After drinking from the fountain's water and enduring the torment of her soul being tempered, she collapsed. The pain was indescribable—tear.

After drinking from the fountain's water and enduring the torment of her soul being tempered, she collapsed. The pain was indescribable—tearing tears from her eyes, leaving her writhing, clawing at the stone floor as if trying to crawl out of her own body.

"My servant… I can feel you…"

Lena slowly opened her eyes at the sound of Everlight's voice. It was gentle, yet so close. It felt like a whisper against her ear. It was the first time she had heard it this clearly in years. By now, the pain had ebbed, but her body was drenched in sweat, her hair clinging wetly to her cheeks.

She found herself lying on a bed, her head spinning, her breath shallow. Each inhale cut through her lungs like shards of frost. The cold was everywhere, unnatural and piercing, as though the air itself wanted to hollow her out.

"Everlight… where are you?" she whispered, her voice raw, desperate to hear that voice again. She had so many questions. "What's happening to me? What did you do?"

Rolling off the mattress, she crashed to the stone floor with a dull, jarring thud. The contact sent shivers through her flesh; the floor's icy surface crawled into her skin, gnawing at her marrow.

[I did nothing but grant you power… at the price of nothing.]

The voice seeped from the walls, from the cracks in the stone, from the air itself. Lena clutched her ears, but the act only amplified the sound until her skull throbbed. Agony lanced through her temples like nails hammered straight into bone.

[I wasn't planning on using you again, but cutting yourself off from fate… that caught my interest. How did you mortals manage such a thing without death?]

"Get out of my head!" Lena screamed, her throat tearing raw, blood spilling hot and metallic from her nostrils. The force of her own words rattled inside her skull until she swayed, nearly vomiting.

[But I am not in your head, mortal. I am in your soul. Great Communication allows us to speak across realms… because a fragment of me lives within you.]

Her stomach twisted violently. She wanted to deny it, but every beat of her heart told her otherwise. His words settled into her with dreadful clarity, heavy and undeniable. For the first time, the voice was not a distant whisper but steady, resounding—almost tender.

And in that unnatural tenderness came the cruelest realization: for the first time in two years, she felt as though she was in control of herself. Noticing that, Lena stopped resisting. She let the Great Communication burn in her chest, the link stretching open like an unhealed wound.

Minutes passed. Silence swelled, thick and suffocating, until it felt as if the world itself was holding its breath.

Then, at last, Everlight spoke again. Her voice no longer a whisper, but a chorus of countless tongues layered together, divine and terrible. Each word scraped across her soul like a brand, leaving her trembling on the floor.

[I was there when the first mortal acquired the gift of cultivation from the Heavenly Supreme. It was a beautiful moment, you know. Creatures that could once break so easily could now stand against magical beasts that destroyed mountains with a breath—and win. It amused me to watch these fragile beings, destined only to die, rise and grow without our guidance.

They studied us as we communed with the Concepts of the universe, and in their defiance, they created something similar: True Sorcery. We underestimated mortals. They were clever, ambitious… and far more difficult to erase than we believed.]

"What are you trying to say?" Lena asked, her voice raw, her body still trembling from the fountain's torment.

[I am saying that I do not wish for the destruction of your kind because you're interesting. And I can stop the ending....if you help me with something.]

Lena gave a harsh, humorless laugh. "Stop the ending? Don't take me for a fool just because we can speak, Everlight. You're not omnipotent. I am familiar with the Flame and its significance. You cannot save humanity. We're nothing but collateral damage in your granb scheme."

Everlight, who had been shaping her tone to sound almost human, let out a soft, mocking laugh that echoed like broken glass.

[And what scheme is that?]

"Who am I to know the mind of a deity?"

[I can save humanity through you, Lenaria Feng. With my guidance, you will uncover powers buried in the dream world. I do not despise your kind. I despise the threat concealed within it.]

"The threat?"

[There is a mortal… detached from fate itself. Very difficult to find. But they are here, in this realm. I can feel them. I will guide you, reveal the hidden paths of cultivation, if you agree to kill that mortal.]

Lena's heart clenched as the words sank in. "Who are they?"

Silence stretched, heavy and suffocating. For the first time, Everlight's tone shifted from amusement to something grave, almost reverent.

[A descendant of a god]

After Everlight's words faded, her presence vanished completely, and the world around Lena snapped back into place. The suffocating cold dissolved, and space and time flowed once more as if nothing had been disturbed.

But then came another sound—steady, deliberate footsteps echoing down the hall, each one louder than the last until they pressed against Lena's ears like a warning.

"I see you're awake."

Leo appeared at the entrance, his figure pale and drained. The lingering effects of drinking from the pool clung to him, making the red in his eyes dull and lifeless. He looked sickly, his body hollowed without the steady burn of Zenshi to sustain him.

Ascenders depended on Zenshi; it was the lifeblood of their strength. Without it, they were shadows of themselves, vulnerable and frail. Leo, stripped of nearly everything left inside him, now resembled a man already claimed by death.

"You look like you died," Lena muttered, her own body no less broken.

"Yi Shen said we'll recover slowly," Leo replied, his tone dry. "So you'll have to get used to this corpse for now."

He extended a weak hand and helped her up. Together, they made their way back into the main chamber, their footsteps uneven, their bodies dragging. Sophie sat waiting with her hair spilling loose around her face, exhaustion in every strand. Her knuckles were split and raw, and the wounds from striking the stone floor refused to close.

Across the chamber, Regan sat hunched in silence, buried in a heap of old, dust-choked tomes. His expression was distant, almost fevered, as his eyes devoured every line. He looked as though the weight of centuries pressed against him with each page he turned.

Finally, he froze. His finger traced a line of faded ink, and his breath hitched.

"You need to see this." His voice shook with both awe and unease. "These books… they're about the old world. Written by people who lived with knowledge of both the Divine and Mortal realms."

Lena's heart lurched. She strode forward, snatched the volume from his trembling hands, and flipped through the brittle, brown pages. Her eyes raced, scanning the forbidden script until the truth buried within carved itself into her bones.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"My gods…" she whispered, her voice hollow with dread.

***

Astral Vigil Castle in the Dreaming....

"Fire creation was something simple for one connected to the Sun God. I couldn't last before because I lacked the stronger essence on my side."

Luna stood outside the Astral Vigil, her eyes fixed on the boundless landscape and the vast silver lake ahead. Above, four-winged birds soared through the star-strewn sky, weaving between drifting clusters of violet cloud.

She lifted her palm, drawing in the denser currents of Qi that flowed like hidden rivers through the night. At her command, golden flames surged into existence, blooming from her hand with a quiet brilliance. The fire twisted, reshaping itself into a delicate four-winged bird that broke free from her fingers.

It circled her in slow arcs, its body flickering with radiant embers, before dissolving into ash and light a moment later.

Luna's lips curved faintly. This…this was progress. The fire answered her with far greater obedience now. If she continued, if she mastered this principle, she might one day seize the rarest flame of all: white fire.

In the span of mere weeks, she had unraveled more about concepts than in years of desperate wandering. Concepts were not just tools—they were the skeleton of reality itself, threads of law that wove seamlessly into true sorcery. Through her studies, she discovered that true sorcery had not been born from mortals themselves, but from imitation. Long ago, humans of the divine realm studied gods and magical beasts, shaping crude reflections of their impossible feats.

But even so, what mortals called True sorcery was only a shadow. Where gods bent essence with a thought, humans required ritual, will, and painstaking mastery. True Sorcery was not something humans were meant to wield in the first place. It was too complicated, and learning it needed so much time and dedication.

Storm Rider and the Visionaries had time to master Sorcery. Time Luna didn't have, unfortunately.

While gazing at the horizon, her thoughts grew louder despite the deep silence surrounding her.

'I wonder where the dreaming ends… and the nightmare begins.'

She tried to direct her thoughts to something else by staring at the scenery beyond her.

The Astral Vigil stood like a phantom monument, a floating castle held aloft by ancient sorcery so immense it seemed to breathe. Its colossal frame shifted from time to time, as though drifting with invisible currents, and its brilliance spilled downward, casting a vast reflection of itself into the Dreaming.

Ascenders who sought passage into the Dreaming through trials would follow their compasses toward that reflection, challenge its guardian, and if victorious, earn entry into the true Vigil.

But Luna could not shake her curiosity. If there were a reflection and a true castle, which one was real? Could the place she stood in now be nothing more than another layer of illusion?

Much as she wanted to figure it out herself, rules bound her like chains. Those below Saint Class were forbidden to wander freely in the Dreaming, much less leave it unsupervised. Her goal, however, was clear. She needed to ascend to Saint Class, open her second gate, and stabilize her new strength. Only then could she begin her real pursuit, which was the hidden library that exists somewhere in this castle.

Therefore, for the time being, Luna was going to get as strong as she could since one day she would have to face a Visionary or worse.

After lingering outside for thirty more minutes, she returned indoors. The halls brimmed with ascenders clad in uniform garb, their polished boots striking the marble floors in rhythmic echoes.

Luna slipped into the stream of bodies without a word, her presence blending with the other juniors as she followed the tide toward the dining hall. The room was alive with chatter and clamor, juniors gathered in clusters, trading rumors and dissecting theories in urgent voices.

With her tray in hand, Luna retreated to a shadowed corner, far from the curious eyes of her peers. She ate in silence, cutting carefully into her steak, while her gaze swept across the hall. Every gesture, every faint ripple of energy around her companions, she catalogued.

She wanted to separate the Qi path followers from those who walked the Zenshi path. As expected, the majority bore the refined, razor-sharp presence of Zenshi users. They were confident, proud, almost arrogant in how their energy settled.

Still, one question gnawed at her: 'Where did these Qi path followers come from?'

'Raiden claims he's from the old world. Then perhaps these people are as well. They must have followed Aaron into the Dreaming and built a civilization here. But… how do the servants truly feel about this?'

"Excuse me."

The voice cut into her thoughts like a blade. Luna's eyes snapped up, meeting the figure standing across the table. To her surprise, it was Anna.

"Aren't you supposed to be occupied?" Luna muttered, lowering her gaze back to her plate. "Raiden said you wouldn't be out of the pavilion until next week."

"I got out a little early." Anna sat on the opposite side of the table and scooped a heap of rice onto her plate before starting her meal. "Any news on the others?"

"The bodies of four candidates were recently recovered. They're being returned to the mortal world to their families."

Anna paused mid-bite, then smirked lightly. "Was Leo one of them?"

Luna let out a short chuckle. Lena might have been the strongest of the candidates sent here, but Leo was no weakling. At his level, his potential rivaled even Snow's.

"I don't know. But if he's dead, then everyone else is dead," she said flatly. Not a trace of concern colored her voice. Death was too common in this world—especially for ascenders who danced daily with forces far beyond mortal reach.

"He's alive. Both he and Sophie come from the Great Serpent Sect."

"Great Serpent? I've never heard of that."

"It's supposed to be a secret. It's an elite sect under House Val and the government. Most of the government's strongest ascenders are nurtured there, even the President himself."

'The President of the government is an ascender? And why am I only hearing this now?' Luna almost choked on her food, stifling a cough.

"The President is an ascender? What stage is he at?" For the first time in the conversation, her face betrayed genuine interest.

"He's a sorcerer, of course. Though not a strong one like the clan heads. He doesn't wield any Natural Law–breaking power like Lord Artemis and the others."

"Oh… but a sorcerer is still a sorcerer." Luna leaned back, her expression softening. Strangely, she wasn't too surprised by the revelation. Perhaps because, in her gut, she had always suspected such power ran deeper through the government than anyone admitted. Still, it was impressive that the nation's ruler bore the title of an ascender.

Leaning forward again, she shifted the weight of the discussion with a faint smile. "So, how's training? What neat tricks have you managed to master?"

"Flying is neat," she answered. "It's quite insane that this place keeps all these secrets to itself. If we learned about Qi arts, maybe the rest of the world wouldn't be in as much shit as it is today. If fifty more ascenders can call on lightning, then that means more ascenders get to see their families."

She sighed, remembering her teacher's warning, "…but they can't because human nature is a nasty thing. True Sorcery is just too powerful."

Luna nodded solemnly. Raiden had explained why the Astral Vigil remains hidden and why true sorcery is only taught to those of the true path and people the Dream Lord has chosen.

According to them, Humans and Power are two things that don't mix well—especially when beings like the deities and demons exist in both realms. Apparently, the reason there were fewer Qi path followers was due to the corrupted deities and the corruption they attracted.

Although strong, an ascender of the Qi Path was at the bottom of the food chain due to those two facts. Raiden also mentioned that other sects in the divine realm focus heavily on the Qi path. Another fact she had learned was that most of them are worshipers of the Heavenly Order. Their beliefs and ways are centered around the Servants of the gods. They have no faith in the mortal world and plan to take over when the mortal world is fully gone.

"Have you come across anything on Fate?" this time, Anna whispered.

"Why would you ask that?" Luna swallowed. Fate isn't something one just jumps into researching. It is a powerful and unruly force that even scares Luna herself.

"Because I'm curious. My Watcher keeps mentioning it. Whoever is in the dreaming is severed from fate to hide us from the gaze of the Heavenly Order," she scoffed and leaned in to whisper. "Look, I always knew that other beings exist out there. Come on, like if the devils exist, what's stopping uncorrupted beings from existing?

"If they're hiding us from fate, then we must be doing something they're against. But think about this…there are beings out there capable of manipulating fate as they wish. It makes you question reality, you know."

Luna chuckled again. "We will learn the truth after ascending to the rank of Saint. Just grasp enough concepts for now and hope for the best. I can create fire now, but I don't know how to use its variants."

"Oh, that's easy," Anna said, still chewing the food in her mouth. "Fire is the main concept. If you understand the main concept, you just need to identify the Qi that makes up the flames you're looking for. My Watcher taught me how to influence Qi and sense it. I can finally make out the variants within the essence that I need to manipulate. I can tap into space to fly, and I can tap into space to create a barrier that lets me move things telekinetically or protects me. It's weak because I am simply borrowing it rather than someone who actually has access to the space concept. I believe sorcery works like that."

She swallowed her food. The spark in her intelligent green eyes was bright as she poured out her observations and theories while Luna nodded and took in all this information.

"If I understand Space, I will be able to use a bit of every part of the concept. I can teleport, fly, move objects, and maybe even create barriers by bending space to a certain extent. However, if someone like Regan Atlas masters Space, he will be able to do all of that and much more."

Once she stopped, the intrigued Luna smirked.

'The Gate of Insight strikes again.'

"Wait, so to become a saint, we need to understand the concepts we're focused on?"

"Yes."

"Hmm…I need to go." She stood up and carried her tray. "Do not look into Fate until you're a Saint. I'm telling you that as a friend. I know things about humanity, and I still have many questions unanswered because I am afraid."

With that cryptic warning, Luna left the hall and immediately resumed her training as planned.

Little did she know that the Everlight was already aware of her goals.

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