From the pitch-black shadow at the center of the dungeon, a girl slowly emerged. She was cloaked in black from head to toe, yet strands of silken hair gleamed white, blending with her ocean-deep blue eyes to grant her an otherworldly beauty and regal grace.
The moment I saw her, my tongue froze. Any word I spoke now would be nothing but the most pathetic, empty expression of my life.
She turned her gaze toward me.'Who… is she?!'
The instant her eyes fell on me, she stepped forward and stopped right in front of me."Who are you?!" I demanded, my voice unsteady.
Her lips didn't so much as tremble. She reached out, grasped my chained wrist, and studied the mark engraved there.
Her action reminded me of Eli's warning before we entered the city."Rayan, you must be careful. Some people will do anything to obtain the mark you carry."
The moment I recalled those words, my perspective on the girl shifted.'Could she also be here for my mark? But… no. She already seems to use it. To emerge from the shadow without a sound means she has already passed the Ranked Designation. Then what does she want?'
After examining the mark, the girl drew a dagger from beneath her cloak.
It was no ordinary blade. Its edge was dull, as though it had never been polished. The hilt was bright like silver, crafted from metal, with a small mirror set into its center.
'She looks like she's going to kill me. But why… what could she possibly gain from killing me?'
She raised the dagger high above her head."Wait! Don't do it!" I cried, lifting my hands in vain and squeezing my eyes shut.
But my chained arms were useless. It was nothing but an instinctive reaction.
When I felt no pain, I slowly opened my eyes. The dagger wasn't in me—it was driven into the chains above my head.
'What?'
I stared at her in shock. She turned her face away and walked back. Suddenly, the entire scene shattered like a mirror, reality itself fracturing into pieces.
"What's happening?!" I shouted in disbelief.
Moments later, everything returned to place. The dungeon was as ruined and crumbling as before, yet not quite real.
How did I know?Because there was no stench of rot, no blinding sunlight.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"In the Opposite World," she replied indifferently.
"Huh?"
She said nothing more. Then she snapped her fingers. The shackles on my wrists broke apart, and I collapsed to my knees.
'How… did she just do that?'
I looked up at her. "Who are you?"
She turned and gave a short reply."Luna."
"Luna?!"
She gave a slight nod.
"What do you want from me?"
She leaned closer."Where did you get the mark?"
Her question chilled me.'Should I tell her the truth? I don't know who she is. But if I refuse, she won't just let me go. And if I lie… if she has a Sephir that detects falsehood, I'm finished. Only one choice remains.'
I cleared my throat. "The mark, I—"
Before I could finish, Luna pressed the dagger to my neck. She moved so fast I barely saw her.
"If you lie, I'll kill you," she said coldly, without a trace of emotion. "Now, tell me what happened to Nesemus."
She withdrew the blade. I had no choice but to tell her everything—everything except my arrival in this world and my encounter with Eli.
Her face showed no change as she listened, motionless, like a statue carved of stone. Only after I spoke of the pact did she ask another question.
"Show me the Blood Oath."
"What?"
"Show it to me."
"It's… on my chest," I admitted, embarrassed.
Her piercing gaze didn't soften.
'She won't believe me unless she sees it with her own eyes. But… this feels awkward.'
I grabbed the hem of my shirt and slowly lifted it.
'It's not too bad. I've gone swimming shirtless around girls before. But… no one has ever stared at me like this.'
I bared my chest. Luna knelt in front of me and placed her long, rough fingers on the serpent-shaped mark.
She didn't just touch it—she traced it from head to tail with her fingertip, rubbing it into my skin.
Strange sensations stirred in me, ones I had never felt before. It tickled, but more than that—it unsettled me.
'Ah, what is she doing?! This doesn't feel like an inspection—it feels like the beginning of something else.'
Our eyes met. In hers, I glimpsed hesitation—doubt.
"Did… something happen?" I asked, startled.
She gave no answer, only stared deeper, as though she could see through me entirely.
Suddenly, her eyes widened. She turned sharply and rose to her feet, as if she had sensed something.
"Our time is short. I must leave you," she said.
Reality shifted again, and in a blink, we were back in the true dungeon. A wave of dizziness and pain throbbed in my head.'Ah, my head…'
But when I reached for it, my hands were chained once more.
Before I could process it, Luna stood in the center of the cell."We will meet again," she said, stepping into the shadow.
A thought struck me too late. I had answered her questions, but never asked who had sent her."Wait! You never told me who sent you."
Half her body already in the shadow, she replied,"You don't need to know."
"At least tell me who it was!" I pleaded.
She paused, her gaze sharp enough to pierce me.
"The Lord of Darkness."
Her words froze the breath in my lungs, as though an iron weight crushed my chest.
'I never thought I'd regret asking until now…'
Luna vanished, leaving behind both an uneasy calm and a storm of turmoil within me.
'The… Lord of Darkness!!!'
The thought lingered in my mind for a long time. I began piecing together what I knew.
'There are seven Lords of Darkness in the Shadow World. If I am here, then Luna serves one of the other six. But which one?'
Then the true weight of my mistake hit me.'No… this is worse. The Lords of Darkness never get along. Their lust to rule always comes first. By telling one of them about me, I've handed myself into their grasp.'
The words burst from me."What have I done?!"
At that moment, the dungeon wall shattered, and two figures stepped inside.