He cries, “I can’t believe Wakz was right… I thought we got rid of that murderous wolf a long time ago!”

On our way to the Eagle Spire, inside Ewald's jet, the air felt arid and... almost suffocating. Dad's crossed arms avoided Crominus at all costs, yet I was squeezed by both during the entire trip, though it was probably the lack of space inside the jet. Crunket never spoke, not even after the meeting. I could see Ewald's talons shiver as he flipped over the vehicle's switches. His jet kept shaking from time to time, but I doubt it came from quaking hands.

The sky was clear— and still is—, so much that I can see the Purple Moon at a distance.

When we finally land on the helipad, I sigh in relief; our landing was perfect. This helipad brings me bad memories...

We're surrounded by armed eagles, equipped with intricate-looking tools. Actually— it seems that the entire Eagle Spire is being guarded. From this height, it's kind of hard to distinguish what's underneath, but I'm sure that there's nothing on the ground below. This intense surveillance of these surroundings feels... jarring.

Ewald almost trips while leaving the jet.

He screams, "W— wait! What happened while I was gone? Are Wakz and the others safe?"

Ehboni, who I didn't notice beforehand, bows in front of Ewald. She's sweating.

"While you were gone... One of the wolves—"

She couldn't even finish her sentence; I couldn't even think; we ran in unison towards the open entrance of the library.

The three adults stop in their tracks. I squeeze in between them and—

E— Equila! His neck— it's— it's been shredded by claws! A brown crocodile is on top of him— Oh no... And Eglor's right arm has been severed—

I close my eyes tight; my heartbeat goes through the roof.

There was a dead wolf. His blood was spread across the floor. But his teeth and claws had those of both Equila and Eglor. I don't even know where Eris is.

I open my eyelids just for a second; Winzar's only eye bulges, as he snarls and holds the corpse's bloody, torn pelt; I shut my eyes again.

"Where's my daughter, Winzar? Tell me!", Ewald falls down into tears, "What about Wakz and Worriz?", his voice trembles, shrieking, probably at the sight of his wounded son.

"Wakz put the kids behind him. They're safe... But—"

Noises of wet thuds tremble across the library.

Winzar's deep growl explodes. "This traitor! Wrothgar, you disgusting coward! I hate you!"

I hear noises of the corpse being kicked around, of the paramedics rushing to help, of cries and please from everyone around. Crominus gasps, crying for his children. Then, some weird, mechanic noise slithers near me.

A sudden force pushes me back with violence; my body hits hard on the floor. It feels like there are hands gripping onto my shoulders, piercing its nails into my flesh. A horrible and warm breath drowns my neck with saliva, with teeth scratching my throat. But I still keep my eyes shut.

“So it was you, Crumb!”, Winzar screams.

And thus… Furtivo was right: there are animals stirring this disaster for their own gain. Hundreds died at their hands.

The scaly fingers slowly let go of me, along with the stranger's mouth.

A familiar touch lies upon my skin. I open my eyes shortly after, and notice Dad holding a gun to the crocodile's head, staring furiously at him— the gun is barely visible from my angle, but I can see that it's pointing downwards, ready to burn through the reptile's skull with laser. Crumb's head goes abruptly up and down as the weapon pushes his head. My body is completely frozen and skips heartbeats; I pant; my eyes water. I can hear the soft cries of Eris and Cragger.

Lagravis kept staring furiously at Crumb, who surrenders and lifts up his arms; Dad orders the crocodile to get up, then pins him to the wall with the gun. As I catch my breath, Winzar and the others come see me. Their voices of worry muffle down what my dad is saying. They bring me to a small corner of the library and sigh in unison.

"Did he hurt you?...", Ewald cries.

"I really thought you were going to die!" Eris hugs me tight. "I don't know if I'll lose my brother, and I don't want to also lose my best friend..."

My arms can't help but hug her back— a weird sensation, almost like a blend between grief and terror, burns my eyes and my soul.

"Don't worry about me, Eris... My shoulders are only bleeding a bit. It's— it's fine..."

My drowning throat begins to cough and I start to cry uncontrollably.

Bang!

A familiar noise shoots around the library. Winzar orders us to stay still, as he'll see what happened; he doesn't come back after a few minutes, and the room is in pure silence; we walk together towards the source of the noise.

It's Crumb's body. Shot through the head with a Chi laser.

Dad puts the gun away and turns around; he sees me so deep in tears that he rushes me inside his arms.

After what felt like hours, the bodies have been disposed of, and the floor has been cleaned. The scent of blood still lingers fresh in my mind. The physical 'me', this fleshy shell, who got clawed into some time ago, was healed with the help of paramedics. Equila and Eglor, however, didn't have that luck; they're at the Eagle's hospital. The screams deafened me emotionally— I couldn't hear anyone but myself. But time has passed— I'm starting to recover.

"All of this goes deeper than it seems!", my dad shouts, "If we deal with the Purple Moon's effect first, we'll be able to fight these criminals later. Eris— and my son—, thank you for your help", he sighs.

They're in front of a blackboard that's covered with information about Eris' research. It covers the relationship between the Purple Moon and liquid Chi, and how the effects of eating Chi worsens during the Purple Moon. While it's still a hypothesis, I saw Equila lose control with my own eyes...

Eris shivers, but tries to maintain her posture.

"Wakz, I'm sorry to ask you a sudden question... But how does your tribe use Chi, if at all?"

The wolf elder scratches his chin.

"Chi is sacred... For all of Chima, yes, but for us wolves too. We never use it personally, only to fuel our vehicles and our moving lair. Our home requires a lot of Chi to get going. We, as wolves, trust each other deeply; we leave our Chi inside a compartment of our lair. I was too afraid to go there, but when I did, I saw that it was broken into. We can't leave the Fangs!"

Her feathers stiffen onto her body.

Crominus, who has seemed silent up to this point, gives his opinion: "Perhaps we must find a way to make sure that wolves won't eat the Chi. I don't know how this would be possible, but if it's not common for you to use it, then..."

"Well— maybe we used too little Chi. We wolves had too much in our hands."

Lagravis holds his own hands tightly, angry at what Wakz said. No one in Chima can have too much or too little Chi, otherwise the balance of nature is broken. But the Purple Moon doesn't seem connected to the Chi that way...

Wakz looks at Lagravis and quickly elaborates on what he said.

He stutters, "N— No! Not like that. We tried to use it, we tried to find a way out of the Fangs, but without our Lair working, we can't! I am not the leader; I reached out to other elders, and they were clueless too. This never happened to us— I don't doubt that it was premeditated. If Wilhurt had a traitor with him, he must've used them to execute this. At this rate, our tribe will need to be quarantined— during that time, we'll have to make armors for them, so that they use Chi properly."

"Wrothgar... Filthy traitor!", Winzar growls.

Crominus goes up to Wakz and shakes his hand.

"We— wolf and crocodile— have been on a tough for these past months. Armors are heavy and complicated; I know a surgeon, the only one from my kind, that might help with implanting a collar for Chi. I will make sure that everything will go smoothly, if I regain control of my tribe. We will be there to protect you."

Wakz takes some time to reply; his wet lips twitch, tears fall down his eyes. He holds Crominus' hands even tighter, unable to put his emotions into words. They shake hands, once again. My dad discreetly stares at them with judgment...

The crocodiles and the wolves are sharing connections, through pain and suffering— both ways. It's only a matter of time that Wilhurt and Cruz are caught. Crawley is already on the way; with what he did to me, I doubt that Dad will go light on him. Crumb... I saw Crumb die, so that I could live. Is... Is that what it means to be king?