WITCH OF THE END

Luna stared at the fiery flames dancing in the center of the small camp they had managed to create quickly. The desert was silent again since the cursed creature had been defeated. Now, the night was drowned in the gentle light of the red moon that hung in the sky while giving this place a familiarity with the real world.

Moments like this always made Luna feel sentimental. She had never gone out camping—which was close to impossible in the New World--but sitting here with some company and a flame burning in the center was enough to paint the image of the activity. While she quietly watched the flames, the rest were doing as they wished after the battle. Gail was meditating, trying to restore his zenshi. Darkness was in deep conversation with Monic—they seemed to have grown pretty close after fighting together recently. Mira was seated nearby, cleaning her gun with a silk cloth.

Adam and the Arachnid Pilot were also talking while holding steaming cups of hot chocolate that the pilot seemed to have an addiction to.

‘How unmanly of them.’

Luna almost laughed at the scene. The large, muscular man who looked so intimidating when they first met was now sipping down a cup of hot cocoa and engaging in a deep conversation with someone much smaller than him.

“Weird.” She commented, taking her eyes off the pair. The nights here might have been cold as hell, but at least they had a fire and hot chocolate to keep themselves warm. Chocolate cost a fortune, by the way. So Luna was surprised to hear that her sister sent her this much.

'She always goes overboard.'

With a relieved sigh, Luna picked up the cup that she was waiting for to cool and brought it to her lips.

The sweet taste was even sweeter. The fact that she could die any day here made her savor the taste of the chocolate even more. She licked her lips and closed her eyes in enjoyment.

"I’m so glad you survived the apocalypse," she whispered to her cup before drinking more.

“Why are you this far from everyone, Lady Luna?”

Upon hearing a voice, she awkwardly snapped out of her daze and faced the owner of the voice.

‘Oh, it’s Mr. Shin.’

Luna smiled at the diviner as he sat beside her and offered her a plate of food. She stared at the plate of spiced roasted meat, a few greens, and some rice on the side. She didn’t know she was hungry until she almost salivated from just looking at the displayed meal.

‘Be a lady…be a lady Luna. He just addressed you as one…’

Thankfully, she managed to resist the frightening urge to yank the plate out of Mr. Shin’s hands and chow on her meal like a hungry wolf.

“Thank you…Mr. Shin.” She placed her cup of chocolate down, accepted her food, and let herself drown in the aroma it made. After catching a good whiff of the meal, Luna didn't wait for the cutlery to arrive. She was already ripping some meat off the bigger piece with her teeth.

Mr. Shin stared at her for a moment, then looked away and cleared his throat. “I see…you were indeed hungry. I should have known and cooked earlier.”

Luna stopped for a moment and shook her head. “Perfection requires patience, your cooking skills are awesome because we’re patient.”

Mr. Shin smiled gently at her praise. He was older than her by many years. Yet, the middle-aged man looked to be in his early twenties.

“It's an honor to receive such great praise from you. My daughter tells me the same every time I cook," he said with a gentle smile.

The mention of his daughter briefly shocked Luna. Sure, Mr. Shin was old, but the handsome fella looked too young to have a child.

“You’re married?”

“Divorced.” He replied with a heavy sigh. “My wife was against my job, she said she wasn’t ready to lose me in such. But in truth, this was the only job I could do that paid well. Awakening was probably the best thing to ever happen to me.”

Luna was silent as she focused on her food alone. “What is your daughter’s name?” she asked after swallowing some rice.

“Ling Hana, she’s seven. She wants to be an Ascender doctor.” He chuckled a little while he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. His blue eyes seemed to brighten up as he continued to speak of his daughter.

Was this his reason to live? Luna wondered. Was Ling the reason why Shin always made it back in despite the exciting life of an ascender? Was she his anchor to life?

Diviners weren’t so strong, after all. To be a combat diviner meant that you had a very strong will to survive.

‘I forget how strange humans can be sometimes.’

“An ascender doctor?” she laughed. “What a dreamer! I like her already, Mr. Shin.”

After a brief while of silence, she asked a question. “Mr Shin, is she the reason you live?”

He nodded energetically. “Yes. I have a dream to spend the rest of my days with her. After this subjugation, I will have made enough money to send her to one of the best academies and sects. Or enough money to let her follow her dreams.”

“Dreams?” Luna repeated the word quietly to herself as if it was her first time hearing that.

‘Do I even have dreams of my own?’

Suddenly, Luna was surprised to feel a small hint of jealousy toward Ling, a seven-year-old. The idea of having dreams always sounded unreal to the ears of someone who was raised to carry on the dreams of those who came before them.

Legacies were usually wired with the dreams of others. It was a cruel fate that they had adapted to and normalized.

Dreams were a luxury children born under Legacy clans couldn’t afford. Maybe life would’ve been different if she was just a normal girl doing ordinary things.

“That’s why you have to survive, Mr Shin. For your daughter’s sake, don’t die.”

“I don’t intend to die any time soon, Lady Luna. And please, call me Shin. there is no need for someone of stature to speak so formally to me."

"Then call me Luna, please," she faintly smiled.

They continued sharing their meal in silence as the cold night went on. This was by far the most peaceful she had been in a long time.

If only things could stay this peaceful.

***

The next morning, the cohort was already on the move continuing their journey across the crimson desert.

Today, they hoped to cover a great distance before sunset. They were all well-rested and back to their full energy after recovering all the zenshi they had used during their encounter with the sandworm. Shin was leading the way with Adam and Monic acting as his guards. While Darkness and Gail played the role of scouts as they soared through the red sky. Mira and Luna stayed on guard, protecting the arachnid carrying their supplies.

Soon, after what felt like hours of walking without any shade under the relentless sun, the group finally stopped when they laid their eyes upon something that seemed to stand out in this desert. Its structures were mostly buried in red sand, but there was no mistaking it…

The cohort had landed upon the first sign of civilization...

Ruins of what looked to be an ancient human settlement.