"Have you heard?" a guard patrolling the forest near Ravenheart muttered, his voice trembling slightly as he glanced around.
He was a young man with brown hair and eyes, not someone you'd remember easily. Nothing about him stood out except his oddly humorous face, almost like a clown's.
His companion, a young woman with black hair and sharp blue eyes, sighed and shook her head in disbelief.
"You're talking about that again? Stop being a coward and follow me. Just because a few humans disappeared and were later found ripped to shreds doesn't mean it's some powerful evil spirit. Maybe a tricky Nightmare Creature but nothing too strong. Got it, Parker?"
Parker swallowed hard and looked at Irina, stunned. Is this girl fearless or just stupid? he thought. Shit, have some self-awareness, girl. What makes you think you'd survive something like that?
Of course, he didn't dare say any of it aloud. If he did… well, he'd probably get beaten to a pulp. He was a healer, after all, and Irina was a combatant.
"Still," he said after a moment, "we should be careful. Better safe than sorry, right? Now that I think about it, it's been two months since the survivors from the Forgotten Shore came back. I heard things got pretty bad for the ones left behind. Well, if they're even alive. Corpses don't care about consequences or punishment, do they?"
Irina stopped and looked back at him, her expression blank before she grimaced.
"Listen here," she said flatly. "Those seven were the most powerful cohort on the Forgotten Shore. Every survivor from that place is terrifying, way stronger than most Awakened. Their experience, skill, and mentality are on another level. And that cohort… they're above everyone else. Seven of the most powerful and horrifying Sleepers. Their strength, cunning, tactics and abilities made them dominators of the Dark City. Every one of them was a monster, and what they did there was just as horrifying as their power."
Irina glanced toward the dark forest, a faint hint of apprehension flickering across her face before she continued walking.
"Meaning," she said quietly, "they're too valuable to kill. Still… if they stay rebellious and refuse to obey the higher-ups, they'll be terminated. So it's hard to say what'll happen."
Parker nodded slowly, understanding the gravity of her words. Yet a bitter feeling lingered inside him. So that was how the world worked, strength decided everything. Just because they were powerful, they'd be spared? It wasn't fair. Every single member of that cohort was wicked and chaotic, criminals in all but name.
There was Aiko. Rumor had it she was insatiably greedy, scamming people and extorting poor Sleepers, luring them into her gambling den before stripping them of everything.
Then there was Caster, the so-called hero. He had saved many and protected even more but whispers claimed he only did so to gather as many Sleepers as possible for the siege.
Gunlaug was a monster. No theories required. A tyrant who slaughtered dozens of Sleepers for amusement, he was menacing, powerful, and utterly devastating. Every survivor feared him.
Harus was no better, arguably worse. No one had ever seen him kill directly, yet everyone knew it was him. People simply died, as if some ghost moved among them, leaving silence and fear in its wake. The mystery surrounding him made him more terrifying than even Gunlaug.
Then there was Kido, the insane one. She experimented on Nightmare Creatures and people alike, creating abominations and feeding Sleepers to her plants, turning the unlucky ones into grotesque, blooming flowers.
Kai… nothing bad was known about him. As far as Parker knew, the guy was an angel. But being connected to that group made everyone suspicious. Many thought that gentleness was just a mask, a facade hiding something far darker.
And lastly... Amon.
Parker shuddered at the memory of that name. He still remembered the day in the academy when it was first mentioned. Dozens of Sleepers had needed therapy afterward. Some broke into panic attacks whenever they saw a monocle. Others screamed at the sight of ships… or fire.
No one really knew much about him. In fact, Amon might've been the most mysterious and sinister of them all. Just how terrifying did a man have to be to traumatize veterans of the Dark City?
Parker didn't know. But he did know one thing, Amon was hated enough that many survivors prayed he was already dead.
"Blasphemer…" Parker muttered, his expression tightening.
Irina nodded, face serious. "Yeah. Even his true name is… appalling. It makes sense, he liked mocking everyone and even destroyed statues of the deities in the Dark City."
Parker grimaced; his disdain grew by the second. Then a faint spark lit his eyes. "Hey, there are rumors Princess Luna visits his body at the academy every day. And..." he lowered his voice to a whisper, grinning conspiratorially, "That they're together."
Irina scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief. The very idea seemed absurd to her. "Don't be ridiculous. The Princess would never have feelings for such a wicked man."
Parker shrugged with a small smile as they walked deeper into the woods. "Who knows? Maybe the Princess likes bad boys, heh."
"Shut up!" Irina snapped, her tone cold.
"Come on, it's not that deep, I'm just joking..." Irina cut him off, slapping a hand over his mouth.
Her face grew wary and hard as she scanned the dark trees, one hand already summoning her sword. "Quiet. I think we found our target."
Parker's eyes widened in horror at her words. He swallowed hard, a chill running down his spine as fear crawled through his veins. Slowly, he looked at Irina and gave a solemn nod.
Irina nodded back, raising her arm to signal him forward. Then she clenched her fist and stopped. Both of them hid behind a tree and peered out at the horrifying scene before them.
A disgusting beast was feasting on human flesh. Its arms were elongated, ending in sharp claws, and its skin was crimson, like raw, wet muscle. It was tall, twisted and grotesque. Every part of its body looked wrong, like it had been torn apart and put back together by a lunatic.
Irina held her breath, glancing at Parker. He lowered his head, disgust twisting his features as the foul stench filled his lungs. He gagged, clamping a hand over his mouth as tears welled in his eyes.
Irina clenched her fists, looked back at the beast, then patted Parker's back. He looked up at her, and she pressed a finger to her lips.
Parker nodded grimly and looked forward again… only to freeze. His face drained of color, and he turned toward Irina in alarm.
"Be careful! It noticed-"
He never finished the sentence.
In the next instant, his head was slashed clean off. Blood sprayed through the air as it hit the ground with a dull thud.
Irina's expression shifted from wary to horrified. She looked at the headless body, its jaw and tongue still twitching, and then at the beast.
Her pupils dilated in terror.
Shadows…? The beast could control shadows.
A dark tendril erupted from the ground, piercing her chest and wrapping around her heart. It lifted the beating organ toward the creature like an offering. The beast devoured it whole without hesitation, crimson light flickering in its eyes as the tendrils dissolved into nothing.
And then, as if nothing had happened, the beast calmly continued its feast. Tonight, its meal would not end quickly.
Hours passed. The sun vanished beyond the horizon, replaced by a silver moon whose pale light washed over the forest, turning it into something ethereal and haunting.
Yet the forest remained vile. The air still stank of death. The silence still crawled. Nothing had truly changed, except that the beast was gone.
In its place lay a girl, sprawled in a pool of blood and torn flesh. She trembled, her body shaking as she rolled weakly and tried to stand. Her movements were sluggish and desperate.
She was drenched in blood and gore, yet somehow, she was still beautiful. Too beautiful, almost unnaturally so. Her skin was dark and radiant beneath the moonlight, her white hair glowing faintly, and her crystal-blue eyes shimmered like the reflection of stars in deep water.
But her beauty was marred by sorrow. Her face was a portrait of regret, grief, loneliness, and self-loathing, so tangled that no human could tell where one emotion ended and the next began.
Even then, she was mesmerizing. Bewitching and irresistible. Even as she held a severed leg in her hands. Even as she tore into human flesh between sobs. Even as the scent of rot clung to her skin.
"Why am I doing this…" Her voice was hoarse, trembling with guilt and despair as she kept chewing, tears dripping onto the meat.
I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I didn't want to do it… I was just hungry… Please, someone help me… I need help… I can't do this anymore… please… I beg you…
Her thoughts echoed in the still air, raw and pleading. But there was no one to answer. Only the whisper of the wind, and the quiet, sickening sound of flesh being devoured.
Then, she looked up, gazing at the moon. For a moment, her face became peaceful.
From the scattering white sparks, a sword appeared in her trembling hand. She raised it with both arms, the blade steady for only a second before she lowered it toward her chest. The cold steel kissed her skin, drawing a single drop of blood.
And just as she was about to end it , end everything... her grip faltered. She clenched her fist around the hilt, let out a choked sob, and threw the weapon away. It clattered against the stones as she fell to her knees, breaking down completely.
"I can't do it…" she whispered, her voice shaking, "I just can't… I still need to find Amon… I still need to see him again… And-" her words broke apart as tears flooded her eyes, "and if I die… you'll die too…"
Her trembling hand drifted down, caressing her belly. "I'm sorry I'm like this… I'm truly sorry… I hope you can forgive me one day. But whatever happens… just know this, I love you. I love you so much…"
Her sobs echoed through the dead forest, swallowed by the dark.
Why is everything so hard? Why do I have to suffer like this? What have I done to deserve it?
The questions circled in her head like vultures, tearing at what little hope remained.
It hurt... God, it hurt so much.
"Amon…" she whispered, her voice a dying plea, "I'm scared… please come back… I need you more than anything right now…"
She had believed that if she returned to the waking world… if she escaped the Forgotten Shore, things would finally be different. That she could breathe again. But nothing went as she hoped.
She lost Amon. She lost the one she loved the most. And her friendship with Medici was shattered beyond repair as well.
Now, she was truly alone.
Yet, even after all he'd done, even after the betrayal, the lies, and leaving Amon behind... She couldn't bring herself to hate him.
She wanted to. With every fiber of her being, she wanted to but she couldn't.
Because Medici was still her friend. And that made the pain so much worse.
She fell into a pool of blood, staring up with a bleak, lost look as her trembling fingers brushed against her belly. Amon… I'm sorry.
"What a pathetic sight."
The voice came from behind, dripping with mockery and disdain. Hearing it, Luna instinctively tried to stand, but an invisible force pinned her to the ground. Her body convulsed in pain as she hardened her flesh and rearranged her organs and bones, desperately trying to shield the baby inside her.
Looking up, she saw a man cloaked in darkness. His entire body was drowned in it, only two golden eyes gleamed through the blackness, watching her from behind a curtain of shadows.
"W-who…" she tried to speak, but the pressure grew stronger, forcing a pained groan from her lips.
"It doesn't matter who I am," the figure replied coldly. "What matters is that you possess something that belongs to me."
Luna frowned, confusion and dread mixing in her heart. From his voice, she could tell he was male, but there was something wrong about him... He felt ancient and, alien, too.
The shadowed man chuckled, his voice so twisted and hollow that Luna felt her control slipping again. Instinctively, she shut her eyes, her body trembling.
"W-why?" she whispered.
"Why?" he echoed, almost amused. "Because I was in dire need of something… just as you were in need of flesh and blood. You're too naive. As a true Rose Bishop, you should know, without constant consumption, you'll lose your mind. That's why you're suffering like this."
He paused, voice deepening with dark amusement. "Or maybe you did understand... but something else messed with your mind. Was it that old man? Hmm… yes, that makes sense. His ability is a twisted one."
Luna trembled, still refusing to open her eyes. But hearing him speak about her abilities so confidently filled her with cold fear, even more than before.
"How do… how do you know all this…?" she asked weakly.
The stranger didn't answer. Instead, he took a slow step forward, his gaze fixed on her shadow. Then, to Luna's horror, his arm sank into it, as if the darkness were a pool of liquid night.
When he pulled his hand free, something came with it: a writhing, five-headed mass of dense shadow, struggling violently in his grip.
Luna screamed, a sound full of agony and loss, as Spell whispered in her mind, confirming what she already felt. Her uniqueness… her Hanged Man's characteristics had been torn from her spirit.
"That's better," the stranger murmured with quiet satisfaction. "Return to your original owner."
The five-headed shadow merged into his body, and the darkness around him deepened. His form shifted, his own shadow now crowned with five writhing heads. It struggled weakly against him but could not break free.
"Visionary truly thought everything would go as he planned…" he said softly, almost to himself. "And to be fair, most of it did. But he forgot one thing, we are all fragments of the same being…"
Meanwhile, Luna felt her soul sea changing as a tortured scream tore from her lips. She writhed on the ground, shaking violently as the darkness was drained from within her. Her soul sea shattered into fragments, as if it had been nothing but an illusion all along.
In its place rose something terrifying and majestic, a colossal tree that grew out of the Abyss and reached toward the heavens. Her dark soul cores dissolved into faint golden dust, revealing what lay beneath: crimson moons, bathing her new soul sea in haunting light. Gigantic trees and strange plants sprouted around it, each one heavy with reproductive organs, pulsating with eerie life.
She could feel it, the root of heaven and earth pulsing within her. An evil tree, supporting the sky and binding the world below… endlessly propagating.
At the same time, her physical form began to shift. Luna became even more beautiful than before which was an absurd notion, since she was already one of the most breathtaking women in existence. But her beauty now felt unnatural, sublime, and wrong.
None of it mattered, though. The pain consumed everything. It was unbearable, searing and agonising. It felt as if her very spirit was being torn apart and reforged. She was returning to what she truly was… yet the agony of that metamorphosis drowned out any joy of rediscovery.
The stranger watched her without emotion, his golden eyes empty and cold as her body twisted and convulsed.
"He really sealed the Hanged Man inside you…" he murmured, almost amused. "How entertaining."
Luna fought to hold on to her sanity, glaring up at him with confusion and fury.
"What does that even mean? What do you want from me?! And why are you doing this?!" she screamed.
"I am the Hanged Man," the stranger said simply. "The true Hanged Man."
"That's impossible!" Luna spat. "My first Nightmare... everything I've seen, everything I've lived, it all says you're lying! So speak the truth!"
Hanged Man stared for a long moment… then laughed. The sound was wrong. It was layered and distorted, echoing through her very soul.
"You gullible child," he said between laughs. "Do you really think the Nightmares you and your friends faced were created by the Spell? Hahahaha…"
Luna froze, eyes wide, her breath trembling.
"What… what are you talking about?" she whispered.
"It means," he said softly, "that your Nightmare was created by someone else. Every event, every choice you made… all were envisioned by Him. The Uniqueness of the Hanged Man was hidden inside your soul to seal the characteristics of the that twisted thing. Normally, this would be impossible. But when it comes to Him…" His voice grew low and hateful. "…with His power to turn fantasy into reality... Nothing is impossible."
He chuckled, shaking his head.
"So no, Luna. You are not the Hanged Man. Your Nightmare wasn't formed by the Spell. Everything you've done was decided long before you acted. Your soul sea, your soul cores, your runes… even those are nothing but an illusion created by Him. In other words, your entire life was a… lie. Even I didn't expect this… but it kind of makes sense. He used you because both you and we share the Genesis symbolism… There's also a similarity between the Hanged Man's and that thing's characteristics. Well, if you don't believe me…"
He sighed. "Look at your runes. I have no reason to lie."
Luna's whole body began to tremble. Her fingers shook violently as the truth clawed at her mind.
Now that she thought about it, why was she fine after seeing him? Before losing the Hanged Man, even glimpsing such a being would've driven her to madness. But now… she felt nothing. There was no fear or madness... How strange.
Her breathing quickened as the dreadful thought solidified. She bit her lip until it bled, eyes wide with denial and horror as she summoned her runes.
Name: Luna
True Name: Origin of Evil.
Aspect: [Chaos Primogenitor.]
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Aspect Description: [It Is The Goddess's Indestructible State, Her Absolute Immortality. It Represents Reality, The Eternal Perpetuation Of Life, It's Exploitation And It's Corrupted Core Born From Sin. The World Is Inherently Evil And Corrupted, And So Is The Goddess.]
Luna's expression slowly drained of all emotion. The color left her face, her mouth twitched, and a hoarse, disbelieving laugh escaped her lips. At the same time, her crystal-blue eyes faded, the vivid hue bleeding away.
And then… crimson began to creep in, spreading like molten fire, until her gaze burned with a new, terrifying light.
"Huh?" she whispered, though the word felt hollow even to her own ears.
What a... Hell is that?
***
[A/N: Okay… I think this chapter was a bit rushed and awkward, to be honest. I'm still on a hangover, so maybe it's just me, I feel like I'm dying.
Anyway, we discovered Luna's secret and what those question marks were. We also now know why they were hidden. And, well, we have some true creator type shit too.
I won't yap too much, guys. If you have questions, ask here.
[Questions]
That's it for now. Enjoy.]
***