Seraphina Zenith's heart raced as the familiar landscape of Mount Hua Sect unfolded before her. The sect's pristine peaks, wreathed in mist and the vibrant colors of spring, seemed unchanged. But for her, nothing felt right.
Two months.
Two agonizing months without a word from Arthur Nightingale.
The silence had been unbearable. She, Rachel, and Cecilia had scoured every avenue, mobilizing their powerful fathers, their vast resources, and even satellite tracking. Yet Arthur remained a ghost, a name whispered with equal parts reverence and dread among their circles.
Seraphina hadn't let herself despair—she couldn't. Believing in his death required proof, and until someone placed his corpse before her, she would cling to the belief that he was alive.
But the not knowing... it gnawed at her.
Returning to the sect, she was prepared to face another round of searching, questioning, and planning. What she wasn't prepared for was the news that Arthur had casually strolled into Mount Hua as if nothing had happened.
Her disbelief was matched only by her father's. Together, they hurried to confront him. The moment she saw him, standing there in the training courtyard, her emotions surged to the surface. Relief. Anger. Worry. They all tangled together, bursting forth in one action.
She stormed up to him, her hands trembling only slightly as she grabbed his collar and yanked him closer. "You," she hissed, her voice trembling with a storm barely contained. "You didn't call for two months."
Arthur blinked, the accusation landing on him like a slap. His face twisted in confusion. "What?"
Her grip tightened, and Mo Zenith, ever composed, stepped forward, his gaze hard and scrutinizing. "Arthur," he said, his tone firm and unyielding. "Where have you been for two months? We tried to find you, but you vanished without a trace."
Arthur's confusion deepened, his brows furrowing. "N-no," he stammered, his voice uncharacteristically unsure. "I came back to camp. I did call—" His gaze darted to Seraphina. "I called all three of you. I swear I did."
Seraphina's anger wavered, replaced by worry. She exchanged a glance with her father, her grip on Arthur loosening. "No, you didn't," she said, her voice softer now but no less urgent.
"I'm not an expert in this," Mo interjected, stepping closer and raising a hand to Arthur's forehead, "but stay still."
Arthur stiffened as Mo's mana surged, wrapping around him in a shimmering cocoon of energy. It glimmered and pulsed, the hues shifting as Mo's brows knitted in concentration. The air thickened, humming with the resonance of a Radiant-ranker's power. Then, Mo exhaled sharply, his expression grave.
"Hoo," he said, stepping back. "Someone twisted your time axis. That's why you didn't notice you were gone."
Arthur blinked, his confusion giving way to shock. "Twisted… my time axis?" he echoed.
"This isn't something most people can do," Mo said, his voice tinged with unease. "Even Radiant-rankers with time affinities would struggle to achieve this. I only noticed because, at Radiant-rank, you start to perceive the space-time axis itself. Whoever did this is beyond ordinary understanding."
"Who could possibly have that kind of power?" Seraphina asked, her voice trembling with a mixture of curiosity and fear.
"Alyssara Velcroix," Mo and I said in unison, our eyes locking across the room.
Seraphina's gaze darted between us, her ice-blue eyes narrowing. "Wait. This isn't just something I need to hear." Without another word, she pulled out her phone, her fingers moving deftly as she sent a message.
It wasn't long before Rachel and Cecilia arrived at Mount Hua Sect, both their expressions reflecting equal parts worry and determination. Seraphina had briefed them, but the fragmented explanation only deepened their unease. The room grew heavier as they joined us, each carrying a palpable tension.
"Arthur," Rachel began, her voice softer than usual, but the steel in her tone unmistakable. "What exactly happened?"
"I think we should all sit for this," Mo interjected, leading us into a quiet chamber. It was a modest room by Mount Hua standards, its decor marked by a blend of serene artistry and pragmatic function. The faint scent of plum blossoms lingered in the air, though it did little to ease the weight of the moment.
Once we were all seated, it was Cecilia who broke the silence. "So, explain," she said, her crimson eyes glinting as they flicked between Mo and me. "What's the deal with Alyssara Velcroix?"
Mo exhaled, his jaw tightening. "Alyssara... is an enigma," he admitted. "Even I don't know the full extent of her capabilities or motives. But I think Arthur is in a better position to shed light on this. After all…" He gestured toward me. "She seems to have taken a particular interest in him."
I felt the weight of everyone's eyes on me and drew in a steadying breath. "Alyssara Velcroix…" I began, my voice low, "…is beyond anything I've encountered before. She's not just strong—she's twisted. Manipulative. She told me, in no uncertain terms, that she wants to break me."
Rachel's fists clenched, her knuckles white against her pale skin. Cecilia's jaw tightened, her gaze hardening, while Seraphina's already stoic expression became colder, like ice setting into stone.
I continued, my voice tightening. "She doesn't just want to kill me. That would be too easy, too… boring for her. She wants to torment me. Twist me into something else—something she can control, or destroy at her leisure."
A shudder rippled through the room, unspoken anger and unease settling over us like a heavy blanket.
"And then," I added, my voice dropping even lower, "she threw me off the mountain."
Seraphina's eyes widened, her composure cracking for the briefest moment. "Threw you…?"
"Off a mountain," I repeated, my lips curling into a bitter smile. "She played with me like a toy, discarded me, and left me to survive the fall. Or not."
"Survive the fall?" Rachel repeated, her voice rising in alarm. "Arthur—how…?"
"I barely had the consciousness to use wind magic," I said simply.
For a moment, no one spoke. The silence stretched, the air crackling with restrained emotions.
"This… monster," Cecilia finally said, her voice quivering with barely suppressed fury. "She dares—?"
"She doesn't just dare," I interrupted, my voice sharper than I intended. "She does. And she knows exactly what she's doing. Alyssara Velcroix operates on a level we can't even comprehend yet."
Mo leaned back in his chair, the weight of his words settling heavily in the room like an unwelcome guest. His expression was unreadable, but his tone carried the kind of gravity that could crack stone. "Alyssara Velcroix is not someone to underestimate. She has already stepped into the realm of transcendence, a domain far beyond what most of us can even fathom. That's likely why she was capable of twisting the time axis around Arthur, making him 'disappear' for two months."
Seraphina's serene demeanor faltered, her ice-blue eyes shadowed by unease. "What is the realm of transcendence?" she asked, her voice quieter than usual, as if speaking the words aloud might give them too much power.
"It starts from high Radiant-rank," Mo said, his tone reverent and laced with caution. "At that level, you're no longer simply powerful—you rewrite the rules of existence. It's as though you step beyond Radiant-rank entirely. Those who reach this realm gain a surge of power that dwarfs anything beneath it. Alyssara demonstrated that when she held back Leopold, Selene, and me simultaneously."
Seraphina, Rachel, and Cecilia exchanged uneasy glances. The room felt colder, the enormity of Mo's words chilling the air.
"In this world, she is unrivalled," Mo finished, his voice heavy with resignation.
Rachel's crimson eyes narrowed, her sharp intellect cutting through the despair. "Then what exactly is she waiting for?" she asked, her tone defiant despite the odds. "If she's so strong, why hasn't she crushed us already? Who's balancing her power?"
Mo's gaze hardened, but there was no comfort in his answer. "No one," he said. "There is no one alive today who can match Alyssara Velcroix. If she wished it, she could have annihilated us—Leopold, Selene, and myself—that day."
A tense silence followed, broken only by the faint rustle of fabric as Cecilia shifted in her seat. "Then why hasn't she?" she asked, her voice cutting through the stillness like a blade.
Mo's jaw tightened, his eyes briefly flickering to Arthur. "Her obsession," he said, the word landing with the weight of a falling mountain. "Her obsession with Arthur."
I stiffened under their collective gazes, my fists clenching instinctively. "What do you mean?" I asked, my voice steadier than I felt.
Mo's eyes softened, but his tone remained grim. "Arthur, if it weren't for that twisted fixation she has on you, we'd all be dead. She could have ended us, but instead, she let us live because she wasn't done… toying with you."
The room felt like it had shrunk, the air heavier with every passing moment. Seraphina's fists clenched at her sides, her icy composure cracking under the weight of helplessness. Rachel looked as if she were piecing together a complex puzzle, her sharp mind working overtime to find a solution where none existed. Cecilia's expression was harder to read, but the fire in her crimson eyes burned with quiet fury.