Chapter 25: The Godseed and the Sea's Whisper
"When you slay a god, you do not kill divinity—you inherit it."
---
The Temple trembled.
Velex was dead—his shifting body frozen in place like cracked obsidian, glimmering with phantom light. His divine essence leaked from the wound Selene had carved into his heart.
Selene stood above him, the Fang of the End humming in her grip. Blood soaked her arm, her eyes distant, unfocused. The weapon pulsed… and drank.
Kai caught her just as she staggered.
"Selene!"
She blinked.
> "He's not… gone," she murmured.
Behind them, Nyra cradled Riven's body. Her pulse was faint. Her lips pale.
"She's breathing," Nyra whispered. "But only just."
Selene dropped to her knees, hands trembling.
"I killed her…"
"No," Kai said, clutching her shoulders. "She chose this. She saved us."
Selene's gaze flicked to Velex's corpse. The wound glowed faintly, the last threads of godhood slipping into the air like embers caught on wind.
Then they stopped.
Frozen.
The embers floated toward her.
And sank into her chest.
---
Pain ignited in her veins.
Selene screamed.
Kai grabbed her—but her skin burned too hot. Fire danced across her flesh. Her bones lit like lanterns beneath her skin.
Nyra stepped back, eyes wide. "The godseed…"
"What?"
> "The essence of a god… it's choosing her."
The Fang of the End melted into light and reformed around Selene's arm—no longer a blade but a gauntlet, crawling with glowing veins.
---
Selene had slain a god.
Now she was marked.
---
When she awoke hours later, she wasn't alone.
She was in a strange, glowing grove—a pocket realm born from Velex's remains. The god's body had collapsed into a dream-tree, its roots digging into the temple floor. Each branch hummed with memory.
Riven lay beside her, breathing shallow but alive.
Kai sat near a fire, sharpening his sword but not watching it.
Nyra stood by a mirror-pool, flames licking the edges of her sleeves.
No one spoke for a long time.
Then Selene rose.
And the world tilted.
The stars above spun.
A whisper echoed in her mind:
> One god falls. Another wakes.
The Sea will hunger next.
She clutched her head.
"Something's… wrong."
Kai moved to steady her, but Selene recoiled.
"Don't."
"Selene—"
"I see things. Feel things. Like I'm not alone inside myself anymore."
Her hands trembled.
"I'm scared."
Kai didn't hesitate this time. He wrapped her in his arms.
"Then let me be scared with you."
---
They stayed that way for a long time.
Nyra spoke finally.
"We need to move. There's a storm coming."
"What kind?"
She turned, eyes flaring.
"The divine kind."
---
Outside, the forest of dreams had changed.
The ground was glass. Trees flickered between seasons. Voices whispered in their ears.
And something hunted them.
---
It struck when they reached the river.
A monstrous beast—half wolf, half eel—slithered from the waters. Its jaws were lined with teeth like godswords.
Nyra fought first—her flames blinding.
Kai leapt onto its back.
Selene—newly godmarked—felt her hand move on its own. The gauntlet surged, and a spear of starlight erupted from her palm.
It pierced the creature's skull.
And it sang as it died.
---
From the beast's corpse, a scroll emerged.
An echo of Velex's final dream.
Selene opened it.
Her voice cracked as she read:
> One shall awaken a sleeping god beneath the sea.
One shall wear a crown of bone and betray the pack.
One shall burn the world to save a single soul.
And one… will kill the rest.
They fell silent.
The pack bond between them felt strained. Brittle.
And then Kai stood.
"I have to tell you something."
Selene looked up.
"I haven't been honest. About my past. About the Alpha I killed to escape."
He stepped back.
"I didn't kill him because he hunted me. I killed him because I was him."
"What?"
"I led that pack. I did terrible things. Blood rituals. Executions. When I met you… I was trying to escape it."
Selene stared.
Nyra whispered, "You lied."
"I was afraid," he said. "Afraid you wouldn't love me if you knew."
> "And now?" Selene asked coldly.
"Now I love you too much to lie."
She looked away.
Not because she was angry.
But because part of her still wanted him.
Even if he was once a monster.
Even if he might still be.
---
That night, Selene couldn't sleep.
Whispers filled her head.
She saw oceans crashing over cities.
A god of endless tide waking with hollow eyes.
And a voice:
> You wear my brother's gift. Will you wear mine, too?
She awoke screaming.
And a tide roared in the distance.