Eight years ago, Selene received devastating news through her spiritual bird—a small creature she had personally created by combining magic and spiritual power, enabling communication between herself and her sister across great distances.
Since attaining the two highest titles, she had been unable to descend from the mountain. As the sect's prized disciple, she was bound by duty to eradicate evil and hunt dangerous high-level beasts. So she remained at the summit.
She endured it all so her only remaining family could live peacefully in the Human Lands.
She never expected her sister to marry just two years later. A few months after the wedding, she gave birth to an adorable baby boy. However, Selene could attend neither event. She missed the vows. She never held her newborn nephew.
She could only watch through her spiritual bird's vision. Everything unfolded before her eyes, yet not a single sound reached her. Even so, her sister's happiness had been unmistakable. From her expressions alone, Selene knew that her brother-in-law, Klain, truly loved Rhea with sincerity.
When Selene saw the tiny infant wrapped in white, something in her chest softened. In that instant, she knew she would do anything for the baby.
Originally, she had planned that once she won the sword competition, she would request permission to leave the mountain for a few days. She intended to visit her sister personally, confirm with her own eyes that Klain was a worthy husband, and, most importantly, hold her nephew, who was already half a year old.
But when the spiritual bird returned and chirped urgently, the message it delivered was not joyful.
Lina… Claude… save him...
Fragments of memories and images surged violently into her mind, following Rhea's weak, desperate voice.
She saw Rhea inside a horse-drawn carriage, holding little Claude, with Klain seated beside her. Rain lashed down as a violent storm closed in. The wind howled like a mad beast. Then the horse panicked, and it threw off the coachman and bolted wildly until the carriage plunged into a ravine.
Strangely, just before it struck the bottom, the carriage vanished.
Hours later, her spiritual bird located the shattered remains of a destroyed carriage—and two lifeless bodies beneath the storm-dark sky. In that instant, Selene cast aside every title she bore.
She rushed down the mountain without hesitation to find her sister. By the time she arrived, the sky was pitch black, and rain still poured relentlessly.
She found Rhea's body intact. But her brother-in-law…
Forcing her gaze from the headless corpse, Selene collapsed to her knees beside her sister. She gathered Rhea's cold body into her arms.
"Rhea… Rhea… I'm sorry… I should have come sooner. I should have been there…" Her voice broke as she clutched her sister's lifeless body.
Cold. Too cold.
Rain blurred her vision, mingling with tears that would not stop. Even through her overwhelming grief, she remembered the desperate plea her sister had tried to send.
Her gaze swept the ravine frantically. Alas, she saw no baby, and she heard no crying.
Had Claude survived?
Klain had been beheaded, his body riddled with wounds. On the other hand, Rhea showed no visible injuries, yet something was terribly wrong. There were no external scars, but her blood had been completely drained. It was as if she had been drained dry like prey to a vampire. But this world had no vampires or blood-draining beasts. Surely, this was no accident.
Whoever committed this act had ruthlessly slaughtered an ordinary couple. Would such a person spare a defenseless infant?
Selene wiped her tears with a rough hand. Her expression hardened. Resolve replaced grief.
"Even if I must search to the ends of the earth, I will find Claude," she vowed fiercely. "Rhea, Klain—do not worry. I will protect your child."
As her oath faded into the storm, a faint golden light flickered within Klain's stiffened hand. If Selene had been an ordinary woman, she might never have noticed it.
She used magic to loosen his stiff hand and pry it open. Inside lay a cobalt-blue pendant shaped like a dragon's head. The moment she grasped it, an illusion formed before her eyes. A handsome man with platinum-gold hair and striking golden eyes appeared.
It was Klain.
"Hello, sister-in-law," the illusion began gently. "Although we have never met, it feels as if I already know you." He offered a faint smile. "Rhea told me about your strength and achievements in the sect. That's why I prepared this pendant. Only you can find it."
"I prayed this pendant would never be needed. But if you're seeing this, I failed to protect your sister." His gaze dimmed. "Still, I saved our child and hid him in a hidden realm. This pendant is the only key. I once borrowed a trace of your spiritual bird's essence and infused it into this pendant. Only you can activate it."
"Forgive me for failing to protect your sister. Forgive me for my selfishness… but I'll entrust my son to you."
The illusion faded slowly into the rain.
With trembling hands, Selene used magic to form a simple grave. She buried her sister and brother-in-law in the storm-soaked earth. Only after finishing did she activate the pendant.
A spatial ripple formed, tearing open a silent portal to the hidden realm. What greeted her on the other side stunned her. The hidden realm was vast, far larger than she expected. Endless grasslands stretched beneath a tranquil sky. The air was pure and refreshing, untouched by pollution or decay.
It was beautiful.
Her eyes soon landed on a small bassinet placed gently beneath a tree. To an ordinary human, the infant within appeared to be sleeping peacefully. But Selene was a True Mage. She immediately recognized the spell etched faintly upon the baby's forehead—a spell of Eternal Sleep.
"Brother-in-law… you are truly remarkable," she murmured.
The spell kept the infant in suspended slumber—never waking, never starving—until she arrived.
Klain knew she could break it safely.
Selene let out a heavy sigh, uncertain whether she should feel gratitude or anger. She was relieved that Klain had not been an ordinary man, that he had the power and foresight to hide the baby boy so perfectly. Yet if he possessed such ability… what kind of enemy had forced him into such desperation?
She reached out and gently dispelled the Eternal Sleep spell from the baby's forehead. Almost immediately, the infant stirred, then began to cry loudly, his small fists waving in protest.
As Selene lifted him into her arms, she sensed something extraordinary. "This… a gold spiritual root?!" Her breath caught.
She cradled her nephew with utmost care. Pride rose in her chest—sharp and fragile—while sorrow ached beneath it, just as deep. "You truly are my nephew," she whispered. "You possess innate talent equal to mine."
But as she held him closer, another sensation brushed against her senses.
A faint, unfamiliar aura. "Beast aura…? This…"
Her eyes narrowed slightly as realization dawned.
Brother-in-law… so you were from the Beast Clan.
Her gaze grew dark with thought. Now the question was—which Beast Clan?
She silently prayed that Klain did not belong to a clan she had once exterminated.