Moonlit Hearts

Chapiter 56 : The Monster Within

Odin's smirk remained, but Wangji saw the sharp glint in his eyes, the subtle twitch of his fingers around his weapon. He was testing, waiting.

Xuanyu, in contrast, was savoring.

"You gods," he sighed, and Wangji felt his own lips shape the words, though they weren't his. "Always so confident in your little victories. Always believing you have power simply because you have conquered something weaker."

His hands flexed. Wangji's hands.

"But you've never conquered something stronger, have you?"

Odin moved—fast. His weapon lashed out like lightning, straight for Wangji's heart.

Wangji realized, too late. This had been Odin's plan all along. He had known. He had pushed Wangji to this moment, guiding him straight into the trap. And Wangji had walked willingly, blindly.

Xuanyu laughed.

A single step. A shift in balance. A flick of the wrist.

The attack never landed.

Xuanyu twisted, caught the blade between his fingers, and snapped it in half.

Odin staggered back. The remnants of his weapon clattered to the ground with a dull clang. That was when the fear set in—not Wangji's, but Odin's. He felt it, deep and raw.

"You—" Odin started.

But Xuanyu was already there.

Too fast. Too powerful.

Wangji had never moved like this before. Had never felt like this before. Every step was effortless, every motion fluid, as though the very air yielded to him. This wasn't skill. This was something far older, far worse.

"This is what it means to be a true god," Xuanyu whispered, fingers curling beneath Odin's chin in mockery.

Wangji could feel the hunger beneath his skin. The desire to tear, to break, to consume.

No.

Xuanyu's grip tightened.

No!

Wangji fought against the invisible chains binding him, pushing, struggling, thrashing.

"Enough."

The voice—his own—cut through the haze.

For the first time, Xuanyu stilled.

Wangji didn't know if he had truly reached him or if the beast was merely entertained by his resistance. But for now, he had his attention.

And yet... why had he spoken? Why had he told him to stop? He wanted Odin dead. He wanted an end to this. But something about this—about him—felt wrong.

Before Wangji could make sense of his own hesitation, Xuanyu smiled, wicked and knowing.

Then fire.

Wangji felt the heat before he saw it—golden and furious, coiling around Xuanyu's hands like living serpents. In an instant, it leapt to Odin, licking up his robes, searing into his skin.

Odin did not scream.

Not at first.

His teeth clenched, his body rigid with the stubbornness of a war god. But this fire—Xuanyu's fire—was not meant to wound. It was meant to consume.

Wangji watched in horror as Odin's power—his very essence—was being devoured.

The god of war fought, but the more he struggled, the faster it spread.