A long time ago, before there was almost anything at all, there was a woman. She wasn’t the first human, but she was among the first.

She had no mother or father, only nine 'siblings.' She was said to be so beautiful that anyone looking at her would fall deeply in love with her.

The nine siblings lived in a world without seas, rivers, and even clouds. There was no star, so they lived in eternal darkness.

One day, the youngest sibling fell to the ground, crying, “Why do we have to live like this? I want to eat and drink, but there’s nothing to feast on!”

The others felt the same. The world had no animals, no plants—nothing to sustain them.

So for days, they lamented.

One day, the eldest sibling said, “What if I become flesh so you can feast?”

It seemed like a great solution. But the woman, who would one day become the moon, asked, “What happens when we’ve eaten all your flesh?”

The eldest thought for a moment and then said, “I’ll become millions of creatures, and they’ll reproduce. You’ll never run out of food.”

That idea seemed genius.

Then, the second eldest said, “I’ll become water so you’ll always have something to drink.”

The others agreed, and the eldest sibling's body transformed into countless animals. But without light, hunting was nearly impossible. Finding the newly formed waters to drink from was easier but it remained a difficult task.

"Alas, our elder brother died so we could eat, but we can’t find him in the darkness," the youngest lamented. "Makio, what should we do?"

Makio, now the eldest brother, felt anxious. But he was willing to do anything for his siblings. “I’ll become light,” he said.

But the one destined to become the moon didn't like that idea. She had grown close to Makio, very close. Although she loved all her 'siblings', her love for Makio was greater. Because, unlike the others, Makio seemed just like her.

Like they both didn't belong to this world, to this family, to everything. But it didn't matter what the one destined to become the moon wanted. It was Makio turn to make a sacrifice, like the previous siblings did.

And so, Makio became a star that orbited the planet. On that day, the siblings finally saw their world—the barren land, the animals, and the seas and rivers.

And they were amazed by the world. They didn't immediately start hunting, but instead, they explored for a long time. The world was incredible to them.

And so, they developed a love for the world or for what the world could be.

Eventually, one by one, each sibling became a part of the world, until only two remained. There was more to the story, but Drew skimmed through it, thinking it wasn’t important at the moment.

When the third sister became the clouds, the one destined to become the moon grew depressed. She was all alone.

The youngest sibling had left, choosing to build a family with the humans that now existed because of their fifth sibling.

The one destined to be the moon eventually also had a family with a human, but it wasn’t fulfilling.

Every time the one who would become the moon looked at the star, it felt as though he was watching her, calling for her. Even when she was with her family, she couldn't help but look at the star.

"Sunlor." She named the star. Sun for short.

As time passed, and her loneliness grew stronger, she decided to become the moon so she could be closer to the sun.

But she wasn’t. Not naturally—not unless Sunior pulled her closer. And sometimes she did because they were both lonely.

Drew furrowed his brows, baffled by what he was reading.

But the moon felt guilty when she gazed down at the planet, afraid her children and husband might see her. So when the clouds grew thick and covered the sky, she would call to the sun, hoping the sun would pull her towards him.

Drew closed the book, shocked to his core.

"This has to be one of the worst things I’ve ever read," he muttered, putting the book back on the shelf before leaving the library.

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But now he knew how to enter the hidden trial.

He had to wait until nightfall. And so he did. When the night was deep, he made his move.

First, he had to find a place out in the open, and when the moon was behind the clouds.

He checked trees, buildings' corners, and under rocks. Then, he came across the same little plant he’d examined days ago. He tried parting it open like it was a curtain.

This time, it parted open.

"Hell yeah!" He couldn't stop himself from shouting in joy.

He wanted to jump up and down, screaming non-stop for hours.

Unfortunately for him, things wasn't about to play out like he wanted it to.

Something tumbled out of the plant.

He wasn't paying attention to it, so he didn't know what knocked him to the ground before rolling off.

Drew scrambled to his feet, immediately on guard.

The hell was that?

He quickly noticed there was blood on his clothes.

His heart started beating heavily. He quickly assumed he was attacked.

But he felt no pain. He quickly scanned his body, he had no injuries.

The blood must not have been his.

When he looked at what had fallen on him, he saw Milia.

He glanced at the plant, which sealed itself shut with floating words above it: "This hidden trial is completed."

DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT! WHAT THE HELL?!

Furious, he wanted to scream, but that didn’t matter right now. Milia was bleeding badly and needed medical attention.

“You’re alive, right?” he asked, kneeling beside her.

His mind was still on the hidden trial being completed. So he was doing his best to compose himself and act normal while feeling like he could explode at any moment.

“Yes... Get me to a medic. I'll pay.”

She was not only bleeding but filthy and reeking.

Drew helped her up, his arm firmly around her shoulders as she leaned heavily against him, her steps shaky.

Drew said, "I charge a lot."

"I... can afford..." she coughed.

He thought it was obvious he was joking, but joking in these circumstances was a bit... stupid.

Drew hurried through to the medical facility. In just one minute, he arrived. He pushed the door of the medical facility open. A couple of medics were sitting around, chatting and giggling.

They were dressed in a long white coat with green clapped hands symbols on it.

They didn't have much of a reaction when they saw Drew.

A young lady with brown hair, said while chewing on a biscuit. "Who did you injure this time... Wait a second, is that Milia...?"

Drew announced. "I found her injured."

"Oh. Oh shit!" The young lady threw her biscuit and rushed to Milia.

It was a child of the clan patriarch after all. All the other medics were now serious.

"Over here!" A male medic shouted, gesturing to an empty bed.

Milia was eased down with practiced hands. The medics checked her pulse and vitals with swift precision all while pushing the wheeled bed into a room.

Drew stepped back, watching as the medics worked efficiently. The door was shut and soft hums and glows were emitted from behind the door.

He stood there for a while before deciding to take a seat.

His gaze stayed fixed on the floor, fingers tapping lightly against his knee as he replayed the events over in his head.

She must’ve been trapped in that trial all the time he hadn’t seen her. And of all trials, that one.

His mood soured. He couldn’t stop thinking about how she’d only escaped when he opened the trial. The way she’d tumbled out, like she had been pressed against the exit, waiting.

It didn’t make sense. The doors shouldn’t have been closed. He could theorize, but the best way to find answers was to ask her—once she’d healed.

But he wasn’t planning to bombard her with questions. That would be rude.

He decided to give her space. Maybe after a day or two.

Yes, that would be the wise and respectful thing to do.

An hour later.

Actually, her condition is probably good by now.

He got up and knocked on her room door. "It's me, Drew."

She's probably not even conscious.

“What is it?”

Oh.

"I wanted to check on you. You were gone for a while and came back hurt."

"Oh... Drew?"

"Yeah."

"Come in."

He opened the door and closed it behind him. She was sitting on the bed, cleaned up. There were still a lot of brushes all over her body.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Drew asked.

"Yeah..." She looked at him, eyes piercing. "Why are you really here?"

"I thought I said why."

"But why do you care?"

"Why do you think?"

"Because of who my father is. You want to be close to me for that reason. You should give up. My father doesn't favor me much."

"I don't care about that. You don't have friends so I'm the only one that would probably show up to see how you're doing."

"That's not true! And that's funny coming from you. You barely talk to anyone, except for me, and even then it's for like 20 seconds. You're far friendless-er than me."

"I'm okay with that."

"And what makes you think I'm not?"

"Just a guess."

She wanted to say something but simply clicked her tongue. "Did I miss any important assignments?"

"Not that I know of. Some of your classmates got badly injured, though."

"Rei?"

"I would've said 'your brother' if that was the case."

"Whatever... I just want to rest." She pulled herself onto the bed and laid her head on the pillow.

"Can I ask you a few questions?"

"As long as they're not too personal... or weird, I guess."

"Were you trapped in that hidden trial?"

Her calm expression broke, and she stared at Drew. "I... think so. You were the one who opened it, right?"

"Yeah, I was planning to do it myself."

"I wouldn't recommend it."

"Because I might get trapped?"

"No... people aren't supposed to get trapped in those. I'm sure they should open once completed. I just think you're too weak."

Drew blinked a couple of times, stunned.

"I'll ignore that comment. But yeah, the whole 'closed door' thing is suspicious. Do you think someone’s behind it?"

"It would be better if you didn’t know."

"Maybe one of the grand wisemen planned it? They’re not fond of your father's rule. Could be their way of showing that even the patriarch’s children are weak."

"You... know a lot."

"I like to think a lot."

"Well, you shouldn’t. I want to rest now."

Drew clicked his tongue. She really was difficult to talk to.

"Rest well. I'll be back tomorrow or maybe later."

She didn't reply.

He left the room, closing the door behind him. While he exited the facility, he wondered how she had survived this in the alternate timeline

He figured it didn’t matter much. He didn’t need to interfere on a scale that mattered. His interference might lead to an even worse outcome. For now, at least.

He would step in, but not until much later.