WITCH OF THE END

Luna opened her eyes for the first time after fighting Darkness. She was struck by a chilling presence that made her body shiver first before anything. With a loud groan, she tried lifting her body out of the comfortable sleeping bag. Her gaze lingered on a light source as she waited for her blurry vision to clear.

And when it did, the first thing she realized was she was staring at a lantern. The electric device bathed the dark tent with a dim white radiance, giving it a cozy feel.

Luna then heaved out a loud sigh and ran her hands through her messy raven hair which had grown at an alarming rate over the past weeks. It was almost touching the center of her back.

As she gathered her thoughts, she shifted her intelligent gaze to the silver bracelet on her wrist. Its screen was still displaying its previous number, meaning it hadn’t malfunctioned. There were also no signs of a short circuit as everything worked perfectly fine.

Limiters were supposed to create a specific fail-safe to alert the wearer should they exceed the input limits. But hers hadn’t.

Was the strangeness of the tower affecting her limiter?

She placed her face in her hands and groaned even louder. “Maybe. But I did push myself a bit too far."

In all honesty, she enjoyed her spar with Darkness. Luna hadn't pushed herself this far while fighting someone human. At the sect, most of the masters there often taught her while being mindful of the fact that she was a legacy. Even though some were harsh in their teachings, Luna had yet to come across someone who would force her to draw out her true strength.

…Darkness, however, was a battle genius. She didn’t stick to the books in combat, she relied on her surroundings and the sole nature of her power. She was very sharp-minded, quick to control her emotions, and highly responsive.

Luna was sure she would’ve lost if that sword wasn’t weak. If it wasn't, Luna was sure she would've burned through her stamina while trying to mirror her opponent.

‘Yes. it was worth it.’ She snickered from excitement before the tent opened and someone walked in.

“What’s so funny?”

Luna paled a little once she recognized that voice. She sighed and faced the owner of the voice.

Her older sister looked hauntingly beautiful, like a servant of death, due to the cold presence she carried. Her eyes, grey and cold. Her hair, silver and long. Her face…

Luna couldn’t tell whether it was anger or worry. Or both. Not knowing how to react to the situation she immediately started looking around for her sword. It was nowhere near her.

'Gods...'

Noticing the struggling look on her face, Lena laughed. “If you think a sword will save you, little sister. Then you must be underestimating me.”

“Where is my sword, Len?”

Len crossed her arms and replied:

“Somewhere safe. Why are looking for a sword at this moment? I am not going to do anything to you.”

Luna was finding that hard to believe. To most people, Lena looked like a flawless goddess. Her looks were otherworldly, she carried herself with the utmost respect on the surface.

However, to Luna, Len was an absolute psychopath. That was the true nature of her sister. Yes. She was sure that was the term to describe her whenever they were alone like this.

With a sigh, Len continued. “You had me worried you know. We healed your body but you stayed asleep for about four days or longer, I think. The healers said you pushed yourself too far. Geez Lunaris Feng..I thought you knew the limits of your strength.”

Luna stayed silent for a few moments, then turned her dark eyes to the floor. The mood somehow felt…dark. “I got too excited. I’m sorry. I…”

She didn't get to finish her apology when Lena lowered herself and pulled her into her cold embrace.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Luna. As long as you made it here, it's fine by me," Lena said while still hugging her sister. "But you made so much noise that you attracted a few monsters, that's how we found you.”

“Isn’t that something to be sorry about?” Luna asked, a weak laughter escaping her lips.

“Yeah…but you’re the exception.”

They stayed still for a few minutes, enjoying each other’s company in this desolate and deadly tower.

***

After their small reunion, Luna and Lena finally headed out to meet with what was left of the unit. The twenty-seven men and women were now thirty-four after Luna and her cohort joined.

The main force hadn’t moved in four days but Captain Snow was ahead leading a team that was scouting the area and clearing the path. While Len stayed behind to keep everyone safe and prepare for what’s to come. They believed they were close to the portal leading to the next floor and were well aware of the upcoming fight against the being guarding the portal.

“You look nothing like your sister, to be honest. Aside from looking pale, I see no other similarity.”

Darkness commented, giving the sisters both scrutinizing and confused look.

Luna and Lena stared at each other. Sure the differences were there, but they never tried to observe each other. However, Luna felt more human than Lena who resembled a perfect doll. She had silver hair for gods's sake.

“We know.” They responded in unison.

After clearing her throat, Lena turned to the hologram projected on the table they had made from a few rocks stashed together.

The hologram displayed a layout of the explored parts of the crimson desert. The danger zones were marked red while the safe zones were marked green. Danger zones were also where the Giant serpent and stronger cursed creatures were mostly spotted. There were also moving dots on the map which indicated that Snow’s armor was online and was alive.

“They will be reaching the portal in a few days. If they don’t meet any inconveniences, that is.”

Shin spoke as he studied the hologram. He was their only available diviner since Rita decided to join the scouts.

“How are our supplies?” Luna asked one of the soldiers in the tent.

The soldier in steel armor shook his head and said:

“We’re low on water mainly.”

“How long?”

The man trembled from Luna’s gaze. The darkness in her eyes felt endless. “Um…about a week’s worth of water, Captain…I mean Lady Luna.”

While they were still contemplating what to do next, another voice cut in after the soldier’s response. The one who spoke was someone Luna was familiar with, the arachnid pilot she entered the dungeon with. He was covered in sweat after running here, his chest was rising and falling at a rapid and frightening pace.

The two captains faced him and waited for him to first catch his breath. The pair had noticed the fear on his face.

Once he calmed down, he opened his mouth and said:

“I have something to report, Captains. Two of the available arachnids have lost their reactors.”