Chapter 20: Lunar Witch, The Celestial being (1)
While Naoki wandered around, eyes wide with curiosity, the Vice Patriarch turned to the Left Guardian.
"Don't you think young master Aether has changed? The last time he was here, he told his father he was disappointed that this room was filled with useless weapons instead of gold and treasures."
"Ah, yes. I remember that clearly," the Left Guardian replied with a faint smile.
"at least he's finally acting his age.hohoho"
After some time, the three of them reached the end of the vault, where a massive door stood in silence.
It was made of Netherite Obsidian, a fusion of hellstone and ancient black crystal, said not to resist energy but to devour it completely.
Even warriors at the level of the Six Supremes couldn't break it with brute force alone.
The Vice Patriarch stepped forward and placed his hand upon the hand-shaped indentation carved into the surface. With a calm breath, he channeled mana into it.
Swoooosh
A low hum echoed as the door began to creak open
From the dark gap within, black mana surged out violently. The wind pressure howled like a living beast.
The Left Guardian immediately stepped in front of Naoki, shielding him with a sweep of his cloak.
Then, as if the vault itself had taken a breath and exhaled, the torrent of mana settled. The cloud-like haze dispersed.
And the room inside was revealed.
Naoki's eyes sparkled with awe.
It was a dark chamber, silent and suffocating. But in the center, a dark green light pulsed like a heartbeat.
Suspended in the air, hovering without support
It was the 'Evil Commandment Sword'.
The sword was black, its blade etched with eerie green markings. Even the grip was wrapped in deep black, radiating a cold, foreboding presence.
As Naoki stared at the sword, the world around him suddenly shattered, like fragile glass breaking in slow motion.
Crack.
Crash.
'This is…'
He instantly realized, it was just like the time he was drowning, when his older brother created a space underwater.
But this place… was different.
Back then, it was a calm, transparent dimension. Above them were endless cosmic spaces, vast and silent, filled with stars. Beneath their feet, water shimmered like a perfect mirror.
But now
The sky was crimson, and beneath his feet was a sea that looked like thick, still blood.
When he looked up, he saw a massive moon hanging in the sky. It felt so close… he could clearly see the details of its cracked surface.
As Naoki stayed alert, wary of the strange phenomenon around him, a soft, echoing voice, calm and mature, unmistakably a woman's, suddenly reached his ears.
-O forsaken existence…I welcome you to my realm.
"!!?"
Naoki's eyes widened. His guard shot up as he spun around, scanning the crimson space. The voice had no source, yet it felt like it came from everywhere and nowhere at once.
"Reveal yourself," Naoki demanded.
-O forsaken existence… you are not ready to see my true form. You would burn to dust.
Hearing her voice, Naoki remembered something his brother once told him back on Earth:
[The people of the original Continent gained their power from the one true god,the Primordial God. After receiving his blessing, many learned to use magic and supernatural abilities.
When someone grows powerful enough, they can ascend and become a Demi-God. We call those beings Celestial Beings.
But after the Primordial God disappeared, the Celestial Beings started calling themselves gods and began ruling over the Omniverse.]
Naoki quickly realized, the presence speaking to him was a Celestial Being.
So he stepped back slightly and asked with respectful caution,
"May I know… why you brought me here?"
The voice answered, calm and steady.
-Twelve hundred years ago, Julius von Legolant gifted the Noctvain family the Evil Commandment Sword.
"!!!"
Naoki froze, eyes wide in shock.
That name…Julius von Legolant, was the name his older brother, Haruto, used in this world.
He had heard that a mysterious being once gifted the sword to the founder of the Noctvain family but he never imagined it was his own brother, Haruto.
It was beyond anything he imagined.
'So that means...the mana inside the Left Guardian's body was also given by my brother? That explains why it matched mine…'
As these thoughts raced through his mind,
the Celestial Being's voice echoed once more
-Julius von Legolant left behind eleven relics for you. One of them is this sword you call the Evil Commandment Sword. Its true name is the Sunless Sword. .
Naoki was shocked once again.
He remembered his brother once telling him about the eleven relics he had hidden in this world. Naoki had made up his mind to find them all…but he never imagined that this sword was one of them.
And it's name is Sunless sword.
Over the span of 1,200 years, because of the sword's wicked nature and the many lives it had taken, it became known as the Evil Commandment Sword.
Yet what truly caught his attention was what she said next:
-Once you possess a relic, you'll be able to see his memories. His journey has been divided into eleven parts, each part revealed through a relic.
Naoki's eyes welled up with tears.
His brother, who had sacrificed so much and regressed 769 times, had suffered unimaginably.
He had left behind pieces of himself in this world, a path made of memories.
And now, with the sword just within reach, he had nearly acquired the first relic.
That meant…
He was about to see the first part of his brother's story.
-Thanks to my power, you'll be able to see his memories. But be warned… they won't be pleasant. Watching those cruel moments will not be easy.
Naoki said nothing. He simply wiped the tears from his eyes, his heart heavy.
-It's time for you to leave this realm.
But before you go....take this with you."
Swooosh
A cold, icy-blue wave surged forward and wrapped around Naoki, seeping into his body like a silent tide.
-These skills will aid you on your journey.
As the energy settled inside him, Naoki suddenly felt something shift. A rush of knowledge, like magic formulas and battle techniques, flooded his mind.
He clutched his head.
"Aaah… my head hurts…"
The visions, the power, it was all too much, too fast.
Then,
Still holding his head, Naoki managed to speak through the pain.
"May I know your name… miss?"
There was a pause.
Only silence filled the crimson air.
Then, at last, the voice returned soft, distant, and ethereal.
-I am a Celestial Being… the Lunar Witch.
'Lunar Witch…'
The name echoed in Naoki's mind, lingering like the glow of a distant moon.
.
.
.
.
To be continued....