When the monstrous figure began to rise, Waverly clutched Selene's arm really tight. The aura of light around the goddess blazed dangerously for a short while dispersing the darkness then it flickered and returned to a dull glow.

The monster cackled maliciously.

"Is it all you are now capable of, Alluña?" It asked then scoffed. "Pity!"

Waverly looked to her mother wondering why the monster had called her by a different name. Selene glanced at her for a brief moment. Her face was angry and full of detestation.

"Alluña is what i was called once, back in the olden days whenever i descended down to the earth as a mortal." Selene explained with a bit of distaste. It seemed to Waverly that her mother either hated the name or the fact that the monster had used it.

"Yes, yes! Now, to the youngling. I might have underestimated you just a little bit, child." The monster said.

As it spoke, it continued rising and its ancient aura threatened to collapse the entire chasm. The ground trembled miserably and rocks began to automatically uproot themselves from the ground. Waverly moved her hand and discovered that she could. She gasped as she realized the tremor had also uprooted her chains from wherever they had been planted.

She kept silent about this.

"What do you want from my mother?" She queried, trying to sound tough but the clouds were so black now that it seemed she was talking to pure darkness. This made her voice sound much more squeakier than she intended it to be.

The monster laughed in derision. Waverly guessed it was now even higher up because the rising darkness was almost out of sight but its voice still came from directly in front of her.

"Whatever should make you think i want your mother, youngling?" It asked.

"You have her in chains!" Waverly yelled.

"Yes indeed i do. Do you wish me to tell you why or do you want to figure that out by yourself?"

Waverly wanted to speak but her mouth only opened and shut. She hated the strange monster and how it talked with such smugly pride like it owned everything but she also wished to at least understand why it was doing whatever it was doing.

So she tried to reason for herself.

Nalie had told her that Selene was captured because the evil monster's plan was to snuff out her light giving powers. It would continue to snuff out the powers of all the deities who held some control over natural light until only the darkness remained. Waverly assured herself that he would not win then proceeded to think more. She had dreamed about her mother calling to her, suffered for many long days crossing the Gateway realm, met friends and foe alike, encountered Tunis who had stolen her best friend and buried her underground then magically teleported herself to the island and was given a chance to meet the primordial Mother Nature, battled large cats of darkness and consequently discovered her true heritage.

Waverly looked up at the monster. She could not see anything other than its large green and black eyes but she guessed it was waiting for her to give an answer. She wondered why it did not read her thoughts like the rest of the gods.

"You are simply wasting your time. Whatever you plan to do is already a failure."

The energy that had been building in the cave ever since the creature started rising seemed to contract and with a deafening pop, the black clouds became a wild hurricane. The turbulence only spun for a minute before it died. The blackness dissolved back to red and the chasm returned to its former ugly and unpleasant glory.

A man walked forward from the dying storm accompanied by a really large animal. It was Malvarëken. She seemed even deadlier now beside the intruder and Waverly could see that her rope was still entangled on the lioness's back.

The man strolled slowly into view.

Waverly squirmed in her mother's arms. He was tall, really tall and very muscular. He wore nothing but a metal cloth around his waist. Numerous inkings of ancient symbols littered his coppery body in the form of symbols that moved and glowed different eerie colors. Where his eyes and nose should have been, there was a vortex of green and black. His hair was incredibly white and withered. He had an empty scabbard strapped to his metal skirt.

Waverly wondered if this was because he could not see but the way he walked made her diminish the thought. He seemed like the kind of entity that saw everything.

The man inhaled deeply but Waverly could not understand how he had done so without a nose.

"It is a thing of wonder to assume a different shape after two millennia." He exclaimed.

His multiple voices had narrowed down to just one - a light masculine tone that made him seem less of a threat and more of a joke to Waverly.

Malvarëken roared lightly next to him. He regarded her for a second. Waverly earnestly prayed that he would not notice the rope on the creature's back since he was much taller than her. Just then, he did notice the rope but ignored it like it was a speck of dust on his own shoulder.

"You have served me well, Malvarëken." He spoke in a tone that indicated he was neither delighted nor angry.

"I am pleased to do your bidding for all time master." Malvarëken said. When she was not trying to scare Waverly to death, she sounded like a normal woman.

Waverly hastily brushed off the thought. Malvarëken was no woman.

"Call to all my children in every part of the seven realms. Call to them and tell them i have awoken and i intend to remain for all time." He turned to Selene and Waverly.

". . . no matter who or what poses an obstacle."

Malvarëken bowed but it looked like she was only stretching. She roared and leaped so high that Waverly felt a violent wind blow her backwards. The rope fell off the creature's back and landed behind the man.

"Who are you?" Waverly asked him.

The man smiled and his vortex hole widened. Waverly swore to never do or say anything to amuse him again. His smile was even more terrifying than himself as a whole.

"You should ask your mother."

"I asked you, fel!" Waverly spat taking a bold step forward despite her burning desire to flee. In the Alp tongue, the word meant stupid.

The whole place still oozed of rotten eggs and the heat had intensified making the stench worse. Waverly was completely overcome by thirst and hunger. She hated all the uncomfortable conditions and yearned for a change fast.

The man laughed and clapped his meaty hands together. A few stones skittered across the ground from the impact.

"Your mortal child has spirit, Alluña. I see i have chosen wisely."

Waverly jerked her head backwards in an angry, irritated manner. "Chosen what? You must explain to me what you mean right now."

"Waverly. You have to get out of here." Selene said putting one arm around Waverly's back in an attempt to steer her away from the man.

"Oh, Alluña. You know when one comes down to my realm they never get out unless i let them." The man mused rather mockingly.

"Mother, who is he?" Waverly asked looking up at her mother's face. Her tears had dried up but there were silver linings across her face that seemed to be fading away.

"He is Oculmus. Father of all evil and bearer of darkness." Selene replied dryly.

"Ah, you limit me, Alluna. I am Oculmus The Malevolent, The Emperor of Chaos, Father and Creator of all Evil, The Elemental Godhead and Bearer of Darkness, Dweller in Darkness, Father of Nys and Lord over The Eternal Abyss." The man said with his arms spread and a smug smile on his strange lips.

"I have never heard of you." Waverly said after a few seconds of silence. She knew who Nys was but never knew Nys had a parent.

"I wish to correct that. You see, youngling i have come to correct the many flaws of the gods and the gods being flaws themselves, i will correct them as well. Only the ones who chose to serve me in all loyalty will i spare. Your mother here she is but my first warning. After her disgraceful demise, all others will follow - Threna, Leila, Harper, Luna, Jolan, Hanithelia and of course, that annoying brat Cret."

"What good does snuffing out all light do you? I must assume that you have not encountered bed bugs whilst asleep without a candle." Said Waverly distastefully.

"Such naivety, little roach." Oculmus chuckled pitifully. "Bugs serve me. My plan is already underway. You and your mother will serve as my power points."

"Why come for us first?" Waverly asked.

Selene only watched in silence. Waverly felt a bit disappointed that her mother was not showing toughness but then again, she had spent a long time in a depressing place where there was no reason to be happy or healthy.

"Because, you mortals think it is wise to start small." Oculmus chuckled again. "Thavi fel! The real way of winning is to aim big." (bunch of idiots)

"If you aim big, why do you not capture Cret herself?"

Oculmus took a few steps forward urging Selene and Waverly to retreat. Waverly hated to but she did not like how uncomfortably heavy she felt around Oculmus. And again, he was the epitome of darkness. She wanted to stay as farther away from him as possible in spite of how much she wanted to get up close and poke a stick in his vortex eye hole.

"Again, youngling. Naivety. Cret is the Supreme goddess, yes, but she alone was never my sole aim. Even i do not doubt that she possesses exuberant powers. Some of this power though is linked with that of the smaller deities because they are all well, light folk." Oculmus made a mocking gesture.

"In order to get to her and my main goal i must first put out her most efficient power sources and so. . . "

Oculmus pointed at Selene. "I begin with the big source."

"The moon!" Waverly muttered quite absentmindedly.

She did not want to encourage Oculmus but she could not help thinking about how effective his strategy might prove and how her forehead had begun to tingle from an idea that was slowly trickling into her mind.

"Yes, youngling. But then again, the moon is not what i expected her to be because unlike the rest of her kind she is very intelligent."

Waverly looked up at Selene. The goddess kept her gaze fixed on Oculmus but Waverly felt that Selene was side glancing at her.

"What do you mean?" She asked carefully.

"Your mother here perceived my rise long before anyone else did and since she is the only one whom i would allow to glance into my essence once in a while, quite subconsciously, i must add. . ."

The tension in the air built up so drastically that Waverly was almost knocked off her feet. She raised an eyebrow, not wanting to believe that her mother used to be acquainted with the evil man of evil things.

"She caught a glimpse of my plans and came up with her own strategy. She birthed you. . ." Oculmus gazed pointedly at Waverly.

She knew he was looking in her direction then because the weight of her own body tripled and almost pulled her down to her feet.

". . . with a silly human. A nobody. She thought what was best for the rest of the world was. . ."

"I thought what was best for the world was keeping away from the likes of you, Oculmus." Selene barked. The crescent moon under her eye gleamed.

"You will not win, my daughter has said so. She will harness the power to end you once and for all."

"Will she?" Oculmus asked teasingly.

He tilted his head. "You still do not see the bigger picture, Alluña."

"Do not address me that way!" Selene snapped.

"Whatever is going on with the two of you anyway?" Inquired Waverly in a gentle whisper, now unable to help her curiosity.

"Your mother believes that you can and will stop my rise but we both know that is untrue." Oculmus flexed his extremely long fingers. Waverly realized with a jolt that he had talons for fingers. They were black and ugly and scaly.

"You see when i first took Alluña as my captive—"

"Selene!" The goddess growled angrily.

"Whichever. She tried to bargain with me. I gave her a simple instruction; visit your child in her dreams, show my realm to her and call her to save you. Alluna had other ideas. She believed that you could stop me. Getting you to do so was her hidden agenda. She did do as she was told and gave you dreams. As expected, here you are. . . in one piece. But you have not tried to stop me yet so, are you willing to try that so i can prove just how wrong and stupid your mother is?"

Waverly tensed. She glared at Oculmus and yanked one hand free of her chains then the other.

"I only came down here to rescue my mother but you leave me no choice. Are you willing to loose that big mouth you have?"

She placed a hand to the ground and willed Karya to come to her. It appeared in a flash of green. Waverly brandished it and looked at Oculmus again.

"Well?" She asked, her eyes darting fervently around the Abyss as the crazy plan forming fully in her head. She looked like a footstool in comparison to the god but her stamina seemingly compelled Oculmus.

"I truly do not want to kill you because you might prove useful but well, if you insist." He sighed then pulled his scabbard free. It transformed into a jagged edged blade of dense darkness.

"Waverly, dear. You cannot win against him in a sword fight." Selene warned. Her voice trembled slightly but she did nothing to prevent her daughter.

"I do not intend to." Waverly whispered.

Oculmus charged but at the last minute, Waverly dropped her sword and swerved to the corner so fast. For a minute, this left Oculmus confused. She ran for the rope and maneuvered into clouds that was gathered behind Oculmus.

"Foolish girl. I see all in my realm." Oculmus snarled.

"Exactly." Waverly yelled from nowhere.

Before Oculmus could turn toward the sound of her voice, Waverly had leaped onto his shoulders from behind. Her rope lashed around his throat in a tight knot and she pulled at it with all her might. Oculmus reached for her, swiping at her head with his jagged sword but repeatedly missed. Waverly instinctively reached into her mother's mind.

We must get out of here. I need you to get ready.

She did not have time to lock eyes with Selene but hoped her mother had heard. Oculmus grabbed Waverly by the shirt and tossed her over. She crash landed, causing her back to gain a lot of nasty cuts. She winced and stood up as fast as she had fallen. Her Karya raced like a whistle toward her. She caught it and it elongated to a spear which she used to quickly pin the end of the rope into the ground.

Oculmus did not notice this. He struggled to loosen the cold knot around his neck whilst wailing and raining curses on Waverly. He finally chose to ignore the rope and came at her again. Waverly was good at flipping herself midair. She did so and landed on his back, her arms locked around his thick neck, the rope and her weight keeping him in place.

"I understand you used my mother barely to bait me into your grasp. You want my body as your host, do you not?" Waverly said harshly. She could not quite recognize her own voice because it came out raspy and rotten like that of some ungodly creature.

"Have at me then!"

Oculmus groaned and his essence began to leave him in the form of a somewhat dark purplish mist.

Waverly freed her mind.

HalfHyde had taught her a vital thing sometime ago when she was learning about gods and their abilities. He told her of a certain conviction of light and darkness. They balanced each other and yet one was always susceptible to the other. There was a time when the goddess Luna had caused the moon to pass by the sun thereby blocking out light for a whole day. There was a time when Cret had fought with Nys, the goddess of darkness, causing the world to be plunged into shadows thereby birthing the goddess Iren.

Waverly also believed in this conviction and she intended to use it to her advantage. Oculmus himself had mentioned it too. In order for darkness to win, he had to absorb the light. He had also mentioned that no one could leave the Abyss unless he let them. 

Waverly let the Emperor of Chaos assume control. His essence seeped in through her nostrils, ears and mouth. It hurt only a little but the weight of it was almost too much for her to bear. She managed to stay balanced atop the godhead's shoulder. When his essence was halfway in, Waverly began to see things even clearer. Her body began to freeze slowly. Frost crept up her legs and hands but she barely noticed.

The Abyss was more than just a chasm of smoke and black pointy rocks. Waverly found that her mind's eye was levitating out of the chasm. At the last second, an entire country came into view. She realized now why Oculmus had called the Abyss his realm. He had only been keeping Selene in a tiny part of it - a dug up well that looked up into the dark sky which had, towering above it, a roof of nothing but deep blue water. Waverly vaguely remembered that they were on an island. The Abyss went deep, dropping as far down into the ocean floor as possible. She baffled at how there was not a single drop of water in the realm.

Beyond her mother's prison, she saw houses like the ones in Bremeton but these were carved from opaque stones and volcanic rock. There were town squares, market places, taverns, temples, mountains and valleys, treasuries, roads, inns, farms, old statues, wagons carrying weapons and many other things and places considered normal in other realms. The Abyss could have passed for a normal realm except that everything was dull and lifeless. There was no light even in the slightest and instead of Humans, ugly and evil looking creatures filled the place to the brim.

Waverly tried to look away but she was only seeing through Oculmus' eyes so it was impossible. The creatures were nothing like what she had ever learned or heard about. They swarmed the country in millions but even at that, the Abyss remained uncrowded. Waverly thought of just how much power Oculmus wielded. He commanded every single creature in the realm and they would obey his every command. The idea of those creatures being called upon to dominate the world left her feeling helpless. She watched as a bunch of dragon headed doglike creatures pulled high jinks on a large bull. The bull scurried away but they only bounded after it, breathing nasty red flames at its behind.

There were many other hybrid creatures Waverly could not make sense of or even fully describe; vulture men and women, eagles with four bodies and three heads, lion bats, monkeys the size of houses, mountain bears with elephant tusks, elephants with two to three tusks (she vaguely recalled seeing those during most of Pa's lesson), deers with horse hooves, cats with blades for paws and Cings roaming in abundance.

Waverly gasped when she noticed a group of men - the only men in the realm. They were not deformed like the rest of the creatures. From the way they were dressed in loose clothing; wicked knives and gold filled pouches hanging from their waists, golden teeth and numerous piercings across their face - Waverly guessed they were Outcasts. Daredevils in fact. The original ones. They looked ancient but not old. Their faces were stern, their eyes twinkled with madness that proved they had seen and done reckless, adventurous things in their time and were willing to do more.

Waverly looked for much too long. She lost her concentration. Oculmus' essence enveloped her entirely and she fell to the ground in a dead faint. Her body froze and shattered to pieces.

"No!" Selene screamed and tried to reach for her daughter but her chains restricted her.

She tugged at them violently, screaming and kicking with all her might. Around her, moonlight blazed like a wild flame but Selene could not free herself. She knelt down in defeat and stared at the frozen shards that used to be Waverly. Oculmus' former body had dissolved to nothing as well but he had left his sword behind.

"What have i done?" Selene sobbed in shock.

The ground rumbled distantly. She looked up and heard the faint sound of something smashing to pieces. It sounded like metal being destroyed with a powerful hammer.

When Selene looked down, her chains had broken. "What?"

She recalled Waverly's warning in her mind.

We must get out of here. I need you to get ready.

Selene stood up and began to glow. She understood what Waverly meant now. The Abyss was a place of eternal darkness. Oculmus was all powerful but there was one thing he could not withstand - light. Selene glowed stronger, willing herself to harness the full moon. It materialized in front of her, taking up the entire space in her prison. The walls cracked, fissure spread fast and with a deafening crash the whole place came down. Blinding light invaded the Abyss. So much screaming and wailing and disintegrating came from the dwellers below. They tried to hide from the light of the moon but Selene's power reached even to the depths of the rocks. The supernatural light burned through the creatures and their houses, sending up white ghostly flames from the remains.

Selene found she could ascend. She bolted upright until she shot out of the ocean, tossing the moon high above her. It soared with incredible speed until it landed in the sky. The whole realm became emblazoned. The light touched everything. It illuminated the trees, the ocean and the mountains.

Selene drew in a deep satisfying breath. She had sorely missed the upper world. But then she quickly remembered the reason behind her freedom. Hovering horizontally above the surface of the ocean, she stared intently into its depths for any trace of Waverly.

"Daughter!"

The Moon Spawn|
Book 01