Zay continued looking through the books on all three shelves. His fingers trailed along the worn edges of bindings until, with a slight misstep, he accidentally knocked one loose.
'Shit.' He grimaced, crouching down to retrieve the fallen book. As he returned it to its place on the shelf, the entire structure shuddered with a muted rumble. It slid back into the wall with a smooth mechanical motion, revealing a passage he hadn't noticed—even with his Night Vision.
"A secret room inside a secret room?" he muttered, his voice low with disbelief. "Just who the hell lived here?"
He stepped cautiously forward, scanning the newly revealed chamber. It was far larger than the one before, though entirely carved from cold, bare stone. Along the far wall, several spears were leaned together, their tips angled upward like silent sentinels. To his left, a simple wooden desk stood beneath a layer of dust. On it rested a lamp—small, metallic, and unlit.
'A lamp? In a place like this? That's… strange. Does that mean someone's been here recently?'
A flicker of unease passed through him. He had entered without hesitation, but now the stillness pressed in too tightly. As a precaution, Zay expanded his aura outward in a thin layer, shaping it into a protective veil around his body.
'I haven't really checked my Aura Reserves in a while… Most of my Echoes and passive traits draw so little aura that I haven't had to think about it. But now that I'm expanding it like this, it might be smart to double-check, just to be safe.'
He lifted a hand and whispered the command: "Resonance Lens: Aura Reserves."
A soft glimmer passed across his eyes.
[Aura Reserves: 100%]
'Still only shows the percentage… not the actual number. That's fine for now. At least I know where I stand.'
He gave a small nod at the readout, though the lack of detail left a lingering dissatisfaction in his chest. What he truly wanted was exact data, numbers, what he called 'points', something measurable instead of just a simple percentage. He knew such a feature would come in tim but for now, the system remained vague, offering only a percentage.
He blinked several times, adjusting to the faint lighting as his gaze lingered on the spears propped along the far stone wall. Each was unique, designed with a different purpose. His eyes eventually settled on one that stood out: positioned near the center, it was constructed entirely from what appeared to be red-hardened sand, compacted and textured like ancient sandstone. Its tip, however, diverged from traditional design—curved sharply like a scythe rather than a true spearpoint, giving it a cruel, reaping shape.
Next to it stood another spear, forged from gold. Its shaft gleamed faintly in the still air, and its head was tipped with a strange pink-hued metal, glowing softly with an unnatural warmth that made Zay's brow furrow.
As he continued inspecting the weapons, his eyes were gradually drawn to his right, where, mounted separately on a dark stone wall, a single spear lay horizontally on a blackened iron stand. Beneath the shaft, resting neatly on a small shelf built into the same stand, was a small book, perfectly centered beneath the weapon.
Zay swallowed, the buildup of saliva tightening in his throat. The motion reminded him of a cursed trait he'd inherited, one tethered to the Angel of Winter. Just the memory of it made his fingers twitch and his hands shake faintly.
But even as unease curled through his chest, curiosity overtook caution as he stepped forward.
His boots thudded against the stone floor, the sound loud and sharp with every step. His aura, already expanded in a defensive field, twitched and shifted subtly with each movement, distorting slightly like ripples through mist. It kept to his form, reactive and alert.
As he approached the stand, the rich violet hue of his aura began to dim, fading into a ghost of itself as if instinctively yielding to the presence of the spear. Zay narrowed his eyes and focused on the weapon itself.
The blade alone was massive, nearly two feet in length. The shaft extended well beyond his own height; by estimation, the entire weapon stood around eight feet tall. It radiated stillness, like it hadn't been touched in years, yet there was something about it that felt awake.
Without thinking, Zay reached out and grasped the small book resting beneath the spear. The texture of the cover was smooth but cold, as if it had absorbed the chill of the stone shelf.
He looked down. The title was etched in bold white ink, unmistakably clear even in the low light: Moonlit Spear.
'Moonlit Spear…' Zay repeated the name to himself silently, echoing it several times in his mind. A slight chill crept down his spine before he muttered it aloud "Moonlit Spear."
Nothing happened. Everything remained still, quiet, almost soothing. The silence wrapped around him like a blanket. Zay sighed, then opened the book to the first page, and that's when his eyes widened.
The first page was written in the Language of Design. He stared down, deeply immersed in the symbols and structure as he read through the entire page with careful attention. After a moment, he closed the book.
His Arbiter: Vault opened, and he placed the book inside before closing his eyes. He sat cross-legged in front of the spear and began to regulate his breathing, steady and controlled.
He swallowed hard. He wasn't sure about what he was about to do. From what he knew, this Goddess had been killed several thousand years ago. Still, he exhaled slowly, parted his lips, and spoke aloud.
"Mother of the Falling Light, Bringer of the Collapsing Night, and Guardian of the Seven Moons, I call upon your motherly name to grant strength to those who still believe, even in death, the great miracle you granted the night, and the blessing of the moons."
Zay repeated the chant six more times, seven in total. His eyes opened slowly. He didn't feel any different. The air hadn't changed. He looked around and saw no shift, no flicker, no divine sign. He sighed.
"I should've known. Praying to a Goddess that doesn't even exist anymore wouldn't do anything. Her existence itself was erased by a God of Corruption. There's not a chance she could've replied."
Accepting the silence as defeat, he stood and turned his gaze toward the spear mounted on the wall. He wanted to touch it, to take it, and carry it with him, whether to wield it or to sell it. But deep down, he knew better. He knew he shouldn't tamper with a weapon forged by a Goddess who no longer existed.
...
Naomi and Rei were on the ground, Naomi lying on her back with her eyes closed. "Master has already been gone… for over a day and a half. Shouldn't we go down to see if we can find him?"
Rei glanced over, then turned back to the ceiling.
"It's been a day and a half outside, but it's only felt like a few hours at most here. It'll be fine. Let's just wait a few mor-"
Before Rei could finish his sentence, the air shifted. A pulse of deep, dark violet burst outward, flooding the temple with an unnatural hue. Every piece of gear within the room began to tremble, rattling with a violent hum—then came the rumble from above.
A colossal ring of violet light cracked open in the sky, hovering directly above the temple. The roof split apart with a thunderous groan. Daylight vanished. The sun flickered once—and then was gone. The sky darkened to an endless black, and in its place, seven moons ignited across the heavens, burning with a bright silver color.
Rei's breath became caught. He shot to his feet, instantly unsheathing his blade, only for the weapon to slip from his grasp. The moment the violet aura flowed across him, his hands went numb. His katana clattered to the stone floor.
Naomi's eyes snapped open as she tried to rise but her limbs betrayed her. Her voice caught in her throat, she couldn't even speak. Her body was paralyzed by just the flow of aura alone.
Rei's aura flared to life on instinct, only to be swallowed in an instant. There was no clash. No resistance. His aura was devoured like a candle flickering against a storm on the seas.
A second ring, smaller, more focused, formed inside the first. From within that divine vortex, a woman's figure emerged.
Chained by tendrils of the very aura that painted the sky, a woman began to descend. Her body radiated aura and divinity, her skin shimmering with a deep twilight blue. Her limbs hung heavy with shackles forged from violet energy, pulsing with cosmic weight. Her eyes opened slowly, twin voids of dark violet, vast and cold. Then her aura suddenly flared to life.
The chains shattered, crumbling into dust as the sheer force of her presence pushed outward like a tidal wave. The moons pulsed once in unison.
She looked down, her gaze falling upon the two humans beneath her. They weren't enemies. They weren't allies. They were ants. Fragile creatures caught in the shockwave of an awakening.
Someone had prayed to her, someone had remembered her name, and now… she was awake once more. Her lips curled into a small smile that wasn't kind, but it also wasn't a smile of cruelty either... it was just a smile of unknown context or meaning behind it.
Her form dissolved into nothingness, but the energy she left behind did not. The rings above collapsed downward, massive wheels of aura screaming through the air, striking the temple like divine judgment. Half the structure was obliterated instantly, stone flung into the sky, pillars reduced to dust. The rings didn't stop. They spiraled downward with unstoppable force, carving through the temple with no regard for sacredness or structure.
The two rings narrowed, becoming small bands of glowing dark violet as they flew down the staircase, leaving a burning trail of heat and flickering flames in their wake.
Rei felt control return to his body all at once—a surge of heat rushing through his limbs. He didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second.
He turned toward the stairs where the rings had descended, the same stairs Zay had gone down hours ago, and his aura erupted around him in a burst of power as he launched forward, sprinting down the steps. He ignored everything else, even forgetting his weapon. His only priority was his friend.
Naomi regained control of her body moments later. She lifted Rei's katana into her arms, her dark pink aura igniting and engulfing her completely. Without pause, she dashed after him, quickly closing the distance.
Rei reached a junction where the tunnel split left and right. He glanced down the right corridor and caught the lingering trail of heat from the rings.
"This way!" Rei shouted, turning right. His instincts kicked in fully, guiding him as he leapt over wires he hadn't even realized were there.
Naomi nodded and followed close behind, her footsteps echoing down the stone corridor. When they reached another intersection, paths leading left, right, and straight, she expanded her aura as far as she could, scanning for even the faintest trace.
She felt it. It was the same heat she felt when the rings first passed her, faint but direct, straight ahead.
"Straight!" she called out as they both charged down the center tunnel without hesitation.
"ZAY!" Rei shouted every few seconds, his voice sharp with urgency. He had to reach him.
They had to reach him, before those rings did.