Darkness once again covered the world as far as Alex’s eyes could see, he once again felt endless loneliness, there was no sound he could hear, no fragrance he could smell, there was nothing he could touch.

His body floated in the void as if forgotten, but in reality that was not the case, a grip seized the back collar of his shirt, Alex quickly turned his head. There, inside the darkness where there should have been nothing, Saint Azara smiled.

Her long and rough golden hair unraveled like light in the middle of the darkness, her golden tiger eyes remained sharp like a predator hunting in the night, she pulled Alex’s body as if swimming inside the darkness.

Alex, who had no choice, could only let his body be dragged away. After an unknown amount of time, a gust of wind suddenly appeared, Saint Azara and Alex turned toward the source of the wind blowing at them.

There, a hole could be seen. A hole leading toward another darkness, but at least the darkness there felt more friendly. Alex and Saint Azara looked at each other, Saint Azara smiled again, she accelerated the golden light covering her entire body, a warm feeling enveloped the two of them, from the soles of her floating feet, golden energy pushed her body and Alex toward the black hole.

The moment they floated into the black hole, a stronger gust of wind immediately struck them, the two of them unconsciously looked downward, there a black land could be seen, their bodies were slowly pulled downward.

They fell, Saint Azara turned toward Alex, her voice that had disappeared now returned "prepare for the impact" Alex’s two black eyes widened "what?!"

Saint Azara did not warn him again, she only used her bare feet to land, silence became the only reaction when the soles of her feet touched the black floor at high speed.

Meanwhile Alex had to channel mana into both of his legs, and the moment his feet touched the ground, the sound of an explosion was heard that surrounded him with black smoke, a groan escaped from Alex while Saint Azara only turned to look at him.

As the black smoke slowly disappeared, Saint Azara could see Alex’s feet wearing running shoes embedded into the black floor, cracks appeared around him.

Saint Azara clicked her tongue "what is wrong with you? Can’t you land quietly?" Alex gritted his teeth, he pulled both of his feet out from the black floor "I already tried to be as quiet as possible..."

Saint Azara let out a sigh "all strong people land quietly, I’ll teach you later" Alex only nodded agreeing with what Saint Azara said while pulling his feet out from the black floor.

The sound of light footsteps running toward them could be heard. Alex and Saint Azara turned forward, toward the place where the footsteps came from.

There, a teenage girl ran closer, her white dress fluttered with every barefoot step she took, her long lavender hair also refused to lose, every strand of her hair seemed to dance as she ran, her white skin seemed to naturally shine in the middle of the darkness.

The teenage girl stopped her steps, her black eyes only focused on Alex instead of Saint Azara who smiled while looking at her.

Alex opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out, he did it several times until finally he managed to speak "Krystal?"

Krystal fell silent for a few moments, she was not much different from Alex who struggled to let out his voice "Alex?"

Alex nodded several times, he scratched his forehead while looking at Krystal’s figure from top to bottom "you’re still a teenager apparently..."

Krystal blinked once "you’re even stranger when seen directly..." Alex slowly walked toward Krystal and Krystal also approached, they walked while staring at each other.

Alex glanced toward the dark sky that became the ceiling of that place, he also looked down at the black floor beneath his feet, he then looked at Krystal, the two of them walked as if making a circle, they kept looking at each other.

"Do you live in this dark place? What are you doing here? Isn’t there a better place?"

Krystal slightly tilted her head, she kept walking in a circle just like Alex "yes...I live here, I only watch what you see..."

One of Alex’s eyebrows rose, he still looked at Krystal and kept walking in circles "don’t you get bored? Aren’t you hungry?"

Krystal scratched her milk white cheek "I don’t know, I don’t feel things like that..." Alex fell silent for a few moments, he looked toward his smart bracelet and tried to use it, but after several touches, the bracelet did not activate.

Alex then searched through the pocket of his training pants, he also searched the pocket of his jacket until finally he found three small papers with his symbols, he showed them to Krystal "want to try ice cream?"

Krystal’s black eyes sparkled, she slowly approached Alex enthusiastically "is that what you and Katarina ate in the helicopter? Is that what Aisy and that polar bear also like?"

Alex smiled faintly, he nodded several times and smiled faintly, the small paper glowed and a banana ice cream appeared, Alex handed it to Krystal who accepted it with sparkling eyes.

She immediately bit it like what she had seen before, her expression instantly turned into a grimace, she felt something like stabbing her teeth and the inside of her mouth, she shook her head "what is this? It feels like being stabbed"

Alex chuckled "that’s cold..." Krystal then chewed her ice cream, a new taste appeared, a taste that felt like exploding inside her mouth making her black eyes shine even brighter "what is this?! It feels like exploding inside my mouth..."

Alex scratched his forehead while looking at Krystal who sparkled "that’s sweetness..." Krystal ate her ice cream again, she happily exclaimed "now I understand why Katarina, Aisy, and the polar bear like your ice cream!!"

Alex nodded proudly, meanwhile Saint Azara who saw Alex and Krystal acting like friends who had just met could only sigh, she turned around to look at the black sky and the darkness that seemed endless ’It really is true....it feels like the personal world of a mystical creature’,

Saint Azara then closed her eyes, she lost her sight, she focused her hearing, the golden tiger ears on top of her head twitched, she could clearly hear the conversation between Alex and Krystal, she could also hear the heartbeats of both of them that were almost in rhythm.

Saint Azara swallowed her saliva, she could also hear her own heartbeat, her golden tiger tail swayed until at one point her tail stopped and stiffened.

Saint Azara’s tiger ears caught something other than the sound of the three of their heartbeats, it was a fourth heartbeat.

Saint Azara opened her eyelids, her golden tiger eyes glowed and immediately looked toward the sky, her golden eyes pierced through the impenetrable darkness of the sky until something became visible.

Saint Azara’s golden eyebrows twitched, her eyes widened slightly when she saw a gray sphere beating like the sound of a heartbeat, the gray sphere kept beating inside the engulfing darkness.

A faint smile unconsciously appeared on Saint Azara’s face ’ahh....what a shame, it is not the forgotten goddess’ Saint Azara let out a long sigh, she still stared at the beating gray sphere ’gray huh...I never knew there was one colored gray’

Saint Azara brushed back her rough golden hair, she closed her eyes and lowered her head ’it is an honor if I can name it when Krystal shows her true form...’

Gusts of wind from various directions slowly got pulled toward Saint Azara’s body, her golden hair fluttered, the black floor beneath her feet started cracking.

Alex and Krystal who had been enjoying their conversation suddenly got distracted by an attraction trying to pull them toward Saint Azara.

Krystal immediately hid behind Alex’s body "I told you already....that tiger is dangerous" Alex gritted his teeth, his black eyes looked at Saint Azara’s back, his feet planted on the black floor slowly started being pulled toward her, Alex had to channel mana into his legs so he and Krystal would not get sucked toward Saint Azara "Saint Azara!! What’s wrong?!!"

Saint Azara did not answer him, instead she once again released golden light to cover her body, the blaze of her golden light became more uncontrollable, the black floor slowly cracked.

The cracks spread toward every direction they could reach, the cracks climbed toward the black ceiling until they appeared above the three of their heads.

Saint Azara’s scream echoed throughout the black room that was slowly collapsing, bursts of golden fire emerged from every crack.

Krystal could only hide behind Alex’s back while the golden fire surrounded them, Alex gritted his teeth seeing Saint Azara’s power continuing to overflow, cold sweat came out from the pores of his body, and as if realizing that, Saint Azara slightly turned sideways, her voice sounded firm and clear in the middle of the burning and collapsing room.

"Listen children..." Saint Azara’s golden tiger tail swayed "listen and feel the tale properly..." Alex’s body hair stood on end while Krystal gripped Alex’s jacket tightly.

Saint Azara paused before continuing again "perhaps at the end of the tale you will understand yourselves more than before" Saint Azara widened her stance "endure it and protect each other..."

Alex only fell silent hearing Saint Azara’s words, meanwhile Saint Azara began kicking the floor with one of her legs, a shockwave instantly struck Alex and Krystal accompanied by burning heat.

Saint Azara flew upward with her body glowing golden, the golden fire emerging from the cracks followed her as if unwilling to stay away.

Alex covered his face with his crossed arms, his black eyes watched Saint Azara flying farther upward, Alex’s legs trembled because he had to hold himself and Krystal from being swept away.

The higher Saint Azara flew the less visible she became, now what could be seen was a golden light flying followed by hundreds of golden streaks, the golden light did not stop until finally it became motionless.

Alex loosened his guard because he felt nothing else was happening, Krystal also began looking at the sky from behind Alex’s back.

The golden light got stuck in the black sky, there was no sound, there was nothing.

Krystal blinked several times while staring at the golden light "what happened-" before Krystal could finish speaking, Alex turned his body and hugged Krystal.

Alex felt something when his first soul core trembled, shortly after something huge came, a far greater shockwave struck the black floor where Alex and Krystal stood, Alex’s back was pushed downward together with the black floor that slowly shattered.

Alex gritted his teeth, blood burst out from his mouth as he hugged Krystal to withstand the impact of the explosion.

His black eyes slowly lost their sight, white color slowly dominated everything Alex could see and in an instant everything disappeared without leaving anything behind.

Slowly something formed from nothingness, the first thing that appeared was the sun whose light continued shining without ever fading, its light that seemed eternal began illuminating everything it could reach, but unfortunately not every place could be touched by its light.

A cluster of clouds blocked the sunlight, there was no chance for the sunlight to pierce through them, meanwhile lightning struck beneath the clouds, the strikes occasionally reached the muddy ground.

Beneath the storm clouds, endless land could be seen, in some places green grass could be seen, and in most places there was only mud.

Cold wind blew chaotically, the wind reached the bodies of Alex and Krystal who were lying on top of the mud.

Krystal’s eyelids twitched, slowly she opened her eyes in the unfamiliar place, she felt a wet and strange sensation on her back, her white dress was now dirty with mud, she turned toward the right where Alex was unconscious.

Her hand wanted to reach Alex, but something stopped her, white fog slowly enveloped the muddy land where they lay, Krystal’s body shivered instantly when the white fog touched her smooth skin.

Something slowly gnawed at her heart as she and Alex were gradually engulfed by the fog, it was fear.

Krystal approached Alex who was still unconscious, she touched his body and shook him repeatedly, Krystal opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

She held her throat and tried speaking again, but no sound came out, Krystal’s heartbeat became faster.

She looked right and left, now she and Alex were completely covered by fog. Krystal swallowed her saliva, she kept trying to wake Alex, after some time finally Alex slowly opened his eyes.

He looked at Krystal whose face was filled with fear, Alex slowly rose from his sleep on top of the mud, he looked around, there was nothing except fog and mud.

Alex turned toward Krystal, he opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out.

Alex swallowed his saliva, his breathing became irregular, his first soul core kept warning him about danger trying to approach him.

The muddy ground slowly trembled, the tremors were accompanied by booming sounds as if something was crushing the earth, cold air enveloped Alex and Krystal making them look at each other without speaking.

Slowly Alex began standing up, Krystal followed him, the muddy ground beneath their feet still trembled.

Alex looked in various directions trying to determine the source of the booming sounds, he could not distinguish where the sounds came from as if they originated from every direction.

Krystal in panic followed Alex’s movements, her black eyes also looked in every direction trying to help Alex, but they could not find anything, until eventually the booming sounds stopped.

Silence once again enveloped them in the middle of the fog, but that silence did not calm Alex, his first soul core sensed a presence, Alex turned toward the back, Krystal did the same.

A rotten smell slowly entered their sense of smell, something moved quickly behind the fog, something crawling with glowing eyes.

Alex swallowed his saliva while Krystal began walking closer toward Alex, growling sounds emerged as the rotten smell became stronger.

Alex’s heart beat rapidly until he could hear it himself, and his heart almost exploded when hundreds of glowing eyes appeared all at once.

Alex slowly stepped backward followed by Krystal, meanwhile the hundreds of eyes also stepped forward approaching them.

Until finally the sound of impacts was heard again making Alex instantly grab Krystal’s hand and run away, the hundreds of eyes also ran toward them at an unimaginable speed.

Alex ran carefully because the mud beneath his feet kept making his running shoes slip, Krystal was not much different, barefoot, she could only hope she would not slip and make both of them fall.

They kept trying to escape with all their ability, but it was all useless. Alex looked backward, something almost reached his completely exposed back.

The pair of glowing eyes slowly leaped toward him, Alex who saw it immediately stopped his steps causing both him and Krystal to slip,

meanwhile the glowing eyes jumped over Alex and Krystal until finally landing in front of them.

Its body was no longer covered by fog, its black body could now be seen with four legs standing on the muddy ground, slowly the figure turned toward Alex and Krystal causing their hearts to almost stop.

There, a human head was attached to the crawling black body, saliva dripped everywhere, while its eyes glowed, the figure opened its mouth and a shrill scream echoed, the figure charged toward Alex and Krystal.

Alex did not know what to do, he was shaken after seeing the inhuman human face, but in the end, his first soul core helped him, he pulled out the Changing Sword and immediately transformed it into a spear that pierced the figure’s face.

The figure writhed, its scream still echoed shrilly, its body still tried clawing at Alex as if unaffected.

Alex swallowed his saliva, his hand trembled, he kicked the figure away even though it did not die after its head was pierced.

The booming sounds still filled their ears along with the endless hundreds of shrieks, Alex gritted his teeth, he carried Krystal on his back and started running as fast as he could to ensure his life remained intact.

With every step his heart felt like exploding, the exhaustion he felt seemed to test him, Alex’s vision slowly faded ’damn...what is this? Where is this? Where is Saint Azara?’

Alex looked right and left, nothing could calm him because he was surrounded by fog and chased by hundreds of impossible figures.

A gust of wind slowly blew at him from above, Alex and Krystal looked upward while running, a gigantic foot covered them and tried to crush them like ants.

Alex gritted his teeth while Krystal hugged him tightly, Alex began channeling mana into both of his legs, he kicked the muddy ground with mana flowing through his legs.

Alex charged forward quickly, his mouth wide open as if screaming to save his life, until finally he managed to step out from the range of the gigantic foot trying to crush him, the sound of an explosion from the impact of the gigantic foot was heard.

Alex and Krystal rolled across the muddy ground making their clothes and faces dirty, Alex immediately looked toward the sky covered by fog.

His black eyes slowly lost hope as he looked at a pair of gigantic eyes also staring at him, the wind slowly blew at them again, the gigantic hand reached toward Alex and Krystal who were still stranded in the mud.

The shrieking sounds from the previous monsters also started getting closer, the footsteps of hundreds of them sounded more real.

Alex only froze stiffly as if confused about what to do, his first soul core seemed to give up because it could not find an opening, Alex looked toward the terrified Krystal and something happened.

The muddy ground beneath them slowly moved upward, an endless line began separating the place where Alex and Krystal stood from where the monsters stood.

The muddy land on Alex’s side slowly rose upward, Alex held onto Krystal so they would not get separated, slowly the muddy land started changing with part of the land rising toward the sky, Alex held tightly onto the muddy ground, he and Krystal were at the edge that could make them fall at any moment.

The land kept moving upward until Alex could briefly see the giant’s face before the land surpassed its height, Alex gritted his teeth, he and Krystal had now escaped the giant threat and the monsters, but now they were trapped by the pressure of the wind as the land beneath them kept rising upward.

As if unwilling to stop, the land finally pierced through the clouds blocking the sunlight, then Alex and Krystal could see the upper side of the sea of clouds.

The land stopped rising when the sunlight touched it, Alex panted as he became enveloped by the bright sunlight.

He looked toward Krystal whose face showed exhaustion, her white skin was now covered with dried mud.

Alex swallowed his saliva, he pointed toward the other side from where they had come from, Krystal nodded in understanding.

The two of them slowly stood up, their legs still trembled as if not ready to walk, but they continued stepping away from the edge of the cliff.

They kept walking above the clouds, the sun above their heads seemed unmoving when Alex checked it after hours of walking, until eventually they sank deeper into the clouds as the land beneath them began descending.

Fog once again enveloped them, but this fog did not feel dangerous, Alex eventually carried Krystal on his back again after her barefoot feet became wounded, the two of them walked aimlessly, they only wanted to move away from the dangerous area.

The land they passed kept descending, at several points cliffs appeared forcing Alex to search for another path, exhaustion struck Alex after he walked without direction, he who had previously been grateful after surviving the monsters now started feeling uneasy again when he found nothing.

His vision became emptier, his feet moved down the land without orders from his brain, he seemed to lose focus until finally a pull on his neck restored his focus, Krystal pulled Alex’s neck.

But Alex did not realize what caused it, his right foot unconsciously stepped toward a cliff, and his mistaken step made Alex and Krystal fall and roll repeatedly on the rough ground.

Alex slowly lost consciousness, he did not even know Krystal’s position until finally his body stopped rolling when a flat ground stopped him.

Alex’s body was covered in wounds, his breath was ragged, he tried turning right and left searching for Krystal, and he found her lying not far from him, her white dress was now dirty and torn, her long lavender hair spread across the dirty and cold ground.

Alex blinked once, he wanted to approach Krystal, but something stopped him.

Not far from Krystal, two figures stood looking toward the sky where the land rose until piercing the clouds, one of them was a man with blond hair, he turned toward the woman beside him, his face glowed as if hiding his identity, his voice sounded clearly in Alex’s ears as if only whispering to him. "What name fits this new beginning?"

The man with the glowing face asked the woman beside him who only stared at the sky, her face glowed just like the man’s face, her snow white hair hung straight down, the two of them seemed out of place in the location they stood in. "Silent mountains? I think that fits..."

Alex’s mouth opened and closed several times, his voice still could not be heard.

The woman with the glowing face shifted her gaze, she turned toward the left where Alex and Krystal lay, the wind blew through her long white hair.

Alex’s heart beat rapidly when he seemed to meet the gaze of the glowing faced woman, until finally the woman’s hair became stiff and motionless in the air.

Alex’s breathing became heavy, and a voice echoed in his ears, a voice that felt unfamiliar "the first miracle...Athika and Luminor who created the silent mountains...."

"....they separated us from the fallen"

Alex lowered his head, there were no words he wanted to say even though he could make sounds.

Slowly the rough land and the entire place were swept away into dust except for Alex and Krystal, everything became white again.

After some time passed, slowly colors began painting the white background, beach sand slowly formed as the ground beneath Alex and Krystal, an orange light appeared and slowly descended, the sky that slowly turned dark formed above Alex and Krystal.

A forest and cliffs were painted as additions, and waves appeared as the result.

The waves touched Alex and Krystal causing Alex to regain consciousness, his black eyes focused again when the waves touched him.

The wind blew at him and his wounded body, Alex looked around him, orange light covered his face filled with wounds and dirt.

He looked toward Krystal and moved closer to her, his body creaked in pain but he did not care, he shook Krystal’s body that was still unconscious, he opened his mouth to call her name but no sound came out.

Alex eventually took seawater and splashed it onto Krystal’s face covered in dried mud, she woke up and held her wounded body.

Slowly the orange light disappeared and darkness enveloped them on the unknown shoreline.

Alex removed his worn out jacket to cover Krystal’s body, the two of them still could not speak to each other.

Alex slowly stood up and helped Krystal stand, he did not know what he should do, he had no clue.

Alex bit his own lips ’what kind of tale is this, you cruel tiger...’ he glanced at Krystal who still seemed shocked, she only stared blankly which was very different from earlier when she had been happy after eating her first ice cream ’damn...if I were alone then it wouldn’t be a problem...’

Alex let out a sigh, he wanted to enjoy the peace that happened first, but unfortunately he was not allowed to rest.

An explosion was heard, Alex and Krystal turned at the same time, there dozens of figures ran in panic as if being chased by something.

They came from various races, they all ran toward Alex and Krystal causing Alex and Krystal to prepare themselves, they were afraid the previous incident would happen again.

Alex pulled out his Changing Sword, but the dozens of figures from various races only passed by Alex and Krystal without caring about them, Alex and Krystal could clearly see their faces filled with fear as they screamed chaotically at the beginning of the night.

"Demons!!"

"The demons are coming!!"

"Save us!! The gods have abandoned us!!"

Alex and Krystal looked at each other, they immediately shifted their gazes, there an elf girl with bright purple hair ran in panic, her face was covered by light.

Behind her, a black figure walked calmly, its body covered in black fog, its red eyes glowed in the darkness, two horns protruded from its forehead.

The demon pointed its hand toward the elf girl with the glowing face, something evil began enveloping the elf girl, but it immediately stopped when a growl came from the night sky.

Alex and Krystal looked upward, the wind blew at them as a dragon passed over them, the dragon released a golden light from its heart, the golden light trembled chaotically, the golden light enveloped itself, golden dust fell with every flap of the dragon’s wings.

One of Alex’s eyebrows rose ’holy energy?’ He looked toward Krystal who was also confused, they did not know the answer, because an explosion came before it.

Alex and Krystal turned back, Alex’s black eyes widened, the dragon’s body burned and spilled blood, it fell from the sky and crashed into the cliff behind the demon.

The elf girl stopped running, she looked at the dragon that had now fallen, she only stood frozen, tears fell from her glowing face.

When those tears touched the ground, golden light appeared dazzling the dark beach, a warm wind appeared as the elf girl’s hair turned blonde from the roots to halfway down.

The demon covered its face, its body slowly burned, while the elf girl kept shining in the darkness.

The demon slowly disappeared as the golden light drove it away, its furious scream echoed "you bastards!! Athika!! Luminor!! You always cause trouble!!!"

The elf girl looked at her own palm which also emitted golden light, she did not know what happened, she slowly ran toward the dead dragon, she touched it repeatedly but there was nothing she could do.

The sound of her crying slowly merged with the sparkling golden light she emitted.

Alex scratched his black hair, he did not understand anything happening, until finally the dozens of people who previously ran away slowly returned.

Alex and Krystal’s bodies were pushed by them without realizing it, dozens of figures from various races walked closer toward the light in the darkness.

They approached the elf girl emitting golden light, they did not care about her crying, the only thing they cared about was the golden light that successfully drove away the demon.

One by one they knelt before the crying elf girl, they kissed the sand with trembling bodies, some of them cried as well, some laughed while raising their hands.

"Athika and Luminor have returned!!"

"They sent a messenger for us!!"

"They drove away the demons once again!!"

The one bowing at the very front immediately raised his head, his lips covered in sand slowly opened, his voice reached Alex and Krystal "saint..."

All the figures from various races bowing down slowly rose and looked at the crying elf hugging the dead dragon

"Saint..." their voices slowly became louder as if wanting to match the golden light shining on them, slowly applause appeared, slowly others began jumping and dancing, they did not care about the elf’s tears, they only enjoyed the light they found inside the darkness.

Alex’s body trembled seeing that, not because of the night wind, but because of the visible contrast, he covered his own mouth, in the middle of his silence he also did not know what to say.

Until finally those dancing became stiff statues, another voice was heard making Alex and Krystal try to search for where it came from.

"Those who have long lived in darkness yearned for a new light..."

"...and they received it."

Alex swallowed his saliva, he still did not understand what the voice was saying "starting from tonight, until thousands of nights after it, saints were worshiped as demon banishers, their holy energy that expelled demonic energy was enough to give them light and hope."

Cold wind blew at Alex and Krystal, Krystal’s slightly messy lavender hair fluttered in the wind "starting tonight, they forgot the tales told by their fathers and mothers, instead they dared to create their own tales..."

"Can you see the difference, Alex, Krystal? The difference between the holy energy possessed by mystical creatures and saints."

Alex gritted his teeth, he searched the dark sky ’Saint Azara!! Is that you!! Why is the tale like this?!’

There was no answer to Alex’s question, the voice did not respond to him, the voice only spoke according to its own will.

"Ahh you still do not understand holy energy huh? Then you must see the forgotten tale..."

Alex and Krystal let out exhausted sighs, they looked at each other, the place they stood in slowly began turning white.

"Let me show you, the true tale..."