Maggie stared at him, momentarily forgetting the polite response she should at least offer. She realized Aldrich had his share of hardships back then. The poor couldn’t comprehend the struggles of the wealthy, as it was an insurmountable class barrier. They couldn’t fathom the challenges faced by the rich.
All they knew was that the wealthy loved to pontificate on television, buy magazine covers, showcasing their chemically-enhanced faces, and scatter them everywhere. The rich even learned equestrianism and archery, courses exclusive to the nobility and irrelevant to normal life. When they wanted to study, they attended expensive private schools; when they didn’t, they hired private tutors for subjects like math, language, and biology.
If they didn’t want to go to a public beach, they built a pool on the rooftop of their mansions, complete with enormous umbrellas and beach chairs. They didn’t feel like swimming? Sunbathing it was. Wanted to swim? They’d just dive in, with someone regularly changing the water and cleaning the pool.
They also had separate walk-in closets, some of which were large enough to host a small gathering. Meanwhile, some people’s living rooms were only as big as these closets. When the rich complained about their hardships, all they received were cold glances and scoffs from the ordinary people. While some were worrying about rent every month, these people were accumulating wealth derived from the labor of others, yet dared to discuss the hardships of their lives with those who shed blood and tears.
It felt absurd as if a scream from an art gallery painting had materialized in reality.
However, this also meant that class differences were indeed insurmountable. The rich focused on cultivating intellect, while ordinary people had to concentrate on the present. The rich cared little for family bonds; their focus was on interests, the most enduring and practical thing.
Every heir of the wealthy was carefully selected, a choice often painted in blood. In their struggle for the throne, heirs faced myriad challenges, employing both overt and covert methods. Aldrich hadn’t ascended to power under such circumstances, but the family’s expectations for him were no less. He grew up in an extremely oppressive environment, facing not only the pressure from the family but also his own fear of his burgeoning strength as he matured.
Under this dual pressure, he still chose to be a qualified leader, breaking through the constraints and hoping to bring a better life to his subjects while bearing the pain alone. Urania asked her, “Can you endure the loneliness that gods must endure? In times of crisis, you can’t consider yourself. You can’t prioritize your loved ones. In the direst moments, you must abandon them to achieve a greater love. Can you handle the countless criticisms? Some deserved, some baseless. Gods carry the most pain, hear the most secrets, and witness countless hardships; it’s not something anyone can endure.”
Yet, Aldrich had done remarkably well. He never thought of himself as a god; he just took every matter to heart, disregarding his own gains and losses. He placed his desires behind the needs of the family and tribe. In the end, he never considered his own feelings. He had no partner and never sought love.
Aldrich was a bit flustered. This past was somewhat difficult for him to talk about, but it wasn’t entirely off-limits. It’s just that bringing it up would lead him to spend unnecessary time reminiscing about those days when he had fewer worries and troubles during his childhood.
He took a moment to fondly remember Marvin, who used to come looking for him tirelessly, just to bask in the sun and feel the wind together on the grassy fields.
Maggie, however, cried first. Tears streamed down her face, leaving Aldrich at a loss. Maggie was too emotional, much like Marvin. But Marvin, being a boy, wasn’t prone to shedding tears. Grace, as a girl, rarely even frowned. Even when seriously injured, she accepted treatment with a stoic expression. Aldrich didn’t know how to handle a crying partner.
“Don’t cry,” he awkwardly said, unsure of the next steps. Should he find something to wipe away Maggie’s tears, or should he pull her back into his embrace?
As they embarked on the journey of love, Aldrich discovered many blind spots in his knowledge. However, these didn’t make him feel defeated as handling affairs of the heart might. Instead, they deepened his affection for Maggie.
He fumbled to wipe away Maggie’s tears with his fingers, the warmth peculiar to a werewolf’s touch gently rubbing her eyes. The originally ambiguous atmosphere was wasted due to Maggie’s preoccupation.
Aldrich was a bit regretful; until today, he and Maggie hadn’t progressed much. Every time, it was like getting to the doorstep, his kisses swallowing Maggie’s moans, his tongue inching over her soft skin, leaving saliva as a mark of possession. But then, it would stop abruptly. Maggie always feared for the safety of the child in her belly. To her, they couldn’t engage in excessive intimacy until both children were safely born.
The doctor suggested that it could be done if necessary, but Maggie staunchly refused. “I don’t want to take any risks; this baby is precious to me.”
Aldrich had no words; he could only relent. Sometimes, he even blamed the untimely arrival of the two children, completely forgetting that without these two test-tube babies, he and Maggie would never have met, let alone fallen in love.
Maggie gently held his fingertips. “I’m crying because I really love you. I love you to the point of tears when I learn about your past.”
Aldrich didn’t expect her to respond so candidly. “Is that really how you feel?”
“Of course. I never thought I would love someone like this, to the extent that I can’t bear to be a second away from him. I want to fully accept his flaws and pain.” She opened Aldrich’s palm, pressing her face against the warm center. “I don’t know what I was thinking when I first stayed by your side, whether I hoped you’d fall in love with me or just wanted to raise children together. But now, I want to completely possess you, to make you wholly mine.”
“All I want now is you, all of you. I want you never to leave me, to entrust your heart to me forever.” Aldrich gently tightened his grip, feeling the pulsing of Maggie’s neck artery in his palm. “So, will you still want to return to your original world?”
Maggie smiled, her eyes and brows curved. “I’ve thought it through. I want to stay here, with you.”
Maggie firmly set her resolve. She intended to tell Urania about her decision to become the next Moon Goddess. Even if she couldn’t become a qualified deity, she couldn’t let her mother’s bestowed power go to waste.
So, after a two-day break, during which Maggie felt a connection with the energy within her, she decided to inform Urania. The energy seemed alive and thoughtful as she attempted to awaken it. She could sense some of it responding to her. Maybe it was related to her determination.
This time, she didn’t let Aldrich accompany her. “You focus on resolving the matters with the Elder Council. I’ll go learn from Urania about foresight and how to control the power in my body. Don’t worry about me.”
Aldrich asked, “Are you giving up the Energy Orb?”
She nodded, “I don’t like being passive. When I see an opportunity, I should seize it immediately, not wait for chances to come to me.”
Her determination reminded Aldrich of Grace. Grace disliked waiting; waiting was full of uncertainties that could lead to failure. So, when she made decisions, they were usually decisive, and once she decided on something, she wouldn’t change it.
That’s what often made Marvin feel defeated. Marvin always wanted to wait and observe the situation.
That’s why Marvin was considered the dumbest in their family.
Aldrich gently caressed Maggie’s face, his gaze tender, almost overflowing like a trickle of spring water. “Then go. Be safe.”
Maggie approached him, standing on tiptoes to give him a delicate kiss. “I will.”
Leaving Aldrich standing there for a while, frozen and unresponsive, he touched his lips. The kiss was too light; without full concentration, it was challenging to feel the softness of Maggie’s lips.
But he felt so elated, as if a parched land had finally been moistened by rain.
When Maggie rang the wind chimes on the cabin, Urania was napping on a newly replaced bearskin blanket. Hearing the sound, she opened one eye and saw Maggie standing at the door with a smile.
“Are you not considering changing your wind chimes for something more decorative? These teeth and bones look like they’ve lost their sound due to their age.”
“Strictly speaking, it’s not a wind chime. Stringing teeth and bones of wild animals can effectively deter intruders-werewolves or creatures with poor eyesight. It’s a habit I developed a few hundred years ago, and I’m too lazy to change it.”
“But I think these things would make a nice wind chime. Are you really not considering a change?”
She lazily sat up, “You didn’t come today just to chat with me, did you?”
“Of course not. I came to answer the question you asked me that day.”
Urania looked at her. Although the woman in front of her was still the same naive and ignorant woman from the other day, two or three days weren’t enough to transform someone into someone else. But something seemed different. Probably the gaze.
Urania thought her gaze was no longer lost; instead, it was replaced by a resolute conviction. That conviction seemed almost ready to pierce through the woman’s blue irises, making it visible to the whole world.
“Since you say so, then I believe you’ve already made up your mind.”
“I have.”
Urania stood up, lifting a hidden cloth curtain in the corner of the living room, revealing a room behind it.
Maggie couldn’t help but widen her eyes. “There’s actually another room here!”
Her astonished reaction pleased Urania. She liked seeing people who hadn’t experienced much, especially this naive girl, the daughter of the Moon Goddess.
“This is a specially constructed darkroom for cultivation. It won’t be disturbed, is completely sealed, and makes it easier to gather energy. I usually perform divination rituals here. It allows me to concentrate and enhances clarity in foreseeing the future.”
Inside the darkroom was a translucent crystal ball. It seemed discordant with the atmosphere, yet it was the only source of light in the darkness.
Maggie stared at the crystal ball, “It’s so beautiful, even clearer than the Energy Orb.”
“This is a crystal crafted with the power of the Moon Goddess. So, it resembles the moon. And what it reveals is purer than spheres made with ordinary crystals. You won’t get ambiguous results.”
Maggie approached it cautiously, “Can I touch it?”
“You can try. It doesn’t necessarily welcome everyone; start by attempting to communicate with it.”
Maggie turned to her, “Communicate? How do I communicate?”
She hadn’t tried communicating with a speechless entity. She wasn’t a medium, and divination wasn’t her area of expertise.
Urania shrugged, “Ask it. It has different ways of communicating with different people.”
So, Maggie tentatively used her hand to touch the ball. The ball could clearly sense her power, emitting an intensely bright light.
“That’s how it responds to you,” Urania explained from behind, “Summon your power.”
Maggie focused, and her power no longer needed to hibernate. It surged outward. Maggie joyfully watched as the room filled with the materialization of power, casting a glow on every corner and illuminating the divination array on the floor.
She asked Urania, “What do I do next?”
Urania approached. Her fingertips emitted a faint purple aura. As the thin lines of light danced in the air, the scattered light dots finally found direction, rushing toward the thin line. The dots converged into a massive light sphere, ultimately merging within the ball.
“Truly beautiful,” she whispered softly.
“This is the gift the Moon Goddess has bestowed upon the mortal realm, transforming power into countless beams of light. Through these rays, power spreads across every inch of the land, allowing the world to bask in the brilliance of the moon.”
Maggie gazed in astonishment at the radiance. The beams were dazzling and beautiful, exuding a mysterious aura yet managing to feel warm-not the distant and aloof kind. Perhaps, this is what the moon is like. Not too close, not too far, maintaining just the right distance, yet consistently illuminating the path for travelers.
She thought, I am indeed fortunate to have the opportunity to become the embodiment of the moon.
Urania covered the crystal ball with her hands, silently chanting an incantation. The sphere gradually dimmed, returning to its dormant state.
“Now the crystal ball has absorbed and stored your energy. When you wish to summon me, the ball will reflect your thoughts. When you unconsciously enter a state of foresight, your dreams will also manifest within the sphere. If you don’t want to endure the hardships of travel and wish to have long-distance conversations, you can achieve it through this ball.”
“Ah?” Maggie was stunned. “How do I do that?”
Could this ball also have remote video features like social media platforms Facebook and Twitter in the human world?
“I will teach you. You will understand in due time,” Urania said casually. “If you want to delve deeper into the werewolf society, there’s much more for you to learn.”