Chapter 66. Moonflowers lost crown prince

Chapter 66: 66. Moonflowers lost crown prince

AT THE SAME TIME

XAVIER

The messenger remained perfectly still, the silver Moonflower seal catching the light from the corridor lamps. My father was the first to speak.

"When must we leave?" Zhao Rui asked.

"Now."The messenger didn’t hesitate.

Everyone stared at her.

"Now?" Ana repeated.

"Immediately." The messenger bowed. "Her Holiness Isolda is waiting."

"Does ’immediately’ mean we have time to pack?"Hin slowly raised a hand.

"No."She said.

"Snacks?"Ana asked.

"No."She said.

"This is becoming a terrible trip."Hin lowered her hand.

"We’re being summoned by the High Priestess. Try to look serious."Ana elbowed her.

"I am serious. I am seriously concerned about the lack of snacks."Hin said.

Despite everything, I almost laughed. Almost. Then the silver mark beneath my shirt burned again. I pressed my hand against my chest.

"Why does it feel like it’s calling me?" I whispered.

"Because it may be."The messenger’s eyes softened.

Lang Li immediately stepped closer. My blood ran cold.

"Then we’re going." I said.

"I agree."Song Hue moved beside him.

"I wasn’t asking you."Lang Li glanced at him.

"I am aware."Song Hue said.

"Oh, wonderful." I muttered. "We’re already arguing and we haven’t even left."

"I suppose I should come too."The Empress Dowager sighed dramatically.

"Of course." Lin Rui said.

"You’re not escaping this either." Ana added.

"I wasn’t trying to." The Empress Dowager looked offended.

"Although I would have preferred dinner first."She paused.

"Mother!" Lang Li stared.

"What? I’m hungry."The Empress said.

I looked around at everyone. My parents, Lang Li, Song Hue, Rosalie, Ana, Hin, the Empress Dowager. Every person connected to the mystery of my past was now being dragged toward the same place. The Moonflower temple. I slowly exhaled as there was no avoiding it anymore.

"Fine." I nodded. "Let’s go."

"The carriage is waiting."The messenger bowed.

I stared at the palace doors. Somewhere beyond them was the woman who might know why I disappeared. Why my memories were sealed, and why she had called me her chosen heir. I tightened my grip around the silver pendant.

"We’re going now." I whispered.

And this time, nobody had a reason to stop me. The carriage stopped at Moonflower Temple. I stepped down and immediately looked up.

The Moonflower Temple was enormous. It was ancient enough that parts of the outer walls were covered in vines and pale moss. Towering stone pillars surrounded the entrance, each carved with the same flower and crescent symbol as the pendant I’d been given. A massive staircase led upward toward doors that seemed far too large for ordinary people.

"This place is old." I whispered.

"Very old." Lin Rui said quietly.

"Older than the Lycan imperial palace."Lang Li looked toward the towers.

"Older than the Blood Moon royal archives."Song Hue frowned.

"So... extremely old."I swallowed.

"Extremely." Rosalie agreed.

The messenger stepped forward and pushed open the enormous doors. They opened without a sound, cold silver light spilled across the floor. We entered, the inside was even more impressive. Tall columns disappeared into darkness overhead. Ancient paintings covered the walls, depicting Moonflowers, crowned rulers, priests, and children surrounded by silver light. I stopped when I saw one particular painting, a small child stood beneath a flowering tree. Beside him was a woman wearing dark blue robes and a silver veil. My heart slammed against my ribs.

"That’s..."I began.

The image blurred before I could finish.

"DING. ANCIENT LOCATION DETECTED. MOONFLOWER TEMPLE. AGE: CLASSIFIED. HOST CONNECTION: 99.8%. MEMORY SUPPRESSION: FAILING. SYSTEM WARNING: TOO MANY HIDDEN SECRETS."The system suddenly appeared.

"Too many hidden secrets?"I stared.

"SYSTEM: Yes. System is also concerned."The screen flickered.

"You should be!"I said angrily.

The screen suddenly distorted.

"ERROR. ERROR. HIGH PRIESTESS SIGNATURE DETECTED. IDENTITY: ISOLDA. AGE: ERROR. APPEARANCE: ERROR. RELATIONSHIP TO HOST: ERROR. SYSTEM DOES NOT UNDERSTAND WHY SHE STILL LOOKS SO YOUNG."The screen flickered.

"Still?"I blinked.

The screen disappeared. Before anyone could respond, footsteps echoed through the enormous hall. Everyone turned, and a woman emerged from behind the ancient pillars. She wore dark blue robes embroidered with silver Moonflowers. A long silver veil rested over her shoulders, and she looked surprisingly young. Far younger than I had expected. Her silver hair fell down her back, her face was almost impossibly calm, and her eyes carried an ancient sadness that somehow made her seem much older than she appeared. I froze, it was her. The woman from my memory. The silver veiled High priestess, Isolda. She stopped when she saw me. For one heartbeat, she simply stared, then her expression shattered as her eyes filled with tears, and the woman who apparently held authority older than kings bowed deeply before me. Everyone behind me gasped.

"High Priestess..." Zhao Rui whispered.

Isolda didn’t look at him. Her eyes remained fixed on me.

"Welcome home." She whispered.

"Home?"My heart stopped.

"Prince Wei."She slowly straightened.

I couldn’t move.

"Please."She extended one hand toward the inner temple. Her voice trembled. "Come inside."

"Why?"I stared at her.

"Because I have been waiting for you."Isolda’s eyes filled with tears again.

"DING! MAJOR MEMORY EVENT! HIGH PRIESTESS ISOLDA CONFIRMED. HOST’S CHILDHOOD CONNECTION: EXTREME. PARENTAL CONNECTION: UNKNOWN. BIRTH SECRET: LOCKED. WARNING: SYSTEM CANNOT MAINTAIN CURRENT TIMELINE. WARNING: SOMETHING ABOUT ISOLDA DOES NOT MATCH THE ORIGINAL NOVEL. WARNING: ORIGINAL PLOT DATA COLLAPSING. SYSTEM SUGGESTION: ASK HER WHO SHE REALLY IS BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE DOES."The system exploded into static.

I stared at the final message, then I looked at Isolda.

"Who are you to me?" I asked.

Her face went completely still. Behind me, Lang Li and Song Hue both stepped forward. My parents exchanged terrified looks.

"That is the question I was hoping you would ask."Isolda slowly whispered.

I was still staring at Isolda, when hurried footsteps echoed from behind us.

"Wait!"I regonized a similar voice.

Everyone turned as Mei Lin appeared at the temple entrance, one hand firmly holding her mate Han Jin’s hand. Both looked completely confused.

"Why were we summoned to an ancient temple? "Han Jin looked around at the towering pillars.

"I was wondering the same thing."Mei Lin slowly looked toward Isolda.

"Lady Mei Lin. Her Holiness requested your presence."The messenger bowed.

"Mine?"Mei Lin blinked.

"Yes."A messenger said.

Mei Lin looked at me, then at Lang Li, then Song Hue, then my parents, then back at Isolda.

"Okay..." She slowly nodded. "This definitely wasn’t in the book."

"You said you remembered the original story."Han Jin raised an eyebrow.

"I do."Mei Lin said.

"And this happened?"I asked.

"No." Mei Lin said.

"Then why are we here?"I asked.

"Excellent question." Mei Lin walked closer, still holding his hand. "In the original novel, the Moonflower Temple was barely mentioned." She frowned. "I remember the Blood Moon empire, the Lycan empire, the courtship festival, Wei becoming Lang Li’s concubine, and my own storyline."

"But there was absolutely nothing about this."She pointed toward herself.

"Nothing?"I stared at her.

"Nothing."Mei Lin repeated.

"DING! REINCARNATOR KNOWLEDGE CONFLICT DETECTED. ELENA’S ORIGINAL STORY MEMORY: NO MOONFLOWER TEMPLE EVENT. XAVIER’S CURRENT MEMORY: MOONFLOWER TEMPLE EVENT ACTIVE. RESULT: ORIGINAL NOVEL DATA INSUFFICIENT.

SYSTEM CONCLUSION: THE CURRENT STORY HAS CREATED NEW CONTENT."The system suddenly flickered.

"Did it just admit the author never wrote this?"Mei Lin stared at the screen.

"Apparently."I said.

"So we are discovering things that weren’t even supposed to exist?"Han Jin rubbed his forehead.

"Yes."I said.

"Wonderful."Han Jin said.

Isolda quietly watched Mei Lin, then she smiled.

"That is precisely why I summoned you." Isolda said.

"Why?"Mei Lin’s expression became serious.

"Because both of you came from the world outside this story."Isolda’s eyes moved between Mei Lin and me.

Mei Lin’s grip on Han Jin’s hand tightened as I slowly looked at her.

"She knows."I said.

"Apparently."Mei Lin swallowed.

"NEW STORYLINE DETECTED. TWO REINCARNATORS. ONE ORIGINAL WORLD. ONE UNFINISHED NOVEL. CURRENT WORLD: MERGING WITH UNPUBLISHED STORY DATA. WARNING: FUTURE EVENTS MAY NOT EXIST IN EITHER REINCARNATOR’S MEMORIES. SYSTEM SUGGESTION: STOP ASSUMING YOU KNOW THE PLOT. SECOND SUGGESTION: BRING SNACKS. THIRD SUGGESTION: SERIOUSLY, BRING SNACKS."The system glitched again.

"Why are snacks always your solution?"I stared at the screen.

"Snacks improve morale."A system said.

Mei Lin burst out laughing. Even Han Jin couldn’t stop himself from smiling, but Isolda didn’t laugh.

"Because the story you remember is only one version of what happened."She looked directly at me.

"And there is another version?"My smile disappeared.

"One that was never published."Isolda nodded.

"There is unpublished data?" I asked.

"RECOVERING SECOND STORY. "THE MOONFLOWER’S LOST CROWN PRINCE." A system said.

"What?"I asked.

"ERROR. ERROR. SECOND NOVEL DATA SHOULD NOT EXIST. AUTHOR STATUS: UNPUBLISHED. PLOT STATUS: INCOMPLETE."A system said.

"What is novel ’Moonflowers lost crown prince’ novel is?" I asked.

I had never heard that novel name before. What is even that novel?