Mathias (#1 The Chronicles of the Demon Wolf)
Chapter 24

She stood there, staring at the green gemstone table. A body lied down covered in gold satin fabric. She knew who it was but her heart refused to accept that she had to do what she did. This was for the greater good. When the Underworld was growing stronger than the world of the living, things would start to fall out of balance and she wanted to prevent it. This was all her fault for creating the Underworld. But she knew it was the best. The dead couldn't stay in the world of the dead, waiting for the end of time for their trial. They had to go somewhere else to move on. The world of the dead could only sustain a certain amount of souls and at the same time, the soul eaters would overpopulate the world of the dead until the balance was restored. The presence of a soul had the potential to cause a thousand soul eaters coming from the pit.

The pit was connected to the deepest level of the Underworld. It was like a feeding tube that connected these two places together. The door could only be opened when a soul entered the world of the dead. Then, the soul eaters would come from the Underworld, travel through the pit and release into the world of the dead to hunt down these souls. The greater the sins of the soul, the larger the amount of soul eaters coming to hunt it down.

"What about the body?" Joshua came from behind.

"There is a couple who had lost their second child," she replied, eyes fixated on the body. "Will you deliver this for me?"

With a swift movement from her hand, the body turned into a bright white orb hovering over her palm. She spun and met him eye to eye. His concern was well displayed on his face.

"Forgive me, Mother. You wanted this to be reborn?" he asked.

"It is not reborn. It is safekeeping. For as long as a mortal soul occupies the vessel, it would be impossible for my sister's soul to fully occupy the vessel."

"What happens if she does occupy the vessel?"

"Joshua, my son, I know what I'm doing. Will you deliver this for me?"

Joshua exhaled and nodded. She transferred the white orb onto his hand and it dissipated down into his skin. Without further word, Joshua bowed and took his leave. A moment later, he arrived in a master bedroom belonged to the Alpha couple. At the corner of the room, there was a crib. Their son was sleeping safe and sound. Joshua took a moment to watch the young wolf who would grow strong and lead the pack with all his might. Then, Joshua proceeded with his task. He stood next to the bed on the side where the Luna was sleeping.

He hovered his hand over her belly and realized that the Luna was already expecting but yet to know about the good news. Only then he realized, there would be no good news. The moment he put the vessel into her womb, the darkness would follow. If the Moon Goddess chose this family, there must be a strong reason why. She wouldn't simply choose this family.

"So this is how you Angels do it, huh?"

Joshua looked up and tried to remain calm. This was impossible for a mere werewolf like him to come here. He had no such unique power. He was just a werewolf. How did he even get here? Joshua sensed a strange aura coming from the person standing before him.

"When the event in your kingdom is not in your favor, you send it down here and let it destroy the world. I thought you Angels were better than this." The person walked around the room.

"I could not recognize you. Who are you?" Joshua said.

This was impossible. An Angel could recognize any face whether it was dead or alive. But not this person. Something about him was threatening Joshua's presence in the room.

"I was given many names," He bent down to look into the young werewolf's crib. "Such a lovely boy, isn't he?"

"You're…"

#

"Wake up!" A hard blow on his jaw. Mathias came back to reality.

Ryker looks at him in concern. Sweats are flowing down the second brother's forehead like a rain. Mathias looks around and realizes he's on the middle of a meadow.

"What was the last thing you remember?" Ryker asked.

"I was at the courtyard of Arthur's palace. There was a crack on the ground. Monsters were pouring out. He was talking about Chelsea."

Ryker pulls out something covered in black cloth that had ancient marks. This kind of clothing only being used to cover something too powerful that couldn't be contained by a simple spell casting. Mathias makes a small opening by unfolding the cloth and immediately regretted his decision. A blinding light glows, illuminating the surrounding area.

"Crystal of delusion. Arthur tricked us to come here. He was never here. The castle was never here. All the Intel we've gathered about the castle was wrong," Ryker explains. "You said Arthur was talking about Chelsea. What about it?"

Mathias stands up. "He said Chelsea is the vessel of the Goddess of Death."

"And you're not buying it?"

"Simple theory. One vessel could be occupied by one soul."

"If there are two souls fighting for one vessel, only one could survive."

"Yes which means the one who loses will die." Mathias spins around. "Why here? Why this place?"

There was nothing except some crumbled stone pillars and table covered in mosses and tall grass. It looks like a worshipping place that had been abandoned long ago. There was a strong lingering aura that Mathias couldn't pinpoint its origin.

"You don't recognize this place?"

Mathias shakes his head.

"This was where momma killed the Angel of Death."

Ryker was right. The place where the war between the supernatural species and the Knight of Death ended. The night his mother won the battle and in sync with her demon wolf.

But the dream he had just now. It was weird. At one moment, he was meeting with Arthur. Then everything was blurry and the dream happened. Somehow, Mathias understood how the vessel came to be Chelsea's body. The Moon Goddess made it happened. But who was the nameless man that facing Joshua? Mathias felt he had heard the voice before. Does that mean more people know about the truth of Chelsea's vessel?

"Arthur was right. You are always thinking too hard," someone said.

Mathias and Ryker freeze at the spot by the sound of the voice. They turn around slowly and there he is. The man inside Mathias' dream except this is not a dream. Not now. Mathias could feel it if it was a dream. This is a reality.

A very bad one.

Behind the man is Arthur smiling smugly as if his final plan had come together perfectly.

"Ah, pardon me for my rudeness. I am Zeke, the first commander of the Knight of Death. You knew my master, Alistair, who was killed by your mother. No worries, revenge shall be upon you and your family soon enough…" he pauses, "Oh sorry again. I was known by many names. One of it was Sebastian Rhody." he smiles.

#

A/N

Hi, I'm back again for now. Sorry for the long delay and shall be another delay again. Life has been busy and hectic. Let me settle down my things as soon as possible and then I will post a new update. This update had been sitting on for a quite long time. I just didn't have the time to finish it. Now I take a little break from work to post this update.

Anyway, thanks for all the comments and reviews. I wish I could reply to them all one by one.

All the best wishes. Stay safe and strong for everything that is going on around the world.

Love,

Zhensachiko.