1 The Failed gods

BATTLE OF THE FALLEN.

"Argh..."

A precarious sob escaped his lips, which was accompanied by the slithering sound of the arrow that pierced through his heart. His trembling hands held the arrow in an attempt to pull it out, but the pain from the wound overpowered him.

He tried to keep his figure from falling as he took a few steps forward, barely clutching to the last bit of strength he could muster. But his knees betrayed him as he crumpled to the floor.

He had no idea how long he stayed in the same position, trying hard to hear something, anything, but he couldn't. His forlorn figure was unable to hear any heartbeat in that deserted place except for his own, which too was slowing down with every passing moment.

He was kneeling on an earth marred with the lifeless bodies of multiple innocent and corrupted souls.

As far as his sight could see, no sign of life was left on that battlefield. He couldn't even see a bird chirping in that ominous place. The smell of death lingering in the atmosphere was slowly suffocating his airways rendering him unable to breathe.

'Is this how it ends?'

Lifting his golden eyes to the skies, the brutally wounded man let out a loud howl which was answered back by nothing but a mere swooshing of air.

'Dead. They're all dead.'

He had lost all his comrades in that battle. No one from his army had managed to survive. He was the lone survivor of this hell, doomed to spend an eternity with the flashbacks of the horrors he had witnessed on this ground.

For the rogues have infiltrated the land for an unknown reason, killing both werewolves and humans. They broke the promise he made to the first human king thousands of years ago that his kind would have nothing to do with them.

It was at the verge of war that he, the Lycan king was given the sole responsibility to save the inhabitants of this world from the perilous doom that besieged them.

Half of them were dead by the time he managed to reach the middle of the battlefield. They were killed in their sleep.

As he halted to take a look at the decapitated bodies of his men upon his arrival, their intestines were hanging low from their torn abdomens. His head went blank. They weren't just murdered, their bodies were mutilated to the point that he couldn't tell them apart.

A deep rage that he had never experienced before suddenly erupted inside of him. That was the first time he had unleashed all his powers, facing a swarming army of rogues all on his own.

He had let his wolf run berserk with no intervention from his human side. He sliced every throat that came in his path. No wound was on his body. He could see nothing but red. Nothing was able to stop him. He was out to get blood.

After a while, as his beast calmed down, he realized that he had successfully managed to annihilate the army of the rogues.

They were all dead but their leader was nowhere to be seen.

'Should've killed that bastard too.'

His array of thoughts was cut short when a sudden object pierced through his body. He felt nothing but the cold sensation of metal piercing through his skin, leaving behind a deep wound.

He turned precariously in search of the bastard that perpetuated the act. But the only thing he saw was the vanishing figure that scrambled off into the dark.

The adrenaline was slowly leaving his system, his senses had started clearing. He could feel pain now, a lot of pain.

"It's time."

He could feel a pricking sensation crawling all over his body.

A moment later, his legs buckled beneath him, displacing several mots of dust as his huge frame fell like a log to the ground. He felt paralyzed, unable to move himself. His mind seemed to have lost all contact with the rest of his body.

Currently, there was no one else besides him with the moon's crest, and a king couldn't die as long as that crest remained engraved on his chest. For the moon crest was a gift from the moon goddess that granted him some sort of immortality.

Too powerful to die, yet too wounded to stay alive, he was rolling like a pendulum between the realms of life and death.

He was well aware of the fact that his body could go into a dormant state at any moment to heal his injuries, which could prove to be a major advantage for the escaped rogue leader.

The next heir to the throne hadn't been decided. If he went into a dormant state, his kingdom would be left in a vulnerable position. Rebels would easily gather back in a decade more or less and snatch what he had fought for till his last breath— his people.

'Lucas. We were victorious, but there's a mole…'

He tried to create a mental link with his trusted beta to inform him of his situation, but his deteriorating condition wasn't of much help in establishing a good connection.

'I'm alive, but I don't think my body can handle healing my wounds. It's exhausted as I drained my power till its last drop. It's shutting down-.'

His telepathic communication was severed by an unknown force. He bared his eyelids to try and find who would dare to block his message like that when he felt a heavy impact on his brain that made him lose consciousness....

**********

"The baby is not breathing."

"NO!"

There were cries followed closely by muffled voices.

"Bring me my child" the woman who had just given birth tried to sit upright.

"My queen, are you sure this procedure is safe? '' one of her trusted maids asked.

" Yes. This is the only way I can save her" her rasped voice answered back while trying desperately to hold herself up to stand. She had spent nearly two hours giving birth to her first child.

The queen had gone to the temple which was located on the farthest end of the castle to pray for protection over her husband and her people. She was kneeling before the altar, praying fervently before she suddenly went into labor.

It was the King's first child after many years of trial. His wife, the queen who was a powerful witch, has been barren for many years. The only reason the king married her in the first place was to strengthen the power of his kingdom. For the King was afraid the rogues or the rebels might come after him and his throne.

So he sought an alternative. To quench his fears, he married the woman who her kind despicably rejected.

Then please proceed, milady." The girl said nervously. " The whole kingdom is at war. I'm afraid of what might happen next".

" Place her on this altar" she ordered.

The girl hesitated, looking worriedly toward the young queen who gave her a reassuring glare before she placed the newborn child on the altar.

"O di magni! Serva vitam filiae meae." The queen whispered while she gently made a tiny cut on the child's back.

The blood of the child tickled around the small runes that were drawn on the stone altar. When she saw she had gotten enough blood for the ritual, she stopped the bleeding by pressing a crushed herbal leaf to the child's back.

She stood while waiting for a miracle to happen. She prayed her request would be granted.

She was close to losing hope as a loud cry, much louder in pitch, reached her ears. A newborn was mewling.

"Congratulations, Your highness!"

"The baby's alive!"

"The princess was born out of a miracle." the maid told her proudly.

The queen carried the child from the altar and smiled happily as she tried to inhale the peculiar smell of the newborn.

"Why don't you give her a name" the maid suggested while she held the baby's hands in amazement.

"Thea."

She whispered. But that moment of happiness was short-lived when another maid came bustling into the room.

"Your majesty!"

"What's wrong?"

" They are here. The rogues". her tone was filled with fear and uncertainty "they've invaded our territory. The alpha is leading the group".

" Take her". The queen ordered the other maid who was with her all this while.

"But my queen-"

" I can't let them lay their filthy hands on the amethyst stone. I won't allow that '' her voice grew increasingly agitated. Her eyes looked feverish, she trembled uncontrollably as if she had just finished a battle.

The maid watched her with worry, fearing her actions were going to cause more harm.

The maid grew curious until she couldn't stop herself from asking. "Amethyst stone..? I haven't heard of such before".

" Poor child. I know you knew nothing about it. In two words, this stone is a 'doom bringer'. It can't fall into the wrong hands. "

" Now leave! Get out before it's too late! The queen whimpered while looking pitifully at her child.

"I cannot leave you, my queen. You can't fight them alone" the strong-headed maid stood her ground.

"Even though I can't, I know what to do. Now leave" her voice grew weaker with each second.

The maid did as she was instructed. She hurriedly ascended a stair that would lead her to the temple's backdoor. She stopped in her tracks while taking a glance at her queen once more.

A muffled gasp escaped her lips as her sight took notice of the queen's cocooned figure.

The maid knew that pulling such a level of defense requires a great deal of magic at the cost of one's life.

Her teary eyes were a constant reminder that her queen's depreciating soul had left her body, and only the glass-like barrier teetered her body from leaving this world.

Wiping the salty tears away from her cheeks, the maid turned her attention toward the door and walked away.

Unfortunately, the queen failed to notice one detail:

The gods never answered her prayers.

The ritual had failed.

Instead of Thea's blood tickling around the rune to complete the ritual, her blood seeped away before it connected to the rune.

The red crimson liquid dripped down into the silvery moon crest figure that was kept beside the altar.

The silvery symbol was a gift the Lycan King gifted the first human king thousands of years ago which symbolized peace and Protection.

Of course, the king had kept the crescent-like figure in the temple till the main story behind it was lost and long forgotten in history.

It was neither the work of the gods nor the ritual itself.

Romeo Morningstar happened.