Prince ric moved through the stackings of trees with a deliberate, measured pace.
His heart was encroached with pain and uneasiness as he continued ahead.
The Bloodstone Crater he now strode upon, had been a ce of sce for him, a sanctuary where the air was always fresh and soothing, a balm for both body and spirit. Just days ago—he hade here to represent the Dancing Stripe Pack.
A plead for the Great Luna''s blessing.
Even before that, this valley had been a refuge, itsforting breezes exclusive only to few.
Only Werewolves of pure blue blood, a privilege reserved for the worthy.
But tonight, the air was thick with an unnatural tension.
Prince ric could tell that the sanctity of this holy ground had been vited.
A trespasser had infiltrated this sacred ground, defiling its holiness with their unwanted and evil presence. Along his path, Prince ric saw the bodies of fallen Werewolves, all warriors who had given their lives to protect this hallowed site.
Each one of them died with honor, as glorious as a Werewolf''s death could be.
Surely, the Great Luna would bless their souls for their bravery and epted them with open arms in the afterlife—but the grim reality remained to the living—the sacredness of this ce was now marred.
As Prince ric advanced, his anger grew with each lifeless form he passed.
Both his fists clenched tighter—knuckles whitening, as he held back the fury that threatened to overwhelm him. Finally, he emerged and the sight of the valley''s breathtakingke greeted him, a sight to behold.
Looking at its water, it was sparkling yellow, reflecting the light of the Honey Moon above.
Thiske, a manifestation of the Great Luna''s blessings, changed with each full moon.
Unlike thest time he was here—the magicalke—was now surrounded by beautiful yellow flowers, each one manifested through the Honey Moon''s energy. But the flowers were wilted and withered.
All of their brilliance lost despite the Honey Moon still shining brightly in the sky.
Such a sight made his blood boil, this is the physical manifestation of the intruder''s vition.
Prince ric''s gaze then shifted to the small ind at theke''s center.
There, amidst the ruins of a shattered relic of a castle, a figure sat—an intruder, who tainted this holy ce—the Royal ck Prince. Prince ric gritted his teeth, fury coursing through his veins.
"Forgive me, Great Luna..." Prince ric apologized solemnly.
Apologizing inwardly to the Great Luna for his failure to protect this sacred ground he leaped across thekending softly on the ind at the center. Hisnding was light and gentle— but his entire body was nothing like that.
His body was trembling with the rage of this humiliating desecration.
Before him was Rex and Delta.
Rex was sitting on a rock, with his legs spread wide, nted solidly on the ground, exuding a stance of confidence and power. Lying on the groundfortably beside him was Delta, she was being petted by him on the head.
He was not looking at Prince ric, focused on petting Delta.
"Leave this sacred ground, false Werewolf. No further disrespect shall be tolerated" Prince ricmanded, his voice was demanding, and filled with hidden threats. Regardless of what the situation was, he wanted Rex leave this ce immediately.
Without sparing a nce at the furious prince, Rex nodded repeatedly in a taunt.
"The Bloodstone Crater, the ce where the Great Luna sacrificed herself to save many, and became sanctified by the Werewolves until now..." Rex muttered, ignoring themand from Prince ric. "I''ve never heard of this ce until recently, and I must say, this ce was way more beautiful than I imagined.
It''d be a pity if this holy and beautiful ce be destroyed" As he said that, he cast a yful nce at Prince ric.
On the other hand, Prince ric gritted his teeth, recognizing that as a threat.
"No, you wouldn''t dare!!" He barked, feeling a tightening in his chest.
Rex tilted his head a little and asked calmly, "And what would happen if I dare?"
Kaboom!!
Prince ric exploded with kingly energy, beaming his aura skywards and cracked the earth underneath him. His energy was stimted, creating a vicious swirl of wind around him, akin to a small tornado, "Then you die..."
Despite having the gist of how strong Rex really was, Prince ric didn''t care.
He was not going to let this continue.
Even if it would cost him his life then so be it, he would die for the Great Luna.
Rex and Prince irc locked eyes in a moment of unbearable tenstion.
Without breaking the gaze, Rex turned and reached behind the rock he had been sitting on.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The sound followed sent a shiver down Prince ric''s spine, an eerie cacophony of hollow, ttering noises, that create sharp, brittle clicks. As Rex pulled the object into view, Prince ric''s heart skipped a beat before plummeting into a cold abyss.
Continue reading on empire
His breath caught in his throat, and his entire body felt suddenly weak.
As if the ground beneath him was crumbling away.
His eyes widened inplete disbelief, unable to process the sight before him.
What Rex held was not just an artifact but a relic of immense, terrifying significance. Its deep blue structure gleamed with an ethereal glow, as if it had been forged, from the very essence of moonlight.
The curved arches and elongated forms suggested the majesty of a once-great being.
Now, it was reduced to this spectral remnant.
Darkened with age and reverence—the relic exuded a potent, lingering power—a power born from the ultimate sacrifice during the darkest hours of Werewolf history. In a haunting silence—Prince ric recognized the relic for what it truly was.
It was the skeletal remains of the Great Luna.
Her remains were dug and taken from its fated resting ce.
"I''ve disrespected your history once again," Rex said before a light smile, crept to his face. "And yet you can''t kill me" He continued—standing up with a menacing deliberate. "I''m the Royal ck Prince while you... you''re only a Prince"
"YOU...!!" Prince ric roared in great fury, his muscles flexed in preparation to attack.
But before he could do that, Rex grabbed the Great Luna''s skeleton by the head.
"Take one more step and I''ll crush her," Rex warned, raising an eyebrow tauntingly.
Under that threat, Prince ric was rooted in his spot, unable to move or do anything.
He was truly, helpless.
"Stand there like a good little dog if you don''t want your precious, Great Luna''s presence to be erased from the world for good," Rex added—only loosening his grip, when Prince ric retracted back his rampaging kingly energy.
Looking at this, Rex nodded, "Now that''s better" He said and put down the Great Luna.
"What do you want?" Prince ric finally asked, having no other option, but to listen to what Rex wanted. He couldn''t risk the Great Luna to be shattered, that would put the Werewolves back to the darkest times. "Is it beca-"
Just before Prince ric was about to mention Prince Leif''s ploy, Rex raised his index finger.
His eyes gleamed crimson as he signaled for Prince ric to stop.
Only when Prince ric was silent did he speak, "I lost my parents without knowing why and I attained the ability to see, into the future because of it. Any wrongs your kingdom did—you do not need to tell me because I have already seen it"
Prince ric frowned as he believed everything Rex said.
It was hard to believe but that''s the only exnation he had to exin how Rex was here.
''So he knew about Prince Leif''s move, he knew everything,'' He thought gravely.
Stealing a nce to the side towards the duel ground''s direction, Prince ric clenched his jaw helplessly, ''My moon abilities from earlier should''ve been strong enough to attract both of them, so what takes them so long toe here?''
Naturally, he was hoping that Prince Lief and Princess Selene woulde to his rescue.
He couldn''t appease this situation alone and that he understands clearly.
It would take Rex a simple swing to shatter the Great Luna''s remains—and there was nothing Prince ric could do to stop it. Knowing that he couldn''t force his hands here, he wanted to say something but Rex beat him, "Do not even think about those foolish royalties—those two wouldn''te here in time"
Being read like a book, Prince ric''s frown deepened.
He catches sight of a faint Ice and Snow energying from Rex, giving him a hint.
Surely, if Rex had fooled him with the clone earlier, he could have also fooled the others.
"You have an Empire now, waging war against us, can you even do that?" Prince ric asked.
Upon hearing this, Rex''s smile turned, into a devious smirk, "No need to worry about that—a Werewolf called Ragnar was also another reason why I came here. You see, not too long ago he and his master paid a visit to my reign. I was go-"
Just before Rex could finish, Prince ric rebutted, "This is too far for a simple revenge!"
"He badly wounded my Female Alpha, do you still think that this is too far?" Rex asked.
Even then, Prince ric''s answer remained the same, "Yes! This is a holy ground!"
"THIS IS OUR HISTORY!" He shouted, filled with desperation.
Listening to this, Rex smirked as he expected this moment to arrive.
He needs to educate this biased Werewolf.
Flicking his fingers, a figure, Vivian came from the side.
Prince ric didn''t recognize who she was—but his eyes shot open when he saw that Vivian was pulling a restrained female Werewolf, a female Werewolf that he recognized instantly, as the Luna of his pack.
"Eira!" He screamed, not expecting her to be here at all.
Despite his connection with her and also his senses, he didn''t realize that she was nearby.
Vivian ced Eira, who was tightly restrained by moonlight chains, on the ground.
Seeing this—Rex slowly walks towards the helpless Luna while still maintaining eye contact, with Prince ric, "Don''t you get close to her! I''m telling you—don''t do anything to her! I will kill you if you do anything... anything at all!!"
"Now you understand. If you want to me someone, me it on Ragnar" Rex said.
As he said that, he signaled for Vivian to bring Eira away again.
Obediently doing anything he wanted, Vivian grabbed Eira once again and brought her away, away from Prince ric''s vision. Rex then went back to sit on the rock again—with the same, exactposure as he had at the start.
"No matter what you do, tonight, the Bloodstone Crater will be no more," He said.
Upon hearing this, Prince ric took a couple of seconds for himself.
He was being swayed and not thinking straight right now so he had topose himself.
''The Royal ck Prince has the Great Luna—this entire ce, and Eira within his grasp. But I also have something, a bargaining chip against him,'' Prince ric pondered before he gazed ahead with newfound conviction. "If you destroy this ce or the Great Luna, Prince Leif and Princess Selene would instantly know, what you did.
You may not be afraid of them—but you should be because they would rip your pack apart. If that happened, you would need to bear the pain of losing them too, much like your parents..."
Rex''s expression darkened, the yful glint in his eyes vanishing as he tilted his head down.
He had toyed with Prince ric long enough, but now it was time to end this.
It was time for him to im his prize.
Determined in his decision, his gaze hardened—and in a split second, the rock beneath him shattered as heunched himself into the sky. Prince ric''s eyes widened in shock—Rex''s speed surpassed his own perception, leaving him unable to react.
As Rex ascended, silhouetted against the Honey Moon''s light, his form shifted.
Seconds is all it takes for him to shift into his Werewolf form.
Rex raised his fist to the heavens—vibrating with an immense charge—of blood moon kingly energy. His aura red, like a torrential storm, shading the sky with a crimson hue, the sheer power radiating from him was overwhelming, pressing down on Prince ric''s body.
With a heavy, savage downswing, he unleashed his most devastating ability.
A massive strike intended to obliterate the entire Bloodstone Crater.
"Moon Ability, Brutal Impulse!!"