Moonlit Hearts

Chapter 66: The Son of No One

"Xuanyu is my son, Wangji. I would have never."

Vali's voice echoed in the silence like thunder on dry stone. But Wangji heard something louder.

A snap.

Not in the wind, not in the trees. Inside.

Inside him.

"You-you dare-"

Xuanyu's voice was no longer calm. It wasn't even coherent. It was raw, burning-barely shaped into words.

Wangji staggered half a step back. A cold sweat broke along his spine. His hands trembled.

Wei Ying turned instantly. "Lan Zhan?"

Wangji couldn't answer. Couldn't breathe.

"He was the last face I saw-he looked me in the eyes and left me there! Left me! And now he stands there in robes and peace, speaking of truth?!"

The voice inside Wangji was a roar, hammering against his flesh like waves against crumbling stone. He clenched his jaw, grounding himself in the moss-soft earth.

Vali faltered, uncertainty flickering in his eyes. "He's... reacting, isn't he?"

"He hears you," Wangji said through gritted teeth. "He hears everything. He thinks you gave him to Odin. He's furious."

Wei Ying's eyes narrowed. "Then tell him to stop and listen-properly!"

"Why should I?" Xuanyu spat. "He left me to rot. My own father. He turned away. I screamed for him until my throat bled. I waited in the dark while they cut me apart-and he never came."

Wangji's breath hitched.

Golden light surged beneath his skin like fire flaring under glass. The divine pressure crawled up his spine-rising fast.

Wei Ying stepped closer. "Lan Zhan-"

"No," Wangji said, barely a whisper. "Don't touch me."

Wei Ying froze mid-reach. The gold under Wangji 's skin pulsed like a warning.

Xuanyu wasn't just angry. He was shaking the body from the inside.

Vali raised both hands, voice steady but strained. "Xuanyu, I never gave you to Odin. You were taken. Your name was erased. Your divinity, your face-sealed away."

"LIAR. I remember YOU. I remember YOUR HANDS. You walked away."

Wangji gritted his teeth. "Memory can be false. You know this."

"I know what pain is. And he was the last thing I saw before it began."

The divine energy twisted. Wangji's chest seized. His knees buckled.

Wei Ying stepped in front of him. "What do we do?"

Wangji forced the words through his teeth. "I... am holding him."

Vali took a cautious step forward. "Then let me prove it. There are vaults-Odin's records. Or I can show you my memories. All of them. No lies."

"I don't want records."

Xuanyu's fury ignited. A violent pulse. A cry torn from silence.

"I want his heart. I want his blood. I want to make him watch the way I watched, helpless and broken, while the sky cracked above me."

Wangji's knees buckled and this time he collapsed, palms slamming to the ground. Sweat slicked his face. Divine sigils scorched his hands in burning gold.