Luna took her first steps into the emptiness, her every movement ced with an unshakable nervousness.

  The darkness in her mind slithered over her skin, leaving a trail of cold terror in its wake. Each moment that passed sent a tremor through her body, but she forced herself forward.

  By now, she was sure the sorcerers were close to Artemis’s garden and a battle was about to unfold in the goddess’s sanctuary. And though she tried to push it away, the thought of her sister being in the middle of all of this remained a thorn in her heart.

  “Forget about what’s happening out and focus on what’s here.”

  The voice came from everywhere and nowhere.

  Her twisted reflection stood within the void with its hands behind its back. Its presence was both unnatural and unthreatening—its eyes gleamed like bck stars.

  “Once your first gate is born, it won’t be easy to keep you here.”

  Luna exhaled sharply and cast away her fear. She was out of time and options, so it was now or never.

  She stopped moving and turned her gaze toward the endless void ahead.

  Then, she closed her eyes and reached out to it and focused on what the Reflection had expined earlier. This was her domain now and she had to remember she had authority over it.

  It stirred beneath her will, trying to resist its new mortal master. But Luna remained persistent as she led some of the essence in her body into this space.

  She could feel it. The raw force of false creation itself, appearing like weaves of white energy bound to her will.

  She focused, and the memory of the pond resurfaced.

  The still wind. The twisted, lifeless vegetation. The eerie water that reflected only darkness. The feeling of her fingers breaking its silent surface.

  All of that formed clearly in her memory!

  Once Luna was sure she had gotten every detail right—

  Reality began to take shape.

  Silver trees with white leaves sprouted from nothingness. Dry skeletal pnts crept into existence.

  And finally, the darkness awakened, bleeding into the world like ink spilling from a shattered vessel.

  At first, the domain of imagination fought against her, straining her mind, but as she pushed through, it began to obey.

  This fragment of Oblivion did not reject her. It did not fight back. It acted like a loyal extension of her will, bent to her command, responding as if it were her Aura.

  The issue was that it consumed an ocean’s worth of essence in one usage.

  Eventually, the void was gone.

  Luna stood at the edge of the Silent Pond, surrounded by a world she had willed into existence.

  The abysmal silence, the ghostly silver trees, the cracked, lifeless earth, and the bck waters that reflected nothing.

  All of this looked and felt like reality.

  She let out a slow breath, drinking in the twisted, perfect scenery.

  A dark smile curved at her lips. ‘This might as well be my greatest achievement.’

  Luna then crouched at the water’s edge, her gaze locked onto its still, bck surface. A strange and foreign power leaked from its depths, seeping into her mind-space like an invasive whisper.

  The pond had realized itself, and it was making itself known to her. Luna had expected something like this to happen. Actually, she would be surprised if this domain didn’t affect the pond.

  It wasn’t just any creation. This was the work of a god.

  Without losing her calm, Luna plunged her hand into the bck water. A shiver ran through her body the moment they made contact. An ominous force coiled around her hand, reaching beyond her skin—sliding into her veins, her bones, her very essence.

  This…this felt like reality. Like an invisible hand had grabbed hold of her.

  The water rippled softly, its presence growing stronger with every passing second.

  She closed her eyes and let it consume her. Her body shuddered. Her mind drifted. The weight of reality unraveled as the silent pond pulled her in.

  Luna did not fight it, nor did she resist its pull.

  And then—she was sinking.

  She did not drown, perhaps because this was her mind space and not the real world. Or maybe the pond had accepted Luna’s entry to the prison.

  The Silent Pond’s power was unlike anything Luna had experienced to date. It felt alive, euphoric, intoxicating, and infinite.

  Luna could only embrace it as she sank deeper and deeper without any resistance. She let her guide her down to the depths for what felt like years of sinking.

  The next time she opened her eyes, Luna was no longer in the creepy woods. She y sprawled on an obsidian floor, grasping for air as if she had just surfaced from drowning.

  Her pale skin had turned as white as a ghost, and her dark hair clung to her face like strands of wet seaweed.

  Slowly, she lifted her head, breath ragged, heart pounding like she had gone through a panic attack. She no longer felt like a projection of her mind, but a real person.

  “Cold…!” Luna’s lips trembled, her breath escaping in ragged wisps.

  Her cloak and armor were long gone, leaving her in a soaked tunic that clung to her skin, revealing far more than she cared for.

  Not that it mattered, of course. She only had one purpose now—to find the prisoner. Learn the truth.

  With a slow, deliberate breath, Luna pushed herself off the ground. Her dark eyes shone with quiet determination as she turned toward the massive structures ahead.

  They loomed like silent sentinels, marking the entrance to the prison. The walls stretched endlessly in both directions, forming a titanic corridor that seemed made for giants.

  She stole a gnce over her shoulder. The hallway has no end and appears to stretch far into an abyss.

  A creeping unease settled in her chest.

  Above her, the ceiling stretched so high into the void that its limits were unseen. Along the bck walls, narrow windows punctuated the stone like empty eye sockets. But beyond them, there was only darkness.

  Not the ordinary kind but the true darkness. A void that devoured all light, all warmth, all existence.

  ‘Where exactly is this prison located?’ Luna’s pessimism kicked in, and she started to imagine the worst-case scenario, like what would happen to her if she were trapped in this world. Truly, this was a prison for a godlike being.

  Luna’s gaze fell upon the stone doors before her. They were engraved with so many intricate runes and symbols left behind by the rulers of the divine realm.

  They were clear and untouched by the cws of time, pulsing with energy that felt alien to her.

  Luna stared at the massive stone doors for a moment, sighing in her heart.

  Complex and ancient as they looked, Luna successfully deciphered a few symbols that talked about the being imprisoned in this dark and dead pce.

  They described him as a forsaken one and someone who was cut off from the Light of Creation for betraying the gods.

  Upon seeing all these terms, a quiet chill settled in Luna’s chest.

  Had Storm sent her here to die? Or worse—to become a vessel for whatever y beyond these doors?

  But regardless, she pressed on and stepped forward. Instinct guided her as she pressed her damp hand on the stone surface.

  It was cold and lifeless at first. Then, as if noticing her presence, the runes and symbols started to move like living things, rearranging in a seamless pattern, as though unlocking some cosmic safe.

  Luna held her breath. She was marveled by the beautiful mechanics that kept this prison protected.

  A few moments ter, the symbols stopped, and an eerie silence was born.

  The doors slid open without a sound, revealing a yawning abyss.

  A cold shudder ran down her spine. This pce no longer felt like a creation of her mind. It felt real.

  Her footsteps did not make a sound when crossed the threshold leading to the prison. Everything was drowned in the special darkness she could still see through. Just like before, everything seemed about this pce accepted her presence.

  The pond did not reject her, the doors opened once she touched them. And nothing had tried to attack her since she got here.

  ‘I am often never this lucky.’ Luna swallowed. She looked ahead and gred at the unveiled grand chamber. It was built entirely out of a bck, mirror-like mineral that Luna immediately recognized.

  “Ha!”

  This stone was none other than the Styx stone—the same material the people of Red Desert had used to make the Servant of Light statues in their shrines.

  Even in silence, Luna could feel the complex yet delicate sorcery imbued within the stone to keep the prisoner here. This was the Moon goddess’s energy flowing as the life force of this prison, even after she was long dead.

  It was pure and powerful at the same time— proving just how absolute the gods were when it came to power. They were living concepts. And their power lived on even after they were wiped out by their servants.

  After this, Luna walked for what felt like an eternity, her footsteps swallowed by the void.

  Then, at st, she stopped when she noticed something out of the ordinary. Not like this pce wasn’t already out of the ordinary.

  There, she set her eyes on what looked like a single stone throne at the end of the dark chamber. Its ominous shape and size made Luna’s fingers twitch. She itched to summon the sun Ember.

  But that instinct wasn’t born from the throne itself. It was because of what sat upon it.

  A dark humanoid being!

  It was silent. Unmoving. Head bowed as if in deep concentration—or slumber.

  Luna staggered back, her breath caught in her throat. The darkness did not reveal the being’s form, but its mere existence was enough to unravel her.

  He stomach twisted. Her body trembled, as though every fiber of her being screamed in rejection of what she had just sensed.

  This presence was greater than Storm Rider’s. Greater than Pantheon’s. It felt like she had stepped into the home of death itself. And she was its prey.

  [STOP!]

  Luna froze when she heard a powerful voice sound in her mind.

  At the same time, it lifted its head and revealed a pair of deep sky blue eyes. They were not cruel, nor were they burning with any malice.

  They were calm. Still. Like an endless ocean. “…Life essence.”

  Luna’s breath hitched. The words slithered through the air, spoken in a nguage she knew.

  “…what?”

  “I can feel life essence.” It spoke again with the voice of a man. “Is it from you, mortal?”

  His voice rippled through the prison, vibrating through the Styx Stone itself. It was ancient and malevolent. A voice that had seen ages crumble and gods fall.

  Luna tightened her jaw, careful not to lock eyes with him. Instead, she kept her gaze low, staring at the dark, polished floor.

  She nodded and uttered a single word, “Yes.”

  “Hmm…so you’ve finally located a pathway and made it here. I am impressed you’re alive.”

  “…”

  He suddenly moved to lift his hand. His thin muscles looked like tree branches, and the dark chains on them rattled as soon as his hand was in the air.

  [I CALL FOR LIGHT]

  With his second voice, reality bent, and orbs of reddish gold light were summoned into existence.

  The moment the light appeared, the space trembled, and she flinched when her form glitched for a second.

  As of now, it was hard to tell where her mind stopped and the prison began. When the being summoned the light, this version of herself--which had created the mind space, was finding it hard to tell which was which.

  It was possible that she was pulled into the Being’s mind and now she finding it hard to keep [Imagination] active when this being tampered with the reality of this pce.

  “I won’t harm you,” his words slithered into her skull, almost gentle. “In fact, you have made it here because I need your help.”

  His voice echoed, bouncing from the prison’s walls like a presence far rger than his form.

  Luna did not look up to face. Not out of fear, though she felt it in her bones, but because it was not wise to gaze directly upon a godlike existence.

  Sure, this Being had been waiting for her… or perhaps for someone like her. But his intentions remained unknown.

  Until she knew, she would not meet his eyes. She steadied her breath. The weight of his presence made her feel insignificant.

  “…I was told I have the power to destroy this tower,” Luna said, forcing her voice to hold firm.

  Is this how lesser creatures felt in the presence of humans?

  “But I can only make that decision after this conversation.”

  There was a deep, subtle silence that followed. The air felt heavy, still, and so tense that a mundane would’ve been dead after a few minutes of standing.

  “Hmm…first, face me.”

  Luna’s skin prickled. Every nerve screamed at her to resist and run out those doors without looking back. But her body betrayed her.

  She shook, hesitated—then raised her head while warming a calm face. The darkness in her eyes was deeper as it reflected the red-gold light.

  She had expected to see a thin, twisted skeletal being with muscles like pale roots. But no. Seated on the throne now was a man. No, not just a man!

  It was a being so fwless that it almost made her dizzy. Long, dark hair fell over his shoulders in smooth waves. His features were sculpted to perfection, as if carved from starlight.

  His deep blue eyes were the same—endless, calm, unknowable.

  This man looked no older than thirty, and he was dressed in a vish dark green robe with obsidian chains wrapped around the cloth. Fancy as he looked, he was still a prisoner of this world.

  “Good. Now you may speak!” His satisfaction was reflected in his voice.

  ‘Huh?’ Luna, as if waking from a dream. She had been staring.

  No…admiring this being’s unnaturally beautiful form. The sheer pressure of his presence had vanished, repced by something far more distracting—his face.

  “…I’m sorry!”

  She coughed, feeling a bit embarrassed by her actions. Who would’ve thought that good looks could momentarily switch off her brain like that?

  Composing herself, she straightened her posture and met his gaze with renewed purpose.

  “I am Lunaris Feng, Daughter of Mao Feng and Zheng Feng. I am seventeen years of age and I seek to know the truth about our worlds, Great Lord.”

  The man was silent for a brief moment. His ocean-blue eyes studied her, deep and unreadable.

  “The truth comes with a price that I fear you might not be willing to pay.”

  Luna’s heart steadied when she heard his statement. She was already aware that knowing too much came at a price of becoming forgotten like the Fire Keepers.

  This curse or hex had been pced on the truth and all those who pursued the truth would then get trapped into becoming a forgotten.

  In other words, the truth was corrupted, and there was no way around it. Storm Rider was proof of this fact. Also, if Storm was at her Sixth Soul Gate, what was holding her back from achieving godhood?

  Luna suspected that this had to do with becoming a forgotten, the Curse was created for more than just keeping the Truth hidden. It had a much rger purpose that she needed to find if she wanted to break it or find its creator!

  Was she terrified? Of course, who wouldn’t be afraid of receiving a curse of such a nature? Becoming a Forgotten meant that Lunaris Feng would cease to exist!

  She would be alone until the curse is broken. And Luna had no idea how long that would take.

  ‘No matter. Sacrifices need to be made for the greater good.’

  This was her will speaking. She had experienced a Subjugation, seen the horrors the mortal realm was going through, and learned that they’re all doomed unless someone does something about it.

  Luna didn’t want to be that person, obviously. But fate seemed to always have a way of pying by its own rules.

  She heaved out a trembling sigh and asked, “What price exactly?”

  “A curse.” The being responded. That one word echoed throughout the chamber. “I need you to understand that you have a lot to lose. If you leave this tower with the truth, this Curse will follow you. Many mortals ter run mad or kill themselves due to this.”

  Luna already knew the consequences. In fact, she didn’t think there was anyone else in the world who knew the weight of consequences like her.

  If she survived today, Luna would begin her ascension, but no one will ever know.

  “I know the consequences that come with the truth. That’s why I will break the curse with my own hand and free myself and everyone attached to it.”

  “…”

  The being stared at Lunaris with a thoughtful gaze. He had lived for eons and hadn’t met a mortal like her till now.

  The small mortal’s eyes deep dark eyes told stories of the different memories she had inherited, the responsibilities she unknowingly bore.

  And they mirrored the Will of a man he had come to know as Zheng Feng. It was funny that he passed on the lineage to someone who looked just like him.

  “My name is Razchar, the Guardian of Truth, Servant of Death, Traitor of the Heavenly Court, and alleged Kin syer.”

  “Of course those st two titles were forced onto me. The mortals are not my Kin, and I had every right to do what I did. I did not betray the Heavenly Court.”

  His eyes lingered on Luna after his final statement.

  “All I did was murder a Mortal Star.”