WITCH OF THE END

Luna spent her final hours of peace in her hospital room playing 'Shadow Quest', a new game from her favorite developer. She used a new account to avoid alerting any other online gamers that the great Raya had returned to conquer the gaming world once again.

Seated in the corner with a pair of headsets over her head and the bright light of her datapad's screen reflecting in dark eyes, Luna silently tapped and let herself enjoy the new game without interruptions. Gaming was her peace now that everything around her felt so chaotic.

Sure, it was unhealthy to game for multiple hours. But what if she died during this subjugation and returned to that darkness and never came back?

Her biggest regret would be not playing more games—although she played more than one hundred over the past two years. Also, the network at the army command was strictly for military purposes. So she had no option but to waste the night playing Shadow Quest since the hospital's network was more public.

What Luna loved the most about the game was simple, the world-building, and the main character by the name of Salvos who could control shadows. It was an RPG set in a world similar to theirs, the only difference being that humanity had a chance of winning. Later on, the game allowed the player to switch between the other main character—Terra, who was also an awakened, and one of the main villains of the story.

The game portrayed her as the person who lost everyone she loved and sought refuge in the darkness which turned her into a force of evil. She had an ability similar to Regan's—to travel through space—but on a much larger scale.

Could loss really do that much harm to a person? To make them hate the world and everything it represents.

Luna paused the game and stayed silent for a moment. She always overthought these things. It was ridiculous how she constantly spent so much time in her head. It was also ridiculous that she cared more for these fictional characters than a good percentage of humanity. These fictional characters always defeated or found a way of winning their battles, whether personal or against the villains who threatened their world.

…the heroes were always triumphant. Which was not the case in the real world.

Luna herself struggled with the expectations people put on her. She already disappointed everyone when she failed to awaken two years ago. Now, she needed to prove to everyone—especially Astrid—that she was worthy of becoming the heiress of the Feng clan.

She also had to meet her mother's and sister's expectations all at once. She couldn’t risk messing up this one opportunity to turn her life around.

Her hands trembled. Her gaze then traveled from the screen and lingered on the small device strapped on her wrist. It resembled a silver bracelet that happened to be sealed tight around her wrist.

The small limiter displayed the number ‘97’. Which meant that it was still suppressing ninety-seven percent of her physical strength. Luna hadn't used the full output of her strength, yet. Or at any point in her life due to the possibility that her body would break down if she ever drew one hundred percent.

But should the time come and her family is in danger, Luna wasn't afraid to draw it all out. What's the point of having all this power if she couldn't at least use it to protect the people she cared about?

She stared at the datapad and then at the reddish-dark skyline beyond the window seal.

"I have to protect them. It's what Dad would've done."

***

The next morning, Luna and her very small team were picked up by one of the army transports. The steel armored vehicle was as large as a truck with twelve large wheels and machine guns attached to the sides. It was built like a tank, relying on a reactor as an energy source to keep it alive in an area like this.

Luna and everyone else were inside as the machine hummed while moving. The ride was surprisingly comfortable.

Luna was now in her nanoskin uniform which looked like a skin-tight body suit. The rush of zenshi constantly made her dizzy but that’s because her mind and body were still adapting to it since she had just linked with it. Still, having zenshi flowing in and out of her body was odd.

"I am looking forward to encountering a dragon, if there is one." Darkness was the first to break the cone of silence around the group.

"Trust me, you don't want to. Those things don't just blow fire. Some even blast ice from their mouths. Mao Feng’s summon can do that."

Everyone turned to Luna, they were surprised. Very few people had had the privilege of seeing the great dragon that the Flame of Winter was bonded to.

"So it's true, her summon is a dragon."

"I heard it has pristine white and azure scales," Mira added to Gail's statement.

"And it slithers through the sky like a giant snake. Is it true that it's wingless?"

Luna simply nodded, a brief response to Darkness's question. "Her dragon is an ancient dragon. It even shares its wisdom with her. That's why her control over the element of ice is extraordinary even for a sorceress."

"I saw her Aura...It's terrifying. Every cursed creature on the battlefield died after having their cores frozen. The infected crumbled down instantly." Darkness spoke her voice tinged with fear.

'What she saw that day must have been scarier than the horde of monsters themselves.' Luna noticed the fear in Darkness’s voice.

Flame of winter had appeared like a breeze that moved through the monsters before materializing in the train.

Mira sighed. "Gods. How she spoke on the train and killed the thing that showed up there."

"It's not dead." Gail cut in.

Luna turned to the golden-eyed boy. A hint of confusion on her beautiful face. "But she destroyed his core?"

"Not really. At the academy, we were told immortal beings don't actually die until the source of their immortality is destroyed. What Flame of Winter did was simply destroy its current body. He will sprout somewhere else and continue his wreckage." Gail explained to the group.

Darkness turned to the gold-eyed man. She only picked out a particular statement out of everything he said. "An academy for ascenders? You must be some rich brat to afford one of those."

Mira turned to Gail. He was situated on her right, his usual calm and stoic expression unbroken.

"Of course, I am Darkness. Did any of you read my file? I'm the son of an official in the government. I awakened at fifteen and joined an academy where I spent four years training hard and mastering my powers. Now here I am, saving the world."

Darkness suddenly laughed at his words. "Saving the world? How rich of you to say that, golden boy. But I guess you can see it that way too."

Her sapphire eyes then turned to the Luna. They stayed on her for a while as if she wanted the young girl to say something. Eventually, she did say something. Though the words that came out of her mouth didn't sound encouraging or depressing…

They were just the cold truth.

"We're not saving the world, Gail. We're simply stalling the end as we search for solutions." She ended her response with a weak smile. That probably scarred the poor man's spirit.

But his reaction was the opposite. His radiant smile made all three women blush.

"You know, Lady Feng. Someone as beautiful as you shouldn't sound so negative." He paused for a moment to recall his thoughts then continued:

"Bad thoughts are bad for your skin."

Luna froze for a moment. Wait. Did he just call her beautiful?

'Biscuits.' Luna quickly faced the floor when she noticed something. Who gave him the right to make such comments?

Her face was now red.