Chapter 236: Changing The Future
Over the past six months, she had co to understand just how much Cassian cared for her. If she called off their engagent now, he’d be devastated. She knew Cassian shouldn’t have to pay the price for her need to save her grandfather and Scion. Besides, the thought of spending her life locked away in the Moon Goddess Temple didn’t sit right with her.
With a sigh, Arix rubbed her temples, feeling the weight of her decision. In the end, she decided to abandon the idea of becoming the Pontifex herself.
"As for the ceremony, I’m okay with anything. I’ll leave it up to you," Arix replied, sounding tired.
Cassian’s mood instantly lifted. But seeing the worry still etched on her face, he gently pressed, "Arix, why don’t you want your grandfather or Scion to beco the Pontifex?"
He knew this was sothing they couldn’t avoid discussing. Better to address it now than be blindsided later.
Even Drexel, who had been quietly eating, chid in, "Yeah, Arix, hasn’t Grandpa always been the Pontifex? Why the sudden change of heart?"
Arix hesitated, then decided to share the truth with them.
"I had a dream... In it, my grandfather and Scion were in danger. My grandfather gets frad by soone nad Ignathor, and Scion... he takes his own life on the day he becos Pontifex. I can’t let that happen, so I don’t want them to take on the role."
As she spoke, her voice laced with anxiety, Drexel suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Haha! Oh, this is killing ! Cassian, did you hear that? My sister actually thinks her dream is real! This is just too much!" Drexel was laughing so hard he even gave Cassian a playful slap on the shoulder, clearly finding the whole thing hilarious.
Cassian, however, kept his cool. His face remained composed, though his eyes softened as he looked at Arix.
He figured she was just spooked by her nightmare, letting it ss with her head. Still, there was sothing endearing about how worried she looked—part of him wanted to reach out and reassure her.
But as Drexel’s laughter grew louder and more over-the-top, Arix finally had enough. Her patience snapped without a word. Her eyes narrowed, and suddenly, a powerful Supergiant-Class ntal force swept through the dining room like a storm.
Drexel, caught mid-laugh, froze. The grin vanished from his face, and he quickly straightened up in his chair.
Cassian, too, adjusted his posture, swallowing hard. This was the first ti he’d seen Arix truly angry, and it was chilling.
With the room now silent, Arix took a deep breath before speaking in a steady, serious tone. "I’m not joking. In the next few days, my grandfather will die, and so will Scion. I don’t want them to die."
The intensity in her voice was undeniable, and for a mont, Drexel still found it hard to believe. But as he saw the almost tearful determination on her face, the reality of the situation began to sink in. Joking around was one thing, but their grandfather’s life was another matter entirely.
In the end, Drexel decided to take her seriously.
Cassian, on the other hand, didn’t care whether it was real or just a bad dream. If Arix believed it, then so did he.
Now that the three of them were finally on the sa page, Drexel was the first to speak up. "Arix, you said that if they don’t beco the Pontifex, we can save them, right?"
Arix nodded quickly. "Yes, as long as Grandfather stays in the Moon Goddess Temple, he’s in danger. And if Scion becos the Pontifex, he’ll die—either by soone’s hand or his own."
Drexel thought about this for a mont, then turned to Cassian. "You know the Empire better. What do you suggest?"
Cassian, clearly uneasy, cleared his throat. Suddenly, his expression shifted to sothing fiercer, and he made a threatening gesture across his neck as if to slice it.
Arix and Drexel stared at him, shocked.
They couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Sure, the Moon Goddess Temple had made its share of mistakes, but wiping it out? That was too much. Besides, for therian children to beco fully human, they needed to undergo a ceremony led by the Pontifex to receive the Moon Goddess’s blessing. Both Arix and Drexel had experienced that blessing themselves, so they knew just how vital it was for the Empire’s people.
As they scrambled to figure out how to convince Cassian, he suddenly laughed and said, "Relax, I was just kidding. I wouldn’t do sothing as crazy as destroying our main source of power."
Arix and Drexel both sighed in relief, though they shot Cassian annoyed looks.
Cassian, amused by how much more tense they were than he was, let his smile linger. "Since Grandfather and Scion are out of the running for Pontifex, we’ll need to pick soone new. But..."
Cassian paused.
Drexel, growing impatient, urged him, "But what? Just spit it out already."
Arix felt his heart tighten with worry.
Cassian hesitated a mont longer before saying, "It’s one thing to get your grandfather out of the Moon Goddess Temple, but with Scion... that’s a different story."
It wasn’t jealousy or pettiness driving Cassian. Scion wasn’t just the favorite for the Pontifex role—there were deeper, hidden reasons at play.
"Why? Scion’s good, but he’s not irreplaceable," Drexel said, confused.
"That’s not the issue," Cassian sighed. Then, he dropped a bombshell, sothing only the royal family and top mbers of the Moon Goddess Temple knew.
When Drexel heard it, his eyes went wide with shock. "Wait, are you saying Scion is a future god?"
Cassian nodded. "Yep. This is top-secret info. My father told
that on the day Scion was born, the Moon Goddess Temple received a divine decree. It declared that Scion is the vessel the god chose for himself in this world. When he becos the Pontifex, he’ll inherit all the god’s powers."
"That’s... incredible," Drexel said, a bit envious.
Inheriting a god’s powers ant Scion would basically beco a god himself. Drexel thought about this, then cautiously asked Arix, "Arix, are we sure we want to stop him from becoming the Pontifex? That doesn’t sound like a bad deal."
Drexel couldn’t help but think that if soone tried to block his path to such power, he’d bury them alive.
"Inheriting a god’s powers... but would he still be Scion after that? Cassian, if you could gain all a god’s powers but lose your soul in the process, would you still want it?" Arix asked with a cold smile.
If she hadn’t had that prophetic dream and learned the truth, she might have thought this was a good thing.
Drexel and Cassian exchanged a glance, the seriousness of the situation sinking in.
The room grew tense again. Finally, Cassian shook his head, defeated. "If we can’t deal with the Moon Goddess Temple, the only way to stop Scion from becoming Pontifex would be to find soone even the temple can’t defy. Otherwise, it’s impossible."
With the Moon Goddess Temple’s power and influence in the Empire, challenging it seed like an impossible task.
"I doubt we’ll find anyone like that. Who’s the one that the Moon Goddess Temple wouldn’t dare to defy?" Drexel said, feeling discouraged.
Cassian sighed, suddenly feeling a twinge of sympathy for Scion. If he’d known his rival in love was in such a tough spot, he might’ve been kinder to him before.
But unlike the other two, Arix seed lost in thought, touching her chin as if she was onto sothing.
Arix’s mind raced as she pieced it all together. "An existence that even the Moon Goddess Temple can’t defy—could that be the Moon Goddess herself? And if the Moon Goddess is Sylvana, who is also... ? Then I’m the one the Moon Goddess Temple cannot resist."
Her eyes suddenly sparkled with realization.
’Of course!’
She’d been thinking too small. All this ti, she’d been focused on becoming the Pontifex, on working for the Moon Goddess Temple. But why aim for that when she could aim higher? Why not beco the boss—the Moon Goddess herself?
She could beco the Moon Goddess. Why settle for just being the Pontifex and working under her own influence?
However, getting the Moon Goddess Temple to believe she was the Moon Goddess wouldn’t be a walk in the park. Even though she had Sylvana’s power, her beast form was still that of a tiger. Only when she fully matured and absorbed all of Sylvana’s power would her beast form start to change into Sylvana’s.
But ti wasn’t on her side. By the ti her beast form transford into Sylvana’s, Scion might already be beyond saving.
"Is there a way to change my beast form into Sylvana’s sooner?" Arix asked Sylvana in her thoughts.
"There is. If I rge with you, we can temporarily take on Sylvana’s beast form," Sylvana responded with calm assurance.
"Perfect! Sylvana, I might need your help soon. I hope it’s not too much trouble," Arix said, her smile brightening with newfound hope.
"As long as it’s what you need, I’m here to help," Sylvana replied in a gentle, reassuring tone.
"Thank you, Sylvana," Arix murmured, feeling a wave of gratitude that almost brought tears to her eyes.
She realized just how fortunate she was. No matter how tough things got, she never had to face them alone—there was always soone ready to stand by her.
Taking a deep breath to steady the emotions swelling within her, Arix lifted her head and looked seriously at her two companions. "I think I’ve found a way," she announced.
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