For several heartbeats, Kael could not move.
The little girl stood in the middle of the road with the golden wolf beside her.
She could not have been more than ten years old.
Her silver eyes were fixed on him.
Not with curiosity.
Not with fear.
With recognition.
The kind of recognition that belonged between people who had known each other for years.
Yet Kael had never seen her before.
He looked at Mara.
Mara was staring at the child as though she had seen a ghost.
“Father?” Kael finally whispered.
The girl smiled.
“Yes.”
Kael swallowed.
“Who are you?”
The girl’s smile disappeared.
“You really don’t remember.”
Mara stepped in front of Kael.
“Stay away from him.”
The golden wolf growled.
The girl placed a hand against its neck.
“Don’t.”
The wolf immediately became still.
Mara stared.
“How did you command it?”
The girl looked at her.
“It listens to me.”
“Why?”
“Because I made it.”
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
“You made that wolf?”
The girl nodded.
“Yes.”
Kael looked at the golden creature.
It was enormous.
Its fur seemed to contain moving stars.
Its eyes were brighter than the moon.
And beneath its golden coat, Kael could see faint patterns resembling veins of fire.
“What are you?”
The girl smiled.
“My name is Lyra.”
Kael felt the name strike something inside him.
A memory flashed.
A little girl running through a silver forest.
Mara laughing.
Kael chasing them.
A golden wolf barking.
Then darkness.
Kael staggered.
Mara caught his arm.
“Kael?”
He looked at Lyra.
“I know you.”
Lyra’s eyes filled with sadness.
“You used to.”
The villagers began fleeing.
Doors slammed.
Windows closed.
People screamed whenever they saw the wolves gathering along the forest.
Kael turned toward the village.
“Why are they afraid?”
Lyra looked at him.
“Because they remember.”
“Remember what?”
“What happened before.”
Kael frowned.
“We changed the world.”
Lyra nodded.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“You created the third world.”
Kael looked at Mara.
“I thought we destroyed everything.”
Lyra laughed softly.
“You didn’t destroy it.”
She looked toward the seven black moons.
“You separated it.”
Kael stared upward.
“What does that mean?”
Lyra pointed at the sky.
“The first world belonged to magic.”
She raised one finger.
“The second belonged to humans.”
Then another.
“The third belongs to both.”
Kael slowly understood.
“That’s why the wolves still exist.”
Lyra nodded.
“And why humans still live.”
Mara stepped forward.
“Then why are the moons black?”
Lyra’s expression changed.
“Because something went wrong.”
The golden wolf growled.
Kael felt the sound inside his bones.
“What went wrong?”
Lyra looked at the forest.
“The third world was never supposed to exist.”
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
“Then who created it?”
Lyra looked directly at him.
“You did.”
Kael shook his head.
“I created the choice.”
“Yes.”
“But not this world.”
Lyra smiled.
“You made the choice.”
She touched her chest.
“I made the world.”
Silence.
Mara stared at her.
“You?”
Lyra nodded.
“When you broke the First Heart, all three possibilities existed at once.”
Kael frowned.
“I don’t understand.”
“The first world.”
She pointed toward the forest.
“The second world.”
She pointed toward the village.
“And the third world.”
She pointed at herself.
“I was born from the space between them.”
Kael stared.
“You were born from the choice.”
Lyra smiled.
“Yes.”
Mara’s face became pale.
“Then you’re not human.”
“No.”
“Not a werewolf.”
“No.”
“Not Moon-Born.”
Lyra shook her head.
“Not anymore.”
Mara stepped backward.
“What are you?”
Lyra looked at her.
“I am what happens when magic and humanity stop fighting.”
The golden wolf sat beside her.
“I am the first child of the third world.”
Kael stared at the girl.
“And you called me Father.”
Lyra nodded.
“Because you are.”
“But how old are you?”
Lyra tilted her head.
“Older than I look.”
“How old?”
She smiled.
“Three hundred and seventeen years.”
Kael’s expression froze.
Mara whispered:
“That means…”
“Yes.”
Lyra looked at Kael.
“You lived with me for three hundred years.”
Kael felt his heart tighten.
“What happened?”
Lyra’s smile faded.
“You died.”
Kael closed his eyes.
“Again.”
Lyra nodded.
“Again.”
A cold wind passed through the village.
The wolves began howling.
Kael looked at them.
“Why did I die?”
Lyra didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she walked toward the forest.
“Come.”
Kael followed.
Mara grabbed his arm.
“Don’t.”
Kael looked at her.
“Why?”
“I don’t trust her.”
Lyra stopped.
“You should.”
Mara’s eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“Because I am your daughter too.”
Mara went completely still.
Kael stared.
“What?”
Lyra turned.
“You don’t remember giving birth to me.”
Mara’s face became white.
“I couldn’t have.”
“You did.”
“No.”
“You held me.”
Mara shook her head.
“I have never had a child.”
Lyra smiled sadly.
“In the first world, no.”
She looked at Kael.
“In the third, yes.”
Kael looked between them.
“You two are…”
“Mother and daughter.”
Mara covered her mouth.
Lyra continued walking.
Kael followed.
Mara hesitated.
Then followed too.
The forest was unlike anything Kael had seen.
Some trees had silver bark.
Others were completely black.
Some carried leaves shaped like wolf ears.
Others glowed beneath their roots.
Small creatures watched them from the branches.
Some were birds.
Others had too many eyes.
Kael walked carefully.
“Are these creatures natural?”
Lyra laughed.
“Nothing here is natural.”
“Then what are they?”
“Dreams.”
Kael frowned.
“Dreams?”
“Dreams that learned how to live.”
Mara looked around.
“Who taught them?”
Lyra answered:
“You did.”
Mara stopped.
“Me?”
“You created the Moon.”
“Yes.”
“The Moon created dreams.”
“Yes.”
“And dreams created this world.”
Mara looked toward Kael.
“Then…”
Lyra finished:
“This world is alive.”
A branch moved above them.
Kael looked up.
The tree had opened an eye.
It stared at him.
Then closed again.
Kael sighed.
“I hate this place.”
Lyra laughed.
“You used to love it.”
“What changed?”
“You forgot.”
Kael looked at her.
“How many times have I forgotten?”
Lyra’s expression became sad.
“Seven.”
“Seven?”
“Seven complete lives.”
Kael frowned.
“I thought the older me said one thousand and seven.”
“He was counting the worlds.”
Kael stopped.
“What?”
Lyra turned.
“The cycle didn’t repeat one thousand and seven times.”
She pointed toward the sky.
“It repeated across one thousand and seven worlds.”
Kael’s blood ran cold.
“How many times did I die?”
Lyra looked at him.
“Once in each.”
Kael stared.
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
She smiled.
“That’s the problem.”
They reached a clearing.
In the center stood a massive stone.
It was shaped like a throne.
Kael recognized it immediately.
His heart began beating faster.
“I’ve seen this.”
Lyra nodded.
“You sat there.”
“When?”
“Before the third world was born.”
Kael approached the throne.
The moment his fingers touched it, the forest disappeared.
He stood inside a palace.
Mara was beside him.
She looked exactly as she did now.
But she wore a golden crown.
Lyra stood before them.
Only she was older.
Much older.
Kael heard his own voice.
**We can’t keep doing this.**
Mara answered:
**Then end it.**
Kael shook his head.
**I can’t.**
**Why?**
**Because if I end it, I lose you.**
Mara touched his face.
**You’ve already lost me seven times.**
The vision shifted.
Kael saw himself standing before the First Heart.
The seven black moons appeared overhead.
Lyra stood beside him.
She was crying.
Kael was holding a sword.
Mara stood behind him.
A gigantic shadow surrounded her.
Kael heard his own voice.
**I have to go.**
Lyra screamed.
**Father!**
Kael turned.
**I’ll come back.**
Lyra cried.
**You always say that!**
Then Kael walked into the First Heart.
The vision shattered.
Kael fell backward.
Mara caught him.
He breathed heavily.
“That happened.”
She nodded.
“I saw it too.”
Lyra stood silently.
Kael looked at her.
“What was I doing?”
“You were going somewhere.”
“Where?”
Lyra’s expression changed.
“The place between worlds.”
“Why?”
“To find the First Mother.”
Kael froze.
“She’s alive?”
Lyra nodded.
Mara whispered:
“I thought she was gone.”
“She was.”
Lyra looked toward the black moons.
“Then something brought her back.”
A howl echoed from the north.
The golden wolf stood immediately.
Its fur rose.
Lyra’s expression became serious.
“They found us.”
Kael reached for his sword.
“Who?”
Lyra looked at the trees.
“The Hollow Wolves.”
Mara frowned.
“What are those?”
Lyra whispered:
“Wolves without souls.”
Kael’s expression hardened.
“How can a wolf have no soul?”
“Because they were created from dead timelines.”
The first creature stepped from the trees.
It looked like a wolf.
But its body was transparent.
Inside its chest was nothing.
No heart.
No organs.
Only darkness.
Then another emerged.
Then ten.
Then hundreds.
Kael transformed.
His black fur erupted across his body.
Mara raised her hands.
Lyra stepped forward.
“Don’t.”
Kael looked at her.
“Why?”
“They’re not attacking us.”
The Hollow Wolves surrounded them.
None moved.
Then they bowed.
Kael stared.
“Again?”
Lyra nodded.
“They recognize you.”
“Why?”
“They recognize their creator.”
Kael stared at the wolves.
“I didn’t create them.”
Lyra shook her head.
“Not intentionally.”
She stepped closer to one.
The creature lowered its head.
“They were created from the worlds you destroyed.”
Kael froze.
“What?”
“The worlds that existed before this one.”
Mara looked at the wolves.
“They’re remnants.”
“Yes.”
Kael stared at the Hollow Wolves.
“What do they want?”
Lyra answered:
“Revenge.”
The wolves suddenly looked up.
Their eyes became red.
Kael raised his sword.
“Move.”
Lyra didn’t.
“Wait.”
A voice came from the forest.
“Let them come.”
Kael froze.
He knew that voice.
The black-crowned version of himself stepped out of the trees.
Kael’s expression hardened.
“You.”
The older Kael smiled.
“Hello again.”
Lyra’s face became cold.
“You weren’t invited.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“I came for you.”
Kael stepped between them.
“You won’t touch her.”
The older Kael laughed.
“You still think you can protect her.”
“I can.”
“No.”
He pointed toward Lyra.
“She is the key.”
“To what?”
“To everything.”
Lyra’s golden wolf growled.
The older Kael’s eyes darkened.
“Do you know what your daughter really is?”
Kael looked at Lyra.
She said nothing.
The older Kael smiled.
“She isn’t the child of the third world.”
Kael frowned.
“Then what is she?”
The older Kael answered:
“She is the third world.”
Silence.
Mara stared at Lyra.
Kael slowly turned.
“What does that mean?”
Lyra’s eyes filled with tears.
“I didn’t want you to know.”
Kael stepped closer.
“Know what?”
Lyra whispered:
“If I die…”
She looked toward the village.
“…this world dies with me.”
Kael froze.
The older Kael smiled.
“Now you understand.”
Kael turned toward him.
“You want to kill her.”
“No.”
The older Kael shook his head.
“I want to use her.”
“For what?”
“To rebuild the First World.”
Mara stepped forward.
“Why?”
“Because the third world is unstable.”
The older Kael pointed toward the sky.
“Look.”
The seven black moons began moving.
One crossed another.
Then another.
The sky rippled.
Buildings in the village flickered.
For a moment, Kael saw a different village.
Then another.
Then a battlefield.
Then the silver palace.
Then darkness.
The world was changing.
The older Kael spoke.
“The three worlds are collapsing into one.”
Kael stared.
“What happens when they merge?”
“Everything that ever existed returns.”
Mara whispered:
“The dead.”
“Yes.”
“The First Mother.”
“Yes.”
“The First Wolf.”
“Yes.”
Kael’s blood ran cold.
“Everyone?”
The older Kael nodded.
“Every version of everyone.”
Kael looked at Lyra.
“How long?”
The older Kael smiled.
“Three days.”
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
“You said six.”
“That was before.”
“Before what?”
The older Kael looked at the sky.
“Before the third world woke up.”
Lyra stepped forward.
“I won’t let you destroy this world.”
The older Kael smiled.
“You don’t have a choice.”
Lyra’s eyes began glowing gold.
“Everyone has a choice.”
The older Kael shook his head.
“That’s what your father believed.”
He looked at Kael.
“And look where it got him.”
The ground exploded.
The Hollow Wolves attacked.
Kael moved instantly.
His claws tore through the first creature.
It dissolved into black smoke.
Another attacked.
He dodged.
Elara and Lucien appeared from the forest.
They had followed them.
Elara’s sword flashed.
Lucien transformed.
Mara raised a wall of silver light.
Lyra stood in the center.
The golden wolf became enormous.
It roared.
The sound shattered trees.
The Hollow Wolves stopped.
For one moment, everything was still.
Then the golden wolf opened its mouth.
A beam of golden fire erupted.
Hundreds of Hollow Wolves disappeared.
Kael stared.
“That’s new.”
Lyra smiled.
“I told you.”
“What?”
“It listens to me.”
The older Kael attacked.
Kael blocked.
The impact sent both of them backward.
The older Kael struck again.
Kael dodged.
Their claws collided.
Kael was thrown into a tree.
The older Kael followed.
Kael rolled aside.
The tree exploded.
Kael jumped.
Their swords collided.
“You can’t win.”
Kael grunted.
“I don’t need to.”
“What?”
“I only need to stop you.”
The older Kael smiled.
“You still don’t understand.”
He disappeared.
Kael felt something behind him.
He turned.
Too late.
The older Kael plunged a black blade into his side.
Kael screamed.
Mara shouted:
“KAEL!”
The older Kael whispered:
“Remember.”
Kael grabbed the blade.
The moment he touched it, memories flooded him.
A thousand worlds.
A thousand deaths.
A thousand versions of Mara.
A thousand versions of himself.
But then—
one memory was different.
A world Kael had never seen.
Mara stood before the First Mother.
Lyra was a baby.
Kael was kneeling.
The First Mother spoke:
**Give me the child.**
Kael refused.
**Never.**
The First Mother smiled.
**Then I will make you choose.**
The memory shifted.
Kael saw himself holding Lyra.
Mara was dying.
The First Mother offered him a choice.
Save Mara.
Or save Lyra.
Kael screamed.
The memory ended.
Kael opened his eyes.
The older Kael was staring at him.
“You remember.”
Kael grabbed him.
“You lied.”
The older Kael frowned.
“About what?”
“You said I killed Mara.”
The older Kael became still.
“I didn’t.”
“You did.”
Kael’s eyes burned.
“But not because I chose the kingdom.”
The older Kael stepped backward.
“You remember.”
“You made me choose between Mara and Lyra.”
The older Kael’s expression changed.
“I had no choice.”
“You chose.”
“I saved Lyra.”
“You let Mara die.”
“Because I had to!”
Kael roared.
The older Kael screamed:
“Because if Mara lived, the First Mother would have used her!”
Kael froze.
The older Kael’s face broke.
“You think I wanted her to die?”
Silence.
“I loved her.”
Kael stared.
The older Kael looked at Mara.
“I still do.”
Mara’s eyes filled with tears.
“Then why?”
He whispered:
“Because someone had to make the sacrifice.”
Kael lowered his sword.
“You became me.”
“No.”
The older Kael shook his head.
“I became what you were afraid to become.”
Kael stared.
“What?”
“Someone who chooses.”
A deep crack split the sky.
The seven black moons began falling.
One.
Then another.
The world trembled.
Lyra looked upward.
“It’s happening.”
Kael looked at her.
“What?”
“The worlds are merging.”
The older Kael turned.
“Too soon.”
Mara stepped forward.
“Can we stop it?”
Lyra shook her head.
“Not anymore.”
Kael looked around.
The village flickered.
Half the houses became silver castles.
The road became a battlefield.
The forest became a desert.
Dead wolves appeared and vanished.
Humans from other timelines appeared beside their alternate selves.
Everything was overlapping.
Kael grabbed Mara’s hand.
“What do we do?”
She looked at him.
“We find the center.”
“Where?”
Lyra pointed upward.
At the space between the seven moons.
“There.”
Kael stared.
“How do we get there?”
Lyra smiled.
“We fly.”
Kael frowned.
“We’re wolves.”
“Not anymore.”
She touched his forehead.
Gold light entered his body.
Kael felt something tear open inside him.
His back burned.
He screamed.
Two enormous black wings erupted from his shoulders.
Mara stared.
“Kael…”
He looked over his shoulder.
The wings were made of feathers and shadow.
The older Kael smiled.
“I had forgotten that.”
Kael looked at him.
“You had wings?”
“Once.”
“What happened?”
“I stopped believing I could fly.”
Kael spread his wings.
The wind exploded around him.
Lyra climbed onto the golden wolf.
Mara transformed.
Her body became a magnificent silver wolf.
Elara and Lucien followed.
The older Kael rose into the air.
“Come.”
Kael looked toward the seven moons.
The sky was collapsing.
The First Mother was returning.
The First Wolf was awakening.
The worlds were merging.
And somewhere in the darkness beyond the moons—
something was waiting.
Kael looked at Mara.
She looked back.
Then they flew.
Higher.
Higher.
The world disappeared beneath them.
The clouds became silver.
The mountains became shadows.
The seven moons surrounded them.
Each one contained a different world.
Kael saw the first.
A world of pure magic.
The second.
A world of humans.
The third.
Their world.
Then the fourth.
A world where wolves ruled everything.
The fifth.
A world where Mara had become the First Mother.
The sixth.
A world where Kael had become the King of Ash.
The seventh.
Kael stared.
It was empty.
Completely empty.
No humans.
No wolves.
No moon.
Nothing.
Lyra’s voice echoed:
“That’s where the First Mother is hiding.”
Kael looked at her.
“In the empty world?”
“Yes.”
Mara appeared beside him.
“Why?”
Lyra answered:
“Because she created it.”
Kael’s eyes widened.
“The seventh world.”
Lyra nodded.
“The world where nothing exists.”
Mara whispered:
“Then she can create anything there.”
“Exactly.”
The older Kael appeared behind them.
“And she has.”
Kael turned.
“What?”
The older Kael pointed toward the empty moon.
Something moved inside.
At first it looked like smoke.
Then a hand appeared.
Then another.
A gigantic figure stepped from the darkness.
The First Mother.
But she was different.
She was no longer silver.
Her body was black.
Her eyes were golden.
And behind her stood thousands of wolves.
Thousands of humans.
Thousands of Moon-Born.
Every army from every world.
She had collected them all.
Kael stared.
“She’s bringing the worlds together.”
The older Kael nodded.
“Yes.”
Mara whispered:
“She wants to become the only world.”
Kael looked at her.
“What does that mean?”
Mara’s expression hardened.
“She wants to erase every choice.”
The First Mother raised her hand.
The seven moons began moving.
The worlds collided.
Kael heard millions of voices.
Then the First Mother spoke.
Her voice shook reality itself.
**CHILDREN.**
Kael raised his sword.
She looked at him.
**YOU HAVE RUN LONG ENOUGH.**
Mara stepped forward.
“Leave them alone.”
The First Mother smiled.
**YOU CREATED THIS MESS.**
Mara’s eyes burned.
“Then I’ll end it.”
The First Mother laughed.
**NO.**
She pointed at Lyra.
**SHE WILL.**
Lyra froze.
Kael stepped in front of her.
“Never.”
The First Mother smiled.
**Then let us see which of you chooses first.**
She snapped her fingers.
The seventh moon opened.
Something emerged.
A figure.
A young woman.
Silver hair.
Black eyes.
A crescent mark on her throat.
Kael stared.
He knew her.
Mara gasped.
The older Kael whispered:
“No.”
The woman smiled.
She looked exactly like Mara.
But darker.
Colder.
Deadlier.
The First Mother spoke.
**Meet the Mara who chose differently.**
Kael felt his blood freeze.
The woman looked at him.
Then smiled.
“Hello, Kael.”
She raised her hand.
And every moon in the sky went dark.