Moonlight {Moonlit Trilogy Reboot}

Chapter Twenty Five: Ignorance is Bliss

WOAH WOAH WOAH BEFORE YOU READ: WARNINGS FOR SELF HARM, MENTIONS OF INSANITY, POSSIBLE HALLUCINATIONS AND SUICIDE CONSIDERATION. Plus some violence. Also this a long chapter with loads of swearing and a guy loses an eye. Fun times all around!

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A deep heavy silence nestled like a bird coming to roost. Asterion clasped her hands over her lips while Ceris sat wide eyed, a mix of fear and admiration in his expression. There was finally a new Ruler of the End but... The violence he had just seen made his stomach drop. Igneous had to have killed that fellow for a reason, right? He gritted his teeth uneasily.

The End was always right, wasn't it? But the tales of Morphus spoke volumes. Perhaps that was who Igneous had slain. His chest fluttered as he hoped. He hoped harder than he had ever had before. Please tell me this is good news. Ceris' thoughts repeated the same mantra.

Because if not, well... Would he have to slay Igneous? Gods, no, that would drive the entire End mad, into some kind of frenzy. There had to be a reason. There had to be a fucking reason for this. The End never made Morphus king and he was a tyrant. A slaughterer. The End had to be right. It had to be. It couldn't make mistakes. It was infallible, it had no mind, just a state of... Rightness. Right? It had to.

Asterion, however, knew better than Ceris did. "You killed Morphus, didn't you?" Her hands left her lips for only a moment and returned to their nesting. Igneous met her gaze shakily, his very form shuddering with every breath. The rage gave her the answer. One step forward, two steps into the grave.

She flinched and stepped back. Morphus being dead was good, yes, but for how long? The way Igneous was shuddering... There would be flames. If not physical than verbal. He would shoot out screams and shouts like a dragon. The shaking grew more frequent. A bomb about to go off would be much more preferable to this fate.

"Yes." Igneous shouted with enough force to drive the dragons back. Ceris felt temporary relief wash over him as he realized the End was right. Asterion prepared for the worst. The dragons only watched, completely and utterly powerless now. What were they to do? Kill another of their kin? Wings, claws, interdimensional power, all were worthless in a scenario like this.

Igneous, however, was angry. His mother stood before him, holding secrets he could not even conceptualize yet. What more could she be hiding? There had to be some kind of devious reason. There had to be.

Who would willingly lie to their flesh and blood?

"You never told me you were my mother, you bastard. " Igneous' voice shook heavily. "And you know what makes it worse?" He asked, tears running down his cheeks. A desperate chuckle escaped him, a strange attempt to grasp at some emotion other than rage.

Asterion felt her lips quiver. She tried to step back into the hallway but Igneous lunged, pinning her to the wall. He unsheathed his claws and gritted his teeth. His words were barely audible through the cage of his fangs.

"You left me behind."

"Igneous, stop, you don't know if she's your mother-" Ceris spoke up, holding out one hand. Igneous glared over at him, his eyes seeming to morph into daggers as he did so.

"Listen, I didn't consider- " Asterion held her own pair of hands out. Igneous toughened his grip.

"That's right, you didn't fucking consider me! You fucking piece of shit. " He glanced back at the balcony.

"Morphus was just as cruel to me as he was to you, Igneous. That bastard named you 'Runt' for Gods' sake. At one point it became self preservation. I hoped my leaving would arouse some suspicion. But I was wrong. I--I know that now. If I knew better I would..." Asterion choked out. Igneous just scoffed.