Chapter 171

Chapter 171: Chapter 171

Amelia knelt in the middle of the devastation.

Her clothes hung in torn, bloodstained pieces, and cuts covered nearly every part of her body. Blood trickled down her arms and dripped from her fingertips, staining the ruined earth beneath her. Her chest rose and fell with painful effort, each breath sending a sharp ache through her ribs. She tried to straighten her back, but her arms trembled beneath her weight, and she nearly collapsed onto the ground again.

She had nothing left.

Every ounce of strength, every drop of power, every bit of herself she had possessed had gone into defeating the Demon King.

And she had succeeded.

The Demon King was dead.

After everything he had done, after all the lives he had destroyed and all the suffering he had inflicted on the world, she had finally brought him down. The battle was over. Millions of people would live because of what she had done.

She should have felt relieved. She should have been proud that she had accomplished what no one else had ever managed to do.

But as Amelia slowly lifted her head, her gaze fell upon the bodies lying in front of her, and whatever remained of her strength seemed to drain away.

Enzo. Reid. Dean.

Her three beloved men.

For several seconds, she couldn’t make herself move. Her mind refused to accept what her eyes were seeing. The bodies were so badly damaged that she could barely recognize them, and the sight made her stomach twist painfully. These were the same men who had once filled her days with laughter, who had held her when she cried and made her feel loved when the weight of her destiny became too much to bear.

They had promised to wait for her. She had promised to come back.

A terrible sound escaped her throat.

"No..."

She tried to crawl toward them, but her injured arms gave way, sending her crashing onto her stomach. Pain tore through her body, yet she barely registered it. She pushed herself up again, her fingers digging into the dirt as she dragged herself forward.

"Please..." Her voice shook as she reached for them. "Please, don’t do this to me."

When she finally reached their bodies, she collapsed beside them. Her hands hovered over their faces, trembling so badly that she could barely bring herself to touch them.

Anything.

She would have given anything to hear one of their voices again.

Instead, they lay before her in complete silence.

A raw scream tore from her throat.

"AHHHH.."

Amelia threw herself over them, wrapping her arms around as many of their bodies as she could reach. Her wounded muscles screamed in protest, but she held on, pressing her face against them as though she could somehow keep them from slipping away.

"Why?" she cried. "Why did you do this to me?"

Her voice broke, and she shook her head violently.

"Why did you take my fate away from me? I was the one who was supposed to die!"

She had never felt so alone in her entire life.

Her tears still wouldn’t come. Her eyes burned painfully, but instead of crying, she could only make broken, breathless sounds that seemed to tear their way out of her chest. She pressed her hands against their wounds, desperately searching for any sign of life.

Her palms began to glow.

"Come on," she whispered, pouring her remaining power into them. "Please, please, please..."

The familiar warmth spread beneath her hands, but there was nothing for it to heal. No response. No movement. No heartbeats returning beneath her palms.

Amelia understood what it meant to be completely powerless.

She had defeated the Demon King, but she couldn’t bring back the people she loved. She had saved millions, but she couldn’t save three men.

She had fulfilled her destiny. And she had lost everything that had made her want to live beyond it.

"This isn’t how it was supposed to end," she whispered.

Her gaze moved over their faces again, and the pain inside her grew so unbearable that she pressed a hand against her chest as though she could physically hold herself together.

"I didn’t want this. I never wanted this."

She had never asked to be chosen by the Moon Goddess. She had never asked for divine powers or a destiny that demanded she fight a monster no one else could defeat. She had only wanted to live her life, love the people who mattered to her, and have the chance to return home when it was all over.

She had wanted a future with Enzo, Reid, and Dean.

She had wanted to keep the promises she had made to them. Instead, they had died trying to protect her. And now she was supposed to live with that?

She shook her head, her breathing becoming increasingly ragged.

"No. I can’t accept this." Her fingers curled into the bloodied earth. "I won’t accept this!"

She lifted her face toward the blood-red sky.

"Moon Goddess!"

Her voice rang across the ruined battlefield, raw with anger and grief.

"Do you hear me? I’m talking to you!"

She struggled to her feet, only to fall back onto her knees. Her legs could no longer support her, but she didn’t care. She raised her trembling hands toward the sky, glaring at the heavens through eyes that burned with unshed tears.

"You chose me! You gave me these powers! You decided that I was the one who had to fight the Demon King, and I did it!" Her voice cracked. "I did everything you wanted!"

She struck the ground with her fist. "So why?"

The question tore through her, leaving her gasping for breath.

"Why did you let them die? Why did you take them away from me?"

The battlefield offered no answer.

Amelia understood the importance of what they had accomplished. She knew that without their sacrifice, countless others might have died.

But knowing that didn’t make it hurt any less.

She lowered herself beside them again, her strength finally giving out. Carefully, she gathered their bodies as close as she could.

"I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I tried..."

She didn’t know how long she stayed there, holding them and whispering apologies they could no longer hear. She was so consumed by grief that she didn’t notice the stones around her beginning to tremble.

Slowly, the debris began to float around her in strange, weightless circles.

A faint silver glow appeared at the edges of her vision. The light grew brighter, spreading across the battlefield. It touched her bloodied hands, warmed her skin, and illuminated the bodies resting against her.

Only then did she lift her head.

"What...?"

The words died on her lips.

The ruined battlefield began to disappear. The light swallowed everything.

When it finally settled, Amelia found herself standing in an endless expanse of soft silver radiance. There was no ground beneath her feet that she could properly see, no sky above her, and no horizon to mark where the world ended.

"Amelia."

The unfamiliar voice was gentle, yet it seemed to come from everywhere at once.

Amelia froze.

A woman stood before her, surrounded by a soft, luminous aura. Her beauty was unlike anything Amelia had ever seen, not merely because of her flawless features or the graceful way she carried herself, but because there was something ancient and immeasurable about her presence. Silver light flowed around her like silk, and a crimson moon rested upon her brow like a living crown.

Amelia had never met her before.

Yet she knew exactly who she was.

The Moon Goddess.

"You."

The Goddess regarded her with sorrowful eyes.

"I have heard your cries, Amelia," she said. "And it pains me to see you suffering so."

Amelia let out a disbelieving laugh. "You’re sorry?"

The Goddess remained silent.

Amelia took a step toward her, her hands curling into fists.

"You’re sorry?" she repeated, her voice trembling with anger. "Is that all you have to say to me?"

"Amelia—"

"I did what you wanted. I fought the Demon King. I defeated him. I saved the world you wanted me to save, and I lost everything in the process!"

Her eyes burned as she stared at the Goddess.

"So tell me, what was the point? What was the point of giving me all that power if I couldn’t save the people I loved?"

The Goddess’s expression grew more sorrowful.

"There is nothing I can say that will undo what has happened. I cannot take away your pain, my child. And I cannot simply undo every choice that has brought you to this moment."

The Moon Goddess stepped closer. Her luminous gaze held Amelia’s, and the sorrow in her expression seemed to deepen.

"But there is something I can still do for you."

Amelia’s heart gave a painful thud. "Can you bring them back?"

"There are limits to what even I can change," the Goddess replied. "But I may be able to give you another chance. A chance to live again without losing the memories of the life you have lived."

Amelia stared at her.

"Live again?"

"I can grant you the power to reincarnate with your memories intact. You would carry everything you know now into your next life, including the memories of the people you have loved and the choices that brought you here. But this gift comes with a condition."