His breath hitched. The once-empty pages now shimmered with silver markings, appearing as if the words were being written by an unseen hand.

"What the hell—?!" Keld's mind froze. "Is this a prank? Did someone put LED ink on this or something?!"

His fingers trembled as he reached out to touch the glowing letters, but just as suddenly as they had appeared, they vanished.

The moon had disappeared behind a thick blanket of clouds.

Keld blinked. "Wait, what? Where'd they go?! They were just there!" He frantically flipped through the pages, but they remained blank. His heartbeat quickened as he tried to make sense of what just happened.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down. "Okay… okay, let’s think. This isn’t a horror movie. No ghosts. No demons. Just an old book doing weird—"

The clouds moved.

Moonlight spilled into his room once more, and just like that, the letters returned, glowing softly across the pages.

Keld’s jaw dropped. "No way… Is it reacting to moonlight?!"

He quickly experimented, pulling the book away from the light. The words vanished again. Moving it back—they reappeared. He repeated the action a few more times before grinning.

"This is some next-level magic trick. I love it."

But excitement quickly turned into curiosity. If this was some secret message, then he needed to read it.

He positioned the book under the moonlight and began.

"A thousand years ago, there was a kingdom...

...where the moon’s divine light bathed the earth in eternal silver, giving birth to Lunara, the Eternal Dominion of Selunara. It was a land of unparalleled beauty and wealth, ruled by the wise and just King Aelion the Radiant, a mortal chosen by the Moon God himself. Under his reign, Lunara flourished. Its cities were built of shimmering moonstone, its rivers flowed with liquid starlight, and its people, the Selunarians, wielded the power of light and shadow, gifted by their celestial patron.

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At the heart of Lunara stood the Lunar Citadel, a towering palace that housed the sacred Moon God’s Blood, a divine artifact said to hold the essence of the Moon God’s power. It was the source of Lunara’s prosperity and the kingdom’s greatest secret, protected by ancient wards and the unwavering loyalty of its people.

But peace is fragile, and even the moon’s light casts shadows.

From the depths of the void emerged Mánagarmr, the Devourer of Moons, an ancient and malevolent god from Norse mythology. Mánagarmr, a monstrous wolf born of chaos, sought to consume the moon’s power and plunge the world into eternal darkness. He had long coveted the Moon God’s Blood, knowing it would make him unstoppable.

One fateful night, during a celestial alignment when the Veil of Selunara was at its weakest, Mánagarmr descended upon Lunara with his army of shadow-wrought beasts. The kingdom, unprepared for such an onslaught, fought valiantly under King Aelion’s leadership. But Mánagarmr’s power was too great. The skies turned black, the rivers of starlight ran dry, and the moon’s light faded.

In a final act of defiance, King Aelion invoked the Moon God’s Blood to protect his people. But Mánagarmr, cunning and ruthless, twisted the artifact’s power. With a roar that shook the heavens, he unleashed a curse that turned every Selunarian into stone, sealing the kingdom in an eternal slumber. The Lunar Citadel, once a beacon of hope, became a tomb of moonstone statues, frozen in time.

Mánagarmr, however, could not claim the Moon God’s Blood. The artifact, sensing his corruption, vanished into the depths of the citadel, hidden behind layers of celestial magic. Enraged, Mánagarmr bound Lunara in a shroud of darkness, ensuring no one could enter or leave until he found a way to break the seal and claim his prize.

For a thousand years, Lunara has slept, its people trapped in stone, its glory forgotten by the world. But legends whisper that the Moon God’s Blood still lies within the citadel, waiting for a hero brave enough to awaken the kingdom and challenge the Devourer of Moons.**

Keld let out a slow exhale, his mind racing.

"Okay... So either this book is enchanted... or I just read the plot of the most epic fantasy novel ever."

He glanced at the glowing words again. "But this seems way too detailed to be a simple story…"

A shiver ran down his spine. What if—

"Keld! Come down for dinner!"

Keld nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden voice of his sister calling him from downstairs.

"Oh, come on, give me a break! I just discovered a freaking cursed kingdom or something!"

Sighing, he closed the book. "I’ll deal with this later. Hopefully, no ancient moon gods try to haunt me in my sleep."

Little did he know, this was only the beginning.