Chapter 647: Where Fate Refuses to Yield

Selene did not answer Sophia immediately.

Instead, she turned away.

Her gaze drifted toward the open window, toward the slow, endless fall of snow beyond it. The flakes moved in quiet spirals, soft and unhurried, as though the world outside remained untouched by the weight pressing into the room.

For a moment, she simply watched.

And then she spoke.

"Perhaps that is the case," she said softly. "Perhaps it is not."

Sophia frowned slightly.

Selene’s voice remained calm, distant in a way that made it feel like she was speaking from somewhere far older than the room itself.

"As I have said before... humans are not bound the way I am," she continued. "You have will. You have choice."

Her eyes shifted slightly, though she did not fully turn back yet.

"And you," she added quietly, "have reminded me of that more times than I can count."

Sophia didn’t respond.

Selene finally turned.

Her gaze settled on Sophia again, steady and knowing.

"Perhaps you felt something for Orion from the moment you saw that vision," she said. "Perhaps that connection existed before you ever understood it."

She paused.

"Or perhaps it did not."

Sophia’s brows pulled together.

"But that no longer matters," Selene said gently.

Sophia’s breath slowed.

"Because you have already chosen."

The words settled firmly.

"You chose who would stand beside you," Selene continued. "You chose who would support you."

Her voice lowered slightly.

"And because you chose... it is now yours to carry."

Sophia felt something tighten in her chest.

Selene held her gaze.

"This," she said softly, "is the path you carved for yourself."

The weight of it pressed into the space between them.

"You went against the natural course of things," Selene continued. "You interfered. You allowed a generation that was meant to end... to continue."

Sophia’s fingers curled slightly against the blanket.

"And because of that," Selene said, "you must now fight to ensure they remain."

A quiet stillness followed.

"The world does not like deviation," she added. "It seeks balance. It seeks correction."

Her gaze sharpened just slightly.

"And it will try to return things to what they were meant to be."

Sophia’s throat felt dry.

Selene tilted her head faintly.

"The visions you have seen," she said, "of the Nightshade Pack... of them dying..."

Sophia’s chest tightened.

"They are not gone," Selene continued. "They are still possible."

The words landed heavy.

"They are outcomes that still exist," she added. "Outcomes that will come to pass... if nothing stands in their way."

"It will be your determination," Selene said. "Your choices. Your will."

Her voice softened again.

"That is what will decide whether those visions remain only possibilities... or become reality."

Sophia swallowed.

Selene watched her carefully.

"You have seen Orion die," she continued.

Sophia stiffened.

"Not once," Selene added, "but perhaps many times now."

Sophia’s grip tightened.

"That," Selene said quietly, "is his fate."

The words felt like something cold sliding beneath Sophia’s skin.

"He was not meant to live this long," Selene continued. "He was never meant to reach this point."

Sophia’s head snapped up slightly.

Selene’s gaze did not waver.

"He was meant to die the day he became a full adult," she said.

The room seemed to tilt.

Sophia stared at her.

"But he didn’t," she said, her voice firm despite the tremor beneath it.

Selene inclined her head slightly.

"No," she agreed. "He did not, and that is because of you."

"You showed me the vision," Sophia told her. "If he was meant to die, then why did you show it to me? Why did you show him to me? Why did you show me a vision of me playing in the snow with friends? Why?" Sophia asked her. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"You speak like I have control over the things you see," Selene said.

"You are a goddess. You gave me the gift. You chose me to put an end to this. It’s all your doing, is it not?" Sophia asked her.

"I chose you, yes, but I had and still have no control over what you see. That is a power I lost when I gave it to you, and I have no rights over it now," Selene replied.

"Everything you see is not within my control. It is the decision of fate itself. I only tell you things that I had known when I had the gift I gave you, and like I told you, once seen, it’s not supposed to change."

Sophia didn’t like what she was hearing.

"So it’s my fault then?" she asked.

"In a way, yes, but I am also to blame because I started everything... I know that," Selene replied.

"The people you trained with," she said. "Your friends."

Sophia’s brows tightened.

"They were not meant to exist," Selene added. "Well, except one, but even you changed his fate."

"But the world remembers what should have been," she told Sophia. "And it will try to correct it."

"And since this is now your burden to bear, you must fight it if you want them to survive. Your fight isn’t just against Victoria now, but against fate itself, the world itself that will try to take everything you now know."

Sophia let out a breath, but it didn’t steady her. Her thoughts were racing fast.

"But..." she started, her voice slower now. "Dolion said something."

Selene watched her.

Sophia swallowed.

"He said Orion and I were marked. And though I have no idea what it means... if you claim Orion wasn’t supposed to be alive, then why would he say something like that? And he spoke about something... like he never thought you would use what he said... what does that mean?"

Selene’s expression softened faintly.

"It’s quite simple... the part about you and Orion being marked simply means you are mates and that this journey now ties the both of you. You will share hurt, you will share joy, you will share everything... that’s basically what it means." She paused.

"And the second part..." Selene shook her head. "I got the idea to send you from Dolion."