"I'm sorry…"

Gail's last words echoed in Luna's ears. They were clear, final, and devastating.

For a second, Luna didn't want to believe it. Her mind tried to rebel against the reality unfolding in front of her. This had to be an illusion, some cruel trick Victor had conjured to break her spirit.

But it wasn't. Gail was gone, and his body lay still, crumpled in the cold earth, his golden eyes—once so full of fire and purpose—were now empty, staring into nothingness. There, a frozen expression of pain and fear was etched onto his face. And seeing it shattered something inside her.

When Luna noticed it, her chest immediately tightened, and her vision swam. Her knees buckled beneath her like they had forgotten how to hold her weight.

This feeling…it had haunted her once before, long ago, when she was just a child, and they told her that her father had died. But back then, grief had been a confusing fog.

However, now that she was old enough to understand. It was a sharp and cruel blade, carving out her heart.

Why…?

Why did it have to be him?

She collapsed to her knees, her cloak folding around her like wings made of ash and sorrow. The world around her blurred, but her eyes stayed locked on Gail's lifeless body.

Her hands trembled. Her breath hitched. Her soul cracked.

Then came the voice in her head.

[I apologize for killing him. But he was getting in my way.]

Victor's words slithered into her mind. He sounded almost bored, as if Gail had been nothing more than an inconvenience.

Her chest heaved. Her fingers clenched into the snow.

Then came more.

[Unfortunately, I can't kill you. Not yet. We still need a way to extract that lineage from your body. You see… I've heard that if one of the True Celestials consumes you, they can ascend. They might even save this world.]

[Of course, it's just a theory. Who knows—]

"Shut up!!"

Luna's scream tore through the battlefield like thunder.

Victor stopped in his tracks. The blade in his hand pulsed with dark energy, feeding off the chaos. A slow, condescending grin appeared on his face. He tilted his head as though amused by her defiance.

"Huh. So you can still speak…"

Victor's voice carried a trace of amusement, but Luna didn't respond. Not with words.

Her eyes, which were once trembling with dread, were now locked onto him with eerie emptiness. The overwhelming power gap between them no longer fazed her. It didn't matter if he was the strongest ascender in the world.

Of course. It didn't matter. She had a trump card that could keep up with him.

Deep within her, Razchar's divine essence pulsed like a buried sun, wild and unyielding. It coursed through her soul like molten flame. And Luna knew… if she could just control it, even for a moment, she might turn this nightmare around.

She dove inward.

Her will, fragile and raw with grief and rage, collided with the raging crimson energy.

But it rejected her immediately, threatening to tear through her soul gate…to burn her from the inside out.

Still, she pushed.

"Razchar," she whispered through gritted teeth, blood trailing from the corner of her lips as she bit down hard. "I am your declaration of war. Please… lend me your strength!"

Her hand dug into the frozen earth, clawing for something solid as her soul gate shook violently.

And then—

Boom!

A silent quake roared through her very being.

The air around her warped and stilled. Her aura surged, and the golden essence was consumed by a furious, crimson blaze—the unmistakable mark of Razchar. A primordial glow ignited from her chest and spread like wildfire, swallowing the weakness from her bones. Power flooded her like a divine tide, and the atmosphere itself seemed to hold its breath.

Victor leapt back immediately, his instincts screaming. Though his expression remained stoic, his grip tightened around his sword.

"This fuckin' bitch is a real threat…" he muttered, eyes narrowing at the crimson inferno rising from her body.

Even his silver essence shivered in warning, recoiling from the heat of her awakening.

Luna rose slowly, almost inhumanly, no longer trembling. Her silence was deafening.

A single word pulsed through her mind, echoed in every fiber of her being:

Kill.

Her gaze was fixed. Her rage was absolute.

Kill him.

Scum like him… doesn't deserve to exist.

Scum… mortal scum…

The girl who knelt in sorrow was gone. In her place stood a vessel of divine vengeance.

"You are mortal scum," Luna hissed through clenched teeth. She had no weapon in hand, but her presence alone could cleave through the heart of any being less than divine.

Victor didn't flinch. Instead, he laughed in a low, venomous sound."We're both mortal scum, Lunaris," he spat. "You just hide yours behind pretty ideals and a clan crest soaked in centuries of blood. Your precious House Feng has painted countless walls with innocent lives. And now you sell mortals hope, as if it washes your sins away. You actually believe that fantasy? Pathetic."

His voice was full of disdain, but Luna barely heard him. Her blood roared with the beat of Razchar's essence.

Victor lunged, sword flashing with malevolent silver light as it aimed straight for her soul gate.

Luna responded with instinct born from fury. She reached inward, deep into the well of divine power Razchar had gifted her, and shaped it into a perfect katana. Its form was both elegant and powerful as it breathed into reality.

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Her soul gate rejected her creation, but it held when Luna's fury washed over. The blade shimmered, heavy and pure despite the rebellion of the essence around her.

Steel met crimson energy.

Clang!

She blocked his blow and pushed him back, then lunged with a guttural roar. Her swing came like an avalanche—raw and unrelenting.

Victor's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, then his sword met hers with a resounding clash.

Each strike echoed like thunder.

He parried again. And again. But every clash left a tremor in his arms. Her strikes weren't refined—they were filled with hatred, pain, and something even more terrifying.

Desperation.

Luna no longer fought like a human. She moved like a beast, a wounded god, clawing at the last thread of her sanity. Gail's face flashed behind her eyes with every swing. Every heartbeat screamed her comrade's name.

Her sword came faster, harder. She didn't care if her bones shattered. She didn't care about victory.

She just wanted Victor dead. It is what he deserved.

Still, Victor endured. He matched her step for step, his expression never faltering. His experience and calm cut through the chaos like ice.

Clink—clang—whirl!

She thrust, reckless in her fury. It was a mistake that blessed her opponent with an opportunity.

Victor dismissed his sword mid-motion and sidestepped her blade with predatory ease. A twirl of wind coiled around his fist, and he struck her gut with an explosive punch.

Boom!

Wind detonated from his knuckles. And Luna's body was thrown backward, her boots skidding across the frozen earth.

Before she could fully recover, flames ignited in Victor's hands—flickering orange and wild, reminiscent of the Chau Clan's destructive fire techniques.

He didn't give her time to think.

He was already there. His burning fist blazed toward her chest.

Luna raised her arm out of reflex.

Ssszzkk! Her skin seared on contact, the stench of scorched flesh rising into the night.

She gritted her teeth, eyes glowing red with fury. And with her other hand, she caught his second fist mid-air.

The two stood there, locked in place—fire against fury, strength against will.

Luna's pupils narrowed as realization dawned.

These flames… they're not his.

"Chau clan…" she whispered.

Victor smirked.

But before he could speak, Luna snarled and slammed her forehead into his with a brutal crack.

"Ahhh!"

The impact rang out like a bell, and blood started flowing from his cracked flesh.

At the same time, he saw Luna manifest a smaller blade, dark and glinting like a cruel memory.

A twin to Poison Sin, another weapon she was familiar with.

Luna used his moment of confusion and surged forward without hesitation. Her blade sang and slid into his neck.

Shhk!

Crimson sprayed in a wide arc. Victor's eyes widened as he instinctively reached for the wound, trying to stop the gush of blood.

But his mind, sharp and seasoned, was already preparing to heal—until he caught the flicker of Luna's next attack.

This time, the blade crackled with crimson power.

"Shit—!"

He twisted away, leaping back just before the dagger could slice him again. His hands flared with silver essence as he clutched at his torn flesh, eyes narrowing in disbelief.

'This level of internal manipulation… from a first-gate user? This is supposed to be impossible.'

And yet, here she was—Lunaris Feng, burning with borrowed divinity, defying all logic.

She was paying a heavy price. That much was obvious. But it didn't stop her.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Her next swings came with terrifying force—each one wild with fury, but slow, sloppy with emotion. Victor evaded narrowly, his body adapting, calculating.

'Damn it! If only my Domain let me retain the abilities of the dead… Gail's Aura would've been perfect right now.'

A sharp pain cut through his cheek.

She'd drawn blood.

And before he could react, Luna tried to will crimson essence into his open wound—an invasive tactic to corrupt his internal channels.

Victor growled and shoved the foreign essence down into his second soul, diffusing the invasion and saving himself the pain.

The fight raged on.

His flames—fed by the Moon Goddess's silver essence—spread across the forest like divine wildfire, melting snow and turning ice into steam. Trees groaned and crumbled as they burned, casting long, dancing shadows around the two Ascenders locked in an infernal duel.

Their skills clashed with the violence of Titans. Luna, who was once the calm, calculating genius—was now unrecognizable. Madness danced behind her red eyes. Her every motion screamed grief, wrath, and something more ancient.

Something divine.

In the depths of her being, the red essence had begun to merge with her newly formed Soul Gate. The golden light of her own lineage tried to hold it back, but the Razchar's Will was overpowering. Her sense of self teetered on the edge.

KILL.

KILL

KILL.

Luna's pupils dilated. Her irises turned fully crimson. Every swing became more vicious—less technique, more savagery. It was no longer combat. It was carnage.

Boom!

Victor struck her squarely in the chest, sending her flying back. His dark grin had vanished. Sweat streamed down his pale face.

Around them, flames consumed the battlefield. The trees blazed orange, the snow gone, the air choking with smoke and burning silver. The world had become a furnace.

Luna laughed. Not like herself…no. This laugh belonged to something else. Her body was cloaked in Razchar's crimson glow, flickering like an unstable star.

Then, she spoke. Her voice was like a whisper:

"The Two Soul Theory… You shouldn't exist. And yet… You do. You possess the Silver Soul and the Domain of Reflection, which lets you copy the abilities of the people you have touched. But those people have to be alive…because that's how Reflection works. It is why you can't copy Domains like Death."

The voice of Truth, which Razchar was connected to, slithered through her mind.

Victor's eyes widened. Then they narrowed with fascination.

"You have access to Truth?" he muttered, a shiver of delight running down his spine. "The Supreme's Lineage is conversing through your essence. Fascinating… utterly divine."

His lips curled into something grotesque.

"Should I kill the rest of your allies? Break you further? What potential will you reveal if I push you harder, Lunaris?"

"You disgust me." Luna's voice was low, sharp, barely human.

She dismissed the weapon and vanished. She reappeared in front of him, faster than thought, and kicked him in the chest. The blow echoed like thunder.

Victor stumbled, coughing blood.

He summoned a wall of enchanted ice, but Luna shattered it with her fist like glass.

'That wall was infused with essence! She shouldn't be able to—'

His thought cut off as he blocked her next punch. Their fists collided, tearing in the process, while their bones miraculously held.

They recoiled.

Then Luna spun—and her heel struck him clean in the side.

Crack!

Victor flew, crashing into the flaming underbrush. Smoke rose in waves. Ash rained from above like black snow.

When Victor rose from the scorched underbrush, his face was twisted in fury. Blood stained his teeth as he spat out two shattered molars.

"I've had enough of this!" he snarled.

Luna was already lunging toward him, red essence coiling around her limbs. But in a flash, a longsword materialized in Victor's grip.

Then, he teleported and reappeared directly in front of her.

Before she could react, he summoned all the silver essence in the area, drawing it into his blade like a vortex. The temperature dropped. Even the flames seemed to freeze for a moment, caught in the gravity of that single moment.

Then he swung a diagonal slash. Clean. Merciless.

Time froze for Luna. She saw the blade move in slow motion—felt it touch her shoulder and drag down through her flesh, bone, and spirit like she were nothing more than parchment.

A burning line carved itself through her shoulder to chest, through ribs and organs, all the way to her waist.

The crimson essence didn't protect her.

Of course it didn't. She wasn't its master. She was its host. She was its Vessel.

And it had grown quiet.

Then, through the roar of her own heartbeat…Luna heard it.

Her father's voice.

"Luna… I'm sorry I tampered with your soul."

"I'm sorry you've always felt like an outsider. But this was the only way."

"The Feng Clan… we come from the Land of the Divine. A place called Ryu."

"They believe this is the Age of Destruction. And that only through destruction can true rebirth begin…"

Her body hit the ground, armor shattered, blood spilling from the jagged gash that ran across her torso. The earth beneath her drank her essence in silence.

Victor stared down at her, unmoved. His blade dripped with her blood.

"You're too much of an anomaly," he muttered coldly. "But you won't die. Not yet. When that red essence leaves you, I'll heal you. Then take you to Lord Feng."

But Luna didn't hear him.

Her eyes were open, gazing at the sky, which was now blurred by smoke and fire. And then…

Badum. Badum.

A distant echo.

"Lunaris Feng…"

"Lunaris Feng…"

She closed her eyes. And dove—not into unconsciousness, but into her Soul.

Luna had hoped to appear in the mind space. But this is where her mind sent her instead.

She found herself standing in an infinite white space. Before her, a colossal structure floated in the air like a sun. This was her Soul Gate.

It spun slowly in midair, its circumference vast and divine. From her perspective, it resembled a crimson-gold ring, turning clockwise like an ancient timekeeper. Its design wasn't like the others she'd read about in textbooks.

Her's looked more like one of those forbidden structures that allowed cursed beings to pass into the mortal world. It was a Gateway that showed nothing on the other side.

As it rotated, delicate tendrils of golden and crimson essence flowed outward like rivers of light, coiling into her body, feeding her broken spirit.

'How much of this don't I understand…?' she thought bitterly, brows furrowed as she stared up at the rotating ring. 'Am I not dying?'

"You're not dying…But your rage is affecting the Balance. Your gate will shatter and kill you if you push any further."

A voice of a woman came from the other side of the soul gate. It sounded oddly familiar, but it showed no hostility, so Luna didn't react.

"The lineage strengthens everything about the inheritor. If the inheritor loses control, the lineage strengthens that aspect. This foreign essence makes you strong, but if you continue using it without mastering it, you will self-detonate and die. You're not in Balance."

'Not in balance?' Now that she was feeling a bit more sane. Memories of her fight with Victor started playing in her mind.

When they stopped flooding in, one thing was clear: Victor was the superior one between them. She needed more time to learn how to use her essence to fight him again.

'Admitting weakness sucks…my desperation and anger made me reckless.'

Luna thought deeply and tried to think of a solution now that she was somehow back in control. But first, there was something she needed to attend to.

"Who are you?" she shouted at her soul gate. She was referring to the presence coming from the other side of the gate.

"I…I am someone who wants you to stay alive. I could not warn you in the material world because I might disrupt the Balance, so I appeared here, a space where we stand outside the rules…sort of."

'Why does it sound familiar?'

"Outside the Rules?"

"Yes, I currently do not exist in your reality. But I do exist in the beyond. This place is beyond reality. So I can temporarily exist without tampering with the Balance. Pretty cool, right?" the being beyond the soul gate explained.

She sounded like a female human. And yet, she felt like a new presence completely….a concept…a god.

Her eyes sparkled with realization, "….You're Storm Rider's master."

"Gosh, you're so quick."

"Well, I don't have many allies."

"…yet!" The mysterious being coughed. "I am also the one who has been the mastermind behind all these consequences. I am here to ensure that you play your role?"

"And what role is that?"

The being was silent for a moment. Then, replied in a serious tone.

"Everyone in this place has a role to play, Lunaris. Today marks the beginning of the Age of Chaos. Without destruction, a new beginning can not be created."

'The Age of Chaos? Without destruction, a new beginning can not be created?' Luna pondered as she repeated those words in her head.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"I don't know," the being responded, sounding less serious. "I only came here because I felt a tremor in the Balance and came to tell you to stop. You also can't beat Victor, sheesh…I thought you were better than this. You know he is in his playground! You can't ever win in someone's domain unless you're stronger, which you are not. Didn't you learn anything from Storm?"

'Why do I feel like I am being scolded?'

"Try luring him into yours."

"How do I do that?"

"Just stay here and clear your thoughts, he will come. I'm sure of it." Luna could imagine a smirk. "Crap…I have to leave now. I can never exist here again, so we'll meet again at the Bridge of Time."

"Huh?"

The being beyond the soul nodded from the other end. "The Creator's power has already leaked into the broken realms. If I try to wait for you there, I might become corrupted. So...for my safety, I will wait for you at the Bridge of Time."

"Bridge of Time?"

"You don't know it yet. But you're going to find it soon now that you know the Truth. I will see you again, you little witch."

With that, the being's presence disappeared, and Luna was left standing alone in the Soulscape. This was her turf--flowing with her essence. If the Mysterious woman was right, Luna could win against someone as powerful as Victor while here.

'I guess I have to wait

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