<h4>Chapter 765: Lead your people, your kind</h4>


    Carlos sat down on the stone bench in the open yard of the Moon temple when Cynthia came to him. She forwarded a white flower to him, which he epted readily.


    "Thank you," Carlos said.


    "I noticed youing here for straight two days. Last time I saw you with Prince Gabriel," Cynthia stated.


    "This time I havee alone," Carlos replied.


    "You have great powers which are meant to be used in good work," Cynthia began, her voice steady and calm. "If the fear in your heart is holding you back, then you must know how you helped Amelie and Gabriel in finding their curses. Why do you think you’re the chosen one to carry these powers?"


    She lowered herself next to him, keeping some space between them as she waited for his answer.


    Carlos sat in stunned silence as he processed her words. "Did Gabriel tell you about me?" he inquired, his curiosity piqued by her sudden insight.


    "No. I was once the Moon Goddess," Cynthia answered.


    Carlos stopped blinking. He finally realized why Gabriel, a man who rarely bowed to any higher power, would visit this temple so frequently.


    "What do you mean you were the Moon Goddess? Are you no longer the one?" he asked, staring at her inplete confusion.


    "Things happened, and I am punished to live as a human," Cynthia replied, her tone suggesting the details were a heavy burden she wasn’t ready to share.


    She turned her gaze toward a tall tree, her voice softening. "Your parents didn’t die because of you, Carlos. Life and death are in no one’s hands. No matter what you did, you couldn’t have stopped it. So, don’t be so hard on yourself. I know you’ve made up your mind to walk the path meant for you, but you must be clear-headed first."


    Carlos looked down at his trembling hands, the white flower now forgotten in his grip. "I saw a dagger being pierced into my chest. My visions... I don’t know if they truly see the future or not. I saw Flora’s future too, but it didn’te true. I am d it didn’t, though."


    "Your visions don’t carry the entire future," Cynthia said, her voice sounding like a soft echo in the temple yard. "They are meant to change for those who want them to change. Do you think Amelie and Gabriel could have broken the witch’s curse so easily otherwise? Your grandmother believed in her powers for a reason."


    Carlos furrowed his brows, the memory of the final battle shing through his mind. "But that metallic sword ended Ophelia. If not for that, it would have been difficult for us."


    "True," she asserted, her gaze piercing through his confusion. "However, your grandmother was a guide for them. You were also a guide for them. The tools matter, Carlos, but the hand that knows where to strike matters more. You aren’t just seeing a fixed fate; you are seeing the warnings that allow others to survive."


    Carlos felt a heavy shift in his chest. "I did make up my mind to walk on the path meant for me, but I still carried my doubts. Thank you for clearing them." He turned his head slowly to look at Cynthia, acknowledging the divinity that still seemed to cling to her human form.


    She smiled a little, a gesture that felt kind. "Don’t waver easily, Carlos. Return to the ce where you have always belonged and lead your people, your kind. That’s the only thing I can tell you," Cynthia affirmed.


    "Hmm." Carlos looked straight ahead, watching the sunlight y across the temple stones. The rity in his head was sharp now, piercing through the fog of his fears.


    He stood up, the white flower still held carefully in his hand, knowing that his time of hiding wasing to an end.


    ~~~~~


    Karmen was typing a message on the phone when he heard a throat clearing sound and lifted his head. He turned around and saw Aisha in a gown that only enhanced her beauty.


    Karmen’s thumbs froze over the screen of his phone. He slowly lowered the device, his professionalposure momentarily shattered as he took in the woman standing before him.


    Aisha was wearing a floor-length, an emerald velvet gown.


    "Does this truly look good for the wedding?" Aisha inquired, her fingers nervously smoothing the velvet over her hips. She still felt a flicker of under-confidence, despite the transformation.


    Karmen didn’t answer immediately.


    "Aisha," he said, his voice dropping to a low, rough velvet tone that matched her dress. "You look like you are the princess. If anything, the Princess might be annoyed that you’re stealing her spotlight."


    Aisha finally let out a breath she’d been holding, a genuine flush of pink touching her cheeks. "You’re just saying that because you don’t want to go to another shop."


    "I’m saying that because it’s the truth," Karmen countered, stepping closer to her, his gaze unwavering. "Don’t you like it?"


    Aisha turned back toward the three-way mirror, smoothing the emerald velvet over her waist. The rich fabric caught the boutique’s warm lighting, making her skin glow.


    "Now that I really look at myself, I feel this looks so beautiful on me," she stated, a genuine note of surprise in her voice.


    The staffdies, who had been hovering nearby with pins and fabric tape, chimed in with a chorus of agreement, showering her withpliments on how the color perfectlyplemented her eyes.


    "I’ll pay," Aisha insisted, already gathering the heavy velvet skirts in her hands. "I’m going to change first, but Karmen, you are not paying for this."


    She offered him one final, warning look before rushing back toward the changing room, the emerald fabric trailing behind her. Karmen, however, didn’t even wait for the door to click shut. He had already pulled his card from his wallet, extending it toward the staff with a quiet, authoritative nod.


    "Process it now, please," he murmured.


    The staff member smiled, moving quickly to swipe the card before the spirited young woman could return. By the time the machine chimed with the confirmation and the receipt was tucked into the bag, Karmen was calmly sliding his card back into his leather wallet.


    He leaned against the polished counter, a shadow of a smirk ying on his lips as he waited for her to emerge. He knew she’d be annoyed, but in his mind, some things, like a dress that made her glow like that, weren’t up for negotiation.


    A few minutester, the curtain pulled back and Aisha stepped out in her regr clothes. "Okay, now where is the—" She stopped, noticing the shopping bag already sitting on the counter and Karmen’s folded arms. "Karmen! I told you specifically not to!"


    "I have a short memory for instructions I don’t like," he replied smoothly. "Now, I believe it’s my turn to find a tuxedo. Unless you’d rather spend the next hour arguing about a bill that’s already settled?"