Mathias (#1 The Chronicles of the Demon Wolf)
Chapter 21

Cold.

It’s too cold for her liking. Maybe it was because she was always surrounded by fire and heat for millenniums. Her feet touch the cold floor. Water flows underneath the floor, giving out cold sensation. This was where she supposed to live.

The Diamond Palace.

The home of the Moon Goddess…the home of her other half.

Her purple eyes sparkle as the light reflects on the sparkling walls. Loud growls coming on the other side of the mist. A moment later, a group of large white wolves come forth along with a group of Angels, holding onto their weapon. She smiles knowing none of these are comparable to what she’s capable to do.

“Is your mama home?” she sneers at them.

“We believe you are not welcomed here,” one of the Angels answers her, pointing his bow and arrow to her.

She chuckles. “Cute.”

“Brothers, stand down,” Another voice speaks.

Chelsea turns around and claps, “Ah, the wisest of all, Joshua.”

Joshua approaches her, blocking her way towards the large white double doors. “You possessed a body of a mortal and stepped into a sacred place. This is Mother’s home. You shouldn’t have—”

“Tsk, tsk, I thought you were the wise one. She’s your mother, not mine. You are her children as much as you are to me.”

“It is impossible to have 2 Goddesses,” One voice says.

Chelsea chuckles again while Joshua looks at her. From his eyes, he knows the truth as much as she knows it. Joshua knows everything. He’s the right hand of the Goddess. Nothing goes around with him hearing it. Out of all the Angels in the Kingdom, Joshua has a direct contact with the Goddess.

“That’s because they’re the same Goddess,” Joshua answers without breaking the eye contact.

It was told in a book that the Moon Goddess kept secret in her chamber. Joshua was the first Angel to read the book in the case of something happened with the Pandora Box. He was a blacksmith in the Kingdom, forging weapons for the Angels and the army. The Kingdom was formed long before the birth of the supernatural world.

#

“Brother Joshua?” An Angel landed near his workshop.

Joshua stopped his work and wiped his hands as he approached the Angel. “Yes, that is me. What can I do for the Legion?”

“You are summoned to the Diamond Palace.”

“The Diamond Palace? But I’m just the—”

“Brother, this is an urgent matter.”

With a light stomp of the Angel’s cane, they were already in front of the Diamond Palace, located on the peak of a mountain in the Kingdom. Underneath the palace was a waterfall and river, continuously flowing underneath the floor. A rainbow formed as the water fell down the cliff into the crystal-clear lake.

But Joshua was confused to why he was summoned to a sacred place like this. And, he was even confused as this place wasn’t as guarded as he thought it would be. There was barely anyone. Not even a guard.

The Angel pushed the door opened and stepped aside as if giving Joshua a way to go in.

“She is waiting for your arrival,” the Angel told him.

Joshua nodded in grateful and entered the Palace before the door was closed and the Angel was no longer guiding him inside. Joshua was left alone to navigate through the Garden. He had never been here before but he felt like this wasn’t the first time he came here as his legs knew exactly where to take him.

Then, there she was, sitting by a pond of fish. She dipped her right hand into the water and the fish immediately surrounded it but not harming her. They were just circling her hand in the water.

“You’ve must be confused to why I’ve summoned you here,” her melodic voice filled the Garden.

“Did I make a mistake with the weapons? I did everything as tasked and—”

“Nonsense, Joshua. I did not summon to punish you.” She stood up and spun around.

He knew she would take the form of a beautiful maiden with golden-colored hair but he never knew she would be this beautiful. Joshua immediately lowered his head, feeling ashamed for staring at the Moon Goddess in such way.

“Pardon me, Goddess. I did not mean to stare,” he mumbled.

“I have a request, my dear child.” She spoke solemnly. “It is very important to me.”

#

Chelsea laughs. “You were the one who forged the Pandora Box.”

In order to birth out the supernatural world, the Moon Goddess had to separate her evil side from her own body which would leave only the good side. Joshua never questioned why and certainly he would never question anything. It was a sacrifice that the Goddess had to make. That was where the Goddess of Death came to be.

The Moon Goddess is giving life. The Goddess of Death is taking life. A perfect balance in the system.

Aside from Joshua, Stefano also knew the truth just as much as the Angel who fetched Joshua to the Diamond Palace.

“Of course it had to be Alistair who fetched you,” Chelsea mentioned. “The perfect son ended up as a traitor. Must’ve been a big slap to the family.”

With a motion of her hand, everyone crashed against the wall.

“Well, I’m not retreating.” Chelsea shrugged and barged into the Palace. “Come on, Moon Goddess. How long are you going to hide yourself from…” Chelsea yells then pauses. “…from yourself? This is even confusing for me.”

The Angel barge in to stop her but everyone stops at the melodic voice. “I am not hiding.”

“Hello you…” Chelsea sneers. “Actually, hello me.”

“Please, give us a moment,” The Moon Goddess requests.

“But—”

Joshua was silenced by a simple hand gesture from her. He nodded in obedience. He left with the Angels, leaving the Moon Goddess alone with the Goddess of Death.

“Did you know the first I did after coming of the box was having sex?” Chelsea says as she wanders around the Garden, looking for nothing specific. “I did have sex before you threw me into the box. I was the image of evil, might as well keep being evil here and there. But I did not expect having sex in the world of the living could be much more thrilling than having sex while surrounded by thousands of erupting volcanoes and screams.” Then she stops. “Well technically, I’m you and you are me. I guess we both share the same memories and experience. Or at least you only could see the memories while I get to enjoy every second of it.”

“I did not think you are here to speak about sexual intercourse between two beings.”

“Is that how you called it? Sexual intercourse? Why make your own life so complicated with such long words when you could just call it sex?”

“Why are you here?”

“You created me with a different vessel but you forgot that I was a part of you…I was the fragments of the side you wanted to get rid so much. Were you ashamed of it that much until you rather deceived your entire Kingdom…deceived an entire world?”

“I gave you the freedom to rule the Underworld but you betrayed me.”

“Because Alistair chose me over you?”

Everyone knew Alistair was the first Angel ever created by the Moon Goddess. It was no mistake that she favored him more than other Angels until he betrayed her. The biggest slap of all. Then, the Moon Goddess shunned everyone else.

The Moon Goddess turns her back to Chelsea and walks to the patio. When she felt Alistair’s death, she knew it would never been the same. The volcano where she imprisoned him still erupting to this very day. Forever, it would remind her that she imprisoned her own son.

“Betrayal hurts, doesn’t it? Especially when it comes from the people you love.” Chelsea stands next to her at the patio. “That was what I felt when you shunned me to the Underworld. While everyone loves and worships you, they despise me.”

“Because death is the ugly truth.” Moon Goddess lowers her head and a tear drops onto the rail of the patio.

“Then life is the beautiful lie?” Chelsea laughs before she stops abruptly as if the truth really hit her. She retreats backward, laughing again. “Life is the beautiful lie…” she repeats the sentence. “You condemn liar as a sinner. Yet, you are one of those. You hid it so well from me. You didn’t throw me into the Pandora box because of my betrayal. You threw me in there because I know what you know.”

A deep silence fills the atmosphere before Chelsea speaks again.

“You created the curse and gave it to the witch to make it like she created it by her own. You let the vampires killed her daughter so that she would use the curse…” Chelsea pauses. “You wanted Mira to be born so that Alistair would be free.”