Elian's POV
*****
His eyes were blurred with tears as he crawled on the marble floor, gasping for breath. His right hand was on his stomach, which growled with pain, while his left hand held a golden goblet filled with spilled wine that had been the cause of his predicament.
"Poison..." He mumbled to himself with gritted teeth as the sound of footsteps approaching caught his attention.
The room door was open, allowing a maid who walked past to see his sorry state.
"The Alpha prince's mate is in pain!" She screamed before rushing to his side.
By the goddess, her scream was almost making him wish his death could just come quicker.
She knelt, grabbed his body and searched his face nervously. She was pretty... Too bad he didn't fancy girls.
Too bad he is a lowly Omega. Too bad he was going to die anyway…
Soon, more footsteps echoed faintly, the voices shouting frantically over his fallen form becoming fainter until he could barely hear them anymore.
He struggled to keep his eyes open when a familiar scent caught his attention.
Goddess, not him...
Elian slowly turned his head to the entrance of the room where he saw HIM. The man who had been revealed as his fated mate barely a few hours ago.
AKA, the crown Alpha prince of the empire of Lunaria, Lucian.
Lucian stood tall, with perfect slicked-back black hair and handsome features that made both men and women gawk at him whenever he walked by.
But alas, he was a total asshole.
During all the time Elian has spent working as a servant in the royal palace, the few times he's interacted with the prince made him loathe him. So you can imagine his shock when he found out tonight during the Mating Ball that the asshole prince was his mate.
Lucian stood there at the room door, watching Elian with a detached expression, although his jaw was clenched with what seemed like hesitation. Elian's eyes twitched as the two of them stared at each other while the latter struggled for his life.
Each breath he took felt like glass was scraping at his throat and like he was inhaling pain. The cold marble floor pricked his skin… but not as much as the coldness in Lucian's eyes.
The man who was supposed to be his fated mate was standing there without even as much as a pitiful look while maids tried making sure he was alright.
"D–Do you think he was poisoned?" One maid asked with a shaky voice.
"I don't know, I just walked past here and saw him like this."
"Who could've done something like this?"
He blinked once. Then twice. Each slow blink felt like he was steps away from the eternal darkness of death that was calling him.
"Someone must really hate him if he's been poisoned on the night of the Mating Ceremony." A maid said with pity, although her voice also held a hint of mockery.
"The poor thing celebrated his eighteenth birthday just two weeks ago."
'Damn maids! Less talking, more dragging my half dead ass to a healer, please!' He thought to himself.
And most of all... Would Lucian at least pretend to care?
He remained unmoving, his eyes still distant and his expression as stoic as ever. It was as if he was waiting for something.
Which would be Elian's death.
"Goodbye, Omega," Lucian whispered, his voice cold but still loud enough for him to hear.
His lip curled into the faintest smirk as he turned his back and walked away, leaving his mate alone.
Elian wanted to scream. He wanted to get off the ground and land a punch on the bastard's pretty little nose. But alas, he couldn't even move his fingers without feeling a surging pain shoot through him like lightning.
"M–Moon goddess..." He coughed, a tear finally dropping from his eyes as he accepted his fate. "Don't... Don't let me die. Not like this..."
His voice faded away as his eyes finally shut, darkness creeping into his vision as the yells and talking from the incompetent maids finally faded into oblivion.
But on the other side of the veil, in the realm of the gods, the moon goddess heard his prayer...
.
.
Elian stared around with confusion when he realized that his location had changed. He was still on the floor but he was surrounded by a vast emptiness filled with nothing but white light for miles.
As he slowly sat up, rubbing his forehead, he couldn't help but mutter. "So, I'm dead. Is... Is this the afterlife? I had expected—"
"That you'll fade into existence once you die?" A silvery female voice interrupted, forcing him to raise his head as the scenery around him instantly changed as fast as paint being poured onto a plain canvas.
The empty whiteness morphed into a beach with a boundless ocean filled with twinkling stars. Elian stared at the waters in awe, but his amazement wasn't done as a bright light shone in front of him, forcing him to use his arms to shield his face.
A figure, majestic and covered in a divine silver light, descended from above, stepping on the water like it was a solid platform.
When the light dispersed, Elian quickly realized that the figure was a woman in her late twenties, with long silver hair that flowed around her like clouds and a white gown that draped gently on the water behind her.
She seemed too... Pure. Powerful. Unlike anything Elian has ever seen.
"M–Moon goddess?" Elian said with widened eyes, his lips parting.
Was this the afterlife or did the poison put him into a coma where he was hallucinating?
"Elian Ashford of the Lunaria empire." The goddess echoed with a small chuckle, her lips curling into a smirk. "Most people would either be wetting themselves or falling to their knees by now. I'm... Intrigued."
Elian gawked at her at first but soon shook his head when he heard those words. He came back to his senses as he glared at her, balling his hands into fists.
"That's because most werewolves and your followers worship you blindly even though you're one of the most negligent deities ever." Elian snapped, not holding back his words even when she tilted her head.
"As if being born as a wolfless Omega who lost his parents at five wasn't enough, you sat on your high throne and watched as I was mistreated all my life simply for who I am. You never answered any of my prayers. Never answered my cries. Never appeared in my dreams or gave me any assurance that you were there."
He paused, biting his bottom lip to hold back the tears welling up in his eyes. No. Screw her.
He wouldn't shed a single tear in front of the mighty moon goddess.
"You didn't bother interfering but now you're showing yourself to me in the afterlife for what reason?" He continued, raising an eyebrow. "To usher a soul that you never cared about into an afterlife that he shouldn't have gone to in the first place if you had just stepped in and helped?"
"I'm here because I heard your final prayer, Elian..." She finally spoke, sighing lightly. "I understand your pain, child. I understand why you harbor hate toward me for all the misdeeds brought upon you. But you need to realize that as a goddess... I need to allow my children to have free will."
Elian wanted to lash out again but he held his breath, giving her the benefit of the doubt and allowing her to continue.
"I gave you werewolves the gift of the mate bond to show you how beautiful love is." She said, stretching out her right hand and projecting the image of a blue planet that spun around her palm.
"I watch over the werewolves of other worlds, as well as this one. I've seen how omegas like you are treated and I'm honestly fed up. My children have forgotten the point of the bond and are so content with breaking it."
After dispelling the image of the planet, she clasped her hands in front of her face, her expression changing into something sharp.
"When I heard your prayer... As weak and faithless as it was, I felt moved. Intrigued. And I've decided to give you something that I've been saving for the right werewolf when the day comes."
Elian blinked at her with confusion until she stretched her right hand forward and used her thumb to gently press his forehead. There was a weird warm sensation at first... But then it disappeared as fast as it had come.
"Uh, what the heck was that?" Elian asked, raising an eyebrow and taking a step back as the moon goddess smiled at him like a proud mother.
"Just a little gift to help you in your journey once I send you back through time." She said with a dismissive wave, ignoring the shocked expression on his face as she added. "Something will change once you get back. But always remember that I'm here watching you. I have faith that you'll ascend beyond the bondage of being an Omega and vindicate others like you."
What the actual fuck was happening right now?
As Elian tried to make sense of what she said, he noticed a white light slowly enveloping him as the beach and beautiful scenery started fading away like fog.
Even the moon goddess seemed to glitch in and out of existence as she waved at him.
"Wait!"
No sooner had that yell left his lips than when he jolted. The scenery changed once again but this time, he wasn't in the afterlife with the moon goddess.
He was... He was back at the Mating Ball, standing at a corner and watching as people from all walks of life gathered for one of the grandest events in Lunaria.
The laughter, the clinking of glasses, the smell of delicious food. He's seen it all before.
Which means...
"She really sent me back in time..." He mumbled, his mouth refusing to close as he tried processing everything.
The fresh breeze hitting his face made him sigh with… relief? It felt great being alive again. His eyes welled up as he sniffled, using his hands to touch his chest.
"Yep… I'm alive, bitches…" he mumbled with a small smile forming on his lips.
Just when he was about to lean against the pillar beside him for support, a flicker of silver light flashed in his eyes. It was so brief and fleeting that he almost didn't notice it.
As he furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what that was, a mechanical and emotionless voice suddenly spoke in his head, spooking him.
[New Host Acquired. Creating a permanent link with the host's mind]
What in the world...?
After a few seconds, a ding sound echoed in his mind and then the voice spoke again, sounding a bit more... Emotional and human.
[Welcome to the Omega Ascension System]