Chapter 645: The Fault in Divine Sight

Selene did not answer immediately.

For a moment, she only stood there, her presence steady and unmoving, as though the weight of the question had settled somewhere even she could not easily reach.

Then she spoke.

"It didn’t cross my mind," she admitted softly.

There was no defense in her tone. No attempt to soften the truth.

"I believed what I was doing was a blessing," she continued. "I truly did. Given who Victoria was before... I thought she would love you. I thought she would not be blinded by greed."

Sophia let out a quiet breath, something sharp hiding beneath it.

"That’s ironic," she said.

Selene’s gaze lifted slightly.

"You were blinded by greed too," Sophia added, her voice calm but unyielding. "So why did you think Victoria of all people wouldn’t fall into the same thing? And worse than what you expected?"

The words settled heavily between them.

Selene did not flinch; instead, it was like she accepted her faults.

"I thought I understood humans," she said after a pause.

Her gaze drifted toward the falling snow outside.

"I walked among them. I listened. I watched. I lived beside them in ways I should not have." A faint breath left her lips. "But understanding them... truly understanding them..."

She shook her head slightly.

"I did not."

Her voice grew quieter.

"Sometimes I forget that they are not bound the way I am," she continued. "That, like me, they have minds of their own. Thoughts that are not written. Wills that are not dictated."

Her lips curved faintly, but it wasn’t quite a smile.

"They can choose to go against what is laid before them. To reject what is given. To change what does not suit them and carve something else in its place."

She paused for a while, then continued.

"It is... fascinating," she admitted. "Truly fascinating, but it is also frustrating."

Sophia said nothing as she watched the goddess.

"I thought I was making the right choice," she said simply. "I thought Victoria would not stray from the path."

Sophia’s expression hardened slightly.

"She did," she said quietly.

Selene’s gaze stilled.

"My mother... Victoria strayed," Sophia continued. "She didn’t just wander off the path you’re talking about. She burned it."

Her fingers tightened into the blanket.

"She tried to kill me," Sophia said.

"She wanted the gift of visions I have," she went on. "She wanted it for herself. At the cost of everything. Everyone." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Her voice did not rise, but something beneath it fractured anyway.

"The moment she realized what I could do... what I had... she stopped seeing me as her daughter."

She paused as she fought to get the words out.

"I became a tool, something to use."

Her throat tightened, but she forced the words through.

"I was locked up for even the smallest mistakes, for asking for even the smallest favors. I was treated even worse than a criminal would be treated. I was under her control; every trick in the book, she used to control and manipulate me just because she wanted the gift."

Selene didn’t move.

"The only one who ever stood between me and her was Neoma," Sophia added, softer now. "The only one who tried to stop her was Neoma."

At the mention of her wolf, something stirred faintly in her chest.

"But even Neoma couldn’t do much," she continued. "Not without risking me."

Silence fell.

It stretched long enough to feel like something had shifted irreversibly within it.

Selene stared at her.

Then, slowly, she spoke.

"I am sorry."

The words were quiet.

But they did not feel small.

"I am sorry I put you through that pain," she said. "It was never my intention."

Her gaze lowered slightly.

"I am sorry you suffered at the hands of Victoria. I am sorry you endured that for so long. And I am sorry that I could not stop it."

Sophia blinked.

Only then did she realize the tears had already fallen.

They landed against her hand, warm and unexpected.

She wiped them away quickly, her movements almost absentminded.

Selene’s voice softened further.

"I did not intend to create another Dolion," she said. "Especially not someone worse than him."

A shadow passed through her expression.

"Not someone who would sacrifice even her own child just to gain more power."

Sophia didn’t speak.

Selene continued.

"I believed Victoria would help guide you," she said. "That she would stand beside you. That the same way Neoma protected and guided you would be the same way Victoria would do it. That together, they would help you carry what you were meant to become."

She paused again.

"I thought she would help cure what has been festering in this world."

Her gaze dimmed.

"But I should have known better."

Another breath.

"Like I said, you humans have free will," Selene said. "Even now, I fail to account for it the way I should."

Her eyes lifted again.

"And you... you have reminded me of that more than once."

Sophia let out a bitter laugh.

"I doubt that," she said. "I don’t think I’ve ever strayed from whatever path you set for me."

Selene’s expression shifted.

"You did," she said.

Sophia stilled.

"You know that," Selene added gently.

Something in her tone made it difficult to dismiss.

Sophia frowned slightly.

Selene stepped closer, or perhaps the space between them simply folded again.

"It is because of you that the Nightshade Pack exists as it does now," Selene said.

Sophia’s brows drew together.

"...What?"

Selene held her gaze.

"They were not meant to exist," she said.

The words didn’t register immediately.

Sophia stared at her.

Then her expression changed.

"If the Nightshade Pack wasn’t supposed to exist..." she began, her voice tightening.

Her eyes widened.

"...then they were supposed to be dead?"

Selene nodded.

"Yes."

The world seemed to still.

Sophia stared at her, the weight of that answer sinking deeper with every second.

"You changed it," Selene said softly.

And Sophia just sat there, eyes wide, the realization unfolding far too slowly for how heavy it truly was.