Chapter 69

Chapter 69 – Ashes of the First Omega

"If I must die to rewrite fate, then let death come quickly—because I will rise faster."

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Selene stood at the edge of the dream realm, the place between life and legend.

Around her, stars pulsed in slow rhythm, but none gave warmth. The wolves of memory stalked the edges—creatures with eyes like broken clocks and jaws dripping with forgotten time. She could feel the throne's echo under her skin, the magic of the First Omega testing her soul, peeling back her past like petals from a dying flower.

The voice came again—calm, cold, eternal:

> "You carry the blood of both curse and crown. You were never meant to live. And yet… here you are."

Selene raised her chin. "Why me?"

The woman—the First Omega—stepped into the light. Her long black veil seemed to blend with the void behind her. She held a blade of silver bone in one hand and a sprig of black roses in the other.

> "Because you are the ending… and the beginning."

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Meanwhile, in the waking world, Valerian tore through the cursed halls of the Keep.

Blood streaked down his arms, the thorns having clawed at him like they recognized him—as betrayer, as heir, as monster. But he didn't stop. Not until he reached the place where the throne had cracked.

There, in the center of a spiral of ash, lay her locket.

He picked it up with shaking hands, pressed it to his lips.

"Come back to me, Selene," he whispered, voice splintered.

Then a low rumble echoed through the Keep.

Not from outside.

From within him.

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Selene's test had begun.

The First Omega raised her bone-blade and circled her.

> "To claim the Crown, you must burn through your memories—

every betrayal, every wound, every love you lost.

You must let them go, or they will consume you."

The stars above flickered—and then one by one, fell.

Each one became a memory.

—Her mother's bloodied hands shielding her in the snow.

—The lash of chains around her wrists when they sold her.

—The first time she kissed Valerian in the rain.

—The night she chose to forgive him.

Each one burned her from the inside.

She screamed, but she did not stop.

"I am not just fate," she roared. "I am fire. I am freedom."

The First Omega smiled.

> "Then take the ashes. Breathe them in.

And wake up."

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The world shifted.

A heartbeat cracked through dimensions.

And Selene's body returned—but not the same.

She burst forth from the throne with wings of violet flame, eyes glowing with gold runes, her scent now laced with prophecy itself.

Valerian caught her in his arms just as the Keep collapsed around them.

She looked up at him, blood on her lips, tears on her cheeks.

"It's me," she whispered. "But… also not."

He held her tighter. "Whatever you are, you're mine."

And the shadows howled in response.

Because the new Night Queen had risen.

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End of Chapter 69 – Next: Chapter 70, The Queen with Fire Eyes

This next chapter is a turning point—her powers are unlocked, but prophecy has only just begun to twist.