When Aria woke up, it was pitch black around her, and her head throbbed with pain. She couldn't help but let out a low groan. She realized that the surrounding forest was constantly receding. With difficulty, she looked up and saw a man in a black robe dragging her forward, her powerless body leaving a deep trail on the ground.

She felt as if she had been unconscious for a long time. It was daytime before she passed out, but now the sky was as black as ink, with only a bright full moon hanging high. The man threw her onto the cold ground, moonlight spilling over her. She blinked her blurry eyes, trying to see where she was with the faint moonlight. Her gaze fell on a massive wing-shaped skeleton that had been burned— the corpse of a celestial deer beast.

Light footsteps approached in the darkness, followed by a woman's irritable voice: "Drag it over here...we don't have much time...hurry up...or we'll miss the full moon..."

The sound of a whip cracked, followed by horse hooves and neighs. Something heavy was being dragged by the horses. Aria looked towards the sound, her vision gradually clearing, and saw robed figures whipping two tall horses. The horses were pulling a long, pale object.

She quickly realized it was a coffin made of white crystal. In the silver moonlight, it shimmered with a chilling glow. The woman approached, the mist on her face vanishing, revealing a ghastly smile on her dried, lifeless face. She reached out with a skeletal hand, smoothing her sparse hair, where ears should have been, there was only an ugly scar.

"I thought you would sleep until you died. Feeling your own death would be worse than dying." She mocked.

Supporting herself on the ground, Aria raised her head with difficulty. "Are you... Daphne Blackwood? Damian Blackwood's sister?"

Her lips twitched, a flicker of surprise crossed her cold face but quickly vanished. She looked down at Aria without any emotion, as if gazing at a dying soul.

"But...weren't you burned to death?" Aria asked weakly.

"The Lunar Essence people are utterly stupid," she spat out with hatred. "They couldn't even distinguish a corpse. I cut off the ears of the body, then placed my Soul Stone, and they believed that charred corpse was me."

"Why deceive them?" Aria tried to stand up, but her body felt bound by iron chains, refusing to obey her will, and she collapsed onto the cold ground.

"He started investigating me after returning," Daphne's voice was filled with hatred, her eyes blazing with anger. "He was tracking missing persons and suspected I was trying to leave the Moon Tower. I had to create a body to make him think I was really dead."

"You're talking about Neven?" Aria asked in surprise, her voice trembling.

"Your friend, Neven Everhart, indeed," Daphne's tone was so cold it could freeze the air. "Now it's time for him to pay the price, to understand the consequences of opposing Mara. I'll use the blood of his beloved woman as a sacrifice to complete the most crucial part of the resurrection spell."

"Who are you going to resurrect?" Aria asked, her face pale with fear.

Daphne walked to the coffin, her malicious expression softening as she looked at it tenderly. She gently caressed the smooth coffin lid, as if soothing her cherished child. "I knew him for a long time, but he said our relationship must always be a secret. No one in the Moon Tower could know. No one knew about us."

Her voice carried a trace of helplessness and sorrow, as if her heart's affection made it hard to accept the death inside the coffin.

Aria suddenly realized that the body inside the coffin might be someone she knew, and Daphne had prepared such a rare white crystal coffin for that person. She felt a wave of fear, realizing she was to become a sacrifice for a corpse, to die here.

"Who is in there?" Aria asked, trembling, her eyes filled with terror.

"Don't worry, my poor dear..." Daphne's mockingly affectionate tone sent chills down Aria's spine. "Open the lid, let our poor dear see who it is," she ordered the robed man standing nearby.

As they lifted the coffin lid a crack, a pungent stench immediately filled the air.

Aria was seized by intense fear, a terror unlike anything she had ever felt before. She desperately wished someone would realize she was missing. But at this moment, no one knew where she was or what she was enduring. Neven was in Voidmarsh supporting Sage Solon, and even Felix and his crows wouldn't guess she had been taken to this forest by Daphne. Perhaps one day they would discover she was missing and search the wilderness only to find her decayed body.

"Do you want to see him?" Daphne approached, holding Aria's hand, her tenderness making Aria recoil in fear.

Stumbling, Aria stood up, her legs heavy as lead. She trembled as she neared the coffin, the lid creaking open slowly, emitting a jarring noise. The stench from within almost suffocated her.

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When the coffin was fully opened, the sight inside made her heart clench.

The corpse was clad in a Lunarshade uniform, the decayed skin covering a sturdy frame. Its face was contorted, the skin almost transparent with a greenish-blue hue. Sunken eye sockets held only black voids, and a cruel smile twisted its lips, displaying rows of yellow, saw-like teeth, mocking her terror. Most chilling of all, long black nails extended from its fingertips, curved like claws, as if awaiting some dark summoning.

Aria's heart raced, her breathing quickened. Her legs were rooted to the spot, unable to move as if the terrifying corpse had ensnared her.

"Stormblade, do you remember him?" Daphne's face blossomed with a girlish smile. She bent down, gently stroking Stormblade's decayed face with her bony fingers.

"You're going to resurrect him?" Aria asked in horror, unable to hide her fear.

"He was so handsome, so tender, the only man I ever loved in this world." Daphne's tone softened significantly, her eyes admiring Stormblade's corpse. "He never cared that I was over a decade older than him. He was the only one who could see the beauty of my soul... my Stormblade..."

Aria saw the loving look in Daphne's eyes, realizing Daphne deeply loved Stormblade.

Daphne straightened up, and the robed man handed her two coins, which she gently placed on Stormblade's eyes.

"My dearest, may your soul rest in your body, waiting for the moment you awaken," Daphne said slowly, her voice filled with deep affection.

Aria, leaning against the coffin and feeling faint, recalled a memory from her dreams and asked in a trembling voice, "Why put coins on the eyes?"

"Because ancient demi-god coins prevent the soul from leaving the body. I don't want Stormblade's soul to leave his body. If it does, the resurrection spell will fail," Daphne explained.

"So you place coins on the eyes after burning the body to... prevent vengeful spirits from escaping, fearing they would seek revenge?" Aria's voice trembled, a strong sense of unease rising within her.

"Yes." Daphne let out a sharp, terrifying laugh, her eyes gleaming with madness. "The coins are to prevent those dead from seeking revenge. I don't want them coming after me in the underworld, do you understand?"

A cold wind blew through, and the pale moonlight filtered through the gaps in the dark clouds, illuminating the pale stone sarcophagus.

“It’s time.” A man in a black robe whispered, his voice so hoarse it was barely audible.

Daphne’s face suddenly twisted into an evil grin. The mist around her seemed to reflect her malevolent intentions. Her cold hands, like iron clamps, tightened around Aria’s neck, forcing her head down toward the sarcophagus. Aria's face was almost pressed against Stormblade’s corpse, and the stench of decay filled her breath, as if it were seeping into every inch of her lungs.

The corpse’s skin was pale and withered, covered in corrosive marks. Black, pustulent spots stared at her like malignant eyes. Stormblade’s face was distorted by decay, with cracks in his mouth revealing rows of blackened teeth, making one’s stomach churn. The deep, sinister eye sockets of the corpse seemed to harbor endless resentment and malevolence.

A cold light flashed, and a sharp pain suddenly shot through Aria’s shoulder. Her blood spurted out like a fountain, dripping onto Stormblade’s grotesque face, quickly staining the pale skin with red. As the blood poured out, Aria felt her consciousness slipping away, the world around her growing darker and darker, her ears filled only with the low moans of Stormblade’s corpse and her own ragged breaths.

The silver moon hung high in the night sky, its light spilling across the forest. Beside a giant skeleton lay the Soul Stone sarcophagus.

Daphne pushed her into the sarcophagus. She fell heavily inside, the intense stench of decay making her realize what was happening—they were going to entomb her in the sarcophagus with the disgusting corpse.

Even though Aria knew Stormblade, she was overwhelmed with fear at the sight of the rotting body and the impending ritual.

Her heart raced, breath coming in quick gasps. Daphne’s terrifying and twisted smile, the white sarcophagus—all filled her with a profound sense of despair.

Her back pressed against the decaying Stormblade, her head almost touching the corpse’s head. The nauseating smell nearly suffocated her, and bile rose in her throat, making her want to vomit. The warm, sticky blood on her shoulder seeped into the rotting corpse.

A few black, toad-like creatures covered in slime jumped to the edge of the sarcophagus, emitting eerie, guttural cries. They sprayed a foul-smelling liquid, and the water level gradually rose, submerging Stormblade’s corpse in the filthy liquid.

As the water level reached Aria’s body and hair, the liquid covered her shoulders, bringing excruciating pain. She shivered, the fear and pain pushing her to the brink of collapse. They intended to drown her, and this slow process was unbearable.

Aria tried to push her way to the surface, but the black-robed men pressed her back down. The water kept rising, until it covered her ears, submerging her face. She forced herself to hold her breath, lifting her head to gasp for air, only to be forced back under the water.

Daphne took out a small bottle and poured the liquid into the sarcophagus, mixing with the foul-smelling, blood-tainted water.

Then, she brought forth a silver object—a glowing silver heart. With a splash, the heart sank into the water, and the murky liquid began to transform. The large heart dissolved into tiny silver specks, floating around Aria.

Daphne’s voice came from outside the sarcophagus, tinged with barely concealed excitement: “This is the final moment of your life, Aria Magnus. You will witness the resurrection of the undead and become a part of this ritual. Your blood will grant him new life.”

Faint light cast dappled shadows through the sarcophagus, making Daphne and the black-robed figures appear particularly eerie. Aria struggled to open her eyes, searching for a last glimmer of hope in the water, but her vision was obscured by darkness and the shimmering silver specks.

The water continued to rise until her head was completely submerged. She fought to hold her breath, her mind flashing through horrifying memories of Stormblade. Each image filled her with dread.

Above the sarcophagus, Daphne clasped her hands together, murmuring ancient incantations. As she chanted, the silver specks in the water began to glow, slowly coalescing into a radiant orb.

The sarcophagus was filled with mysterious power, ripples forming on the water’s surface, the light flickering in the water, paving the way for Stormblade’s resurrection. Daphne’s eyes sparkled with urgency and fervor; each spell she uttered pushed Aria closer to death.

Aria felt her body growing numb, her consciousness becoming increasingly hazy under the influence of the mystical power. Yet, deep within, a strong will to survive remained. She struggled desperately, trying to escape from the dark, foul liquid.