Gail led Luna and the group to one of the collapsed buildings hidden in the ruined kingdom. The structure had collapsed within itself but its walls were still sturdy enough to protect everyone inside from the coldness of the outside world.

  When they first arrived, the three men combined their efforts to clear out the coral debris inside and create a roof and a space for themselves to rest. They had no sleeping bags so they just slept on the ground most of the time.

  The floor was something they had gotten used to since it was usually warm thanks to Gail's energy ability.

  According to Gail’s story, he and Snow happened to just crash land into the wall as soon as they arrived on the floor. They followed their instincts and crossed over the other side by flying over the wall. However, that was a mistake because they were attacked by creatures that killed Snow instantly. The poor guy used himself as a human shield to protect Gail from the creature’s strike that sent them plummeting into a ruined kingdom crawling with monsters.

  They were taken aback even more when they discovered that Valentine was already surviving in this monster-infested territory.

  After a week of avoiding the fights and gathering strength, the group decided to hunt the cursed creatures for sustenance. Mind you there was no weak creature in these parts, all of them were above the rank of a cursed soldier and possessed an ability. But they managed to take down each one through tactical planning and utilizing Snow's death ability.

  Everyone, including Storm Rider herself, was impressed. It's not every day that you see a group of two ascenders and one human fight off the cursed creatures.

  Unfortunately, that’s where the good news stopped. Because after they killed every cursed creature here, an even more powerful cursed creature appeared from the clouds. He described the creature as a giant bird of prey with feathers as white as snow and mad yellow eyes that could almost see everything. To make matters worse, the bird could turn invisible and control the snow.

  Those two abilities were why Gail was against flying around or staying in the air for too long. If they were out in the open for a long time, they would become easy prey for the creature.

  ***

  “Strange…I’ve never heard of a creature like that.” Storm Rider knitted her brows into a frown.

  “Never?”

  Both Luna and Len turned to the Fire Keeper, surprised by her words. She was the oldest one here despite looking not a day older than Snow himself.

  “Yes. I didn’t know the Icebird existed.” Storm Rider repeated to make herself clear. She then shifted her gaze to Snow. He had been looking at it for some time and it was now getting uncomfortable.

  “Is there something you want to say to me, death boy?” she hissed, her eyes glaring at him like they were swords.

  Snow nodded nervously. “You’re so full of life energy. It literally surrounds you. How?” he asked with the calmest tone he could muster at the moment. He wasn’t usually the type to drift off topic but when this woman arrived with his fellow captains and Darkness. He found himself genuinely intrigued. He wasn’t going to ask questions about her at first.

  But things changed when her presence messed with his own.

  Even the wraith was gone.

  Storm Rider scanned Snow for a moment and answered in a loud tone to make sure everyone heard her response.

  “Because I am an immortal.” She no longer had reasons for hiding her true nature from these mortals because they would soon forget her once all of this ended. “My life force is endless as one would expect from an immortal.”

  Just then, everyone, except the two sisters was struck by absolute shock.

  “You’re a goddess?”

  Storm shook her head as a response to Snow’s confusion. “Not really. I come from the same realm as all of you, only from a different epoch.”

  She stopped talking and turned her red eyes to Darkness, Valentine, and Gail. Then back to Snow who was silent and in shock. She was satisfied by their reactions.

  Snow quickly recovered and opened his mouth to speak. But, this time, a different voice and language left his tongue.

  Storm was of course slightly shocked that a mortal could use this 'language'. But she forced a weak smile and responded using the same language--starting their short exchange while everyone else remained silent and only listened. It was the only way they could share information without triggering the Hex accidentally. And because Snow already knew too much through Death, sharing what he knew with someone cursed wouldn't have any consequences.

  Unfortunately, he couldn't share what he knew. He could only give out clues if Death allowed it.

  Luna, on the other hand, was staring at the pair with intelligent eyes. She was trying to decipher what they were saying just like in the train. However, this time, it turned out fruitless. This was a language she was not familiar with at all.

  It didn’t trigger anything nor cause any sort of deja vu, meaning no memory would surface this time around. She heaved out a defeated sigh and gave up.

  With that, she stood up and strolled up to the quiet Valentine. He was seated near a rock, staring at the pair with a serious expression. He didn’t even notice Luna was next to him until she spoke.

  “Any luck?” she asked.

  His eyelids fluttered and his serious expression collapsed. “Barely. I think that's god folk, how does he know god folk?”

  'God folk is a language said to have been the language people of the divine realm used. It was the language that led to the creation of runes.' Luna reminded herself of the small classes they held at the Sect.

  “Snow’s Aura is Death. I’m sure he knows a lot of things about this world that he can't tell. He knew about the undead king’s life before succumbing to corruption.” Luna answered tiredly.

  Luna and Valentine hadn’t spoken to each other since she got here. She was glad to see he wasn’t dead like Lena said. Now that her mind was somehow relaxed, a lot of things were coming back to her. Especially the warning she received when she first arrived.

  “How convenient for him.”

  “You also know a lot of things, Valentine.” She turned to him and her cold expression returned. "Like how you knew about dangers in the frozen sea. Thank you, by the way, you gave me a head start.”

  Valentine scoffed with a smile that disappeared immediately. Then, he said:

  “You’re an observant one. I guess nothing gets past you.”

  “Not really. I just have a habit of remembering important things. Now, cut to the chase…how did you know?”

  Valentine’s dark eyes shifted away from the flames to Luna. She was giving him a very serious look that felt like a warning.

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  There was a weird shift in Valentine's eyes when he stared directly at her.

  Luna recognized this look right away. There was something different about Valentine.

  “Haha, are you that curious Lunaris?” he asked. “The humans of the old world like to say that curiosity killed the cat. Do you want to become our enemy?”

  “I am already taking my chances with a deity,” Luna responded in her heart.

  “Yes.”

  “Sigh…fine then. Tell me Lunaris, have you ever heard of the Eternal Flame? Some cultures in the old world called it the Great Hearth sustained by the goddess Hestia. Of course that was Greek mythology, others knew her as Vesta, while in this era we refer to her as the moon goddess, heart goddess, the hunter goddess, the time goddess and so much more…”

  “Mmm…tell me something I don’t know.” She said, ignoring everyone else in the shelter.

  Lena and Darkness were getting some rest after using so much energy. Gail was meditating while Snow and Storm Rider were having a serious conversation.

  If they kept their voice down, no one else would have to know what they were talking about.

  Valentine cleared his voice. “You see, my house follows the Moon goddess Artemis because of a blessing my father acquired through a relic known as the Mark of Artemis. The Mark of Artemis was a unique God Relic said to have the lineage of a god stored in it. It also explains why my brothers and sisters are very powerful.” He started to explain. “You see, my father inherited the Time Lineage of the moon goddess. To top it off, Lord Artemis acquired the single rare ability to travel to the divine realm on each full moon. So in other words, he's like a miniature gateway and he can take people with him."

  "For the past ten or more years, House Artemis has been studying the divine realm in secrecy. So many people have died over the past decade, but the information gathered from the divine realm is nothing but revolutionary. We learned of the Blood Tower through murals left behind by the people of the Divine Realm.."

  Luna’s calm expression didn’t waver. She had questions for him of course. But as someone familiar with the dangers connecting to questions, Luna chose to stay quiet and listened.

  “Are you a spy?”

  He shook his head and replied. “I am not.”

  “Then who are you?”

  “Someone curious.”

  She moved her eyes away from him after glaring at him. Luna had hoped to read the young man’s emotions. But unfortunately, he was a smart one and perfectly hid them under a mask of calm.

  “Then where does the Eternal Flame come into all of this?” Luna withheld what she knew about the special flame meant to hold the divine realm. She perfectly feigned ignorance and curiosity, knowing very well that Valentine was a smart person.

  Valentine leaned back. His dark hair was tied back and his pale face was currently drowned in the warm orange light ahead. He almost resembled a model with his sharp features and dark eyes.

  He lingered for a few moments, then replied in a cold tone:

  “My father is dead set on locating the Flame and using its power to build a settlement in the divine realm. Ever since he learned of its power, he's been searching for a place like this. A clue connecting directly to what the gods left behind."

  Luna suddenly felt a bad premonition. She looked at Valentine and hurriedly asked, "What do you mean a settlement in the divine realm?”

  “Lord Artemis sees no hope in humanity. As we all already know, the mortal realm is dying." He answered. “It's only a matter of time before the Black Ether spreads and turns what's left into mindless creatures or more gates open up and more monsters walk into our world. My father gave up on the mortal realm and gave up even more when he finally found a solution. According to the research, the Eternal Flame gave birth to concepts like Fire…Light…and Destruction. It also played a part in the Creation of all the realms and the domains the gods rule over. With those facts, Lord Artemis believes that if someone acquires the flame, they would have a glimpse into the concept of..."

  “Creation.” Luna’s pupils thinned when she finished Valentine’s sentence. The concept of Creation was nothing but a theory in the mortal realm. There were many concepts in the universe but the concept of creation was confirmed to be the most powerful of them all.

  ‘Theoretically, it can't exist among humans. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.’

  Valentine nodded. “ To find the clues leading to the flame, we have studied so much about the divine realm. That’s how I knew about the frozen sea and its ruler. He was a sacred being before the curse of madness and protected the underwater kingdoms of the sea god. So when you said you were on a frozen water body, I just happened to remember the exploration files we’ve been forced to read hundreds of times.”

  Luna listened but didn't buy any of his explanations. She pretended to understand and moved on to the next question she had on her mind, “Wait…how does your father intend to use this tower?"

  “We are currently searching for the heart of this tower, the Midrith, also known as the last thing that was created with the concept of creation. At the heart lies a prisoner of our goddess, a prisoner so much hated by the gods that he was robbed of the mercy of death. We believe he might know where the flame is or at least have clues about it…”

  ‘How do they know about this prisoner?’ A terrifying question rang in Luna’s mind. Only Storm Rider knew this tower's purpose. If someone else knew about the prisoner, then there was someone in the world who could translate god folk or already knew about it.

  'If they know about the prisoner, then my time has been cut even shorter. I need to meet with the diety and decide whether to destroy or leave the tower alone in the mortal realm. Gods...this is frustrating!' She heaved out a trembling sigh as she thought.

  Both decisions were beneficial to humanity as a whole, especially the latter because the tower had proved to be a source of ancient sorcery and cultures from the divine realm. The secrets they would learn would change the course of their lives forever.

  But that would risk starting a turf war to claim the tower as a citadel. This was the first dungeon to ever appear. If this level of sorcery was replicated, the possibilities were endless.

  Pocket dimensions…would be accessible to mundane humans. That’s if it lands in the right hands. In the wrong ones, however…

  Luna didn’t want to think about it.

  “I see. So that’s what house Artemis is on. What I don’t understand is why are you telling me all of this.” Luna asked cautiously.

  Valentine blinked. His lips then curled upwards into a mischievous smile. “Because you’re interesting, Lunaris,” he said. “Did you know that there are currently only five humans with Generational Inheritance? And each one that managed to awaken acquires a powerful Aura, except you of course.”

  When he mentioned those final words, Luna was suddenly taken aback. Her being a generational inheritance was supposed to be one of the best-kept secrets in the world—especially in House Feng.

  Could the secret have gotten out? How many people knew of this? Was there a leak in the Clan?

  Luna's mind was bombarded with all kinds of questions.

  “How did you find out?”

  “Hehe, I can’t tell you that. But please know that you are one of the five people to ever inherit such blood. The first one is Adam Ares, also known as the Titan. The second is Gail Silverman, the third is the Iron Gambit who is by the way the first person to ever display the power of the generational inheritance fifty years ago. It sucks that House Val locked her away for being a ‘threat’.” He made air quotations with his fingers. “The fourth one is House Feng’s very own Lunaris. And fifth one….”

  He paused and scoffed to himself as if something funny had just crossed his mind. “The fifth one is called The Two-Headed Sword.”

  Meanwhile, Luna had stopped listening when she heard Gail's name. She now understood why the government was so secretive about his information. He was a whole generational inheritance.

  Did he even know he was one?

  Her best guess was probably no. Gail often appeared clueless about his significance. Generational Inheritances were very powerful as power holders. The AX blood trait was rare and so mysterious that no one had cracked how it was inherited in the first place. If you were from a clan and had this blood trait, the chances of you acquiring a powerful aura from your bloodline were usually very high (theoretically)

  But then what happens if you aren't from a clan? Do you awaken a one-of-a-kind Aura?

  Adam, Darkness's little brother awakened an Aura so powerful that he still doesn't have full control over it. His father has a similar power. But apparently, Adam's that and so much more.

  ‘Also, who the hell is the Iron Gambit and the Two-Headed sword!’ This was the first time Luna had heard of these two names.

  She wanted to ask what this blood actually meant. But disregarded the thought when she realized Valentine could just lie to her.

  “By the way, do you think you can beat me?” he asked all of a sudden. “I know your blood granted you superhuman strength.”

  "Is that common?"

  He shook his head. “I…I’m not sure. We humans tend to think we understand all this mystical stuff. The gods died but their power still exists through relics. Humans plan to use that power to take over but devils exist. We’re truly a pathetic race, aren’t we?”

  “For that, you might be right.” Luna sighed. Her philosophical views on the world were still on the weaker end.

  She was familiar with the general political and social views of the world. But she was a shut-in for two whole years. She never got out of the mansion to interact with normal humans and try to understand them.

  So, in simple terms, ignorance was probably her biggest enemy.

  “My father is not a bad person. He understands that for survival to happen, sacrifices must be made. Not every human can live on, Lunaris.”

  He stared at the beautiful flames for a while. They illuminated the coral walls of this put-together shelter.

  Luna was silent. The shelter now felt like a closed space as they had this exchange. Valentine had revealed so much information to her. And with that revelation, he revealed his complicated personality.

  The Valentine she talked to in the red desert wasn’t the same one she was talking to right now.

  ‘What has changed?’ Luna wondered.

  She opened her mouth but closed it again. She pursed her small lips and faced the floor. “I know that saving everyone is impossible. But if we don’t try to save our realm, what guarantee do you have that we’ll survive the realm where these things come from.”

  “That’s why we need the Flame. With the concept of Creation, all sorcery will be revealed to mankind. All runes and their meanings. We could finally have the power to protect ourselves. We could be gods! And all that at the cost of a few mortal lives.”

  Slap!

  Luna stood up and sent her palm flying towards Valentine. His head only slightly moved but his mischievous smirk remained.

  “A few mortal lives? Is more than a billion few to you?” Luna flew into a rage, “Who the hell do you think you are to choose the fate of other humans? I was worried sick about you because you are mortal, just like me!”

  Her raised voice altered everyone in the shelter.

  Valentine stared at her with eyes as calm as the ocean. Her slap had barely caused any pain to him. He rubbed his cheek and sighed.

  “I’m sorry Lunaris, I overstepped. However, you need to stop living in this damn fantasy. This is your first subjugation and you think the world can be saved. Don’t make me la…”

  Before he completed that sentence, a cold hand had already grasped him by the neck. He was carried off the ground and slammed into the coral wall like he was some doll.

  The coral wall behind shattered and collapsed right away, letting the outside world's chilling breeze and howling noise into the shelter. The flame in the middle began to shake wildly as it fought to maintain its original shape in all this wind.

  “I knew I couldn’t trust an Artemis. You and your twisted ideals are the true rot in the human race.”

  Valentine laughed even more and looked down at the owner of the hand. He could snap it right now but it was difficult to harm someone with an Ice Aura, especially in cold places.

  Len's cold grey eyes were staring at him with pure malice.

  “Twisted? Is that what you people call us?! You liars! Does she even know?” Valentine roared as the grip on Lena’s hand tightened. Her cold hands were getting hot.

  “It's not of her concern. She’s not an ascender.”

  “Len, stop!”

  Len ignored her sister’s demands and continued to squeeze Valentine’s neck.

  “Urgh…so what if she’s not an ascender? She deserves to know about our world and the truth about Feng Zheng…”

  Crack!

  Ah!

  The armor on his neck cracked when she added more strength and Valentine started to show struggle on his face. He stopped talking as the pain got much worse.

  “If you died inside this tower, no one would investigate because this is a whole new phenomenon. The son of the Mighty Krono Artemis can just die in a place like this and they can mark you as a hero, wouldn’t you like that?”

  Len was about to snap his neck when a strong hand gripped her arm and stopped her. It was Darkness.

  “Captain, you don’t want to start a war between clans, do you?” Darkness reminded Lena of the consequences that came with killing someone of high status like Valentine.

  “Tsk…” she pursed her lips in annoyance and dropped Valentine like he meant nothing.

  She shot a mean look at Luna then strolled away into the coldness without saying anything else.

  Luna, on the other hand, remained frozen after what she had witnessed. The wind had made it difficult for her to hear exactly what they were discussing.

  But from Len’s reaction, Luna was smart enough to know it was something sensitive.

  Sensitive enough to mess with calm and collected older sister Luna was used to.