Astral Vigil Sect.

" Ascender Lara, congratulations on achieving the Saint Rank. The Dream will be pleased indeed."

Luna gave a short nod, though her mind barely registered the words. Her attention was fixed instead on the man before her. He was the Saint appointed to confirm her breakthrough—a pale figure whose very presence felt brittle, like old parchment about to tear.

The procedure itself had been unsettling. Unlike the Mortal Realm, where crystalline sensors were used to measure ascension, this man had bypassed all tools. He had pressed directly against her soul gate, his touch cold and invasive, as if his skeletal fingers might burrow deeper and tear something loose.

"How long did it take me to reach Saint Rank?" Luna asked, her voice calm but edged with quiet curiosity.

The news had rippled through the sect like wildfire. No one truly knew who she was, and those who tried to make sense of her rise settled on the only explanation they could…her lineage. It was always lineage. And though the truth was more complex, they weren't wrong.

"A month," the Saint replied evenly. His tone was almost hollow, devoid of excitement. "You were already close, having struggled at the threshold for two years. You simply needed the final spark."

Luna studied him more closely. He was sickly thin, his frame little more than sharp bones beneath pale skin. His long grey hair was bound tightly at the back of his skull, and his complexion was so white it seemed more porcelain than flesh. His eyes, sunken yet piercing, made her feel as though he was reading not her words, but the marrow of her thoughts.

"Hmm…" she exhaled, her lips curling into a faint smirk. "So do I gain access to everything now that I am a Saint?"

The man scratched the back of his neck and clicked his tongue. "You're still at the first gate, Ascender Lara. For now, you'll need to refine more concepts, focus on attacks, and simple ones, since you don't have a second gate. This will widen your combat range and let you communicate with the world more effectively. After that, you'll face a small test to qualify for leaving the Junior Wing."

"There's a test?" Luna asked, her brows tightening.

"All sects have tests, don't they?" The sickly man raised a bleached eyebrow, his voice flat yet oddly sharp.

Luna lowered her head with a sigh. She had trained in sects before; she knew the rules well enough to recognize his words as truth. Sects existed for one purpose only: to cultivate great fruits, heroes strong enough to tip the balance of humanity's survival. A sect's worth was measured not by its halls or rituals, but by the strength of those it produced.

Lena, for instance, came from one of the Feng sects—living proof that her clan could forge champions and defend humanity. But House Feng, unlike others, built its strength upon martial arts, shaping its disciples through discipline, combat forms, and time-tested techniques.

Other clans had diverged. Some leaned into sorcery, others into strange blends of the old world's knowledge and the new. Only three clans—Val, Feng, and Night—had carried their sect traditions from before the Fall. Back then, they were obscure, almost forgotten. But when the world shattered and martial arts became a lifeline, their legacy transformed into necessity.

House Artemis and Ares had been established after the Fall. To train their ascenders, those clans devised new fighting styles, blending them with fragments of the old world to create something uniquely their own.

Of course, there were other clans with sects outside the influence of the major houses that ruled the New World. These smaller sects were tolerated so long as they registered under the Government.

"What kind of test will it be?"

"It could be combat," the Saint replied, "or something in line with sorcery. Or both. For now, just train, and we'll begin your transition to the next level."

Luna stood and drifted toward the window. She wasn't entirely sure where she was within the Astral Castle, but from here she could see the lake spread beneath pale light. The room itself was modest, the one Raiden had quietly walked her to after her return with Ginyu.

"What happens next?" she asked.

The man's sickly face remained unchanged, his voice flat and detached. "You should focus on opening your second gate and beginning the real training. I wish I could say we all strive to become immortal beings with godlike powers, but that's the worst-case scenario for someone who isn't like you."

"Isn't like me?" Luna's eyes narrowed, her temper pricked by the remark.

Sickly, or whatever his name was, smirked, annoyance edging his tone. "You're different, Lunaris Feng." He deliberately used her real name. "Born of high status, daughter of the man who almost changed the world, and the inheritor of the Heavenly Supreme. You will cultivate and become something we all dream about, because unlike most of us, you actually have the Talent for Ascension."

"Talent for Ascension…hehe." Luna almost laughed. She didn't deny the facts he had claimed. She was born special, more special than most. Of all people, she had no right to disagree with his words.

So she kept her silence. He wouldn't understand, even if she explained herself to him.

At last, she rose to her feet. "Well, you're right about that. Anyway, I'll take your advice and prepare for the tests."

She left the room with a cold weight in her chest. That idiot sounded as if he knew her, as though she wanted any of this in the first place.

While crossing the hallways, Luna noticed the stares. Many juniors turned their eyes toward her. Her reputation had already risen in such a short span of time.

"I can't believe someone could become a Saint that fast. The Dream Lord really discovered a diamond. I wonder how long it'll take for her to become a King."

Luna ignored their voices. None of them mattered to her. She cared little to nothing about what they whispered or who they thought she was.

What Luna cared about was her sister—and her sister's whereabouts. Was she safe? How close was she to the Astral Vigil? There were nights Luna wished she possessed an ability as sharp and reliable as Storm Rider's, something that could cut through distance and uncertainty.

The next priority that burned in her chest was infiltrating the Astral Vigil itself, prying open its guarded halls and clawing out every scrap of knowledge on the Visionaries, the Servants, and the Creator. She already knew the secret passages of this place thanks to the singularities. She could sneak into the other wings and collect what she needed. The only issue with that was the guardians, beings who guarded the castle.

The devils were there as well, lurking, but corruption was a trap she dared not stumble into, not yet. Not until she grew much stronger.

She returned to her assigned chamber, too drained to care about appearances, and collapsed onto the bed without removing her uniform. Her body screamed for rest, as though she hadn't slept in two weeks. Fighting the Titan had devoured everything from her strength to her mind.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

A long sigh escaped her as she lay staring at the ceiling, her muscles slowly unwinding.

'As a Saint, I'll have access to more information. I need to study every Saint stronger than me and avoid the ones already crowned King. I can only reveal my intentions after I open my fourth gate and step into the rank of Sorcerer. Only then can I begin my return to the Divine Realm.'

She yawned. Her eyelids grew heavy, her thoughts unraveling into broken strands as silence pressed down like a lullaby. Her mind stopped connecting, stopped resisting.

Sleep swallowed her whole.

That night, she did not dream. No singularity clawed at her soul, no hidden visions rose to torment her. She fell into a deep, uninterrupted slumber that lasted three days. As expected, commanding that much fire without having it as her Aura had wrung her dry despite the rune still tethering her body to the sun god's light.

On the fourth day, she opened her eyes weakly, and the familiar, depressing room came into her sight. After cleaning up and changing into a white shirt and pants offered by the Sect.

Knock knock

She heard knocks coming from her door and dragged herself up lazily to answer it. Turning the knob, she cracked it open, the hinges creaking like they needed oil urgently.

Anna stood at the threshold, her usual stoic mask in place. But something was different. She no longer wore the junior's uniform. Instead, she was dressed in a navy-blue and black uniform that didn't belong in this wing of the Astral Vigil at all.

'I guess one of us already passed the tests.' Luna thought, a flicker of envy sparking in her chest.

"Good morning…" Anna's stoicism slipped for just a moment, softening her tone. "I heard that you fought a titan. Want to talk about it?

"Talk about what?" Luna replied, her tone flat.

Anna's eyes sharpened, cutting through the dim hallway lighting like twin blades. "I don't know...like you happen to be an ascender of the Qi path, " she hissed. "Gods...I knew something was off about your strength."

Luna's lips twitched. 'She took longer than I expected her to figure it out.'

And," Anna wasn't done yet. "I know you're Lunaris Feng, the younger sister to the infamous Ghost of Winter. The Saints can't shut up about you."

Luna's expression faltered between many emotions. She was both shocked and relieved to hear this. She had nearly forgotten that while here, in the Dream World, concepts like Fate were broken. People who knew her could talk about her freely without tampering with the curse itself.

"Busted…" she muttered, her gaze dropping to the floor.

Many people in this godforsaken sect knew who she was. However, most of them shared the same curse. They cut their ties with the mortal realm a long time ago, hence why they didn't care much about the mortal realm.

"So tell me, who are you exactly and why should I trust you?" Anna was not a hostile person. She was calculative and never jumped to conclusions of any sort.

She stared at Luna directly through her glasses, waiting for her response.

After giving it some thought, Luna sighed again. She thought about reaching for her shadow and drawing out the Shadow Wolf Dagger. But she scratched that thought when she imagined the consequences that came from killing someone with as much potential as Anna.

The Astral Vigil needed her, and Luna needed her as an ally. Last time she checked, she was short on those.

"Should we have a walk?"

Luna led Anna through the winding paths of the Verdant Hallow, a small forest tucked beneath the looming shadow of the Astral Vigil's floating castle. The air was cool, scented with pine and the faint feeling of essence that lingered in the grove.

Above, the castle's underbelly gleamed faintly, its crystalline supports refracting the morning sunlight into soft prisms that danced across the forest floor.

The silence between them was heavy, not quite tense but thick with unspoken thoughts.

Luna chose this place simply because she always felt like everything she did was being observed. The watchers weren't called watchers on a whim. Their purpose was to make sure the recruits weren't a danger to the great sect.

Her boots crunched against the mossy ground, her dark cloak trailing behind her to keep her hidden completely. Unlike Anna, she wasn't supposed to leave the sect until her tests were done.

She glanced at Anna, who walked with her hands clasped behind her back, her intelligent gaze scanning the trees. She had been here before while practicing her recently learned flying ability.

"You're quiet," Luna said, breaking the silence. Her voice was low, almost swallowed by the rustling of leaves nearby. "Not planning on bolting and telling the other candidates about me, are you?"

Anna's lips twitched, not quite a smile. "If I were, I wouldn't tell you. Besides, I need answers. Why don't I know about Mao Feng's second child?"

Luna snorted. "I was already pretty forgettable even before," she forced a sad laugh.

Anna stopped walking, turning her face. Her green eyes were sharp, searching the trees. "I think we're far enough."

Luna then stopped. It wasn't too late to kill Anna here.

'It depends on how she responds to the truth.'

"You don't know about Mao Feng's second child because I was erased from the world. You see, there is this unique curse that affects all who are connected to me through fate."

Anna's expression softened, but only slightly. She was surprised that things like curses existed in the first place. Her master often said that curses were a powerful form of domain control since they involved permanently forcing a rule onto a natural law.

It was supposed to be impossible!

"Connected to you through Fate?" Anna's voice wavered, her stoic mask cracking under the weight of the revelation.

Luna nodded, leaning against a gnarled tree, its bark twisted like the veins of the Dream Realm itself. She crossed her arms, her gaze drifting to the starry sky above the Astral Vigil, where clouds pulsed with an eerie, silvered light of the sun.

"Picture a thread binding you to your friends, your family," Luna began, her voice low, steady, but laced with a bitter edge. "My curse severs it, erasing me from existence. And if I'd spoken my true name to you outside these realm's walls, the curse would've ignited. You'd forget you ever met me."

Anna's face blanched, her sharp eyes widening. "A curse that bends the rules of Fate?" she gasped, the word Fate trembling in the air. To wield such power over a concept so primal was unthinkable.

"You were cursed by a higher being!" Anna whispered, her voice barely audible, as if speaking it aloud might summon the entity itself.

Luna's lips curled into a wry smirk, her eyes glinting with defiance. "Exactly. A tangled, vicious curse designed to keep the realm's truths in darkness." As she spoke, her gaze sharpened, tracking Anna's every shift from the flicker of her eye to the slight tension of her jaw.

Luna's keen observation, honed by years of navigating secrets and shadows, dissected what Anna knew and what she only guessed.

So far, Anna was genuinely surprised with every drop of information she shared.

"Two years ago, during the crimson tower subjugation, I learned the Truth, and I was cursed," Luna said with a heavy voice. It has been years since she talked about the Crimson Tower to anyone other than herself.

"You were at the Crimson Tower? Is it true that the government covered up the truth? My master says that a god and a devil descended that day. And that it wasn't Mao Feng and the ascenders that saved humanity that day."

Luna exhaled, the sharp air against her lips, and began unraveling what really happened at the Crimson Tower. She spoke freely, knowing that if Anna doesn't make the switch to the True Path, she will remember all this like a distant dream.

Anna sank onto a jagged rock. "You were one of the captains….damn," she breathed, clearly in so much shock. "And you've been living in the Divine Realm for a while to generate your strength. So humans can survive out there?"

"Not humans, but ascenders," Luna corrected, her gaze distant, haunted by memories of that alien realm."Black Ether still exists, and the realm is also too big. Parts of it are deserts with white sand with broken suns and moons. There are floating islands….temples keeping cursed creatures….forests of shadow. I haven't seen a lot of it because I'm weak. I only returned to the real world because I discovered that the Dream lord is an Immortal Ascender."

"A Visionary," Anna's voice tinged with awe.

Luna's eyes narrowed."You know about them?"

Anna nodded, her movements quick, almost nervous. "My master speaks of them," Anna nodded quickly. "He says that they're immortal humans with absolute power at their control."

Luna was suddenly intrigued by Anna's mysterious master. He sounded dangerously well-informed. Who was he, and how did he know of the Visionaries? Her curiosity burned, sharp and insistent, as she studied Anna's face for any hint of deception.

Anna leaned forward, scratching her head, her usual composure. For the first time in ages, she seemed at a loss for words. "My master is half mad, though," Anna admitted with a wry smile. "I tend to take whatever he says with a grain of salt. When he mentioned that Immortal Humans are real…I thought he was mumbling about his fantasies."

"Fantasies?"

"My master was an author before the Fall. I've had a chance to read some of his works, but they were never good."

"So he's an old man?" Luna pictured someone like Hamido. Old, weak, and tired.

"No…" Anna shook her head. "He looks relatively young, mid-forties perhaps. I don't know why it never crosses my mind. Maybe it's because he's an ascender."

Suddenly, an odd chillingness descended onto Anna as her genius kicked in. Was the reason behind her becoming a Saint so quickly her Master?

"How long have you known your master for?" Luna was now even more curious. Was Anna's master perhaps a Visionary or someone close to being one?

Anna also knew something didn't make sense. That's why her next response came later than expected.

"I don't remember."

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.