The Moon Wolf

Chapter 40 (First Draft)

* What the Siming, the Master of Fate might look like.

No sooner had Penn crawled through the small entrance into the glowing blue shrine and stood to her feet, then she found herself face to face with the most striking being she had ever laid eyes on. He was a tall dark figure, slender in form, and dressed in a deep black robe that covered him from his neck to his feet. The umbra of his garment was broken here and there by gold and silver seams of delicate light that gave his attire shape and made it look like tangible fabric rather than the very darkness of the universe itself.

His face was exceedingly handsome, but it was his eyes that drew Penn closer without her even being aware she'd moved. In place of them, he had two golden orbs of light that glowed as if lit from within. The glowing orbs in his dark shadowy face gave him a distinctly sinister appearance. But, even so, Penn felt an unexpected pull toward him.

There was no doubt in her mind that he was some kind of immortal or deity. But, what was he doing in the Moon goddess' shrine? And what could he possibly want with her?

"I am Penn," she offered by way of introduction not knowing what else to say.

"Langling," he interrupted.

"You are Langling?" Penn asked with confusion. Hadn't the elders just told her this was the name the Moon goddess gave her?

"I am Siming, Master of Fate," he declared with just a hint of impatience.

So, he'd been correcting her. It seemed he knew her too. Or, her past self - this Langling.

"And what do you need from me?" Penn asked cautiously.

"I don't need anything from you," he corrected her dryly.

"Of course not," Penn offered apologetically. She remained silent afterwards waiting on him to reveal his purpose.

"I am here to offer you a choice," he told her in a cold unfeeling voice.

Intrigued, Penn nodded and waited for more.

"You can remain in the mortal realm and live out the number of your days as written in the Mingyun zhi shu, or you can drink Yiwang, recover your lost memories and be returned to your rightful home in the heavens where your family and friends, the Star Clan, await you."