyon's pulse quickened.
"Who?"
Kael looked away. "The same force that slaughtered the Doomslayer. The ones who fear what cannot be controlled. They sensed your awakening. They will come for you soon."
Lyon's fingers curled into fists.
"Let them come."
Kael's expression hardened. "Your anger is natural, but listen—right now, you're not ready. The power inside you will either make you the strongest Alpha ever born… or it will consume you."
A sharp wind howled through the tunnel—unnatural, cold enough to make the flames flicker violently.
Kael stiffened. "They're close. We need to get out of here."
Lyon nodded, but something tugged at his senses.
A whisper.
A pulse.
A thrum in his blood.
He turned toward a sealed stone door at the far end of the chamber.
"What's behind that?" Lyon asked.
Kael went pale. "Nothing you should concern yourself with."
Lyon stepped toward it anyway. "If my awakening started all this, then that door is calling me. I feel it."
Kael grabbed Lyon's wrist. "Don't open it. That is the Doomslayer's Vault. Only a descendant can enter—and only after they've mastered their power. You are not ready."
Lyon's eyes glowed faintly—gold with streaks of dark red.
"It's reacting to me."
And then the ground trembled.
BOOM.
The stone door pulsed with ancient energy. Runes across its surface ignited with blinding light.
Kael jumped back. "Lyon! Stop!"
But Lyon wasn't moving.
He wasn't touching the door.
The door was reacting on its own.
A deep, primal voice echoed through the chamber:
"Blood of the Doomslayer… recognized."
Lyon froze.
Kael's eyes widened in terror. "No… no, this shouldn't be happening!"
The runes exploded with light.
CRRRAAAACK!
The stone door split down the middle, releasing a violent surge of energy that sent both of them flying backward. Lyon slammed into the ground, dust filling his lungs.
When he looked up, the vault had opened.
A tunnel of obsidian stone stretched ahead, illuminated by floating blue flames. At the center of the chamber, suspended above the ground, was something glowing—something alive with energy.
A jagged, obsidian-black amulet pulsed slowly, like a beating heart.
The Doomslayer's Crest.
Kael scrambled to his feet. "Lyon, we must leave! Taking that will seal your fate!"
Lyon stood.
"My fate was sealed the moment I died," he whispered.
He stepped forward.
Each footstep echoed like thunder.
Each breath felt heavier than the last.
The Crest pulsed faster, brighter, warmer, responding to his presence.
As he reached the pedestal, Lyon hesitated.
"What will happen if I touch it?" he asked quietly.
Kael swallowed. "You will no longer be able to hide. The entire world will feel your awakening."
Lyon lifted his hand. "Good. Let them know."
His fingers brushed the Crest.
BOOOOOM!
A storm of power erupted outward—wind, light, heat, energy, all colliding in a violent surge that shook the entire mountain. The vault cracked. The flames roared. Ancient runes screamed with brilliance.
Kael shielded his face. "LYON!"
Lyon felt it all.
The Doomslayer's strength.
The rage.
The memories.
The legacy.
A thousand lifetimes of war flooding into him at once.
He roared as golden flames burst from his body, swirling around him like a storm.
Images spiraled before his eyes—
A giant wolf wreathed in shadow and lightning.
A blade of pure moonlight.
A woman with silver eyes saying, "Find me."
A throne made of bones.
A war that swallowed the sky.
When the light subsided, Lyon collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath.
Kael rushed forward. "Lyon! Are you—"
Lyon raised his head slowly.
And Kael froze.
Lyon's eyes burned with a new intensity—gold like a supernova, ringed with crimson. The mark on his shoulder blazed brighter than ever, no longer a simple brand but a living sigil of raw power.
"Kael…" Lyon whispered. "I saw something."
Kael swallowed hard. "What did you see?"
Lyon stood, voice trembling but resolute.
"The truth… and the war that's coming."
A deep rumble echoed through the cavern—closer this time, heavier.
Kael's face drained of color. "They're here."
"Who?" Lyon asked.
Kael's hand shook as he pointed to the entrance.
"The Hunters of the Broken Moon… the same ones who killed the Doomslayer."
Lyon's expression hardened.
"Then this time," he said, power crackling around his fists,
"they'll find their prey ready."