Something felt wrong.
I didn't notice it at first. The road was quiet, the kind of quiet that comes after a city has been stripped clean of life and noise. No monster calls. No distant clashes. No patrol chatter echoing through the ruins. Just wind brushing through broken concrete and the occasional crunch of debris beneath our boots.
Too quiet.
I checked the map again, the translucent overlay hovering faintly in my vision. The route ahead was marked safe enough. No major monster density. No red warning clusters. Guild patrol routes were mapped clearly—and we were skirting the edges just like planned.
Then Xander slowed down.
Not abruptly. Not enough to draw attention. Just half a step behind me.
"…Hey," he said quietly. "Can we… take another route?"
I glanced back at him. "This one's fine."
"I know," he replied, too quickly. His eyes flicked toward a collapsed overpass ahead, then to a narrow side street choked with rubble. "Still. I don't like it."
I frowned. "You didn't say anything five minutes ago."
He shrugged, trying to play it off. "Call it a gut feeling."
I studied him for a second longer than necessary. Xander wasn't the type to spook easily. Reckless, sure. Optimistic to a fault. But not this.
The map pulsed faintly again.
Nothing changed.
Still, I sighed. "Fine. We divert. But if this adds hours—"
"I'll shut up about it forever," he said immediately.
That alone told me enough.
We turned.
The new route cut deeper into the ruins, away from the mapped patrol paths. Buildings leaned closer together here, their upper floors collapsed inward like ribs around a hollow chest. Old signage hung crooked, text faded and half-burned. Whatever this place had been, it died fast and ugly.
The System registered it the moment we crossed the threshold.
[Area Entered — Eastern Desolation Zone][Status: Unclaimed Territory][Warning: Limited System Data Available]
Unclaimed.
That was… rare.
No guilds. No outposts. No visible markers. Even the map grew fuzzier, outlines less precise, like the skill-generated data struggled to define this place.
Xander exhaled slowly. "Yeah. This feels better."
I gave him a look. "Your definition of 'better' is questionable."
"Less people," he said. "Less eyes."
I didn't ask what he meant by that.
We walked deeper in, boots echoing faintly against cracked pavement. Every sound carried. Every movement felt exposed. But at least there were no patrols. No distant glints of armor. No structured presence pressing in from all sides.
For a brief moment, I thought we'd actually avoided trouble.
Then—
SKRRREEEEEE—
The sound ripped through the air like metal tearing through bone.
My blood ran cold.
I stopped instantly.
No.
No, no, no.
That pitch. That vibration. The way it clawed at the back of my skull instead of my ears.
Xander's face drained of color. "That's… that's—"
"I know," I snapped.
The sky above the ruined district darkened unnaturally, shadows twisting against the crumbling buildings. Something massive moved overhead, wings blotting out what little light filtered through the smog-choked clouds.
A screech echoed again, closer this time.
The Hundred Eyes NightOwl.
Awake.
Again.
"Why is it here?" Xander whispered, panic creeping into his voice.
"I don't know," I said, already moving. "But we're not fighting it. Run."
We bolted.
The NightOwl's wings beat violently, the sound alone shaking loose debris from the rooftops. I could feel it tracking us, dozens—no, hundreds—of unseen gazes locking on, peeling through cover like it wasn't even there.
"Left!" Xander shouted.
I swerved just as a talon slammed into the street where I'd been a second earlier, concrete exploding outward. We sprinted into the skeletal remains of a high-rise, ducking through a collapsed entrance and plunging into darkness.
Inside, the air was stale and thick with dust.
We didn't stop.
Stairs. Broken hallways. A half-collapsed floor we barely cleared. My lungs burned, legs screaming, but adrenaline kept me upright.
Another screech.
Closer.
"Anywhere!" Xander gasped.
I spotted it—a jagged opening behind a fallen support beam, barely wide enough to squeeze through.
"There!"
We dove inside just as the building shook violently, the NightOwl slamming into the structure with enough force to rattle the bones out of the walls.
We tumbled into a shadowed interior space, hearts pounding, breaths ragged. Dust drifted down in thick clouds as the creature screeched again outside, furious, searching.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
All I could hear was my own heartbeat and the distant, scraping movements of something far too big circling above us.
Xander swallowed hard. "…We're not safe, are we?"
I tightened my grip on my wand.
"No," I said quietly. "But we're alive. And for now… that's enough."
Outside, the Hundred Eyes NightOwl screamed again, its cry echoing through the dead city like a warning.
We had avoided the guilds.
But we had stepped straight into something worse.
The walls were shaking.
Dust rained down from the ceiling in thin, choking sheets, every tremor sending my nerves screaming. Outside, talons scraped against concrete, slow and deliberate now, like it knew we were cornered and was taking its sweet time enjoying it.
My hands were trembling.
If this was the same NightOwl from before… then we were fucked. Completely, utterly fucked.
I pulled up my System panel without meaning to, my eyes locking onto the numbers like they might suddenly change if I stared hard enough.
Level 2.
Two.
Xander wasn't much better. Barely level 3, and that was being generous. We were scraps. Fresh meat. Stats barely past civilian baseline, skills still raw, bodies not even close to conditioned for something like this.
That thing out there wasn't meant for people like us.
It was meant for squads. For guild elites. For veterans who had survived long enough to stop flinching at death.
My breath hitched.
"We're… we're not ready," I muttered, half to myself. "We're not even close."
Xander didn't argue.
That scared me more than anything else.
He was pale, jaw clenched tight, eyes fixed on the cracked doorway like he expected the NightOwl's beak to punch through at any second. His hands hovered near his daggers, but I could tell. He knew it too. Even with Master Assassin, even with Paralyzing Dagger, even with every buff the System could throw at him, this wasn't a fight he could win.
Not at this level.
Not today.
Another screech tore through the building, closer now. The sound rattled through my bones, vibrating in my chest like my heart was trying to beat its way out.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Luna.
The image came unbidden. Small hands gripping mine. Her voice shaking as the world fell apart around us. Her crying as I shoved her toward Miriam, begging, screaming, promising I would come back.
I didn't know if she was alive.
I didn't know if she was safe.
But I knew one thing.
I wasn't dying here.
Not like this. Not before I found her. Not before I got answers.
My fear didn't vanish. It sharpened.
The air around us shifted.
Mana responded before my conscious mind caught up, the pressure building, tightening, like the world itself was holding its breath. Xander noticed instantly. His head snapped toward me, eyes widening.
"Mio…?"
I stepped forward, planting my feet.
My voice came out softer than I expected. Steady. Certain.
"Mio Shine with Courage."
The words settled into the air like a vow.
Light erupted.
Soft at first, then blinding. Pink and violet spiraled outward, ribbons of magic unfurling around my body as the System surged to life. Mana flooded my veins, drowning out the fear, the doubt, the exhaustion.
I felt it again. That strange, intoxicating alignment. Like this form wasn't something I put on, but something I remembered.
My hair lengthened, turning silvery-white as it flowed down my back, strands lifting as if caught in an unseen current. My features softened, sharper edges smoothed away by the transformation's quiet inevitability. Frills blossomed into existence, fabric weaving itself from raw magic, skirts fluttering into place as if gravity itself had agreed to play along.
Power layered itself onto my body.
Stats surged. Mana spiked. The System chimed rapidly, too fast to read every notification.
And behind me, I felt it.
Xander's stare.
Not a glance. Not confusion.
Full, stunned silence.
This wasn't a quick shift. Not like the detransformation he'd caught a glimpse of before. This was the full sequence. Every ribbon of light. Every impossible flourish. Every second stretched out long enough for the truth to sink in.
I didn't look back.
My wand materialized in my hand, already humming, its form beginning to elongate as the scythe took shape, metal gleaming with a pale, dangerous sheen.
Outside, the Hundred Eyes NightOwl shrieked again.
Louder.
Angrier.
It had felt it.
Good.
I exhaled slowly, centering myself as the transformation completed, skirts settling, magic stabilizing into something sharp and ready.
"I'm not strong," I said quietly. "Not yet."
The scythe locked into place with a soft, final hum.
"But I'm not running anymore."
Behind me, Xander swallowed hard.
"…Mio," he whispered. "What the hell are you?"
I tightened my grip.
"Your Mage," I said. "And right now, that's going to have to be enough."
The building shuddered violently as the NightOwl slammed into it again, cracks spiderwebbing across the walls.
I stepped forward, positioning myself between the creature and the only person I wasn't willing to lose.
Invincibility buff ticking down.
Mana full.
Heart steady.
"Stay behind me," I said.
Outside, something massive moved, scraping closer.
And for the first time since the world ended, I welcomed the fight.
The wall didn't get the chance to give way.
A sharp crescent of light tore through the night instead.
It carved the air in a clean, luminous arc and slammed straight into the NightOwl's massive frame. Feathers exploded outward in a violent spray as the beast screeched, staggering back for half a second, its many eyes blinking in confused fury.
That was all the opening we were going to get.
Two flashes of silver followed.
Xander's arms snapped forward, movements crisp and deadly despite the terror in his eyes. Two Paralyzing Daggers cut through the smoke, striking true. The blades embedded themselves into the creature's neck and shoulder, violet energy surging as the paralysis effect tried desperately to take hold.
The NightOwl convulsed, wings shuddering.
Not frozen.
But slowed.
"Now!" Xander shouted.
I was already moving.
I burst out of the building, skirts and ribbons whipping violently as I slid across the rubble. The scythe in my hand dissolved mid-stride, its form unraveling into raw mana before snapping back into its long crescent wand, the tip glowing brighter by the second.
This was it.
The plan was stupid. Desperate. Reckless.
Hit it with everything.
Xander's Master Assassin buff flared behind me, his presence sharpening, dark and lethal as he pushed his body past its limits. I could feel the difference. The System was dragging him upward, forcefully narrowing the gap between him and the monster.
But it wasn't enough.
Not even close.
That thing was still leagues above us. A walking calamity that shouldn't even be in this zone. Even with Xander boosted, even with me transformed, this wasn't a fair fight.
So we weren't fighting fair.
Mana flooded into my wand, pressure building so fast my arms started to ache. The air screamed, warping around the glowing crescent tip as energy compressed tighter and tighter.
"One big shot," I muttered.
I released it.
A wide Magical Strike detonated outward, a blinding wave of crescent-shaped energy that ripped through the street and engulfed the NightOwl completely. The impact shook the ruins, glass shattering, rubble lifting off the ground as smoke and light swallowed everything in its path.
For a single heartbeat—
Silence.
Hope.
Then the smoke parted.
The NightOwl was still standing.
Its feathers were scorched, chunks of flesh missing, eyes wild and furious. It drew in a massive breath.
And screamed.
The sound wasn't noise. It was a shockwave.
The roar slammed into us like a physical force, tearing the air apart. Xander moved without thinking, stepping in front of me, bracing himself to take the hit.
Too slow.
The blast caught both of us.
I felt weightless for an instant before the world snapped back into existence. My body crashed into a building wall, stone cracking under the impact. Pain exploded through my spine as I slid down, vision blurring.
Xander hit harder.
He collapsed beside me, body twisting awkwardly before going still. His chest rose once. Twice.
Barely.
The NightOwl advanced, talons clicking against concrete, wings folding slowly like it already knew the outcome.
I tried to stand.
Failed.
My mana gauge flickered violently, dropping fast. Panic clawed at my chest as I dragged myself toward Xander, hands shaking as I pressed them to the ground.
"No… no, no…"
I poured everything I had left into one spell.
Every drop.
A massive Magic Barrier erupted outward, translucent and trembling, forming a dome around us just as the NightOwl raised its head to strike. The barrier groaned under the pressure instantly, fractures spiderwebbing across its surface.
It wasn't going to hold.
This wasn't strategy anymore.
It was a prayer.
Somewhere. Anywhere.
Please.
Then—
Light.
Not mine.
A beam tore through the battlefield from above, clean and absolute, slamming straight into the NightOwl's side. The creature shrieked in pain, stumbling back, its advance broken.
I squinted through the haze.
Something hovered in the air.
A shape of luminous wings, wide and radiant, like a giant butterfly carved from light. But as my vision focused, the shape twisted into something impossible.
It had arms.
Too many arms.
They unfolded gracefully, moving with terrifying precision as energy gathered again. Another beam fired, brighter than the first, striking the NightOwl square in the face.
The creature screamed, blinded, reeling.
The figure descended, landing between us and the monster.
Back facing me.
Up close, the wings were real. they were real as if.. it is a giant butterfly.
"He-help.."
I let out.
The butterfly looked behind.
A person.
That was the last thing I managed to register before the world tilted, my mana finally hitting zero.
Darkness swallowed me whole.