Chapter 10: The Lunar Shift Begins (Part 1)
Nightreach – One hour before moonrise
A strange pressure hung over the city.
The fog that had once curled lazily around Nightreach's stone alleys was thinning, but not retreating. Instead, it gathered above the rooftops—swirling like breath held before a scream.
Shen stood on the edge of a ruined bell tower, overlooking the crooked skyline. Cracked spires, leaning lanterns, rusted iron fences. All beneath a sky growing darker by the minute.
Beside him, Liora adjusted the satchel strapped across her back, its interior softly glowing with herbal light.
"You feel that?" she asked quietly.
"I feel everything," Shen murmured.
His system pulsed.
[Lunar Distortion Rising… 38%]
[Warning: Spatial irregularities linked to Hollow Moon activity.]
[Adaptive Protocols Recommended.]
The city groaned — buildings shifting slightly as if reacting to pressure. Somewhere in the distance, glass shattered without cause.
Then, a sound: not a howl, but a hum. Low. Unnatural. Metallic and mournful.
From the far side of the city, lanterns began to flicker. One by one, like falling stars.
Shen's eyes narrowed. "They're waking."
From the shadows emerged creatures twisted by moonlight. Not born of flesh — but of influence. Half-melted forms cloaked in ghostlight. Antlers dripping ichor. Eyes filled with false stars.
「Lunar-Warped Beasts」
☽ Type: Corrupted Lifeforms
☽ Strength: Grows with moonrise
☽ Weakness: Void Instability, Blessed Flame
Shen dropped from the tower.
He landed in a crouch, void-stepping mid-air to cushion the impact, then dashed forward.
[Skill: Voidlash Step – Lv 2]
→ Blink forward and release a delayed afterimage slash.
A streak of black cleaved through two beasts.
Liora followed, tossing a glowing seed that burst into flames mid-air. The creatures hissed, recoiling—but not dying.
"They're resisting my fire," she muttered, frowning.
Shen stabbed one through the head — only for it to reform, shifting like moonlight on water.
"Figures," he muttered. "They're not really here."
Then, the sky pulsed.
The moon crested above the clouds — full, swollen, and pale. Its light wasn't soft. It was sharp. Almost surgical.
And beneath that light… a figure appeared.
A tall man in silver robes, his face hidden beneath a mask of polished bone. Etchings of moons and eyes carved into his sleeves. He stood on the rooftop above them, staff in hand, silent.
Shen froze.
[New Entity Detected: Hollow Moon Acolyte – Rank Unknown]
The figure spoke. "Voidwalker... You stand where none should tread."
Shen raised his blade.
"Good. Then I'm exactly where I need to be."
Chapter 10 (Part 2): Echoes of the Forsaken Depths
The air grew colder with every step.
Torchlight flickered against carved obsidian walls, each etched with symbols that pulsed faintly — like veins feeding a long-dead heart.
Shen's boots scuffed against stone laced with ash. The silence wasn't quiet. It was listening.
"Where are we really going?" he asked.
The pale-haired girl didn't look back. Her steps were sure. "Where the curse began. Where the Hollow Moon first screamed."
He frowned. "That's not ominous at all."
She stopped beside a rusted sigil gate, placing her palm on a jagged glyph. Voidlight sparked around her fingertips — unnatural and whispering.
The gate unlocked with a clang.
Behind it: a vast circular chamber. At the center, floating above an altar of bones and black vines…
A pulsating black orb. Cracked. Cursed. Alive.
[System Notification – Forbidden Zone Breached]
"You are now within the Rift Core of Nightreach."
☉ Threat Level: Cataclysmic
☉ Temporal Anchoring: Disabled
☉ System Note: Caution. You stand before an echo of the first Fall.
Shen stepped closer. The pressure made his skin crawl. His system resisted, flickering.
"This orb… it's broken."
The girl whispered, "It was never whole. It was left behind when the Godslayer fell."
Shen's eyes narrowed.
"The original… Godslayer?"
She turned to him, her eyes shimmering like moons. "You think you're the first? You're just the last."
Suddenly — the orb pulsed.
A spectral scream erupted from its cracks — hundreds of voices howling across time. Shen staggered as shadows poured from the walls, forming phantoms in twisted armor, swords rusted with regret.
[WARNING: Echoed Entities Detected]
➤ Bound to the Orb
➤ Immune to Standard Attacks
➤ Weakness: Memory Severance, Void-Imprint Weapons
Shen drew his blade. "Guess we're skipping the history lesson."
The girl stepped back, chanting softly — channeling a stabilizing field. "If you fall here, you won't just die. You'll be forgotten."
He lunged.
[Skill Activated – Voidshadow Severance]
→ Strike echoes that exist across layered time. Damage is multiplied if the target was ever real.
Shen's blade passed through the first specter — and it shattered like broken reflection glass.
Three more circled him, shrieking. Their blades bent through space.
He ducked, twisted — letting the void move with him. One strike, then another.
SHLKT. SHNNK.
Each one collapsed into smoke and bone-sand.
But the orb pulsed again. A new form rose — tall, cloaked in void-blooded armor. Its helm was cracked open… revealing a familiar face.
Shen's.
His voice echoed across the chamber. "You were warned. The moment you took the system… you ended all futures."
[Anomaly: "Shadow of the Forsaken Self"]
☉ Tier: Unknown
☉ Combat Type: Reflective/Adaptive
☉ Warning: Engaging this entity will reveal truths your mind may not endure.
Shen clenched his teeth. "If this is what I become… then I'll carve a new path."
The two blades met — steel and shadow colliding.
The fight had truly begun.