The world was dark and cold….

Wet soil, blood, and death were the only things Luna could smell as she stood at the edge of where the ice floor started. Her eyes were wide, stunned by the scenery of beauty and terror laid before her.

Beyond the healer’s tent, half of the fallen city of Verge was now covered in white ice. The buildings resembled perfect ice sculptures from where she stood. The sky was stuck in a strange twilight and the air was cold. If it wasn’t for the rest of the desert, one wouldn’t have believed that this part was recently a very hot area. The streets were covered in solid ice, their color hidden under the pure white nature of Ghost of Winter’s power, creatures remained trapped as horrific statues. Meanwhile, the rest of the city maintained its red hue.

Her sister could only push herself so far.

Luna’s heart ached as she took in more of the icy wasteland. The cold bit into her skin, a stark reminder of how powerful the ice Aura was if used at its full potential. By now, she assumed Snow and his team had found their way to the dark tower where the undead king ruled.

The ominous structure towered over the entire city, its silhouette resembling a dark spear pointing at the clouds. Its shade of red appeared dark as she continued staring at it. Since there was no mention of it in the translations, Luna assumed that the structure had only appeared after the people of this world had been cursed or somewhere close to that specific period. Also, she was almost sure that the Undead King was one of the people who attained unique abilities from the gods like the priest.

Little did they know that those same blessings would turn into curses when they sided with the True Celestials, specifically the Servant of Light because this was the Sun god's domain. The statue in the shrine might have given her nothing to work with. But the translations had ensured that The Servant of Light and the other True Celestials led a war against the gods. And from the looks of it, the divine realm was affected heavily by this war.

‘I need to find out more…where do we fit in? Is there a way all of this can be reversed?’

“It looks like I need to rejoin the fight and meet the undead king.” She muttered. If Undead King was anything like the priest, Luna was sure she would get something from him. His consciousness wasn’t gone, only scattered.

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Just when she was about to take her leave, someone grasped her arm and she was forced to look back.

It was Mira. She was staring at her with a serious expression.

“You won’t make it to the Siege Tower in time. The strongest cursed soldiers are guarding that thing,” Mira spoke, her voice steady but her eyes betraying her worry.

Luna stared at her for a moment and sighed when she realized Mira had a point. It seems she had forgotten the current situation. A summoner had already fallen at the hands of a cursed soldier which was hard to believe because Ceres was an exceptional ascender from House Feng with an impressive summon.

…Whatever killed him had to be something incredibly powerful.

“I can take down a few…” Luna replied with forged confidence. The message was still something that lingered on her mind. It made her mind restless and unsure of what to do next. However, if Luna continued thinking about the message, she would never achieve her current goals of protecting Lena and uncovering the truth about her realm and the gods that once ruled it.

Also, much as she wanted to ignore it, Luna felt a great sense of dread each time they got closer to the portal. Each time she got closer to the truth...

Mira turned to the white expanse stained with black and corpses of both ascenders and monsters. The sight of carnage made her slightly quiver. She wasn't used to seeing this much carnage. “You’re strong, Lady Luna. At first, I thought you were as strong as I am or maybe slightly even stronger.”

She paused and looked down. “But, after seeing you today…I realized that you’re far more superior than I am. However, my lady, that doesn’t put you on par with those who are blessed. You and I are unblessed. We don’t rely on special abilities that lie outside sensing life energy. We can die if we push our bodies further than they’re supposed to. Do you understand that?”

Luna nodded slowly as she let Mira’s words sink in. But that question was irrelevant….

She was aware of her weaknesses. She was aware she was unblessed. She couldn’t manifest flames…create ice…summon divine helpers…fly in the air like Gail and Darkness, or heal wounds at the thought. All her life, she has been reminded by everyone that she will never be as great or powerful as an ascender.

However...

After pushing herself to survive this desert, a desert crawling with creatures she hadn't seen before-- Luna had grown more accepting of what she was...

A freak of nature.

“So?” Luna hissed.

“Huh?” Mira turned to her.

“So what if we don’t fit the necessary criteria of ascenders? It doesn’t make us weak, Mira. I know you're more experienced and older than me. I don’t know much about the world to be honest…I’m only seventeen, after all,” Luna argued while facing Mira directly. “But one thing I’ve learned is that only the strong get to see tomorrow. You’ve survived everything and you’re still alive, Mira Hong. Adam is dead and you’re alive. So to me, we’re strong enough to fight this battle.”

‘I am starting to sound like Len.’ She scoffed in her head after hearing her own speech.

“We can keep up with the ascenders because no weak fool can survive this hell for as long as we have.”

Mira’s lips curved into a small sad smile. “Sigh. I have tried my best to convince you not to go. I guess I have no choice but to follow you to Siege Tower. How do we get in though? The tunnels have already collapsed.”

Luna grinned, the craziness of her idea making her feel alive for the first time in a while. All of this somehow felt like a multiplayer battle royale. And in battle royales, Raya (Luna's online personality) was known for making the craziest decisions that even left her teammates shocked.

Luna’s eyes gleamed and she shrugged. “Through the front door, of course,” she answered nonchalantly.

Mira groaned, rubbing her forehead. Of course…the front door was their only way into the Siege Tower.

“Why did I even bother asking?”