Chapter 200: twenty-something little pup

"Mom!" he cried again.

Footsteps approached from somewhere above his head.

He couldn’t see anything. He was buried beneath the earth, trapped inside what felt like a dark grave.

The pressure was immense.

His bones felt as though they were cracking, but this child’s bones were still soft. Instead of breaking, they seemed to bend and melt under the crushing weight.

The footsteps sounded again.

"Where is that brat?" a rough, deep voice demanded.

Moon recognized it as Alpha Vaelis’s voice.

"..."

There was no answer.

"I asked you something!" he growled.

"Search for yourself," a cold voice replied from above.

"Emma! Bring that bastard out!" Alpha Vaelis roared.

"He is not here," the voice answered indifferently.

The voices above began arguing, but Moon had no interest in listening.

He was dying.

He was suffocating.

He cried and cried, but no one came to dig him out of the grave.

Soon, his consciousness began to fade.

His breathing stopped, and he felt as though he had died.

A suffocating dread and terror crushed his heart as he struggled to draw one final breath.

Then, suddenly, the air cleared.

A burst of fresh air struck his face, and he inhaled sharply.

Moon looked around in utter bewilderment.

He was almost scared to death when he saw himself sleeping peacefully on the grass.

Yes, it was himself.

And he was standing in the Stardust Lily Sanctuary.

Before he could figure out whether he was dreaming, a little pup ran out from behind a bush.

Then another.

Then another.

Soon, a whole bunch of pups surrounded the figure sleeping on the grass.

Moon watched in utter bewilderment as his sleeping self woke up and hugged them.

There were too many pups to hold at once.

They climbed onto his shoulders, his lap, and even his head.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over him.

A young man walked past without looking back and sat on the grass beside the Moon he was watching.

Undoubtedly, it was Nox.

Not a small boy, but a grown man.

He kissed Moon and hugged the pups.

Then they all rolled around together.

"..."

"..."

"...?"

Moon was speechless.

He had no doubt now that this was a dream. More specifically, it was Nox’s dream.

He waved his hand, and in an instant, he sobered up and emerged from his trance.

He found himself still kissing Nox.

Their lips were pressed tightly together, and they were hugging as though they had become one.

"..."

Moon grabbed the back of Nox’s hair and pulled away, finally ending the kiss.

Looking at the unconscious man beneath him, Moon’s face burned.

"Damn it! Who falls asleep while kissing?" he grumbled.

But Nox didn’t wake up.

His brows remained furrowed.

Moon suddenly became curious about what Nox was seeing.

Then the suffocating feeling returned as he remembered the dream, making him shiver.

It had felt as though he had died and been reborn.

Was this Nox’s real experience?

That woman was their mother. Moon knew it without even seeing her.

Had she known her son was buried underground?

Had she deliberately left him there?

Moon didn’t know.

He knew the brothers didn’t hate Emma. He was sure of that.

But why didn’t they hate her?

What he had just witnessed was certainly not a pleasant memory.

[You only saw his deepest fear and his deepest obsession,] the Moon Goddess suddenly explained.

Moon stiffened.

’The heck! What are they seeing, then?’

One thing he knew for sure was that they must have seen his dying moment. But he didn’t know what else they had witnessed.

What could his deepest obsession be?

His mother?

He didn’t think much about it.

What difference would knowing his past make?

Everything had been left behind in his other world. It wasn’t as though they could help him with it or use it against him.

Moon was already used to the goddess witnessing his shameless moments, so he no longer felt embarrassed about her seeing him in this position.

He began combing Nox’s hair and wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Then he suddenly felt strange.

It was as though someone was watching him.

Moon looked around, but apart from Axe and Ugo outside the door, no one else was there.

Yet he could clearly feel another presence.

His hair stood on end, and goosebumps rose across his skin.

’What... What’s going on?’ he asked silently.

[Sigh, my child... It’s Nox,] the Moon Goddess said.

Although she sighed, Moon could sense a faint tremor of happiness in her voice.

’What?’

[Can you feel it?]

Moon closed his eyes and concentrated again.

A few moments later, his eyes snapped open.

"Fuck!"

His lips twitched in irritation.

He had sensed it—or, more precisely, felt it with his soul.

Something was creeping around his bed, perhaps even beneath it.

But he couldn’t see it with his eyes open.

"A Phantom Shadow Nether Wolf!"

How had he forgotten that Nox had a phantom wolf?

A Nether Phantom Wolf!

That sneaky bastard had clearly been there all along, ever since their soul contract was formed. Yet it had chosen to hide and spy on them instead of showing itself.

And what was more...

’Hey! How come you can come out?’ Moon asked.

"..."

There was no response.

"At least give your own person a response! He was worried to death!" Moon muttered.

"..."

Still silent.

But soon, Moon felt a faint vibration through his soul.

’He could feel it if he wanted to.’

Moon rubbed his eyes with his free hand.

That was true. Of course Nox should have sensed it before him. He had probably been too caught up in his negative thoughts to notice.

And Nox had already awakened a wolf spirit that could even form shape properly, one capable of lingering here rather than merely appearing for a brief glimpse.

With just a little push, Moon could fully awaken this wolf during the full moon.

Nox should have been proud.

Moon looked at the man lying beside him and couldn’t help wondering what was going on inside that head of his.

Surely, it wasn’t filled with a twenty-something little pup.

Right?