Chapter 23: The Name of the Key — Awakening of the Dark Moon and the Truth of Betrayal
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I sat hidden within Severed Moon’s secret outpost, my fingers clenched around the page marked with the words Project Zero.
My heart thundered in my chest.
Amy broke the silence with a whisper:
“What… is this project, really?”
I exhaled slowly, then began to reveal the fractured truth I’d pieced together from Kahn’s broken words.
“Project Zero was a top-level experiment initiated by my mother years ago.”
“They hand-picked the most potent wolf-bloodlines, subjected them to rounds of genetic editing and psychological programming.”
“And all for one purpose—”
“To forge a being capable of syncing with the entire wolf-tribe’s will. A mind that could bend the pack’s instincts itself.”
“A living key to the collective soul of the wolves.”
“And that key—was me.”
Tai leaned against the wall and let out a low whistle.
“So all your pain, your struggle, your rebellion… just part of someone’s master script?”
“Congratulations, Daphne. You’re the star of a play you never auditioned for.”
I shot him a sharp look.
“Well, I don’t follow scripts.”
“For most of my life, I thought I was just a discarded slave.”
“Turns out, I was a loaded weapon waiting to be used.”
“But now—now I’m taking the trigger back.”
“I’ll be the one holding the board.”
We gathered the Severed Moon core and began covert training.
I led them through the first stages of Dark Moon Resonance—
A forbidden ritual rooted in the wolves’ soul lineage, designed to synchronize thoughts, hearts, and instincts.
Each time our pulses aligned, it was like pounding a war drum against my mother’s throne.
Night after night, we moved closer to unity.
Then—
She came.
Unannounced.
Uninvited.
Mother stood outside the hidden base, flanked by Silverflame guards.
Her gaze was icy, even in the firelight.
“Daphne,” she called out calmly.
“Do you know why I created you?”
“Because within your veins flows the future of our kind.”
“You were born to be the Key.”
“To deny me… is to erase yourself.”
I stepped out, locking eyes with her across the frozen ground.
“If I am the Key,” I said clearly,
“Then I’ll open the door to freedom.”
Her lips curled into a cruel smile.
“You’re clever, girl. But cleverness doesn’t change destiny.”
She turned and disappeared into the mist.
And in that moment, I understood—
My true war had only just begun.
