CHAPTER 23 The Choice of the Stars

 The Choice of the Stars

 The Path Divides

The golden sigil hovered between them, pulsing with celestial power. The glow from it flickered across Lyra's face, illuminating the uncertainty in her eyes.

Queen Evelyne stood still, composed, watching her daughter with knowing patience.

Eryx, still bound in enchanted chains, struggled against his restraints. His silver eyes gleamed with urgency. "Lyra, don't listen to her." His voice was hoarse, raw with desperation. "She's manipulating you."

Lyra's hands trembled. "Then tell me what this is."

Evelyne's lips curled into a soft, knowing smile. "A truth hidden from you. A truth the stars have always known."

The space around them seemed to bend, as if waiting for Lyra's decision.

She could feel them both pulling at her—two destinies unraveling at the seams, two futures hinging on a single moment.

She turned to her mother. "If you were truly guiding me, why didn't you come back? Why did you let me believe you were dead?"

For the first time, something flickered in Evelyne's expression. A shadow of regret passed through her gaze, fleeting yet undeniable. "Because I had to prepare you. If you had known the truth too soon, you would have been consumed by it."

Eryx clenched his jaw. "And what truth is that?"

Evelyne's eyes darkened.

"The celestial curse was never meant to be a curse."

Lyra's breath caught. "What?"

Her mother stepped forward, the sigil pulsing brighter. "It was meant to be a gift. A rebirth. The celestial throne is waiting, Lyra. It always has been. The kingdom was never meant to be ruled by mortals alone."

Lyra's heart pounded. "Then why is it destroying Eldoris?"

Evelyne sighed. "Because it is incomplete."

Incomplete.

The word sent a ripple through Lyra's very soul.

"The curse was never meant to destroy," Evelyne continued. "It was meant to test. To see if you were worthy."

Eryx's voice cut through the air like a blade. "She's twisting the truth, Lyra. The celestial power isn't meant for one person alone. It was meant for the balance of the realms. If you take it, if you complete it, you won't just save Eldoris—you'll become something else."

Lyra's head spun. "Become what?"

Eryx's silver eyes met hers.

"A god."

Silence.

Evelyne gave a soft, knowing smile. "A queen."

The weight of it crushed her.

The sigil flickered, waiting for her choice.

Take the power and ascend.

Or walk away and let fate run its course.

The choice was hers.

The Price of Power

Lyra's breaths came short and quick. The air around her felt charged, alive, as if the universe itself was awaiting her next move.

A vision flashed before her eyes.

The kingdom of Eldoris, bathed in celestial light.

A future where she ruled.

Not just as a queen, but as something more. A force beyond mortality, beyond time itself.

But then—another vision.

Eldoris in ruins.

Her people bowing before her, not out of love, but fear.

The golden sigil pulsed brighter, urging her forward.

Eryx's voice was barely a whisper now. "Lyra, please…"

She turned to her mother. "If I take this power… what happens to me?"

Evelyne's smile remained. "You become what you were always meant to be."

No true answer.

Lyra's mind raced.

Was this truly her destiny? Or was she simply a pawn in an even greater game?

She closed her eyes, searching for the answer within herself.

And in the depths of her soul—she heard a voice.

A voice she had never heard before.

"You are not alone."

Her eyes snapped open.

She made her choice.

And the world shattered.

The Stars Weep

The sigil's light erupted, expanding outward like an explosion of pure magic. The entire chamber trembled, the walls quivering under the celestial force.

Lyra let out a gasp, her entire body surging with power, a force greater than anything she had ever felt before.

But it was wrong.

It was too much.

The magic was not flowing through her—it was devouring her.

Eryx's eyes went wide. "Lyra—stop!"

But it was too late.

Her scream split the heavens, her vision bursting into shards of light and darkness, fragments of past, present, and future all crashing together in an unbearable storm.

She saw herself on a throne of starlight, her eyes glowing like twin suns.

She saw Alden kneeling before her, his sword laid at her feet—not in loyalty, but in surrender.

She saw Kael, bloodied and broken, whispering his final words.

And then—

She saw herself standing alone in an empty kingdom, a queen of nothing.

Her body convulsed.

The power was consuming her.

No—this isn't right.

This isn't what I wanted.

Her hands shook, golden veins pulsing under her skin, the magic burning too bright, too fast.

Then, a shadow fell over her.

Eryx.

With one final desperate move, he lunged forward, breaking free from his restraints. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her away from the sigil.

The power fought back—but Eryx's own magic clashed against it, intertwining, shielding her from the worst of it.

A deafening boom tore through the chamber as the sigil's energy collapsed, the force throwing them both backward.

For a moment, there was nothing.

And then—

Darkness.

 Awakening

When Lyra opened her eyes, she was lying on the cold stone floor.

Her body felt drained, as if the power had been ripped from her.

A low groan came from beside her. She turned her head, her breath catching.

Eryx.

He was unmoving.

Lyra's hands trembled as she reached for him. "Eryx…"

His silver eyes fluttered open. But they were dim, the once-burning celestial light inside them now fading.

He had given everything to pull her back.

Her heart clenched. "Why would you—"

His hand weakly brushed against hers. "I… couldn't let you become… like them."

Lyra's vision blurred. She had been so close to losing herself.

To losing everything.

Evelyne's voice echoed from the darkness.

"You had the chance to ascend. And you rejected it."

Lyra turned, forcing herself to her feet, her body shaking with exhaustion.

Her mother stood across the chamber, the shadows curling around her. But now, Lyra saw the truth.

The woman before her was not her mother.

At least—not anymore.

The celestial power had twisted Evelyne into something else.

Something no longer human.

Lyra squared her shoulders, lifting her chin. "I don't need to be a god to save Eldoris."

Evelyne's eyes narrowed. "Then you will fall."

The shadows lurched forward.

The battle had begun.