WITCH OF THE END

Deeper inside, Luna led herself through a narrow corridor leading into a vast chamber, the sheer size of it taking her breath away. Massive stone pillars rose from the floor, disappearing into the darkness above. Each one was carved with symbols and figures worn smooth by time. The walls were lined with alcoves, some containing statues of beautiful winged divine beings.

And in the center of the chamber, an altar stood, its surface covered in a thin layer of dust.

Luna approached it cautiously, her suit’s light revealing a mosaic on the floor depicting a celestial scene, stars and moons intricately inlaid with precious stones that glinted faintly in the dim light.

The coldness here was more intense, almost numbing. She could feel the ancient power that permeated the space as it brutally fought her back…but Luna persisted stubbornly.

As she stood there, a sense of awe washed over her. This was a place of worship, of reverence, lost to the sands of time yet remarkably preserved in its eerie beauty.

The realization that she had discovered something so significant and ancient filled Luna with a deep sense of purpose.

The temple, submerged in the red sands of the desert and shrouded in cold darkness, was a testament to a civilization long gone and forgotten.

She turned to the thick darkness looming above her and asked herself to ca

“What is this place? And What happened to its people?”

She touched the mosaic and studied the images beneath her feet. The celestial image depicted millions of stars. However, among the stars, only eight of them seemed to shine the brightest.

‘Are these stars connected to the Fall?’ Luna wondered as she traced the stars.

From the mosaic, these eight stars were the brightest in the sky. Seven of them were probably representing the gods. But what did the eighth one mean?

According to the discoveries made throughout mankind, only seven active gods watched over realms. The god of Death, Moon, Heart, War, Sun, Fate, and Sea. These seven deities were called by many names by different cultures. However, no eighth deity has ever been mentioned before.

While searching through the writings, Luna finally stumbled on something she could read. It was vague and written in a strange language she understood so suddenly. This was probably the work of the memories infused in her blood.

Just like what happened on the train when she automatically knew what Raphael was saying that day.

This time, Luna read out the texts she was capable of translating:

“Our world is on the verge of breaking down. May the blessing of darkness shield us from the madness of the gods, let it hide us from their watchful gaze and shield us from their wrathful powers.”

“Hail to the true guardians of the Heavenly Realm…Hail to the True Celestials…”

Luna stopped when the rest of the inscriptions were not recognizable. Someone had scratched through them with a sword or anything sharp to keep them hidden.

But what she had learned was enough. The darkness in this place was the creation of a different kind of deity, a kind that rivaled the gods in terms of strength and power.

‘No wonder the Sun does not affect this temple.’

Yes. The darkness here had eaten away all traces of the Sun’s light because of its possible connection to the Sun god.

Luna understood that gods always took it overboard when they were furious, it was the nature of superior beings. In fact, Tales of humans being cursed by gods were once popular literature in the Mortal Realm.

“But if the darkness worked….why is everyone here dead?”

Luna stared at the scratches on the walls. It's as if someone did this intentionally to hide the truth behind the texts. The Stars were probably gods or something connected to them. From what she translated, there was a conflict...a conflict that forced the people of the Divine Realm to turn to these so-called "True Celestials."

However, these True Celestials sounded much stronger than the corrupted deities humanity has encountered over the past years. To be called True Celestials must've meant that your powers almost rivaled the gods.

Her grandfather, Yong Feng must have discovered something about the gods. The knowledge that mere mortals weren’t supposed to have access to…

***

After spending about three hours in the temple, Luna guided herself out of the thick cold darkness. Now that she knew the Darkness here was more than just a creation of no light, she felt nothing but dread for it.

....if this hid them from the god’s wrath or gaze, didn’t that mean these 'True Celestials' could still see them?

She didn’t want to think about it. But. What if it was these very ‘True Celestials’ that betrayed them?

When she reached the surface, the red sun was gone and a red moon now illuminated the sky with its crimson brightness.

The first thing she heard was the ringing of her communication devices as they suddenly went online. What followed was the annoying feeling of disorientation after stepping out of the human-sized hole.

The first person she saw was Gail, his pale skin was glowing under the red moonlight, his golden eyes shining like a pair of gems. His golden hair flattered in the wind as he started at the ruins with a deep and wistful expression.

Luna noticed he was holding a longsword in his right hand, his black nanoskin uniform was nowhere to be seen. He was immune to corruption, anyway. Gail was now in a white sleeveless tunic which he must have picked up while exploring the ruins of the establishment.

She wasn’t surprised that the high-quality garment had survived this long. This tower was once a part of the divine realm…so anything was possible.

“You’re back.”

His sweet voice cut through the desert wind like a finely shaped blade.

“Of course, I am.” Luna paused for a while then snickered. “…Golden boy.”

He cringed. “I should use that as a superhero name when we return to our realm.”

“We’re still in our realm.”

'And who the hell still believes in superheroes.'

He shook his head, denying her response. “Our realm doesn’t have a red sun or a red moon. Deserts are supposed to be fields of golden sand…or something like that. This whole place looks like a sea of crystallized blood.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I think these ruins belonged to humans. Humans of the divine realm.”

He looked at her with a deadpan expression. “How is that supposed to make me feel any better? This whole place feels like the gods forsook it…there is no sign of life. No sign of their influence…”

He stared at the ruins with a thoughtful gaze. Whatever happened here was nothing but cruel. The people lived forever as undead, their advanced civilization lost and forgotten.

“Being forgotten is indeed the true form of death.” He continued. “This civilization will no longer exist. This tunic will become a normal fabric. The names of the people here are lost forever…how cruel.”

“I guess life is cruel for all humans. Whether in our realm or the divine.”

“You can say that again.”

‘Really? This guy must be an idiot. At least he’s good to look at.’

Shaking her head, she repeated her words, jokingly.

“I guess life is cruel for humans…whether in our realm or the divine.”