CHAPTER 130: CHAPTER 130: ELDER MALIN’S GAMBIT

ELDER MALIN POV

The phoenix burst through my window in a ball of flames, nearly setting my beard on fire.

"They’re all here, Elder," the phoenix gasped, smoke curling from her wings. "Every single one you called. But we might be too late."

I grabbed my walking stick and hurried as fast as my old bones could carry me. Outside my cottage, the most impossible sight met me. Creatures I hadn’t seen together in over a hundred years were standing in my yard.

Three vampires with bright red eyes. A pack of wild werewolves from the northern regions. Two witches whose power crackled around them like electricity. Even a dragon, though she had taken human form to fit in my small yard.

"You all came," I said, and for the first time in weeks, I felt hope.

"You said the world was ending," growled Marcus, the vampire boss. "We may not like each other, but we’re not stupid."

"Where’s the girl?" asked Luna, the witch with silver hair. "The one whose fate is tied to all of ours?"

I could feel Aria through my link to the Moon Goddess. She was at the nexus point, facing something that made my old heart race with fear.

"She’s fighting for her soul," I said. "And losing."

The dragon woman, Ember, stepped forward. "Then we need to move now."

"No," I said, shocking them all. "We can’t reach her in time. But there’s another way."

I pulled out a small crystal from my robe. It glowed with soft white light, but cracks were already forming along its surface.

"This is a piece of the original Moon Stone," I explained. "The one the Moon Goddess used to make the first werewolves. I’ve been saving it for sixty years, waiting for the right moment."

"What does it do?" asked one of the northern dogs.

"It lets me share my life force with someone far away," I said. "I can give Aria the power she needs to fight her dark half."

Marcus frowned. "What’s the catch, old man? There’s always a catch with magic like that."

He was right, of course. There was always a price.

"The catch is that it will kill me," I said plainly. "All of my life, all of my power, will go to her. I’ll have nothing left."

The quiet that followed was heavy. These weren’t the kind of beings who usually cared about one old monster dying. But they knew what it meant.

"Why?" Luna asked softly. "Why sacrifice yourself for her?"

I thought about that question. Why was I ready to die for a girl I’d only known for a few months? The answer came to me like a whisper from the Moon Goddess herself.

"Because I failed her once before," I said. "When she was born, I saw the promise. I saw what she could become. And I was scared."

The memories came rushing back. Aria as a baby, glowing with power that scared me. Her mother, asking me to help hide her daughter’s true nature. And me, agreeing to seal away most of Aria’s powers to keep her safe.

"I tried to change fate," I admitted. "I thought if I made her weaker, the promise wouldn’t come true. But predictions don’t work that way. They find a way to happen no matter what you do."

"You’re the reason she grew up thinking she was just an omega," Ember realized.

"Yes," I said, shame heavy in my voice. "I stole eighteen years of her life from her. Eighteen years when she could have been learning to handle her power instead of hiding from it."

The phoenix landed on my shoulder. "The fight at the nexus point is getting worse. The dark version of her is winning."

I could feel it too. Aria’s light was getting dimmer. Her fear was getting stronger. And worst of all, part of her was starting to believe that maybe her dark half was right.

"Then it’s time," I said, raising the Moon Stone crystal.

"Wait," Marcus said. "If you’re going to die anyway, why did you gather all of us here?"

I smiled at him. Even after all these years, vampires were still too interested for their own good.

"Because Aria’s going to need allies when this is over," I said. "The Shadow Lords aren’t going to give up just because she wins this fight. They’ll keep coming. And next time, she’ll need an army."

"You want us to serve a werewolf girl?" one of the northern dogs snorted.

"I want you to serve the future," I said firmly. "Aria isn’t just going to save our world. She’s going to change it. And when she does, you’ll all want to be on her side."

The Moon Stone was getting brighter in my hands. I could feel my life force starting to flow into it, preparing to move across the miles to reach Aria.

"There’s one more thing," I said quickly. "Something none of you know. Something I’ve kept secret for sixty years."

They all leaned in closer.

"Aria isn’t the only child of the Moon Goddess," I said. "There are others. Hidden all over the world. And when the Shadow Lords figure that out, they’re going to hunt them all down."

Luna’s eyes went wide. "How many others?"

"Seven," I said, feeling my strength starting to fade as the crystal drained me. "Seven children, scattered across seven different worlds. Each one with a piece of the Moon Goddess’s power."

"Where are they?" Ember demanded.

But I was already starting to disappear, my energy flowing into the Moon Stone to save Aria.

"Find them," I whispered with my last breath. "Find them before the Shadow Lords do. Because if all seven children fall to darkness..."

The crystal burst with light, carrying my life force across the world to Aria. But even as I felt myself dying, I realized something terrible.

I had just told them about the seven children.

But I hadn’t told them the most important secret of all.

One of the seven was already here.

One of the seven was standing right in front of me.

And they had no idea who they really were.

As my vision went to black, I saw the truth in one of their eyes. The same holy light I’d seen in Aria’s eyes as a baby.

But it was too late to tell anyone.

I was gone.

And the Shadow Lords weren’t the only ones hunting the Moon Goddess’s children anymore.