The lobby was bright, wide, and brimming with life. People moved in every direction, the space alive with urgency and purpose. Many wore sleek, tailored corporate suits—humans who looked as if they belonged in a world untouched by monsters. They clutched holographic communicators or folders thick with physical files, weaving through the crowd with practiced ease.

Their shoes clicked rhythmically against the polished marble floor, the constant tapping a mechanical chorus that filled the air.

Luna found it strangely annoying—how unaffected they all seemed. As if the world outside this building wasn't teetering on the edge of madness. As if cursed beasts and corruption were things that happened to other people.

Then there was the second group. These ones stood out easily. No suits or sleek ties—just battle-worn armor and weapons that looked like relics of another age, only sharpened with modern utility.

Greatswords, spears, chained gauntlets, and plasma-etched axes were strapped to their backs. These were the ascenders. Some chatted in corners while others leaned against pillars with the calm air of people used to waiting for chaos.

Luna remained at the entrance for a few moments longer, her gaze steady, absorbing it all. The sounds, the heat, the life. It had been so long since she had been in a place like this, let alone be in so many people.

She stood out, but not enough to draw attention yet. Her tailored black suit and quiet presence made her look like a high-level government envoy—or perhaps someone pretending to be one.

She stood in the center, slightly confused. The atmosphere seemed to contrast with her loner personality. She had fought monsters twice her size, but human interactions were still not her thing.

Finally, a voice from the reception desk broke her focus.

"Good evening, ma'am. How may I help you today?"

The voice was polite, almost melodic. It belonged to a beautiful woman with ash-grey hair tied neatly into a bun and smart, discerning green eyes that scanned Luna with the calm efficiency of someone trained to memorize faces.

Luna cleared her throat and approached the desk. "I'm here under recommendation. I'd like to join an Academy."

The woman's fingers moved smoothly across the translucent keys of her terminal—until Luna's words sank in.

"An Ascender?" The woman's eyes slightly widened with interest. "Of course. Could you please provide your name and who recommended you?"

"Lara," Luna said, maintaining her calm expression. "No second name. I was recommended by Adam Ares."

The typing stopped. Just like that. The woman's fingers froze mid-motion, and she slowly looked up, the color visibly draining from her face.

Her green eyes locked onto Luna's, now holding a hint of alarm. "Adam Ares?" she asked, her voice a pitch quieter, more fragile.

Luna blinked, confused by the sudden shift in the woman's demeanor. "Y-yes?" she replied hesitantly, her brow furrowing slightly.

The receptionist jolted upright, eyes wide. She quickly dipped into a formal bow. "Forgive me! We were already informed of your arrival, Lady Lara. Unfortunately, Sir Phillips is currently in Redspire, and he will return in two days."

Luna blinked, caught off guard. "Oh."

"Do not worry. The Guild will be more than happy to cover your stay in one of our premium inns until he returns," the woman continued, her tone now overly professional, almost too polished—like someone trying very hard not to offend royalty.

'Wow. Talk about a ten-star experience,' Luna thought dryly.

Moments later, she arrived at the Guild-sponsored inn—if one could even call it that. It was more palace than lodging. Her room was a high-floor suite with pristine marble floors, a private balcony that overlooked the shining skyline of the district, and even a personal outdoor pool bathed in soft lights.

Even the air smelled faintly of lavender and luxury!

"We look forward to having you, Ascender Lara."

As soon as the receptionist closed the door behind her, Luna exhaled a long, quiet sigh. She loosened her tie, popped her collar open, and tossed her coat carelessly to the floor.

The silence was golden.

Unburdened for the first time in days, she wandered the room, taking it all in. Her fingers brushed over the ornate desk, the velvet chair cushions, the stack of fresh towels folded with obsessive precision. A bottle of wine and a box of sweets had been set on the counter, labeled:

"The Ascender Guild welcomes you, Lady Lara."

Once she'd finished admiring the room's design and quiet grandeur, Luna headed straight to the bathroom. The walls were stone and glass, warm lights tucked behind the mirror, casting a soft golden glow over the spacious interior. The bathtub was deep and steaming. The water, perfect.

She needed this. Not out of vanity, but ritual.

As the water soaked her skin and hair, Luna's thoughts stayed sharp. She had plans of watching the event announcing the official merging of House Ares and House Feng—a political marriage of influence and necessity.

This meant that the Northern Settlement would fall under the full jurisdiction of House Feng, and with that came access to the massive tech network and energy infrastructure of House Ares.

'We need them,' Luna thought.

The Eastern Settlement was vast, the second-largest in the world, home to over 700 million people—most of them mundane, unawakened. Without technological advances in food synthesis, water purification, and defense, that many lives couldn't be sustained for long.

The apocalypse was growing, and humanity needed an edge.

Splat. Splat.

Water dripped from her hair as she stepped out and grabbed a towel. Her skin glowed faintly under the warm light, drops trailing down her back. She dried off quickly, wrapping the towel around her torso, and sat at the edge of the bed where a small tablet blinked on the nightstand.

The screen displayed the academy roster for Aaron Phillips's next cycle.

Luna narrowed her eyes.

Michael Vast, Leo Grant, Sophie, Eliot, Kim, Anna…

Ten names. All of them accepted.

Each one is a verified Ascender with at least Second Gate access and a theory score that passed Aaron's absurdly strict standards. She skimmed the list twice, then tapped on a few of their profiles. Combat footage. Ranked duels. Training evaluations. All impressive.

'He only picks diamonds,' she thought.

Lara wasn't even on the list of candidates. She was late to the party—just a shadow slipping into a process already in motion. But that didn't worry her. She had the recommendation of the clan that ran the entire nation. That name alone could bend a few rules.

Still, a problem lingered.

The evaluation exam.

She stared at the tablet again, fingers lightly tapping the screen's edge. Her brows furrowed.

'My zenshi levels… they're undetectable.'

That was the issue. The moment someone scanned her, the alarms would go off. The systems would read her as a mundane. And yet she wasn't. She was an Ascender. Just a broken one—unregistered, disconnected, and dangerous for all the wrong reasons.

'I need something that stores zenshi,' she thought. 'Something that can mask me just long enough.'

In the Divine Realm, she'd learned how to mimic the presence of zenshi. Subtle tricks, divine breath techniques, borrowed flows. But here in the Mortal Realm, imitation wasn't enough. She needed to register at least Level 1 Mastery. And that… might be pushing the limit.

'Maybe Mira knows something.'

She sighed, a long breath that seemed to carry every weight of the past few days with it. Placing the screen aside, Luna leaned back on the soft mattress, her gaze falling to the ceiling above her.

For a while, she simply lay there, still in her thoughts, eyes wide in the dim silence.

Eventually, she stood and slipped into a nightgown. She crawled back under the sheets, head sinking into the cloud-like pillow.

She was too tired to think. Sleep found her gently, pulled under by the weight of the fatigue she felt.

***

By six in the morning, Luna had already slipped out of the inn and into the quiet bustle of the Knight District. She moved with purpose, weaving through early risers and half-awake patrol units, eyes scanning signs and banners for any trace of what she sought: a Zenshi-storing device.

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She'd asked the receptionist earlier. The woman had been polite—curious, but polite—and pointed Luna toward the newest shops opened by certified Enchanters.

But Luna didn't have the luxury of time. So she did what any rational operative would do. She started asking questions.

Specifically, she asked Ascenders. The ones whose accessories glimmered with soul-bound enchantments, whose blades sang in the air when they moved, whose boots whispered across the pavement instead of thudding.

Over and over, she heard the same name:

"Little King's Tool Shop."

Luna blinked as she stared up at the shop's weathered wooden sign, swinging lightly in the morning breeze.

'This is it?'

She had expected something grand. A tower, maybe. Not… this modest corner store tucked between a noodle house and a barely-functioning bar.

As unprofessional as this place looked, the sign didn't lie. This was the mildly famous Little King.

Ding.

A soft bell chimed as she stepped inside.

Immediately, pressure slammed into her like a silent storm. Not violent, but dense. It wrapped around her spine and crawled up her neck like invisible fingers brushing against her soul.

Luna's veteran skills kicked in immediately. Her sharp gaze traveled like a hawk and landed on a silent human-shaped shadow slouched against the far wall behind her like a forgotten statue. It had no eyes, yet she felt its gaze latch onto her as if dissecting every inch of her presence.

Luna turned fully to face it, her voice low and unyielding.

"Are you the little king? I need something from you."

The shadow didn't answer. It loomed in silence, as if weighing her soul.

Then came a shift—subtle at first. A hum of energy pulsed from the corner, and the darkness began to peel itself off the wall. First a hand, then a limb, then the entire figure emerged, dragging the night with it.

At first, he looked more mannequin than man—pitch black, like lacquered porcelain molded into a humanoid shape. But as the coating cracked and flaked away, a human form slowly surfaced.

Just like his name, he was short and compact, with olive-toned skin, thick brown hair tousled into a mess, and deep red-brown eyes that shimmered with a brilliance far older than his appearance allowed.

"Where did you get that sword?" he asked, one eyebrow arching high with curiosity. His voice was clear and youthful, but carried an undercurrent of sharpness—like a blade sheathed in velvet.

"Just by the hilt alone, I can tell someone masterful made it. Let me guess... Eastern Settlement?" He took a step forward, still eyeing the Sun Ember. "That place still holds some of the best traditional smiths left in the world. Are you from a clan there?"

Luna, who had summoned the sword from instinct. 'Mmm…he could tell just from the sword. Impressive. Unfortunately…'

Luna hid a malicious smirk. "No, I am from this settlement. My name is Lara, a recently awakened ascender." She bowed to the Little King.

"Oh!" The excitement in the Little King's voice disappeared when he heard she was from here. And a recently awakened ascender.

With a sigh, he snapped his fingers the darkness in the room shifted. The shadows twisted, and the shop's items appeared.

Every item was behind a glass protection like some expensive jewelry. Most of them were swords, others were rare artifacts that gave off very unique presences.

Another section had shields hanging on the wall. At first glance, Luna could tell that each shield was forged from the skin of a cursed creature.

They were all Soulbound weapons.

"I've never met a forge master with a Shadow Aura."

"Well, once you know how to enchant like me, forging shouldn't be that hard. The runes I make are pure, turning my products into high-quality ones. Plus…my Aura makes their restoration speed much faster because it draws power from the shadow world."

The Little King explained. His tone was oddly balanced, matching perfectly with his calm demeanor.

Luna knew what he meant all too well because she had a cloak that followed the same principle. Storm Rider had created the cloak's cognitive powers using principles of the shadow world.

Because Luna wasn't an ascender two years ago, information about the Broken Realms was not authorized to her. The only publicly known Broken Realm was The Void because Ascenders were connected to it. Meanwhile, the other realms were still a tight-lipped secret among the clans and ascenders.

Luna did not know why exactly. But she was sure it had to do with the Creator—the being who created them in the first place. The Truth was a very dangerous thing, and maybe this was all for the best.

"Anyway, I sensed nothing from you at first, so I thought you were working for one of my competitors. Or worse, sent by the Guild." He coughed lightly and reached for a grey apron hanging by the wall. As he tied it around his waist, he shot her a disarming smile. "But it turns out you're a customer. So, what can I do for you, Ascender Lara? Also… just out of curiosity, what Soul Gate are you on?"

"First," Luna replied, her tone curt. "I'm hoping you have something that can store divine energy. Like a battery."

As she spoke, her eyes scanned the room. The workshop was modest in size but vibrant—its walls painted a soothing sky blue. Each display case was sealed with enchantments and bore the unmistakable sigil of House Ares.

He's either a massive fanboy or directly affiliated with them, she thought. More likely, House Ares sponsors him—that would explain the rare materials he uses in his creations.

Her gaze caught on a peculiar black dagger sitting on a velvet slab, surrounded by subtle runes that shimmered faintly under the ambient light.

The Little King's eyes widened. "First Gate? That's hard to believe. Your shadow—it's dense, potent. That's not normal for a beginner." He tilted his head, squinting slightly. "And what do you mean by a battery? Don't you produce enough Zenshi on your own? Or do you have slow recovery?"

Luna hesitated for just a breath, then nodded. "Yes. My recovery is slow," she lied smoothly. "I spent last night handling cursed creatures near the southern border. An assignment from the Guild. It drained me—but it paid well, and I want to take on more."

In the Northern Settlement, the Guild was the second strongest organization after House Ares. It was established to manage ascenders who did not want to fall under any clan. It offered freedom and a chance to Ascenders who wished to make money with their abilities by offering them assignments that involved hunting cursed creatures and retrieving raw materials.

"Greedy Ascender, huh. But I guess the world has enough heroes." The Little King looked around. "I think I have something that can help. I was going to give you the Sphere of Heaven, but that would be an inconvenience for you. I have just the relic for you, it's registered as a middle-tier C grade, the Spring Wind."

"Middle Tier C Grade! How much?"

"Two thousand credits."

"Two thousand for a C-grade artificial relic!"

The little king smirked. "Of course. Do you know who I am? It took me three months to make a relic like that." He argued. "Relics are complex sorcery compared to weapons, you know. The runes I used were very hard to create and imbue with purpose. The Spring Wind might be a C grade, but it boosts recovery speed and stores large quantities of divine essence. On top of that, it's soul bound. The Guild gave it this grade because those fools don't understand the materials I used. The Breath of Spring is from an elemental beast."

Luna gritted her teeth. Was this bastard trying to sell a C-grade relic to her at two thousand Credits?

When she mentioned she was paid well, she hoped the Little King would auction the high-end relics. But to think that he would gladly start by saying two thousand credits.

'Shit…he saw the sword.' She wanted to slap her forehead. Obviously, a sword as beautiful as the Sun Ember was going to attract misconceptions about her.

Little King probably thought she was noble, looking for something cliche like escapism or a little freedom from a high-blood father.

Little King was smiling at her. He was unaware that Luna had already caught on to his plans.

"I'm not impressed until I see the relic myself." Luna crossed her arms and huffed. "Two thousand is a lot for a relic I haven't seen yet. And what about the lower grades? Don't you have any?"

Little King's smile fell into a frown. "I do."

"Bring them too," Luna demanded.

Little King returned with a heavy brown chest. He placed it on the counter and opened it to reveal its red interior and the items it carried.

Inside the chest, there were five specific artifacts, each one separated by a boundary made from the skin of a cursed creature.

The artifact was the Spring wind as introduced by Little King. It resembled a silver necklace with a small pearl in the middle. Inside the pearl, Luna could see the faint fog that was the 'Breath of Spring'.

The second one was a blue stone about the size of her fist.

Noticing that she was looking at the blue stone, the little king cleared his throat. "That's the Blue Diamond. It's also a C grade. A low tier because it can only store zenshi of a level two quality. Below that, it won't work. Higher than that, it will shatter."

Luna observed the Blue Diamond. She was tempted to pour some Qi into it to see how it would react. But she quickly pushed away that idea. The results might be catastrophic or worse, risk exposing her.

The next item was a small white pearl with a pinkish coating. Her eyes widened when she felt the intense energy coming from the pearl.

"That's a Sky Pearl. I didn't make it…but it's a B grade. It can hold all the qualities of zenshi for thirty minutes. The time limit is what makes it a B grade. It is not soul-bound, so it doesn't ability to self-recover. "

"I see."

The next artifacts were close to useless. They were D and F grades, respectively. One was a storm catcher, capable of storing elemental energy.

Impressive. If not for the fact that the storm catcher damaged its user's soul. Therefore, only people with the ability to heal their soul gates could use it.

The second was the Breath's Hallow. An artifact that could boost your strength by ten percent as long as you held your breath. It was labeled as an F grade because it was a single-use artifact.

In the end, Luna spent 5400 credits. It was more than what she had in mind. But it was worth it because she walked out of the shop with the Sky Pearl and an A-grade weapon known as the Shadow Wolf Dagger. She thought it would be nice to actually have a weapon with shadow-related abilities. Because she wanted to explore the shadow world someday when she's stronger.

It cost exactly 4000 credits, but it was worth it because the Shadow Wolf Dagger could absorb life essence. She didn't know if its creator knew this. But when she touched its blade and willed some essence into it, Luna felt the blade react to it.

It wasn't a soul bound like a normal forged weapon. But it could be stored in a shadow, or rather, be summoned from the shadows.

She returned to the Inn with a satisfied smile and meditated for a few hours before returning to the Guild later in the afternoon to train and maybe watch the official event with other people.

"Miss Lara, good afternoon." The enthusiastic receptionist greeted her with a smile. "Did you find what you're looking for?"

"Yes, I did. I never thought Little King was such an expensive guy."

The woman lingered for a moment, then opened her mouth, "You meant Sir Ray Night?"

"Night?" Luna's breath trembled. "The Little King is a member of House Night?"

"Yes, he is. You didn't know?" She creased her eyebrows.

"I didn't."

"Well, Sir Ray is one of the strongest Ascenders in this district. He hunts cursed creatures to harvest materials for his forges. And he has a pretty face," the woman winked at Luna and giggled.

Luna wasn't interested. But she played along anyway. "I noticed. Anyway, do you happen to have any training rooms in this building? I went through the data list you sent me, and I think I should train more if I am to impress Lord Aaron."

"I understand, Ascender Lara. The ascenders he picked this cycle are very impressive. Most of them are stars and geniuses recommended by the government, and the rest are handpicked by him."

The receptionist was as chatty as she was yesterday. This was probably her personality. Luna didn't mind.

"Do you wish to train with someone?"

"Of course, please pair me up with anyone very good at Martial Combat. No weapons, just a short exchange between fists."

The receptionist nodded and turned to her keyboard and holographic screen. Protocols were usually followed to use these training rooms, but Lara here had friends in higher places.

One mistake could get her fired.

After going through the system, she found a name that fit Miss Lara's request.

'Ascender Vast, one of Sir Aaron Phillip's handpicked ascenders. This will be fun to watch.' Her eyes sparkled as she stared at the screen and selected a training room for Lara.

"I do have someone who might fit your request. He's a Second Gate Ascender with Level Two mastery."

Luna was quiet for a moment before answering in an excited tone:

"I will take it."

'This will be an opportunity to test my skills against a human. I haven't fought a human in two years.' Luna added in her mind.

"Good." The receptionist smiled, then clicked on the screen in front of her. "Head to training room four. Your partner is waiting for you there."

Luna nodded and left the lobby, feeling excited.

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