Black smoke coiled across the skies of Murim. The ground trembled beneath the echo of incantations as hundreds of Necromancers stood in a vast circle. At its center stood a woman with raven-black hair, her eyes calm like a starless night.
The Heavenly Demon.
Jiangshi lunged at her from every direction — yet every movement ended the same way: their bodies split neatly apart by formless traces of qi. Heads fell to the earth, and cold silence swallowed their screams.
The woman neither smiled nor frowned. Her gaze was flat — the expression of someone who had stood at the summit far too long.
"Is this all?" Her voice was light, as if she were asking about the weather.
An elderly Necromancer at the edge of the circle let out a thin laugh. "If you cannot be killed… then we will erase you from this world."
Symbols flared to life beneath her feet. A pale light rose from the ground — and for the first time in many years, she confronted a technique she did not recognize.
She stepped forward to destroy it—
—but light swallowed her world whole.
And everything vanished.
Something struck her chest.
Air rushed into her lungs like a blade of ice.
She jolted awake.
A pale sky hung above her. She was lying on the ground, surrounded by a silent forest. Weakness spread through her muscles. Fine fractures rattled in her bones. Her energy flow was blocked — this body was broken from the inside out.
And… it was not her own.
She lifted her hand. Pale skin. Small, slender fingers. Heavy breathing. A young girl's body.
Someone else's body.
And this body… why did it feel so different?
"Where… is this? My body hurts," she muttered flatly.
She sat cross-legged beneath a tree. The qi of this world felt different — denser. Closing her eyes, she drew it in, purifying the flow within.
Poison, residual wounds, and foreign energy were forced out through every pore. Thick black fluid dripped onto the ground, reeking with a rancid stench. Her veins trembled, bones cracked and reset, breath scattering — yet she did not stop.
Slowly… the flow stabilized.
She rose to her feet. Her steps were steady.
She walked to a nearby lake. The water reflected her new form: long silver-violet hair and crimson eyes glowing beneath the fading afternoon sun. A youthful, elegant face — cold, beautiful, and unfamiliar.
The hair was too conspicuous. She lifted a finger. A thin blade of qi formed — silent and invisible. One short swing.
Her hair fell cleanly to shoulder length.
She exhaled slowly.
This body was still weak — but strong enough to move.
With Light Step, she bounded from tree to tree, weightless and silent like a shadow that wished to remain unseen.
Until she stopped.
A small green creature emerged from the bushes. Crooked body. Sharp teeth. A jagged stone in its hand. Its eyes were wild — yet disturbingly aware.
It hissed and lunged.
Without emotion, she swung her arm. A faint qi slash cut through the air — the creature's arm fell to the ground.
But the severed flesh twitched… then grew back.
Her head tilted slightly.
"Regeneration? I've heard myths of creatures capable of that."
The goblin leapt again.
This time, its head flew from its body. It collapsed, dead. She crouched beside it, examining the bone structure and tissue. No energy core. No spiritual essence.
"Strange...," she murmured.
She stood and continued walking.
At the foot of a mountain, she found a small house with a modest garden. The air here brimmed with energy — not qi, but something similar, diffused naturally throughout the space.
She entered.
Silence. No one inside. She sat for a moment, guiding the foreign energy into her body, testing the structure of the mana in this world.
A workable foundation.
Then — footsteps approached.
She opened her eyes.
A man stood in the doorway. White hair. Long ears. Refined yet sharp features.
Not human.
He stared at her — not shocked, but wary.
They measured one another in silence.
The man spoke — in a language entirely unfamiliar.
She did not respond.
He flicked his fingers. A glowing circle formed in the air — the energy patterned, intricate, archaic. Not Murim arts… but a structured magical system.
She did not move, merely observed.
The light brushed the air.
"…Do you understand me now?" His voice, this time, made sense.
She studied the fading spell — interesting, deliberate, complex.
"What is that?" she replied briefly.
His gaze narrowed. "Who are you? This is my territory."
"I am lost," she said calmly. "If I've intruded, I apologize."
The elf looked at her closely — sensing her breath, the unwavering composure in her posture, the complete absence of fear.
"Not ordinary," he murmured. "And not from here."
She neither confirmed nor denied it.
He exhaled. "The technique you used… it's unstable. When you gather energy and draw in the surrounding mana, a single misstep could destroy your body."
"Mana?" she asked flatly.
Silence lingered.
Then, as though addressing a riddle, he spoke quietly.
"You don't know mana? How is it possible not to know the very foundation of this world?"
Her eyes shifted slightly.
So this is common knowledge? I must look like a fool… but there's no helping it.
"I lived in the mountains. If you can explain it, I'd appreciate it."
He studied her again — cautious, yet respectful.
"Mana is the force that drives the world. All living beings contain it to some extent. Warriors preserve as much mana in their bodies as they can… mages use their bodies as conduits, drawing mana from the environment through incantation. Humans — ordinary ones — use only what they need to survive. Any excess would kill them."
So the qi of this world… is called mana.
She glanced toward the forest, then back at him.
"I understand now."
She lowered her gaze, letting the information settle. This world was different — yet its structure was still comprehensible. Only the terminology had changed.
The elf closed his door and walked past her, his steps calm.
"You seem… without direction," he said. "If you truly lived in the mountains all this time, your knowledge is far too limited to survive out there."
She remained silent — waiting for his reason.
He paused at the threshold of the sitting room.
"Stay here for a while. In return, don't touch anything in my garden… By the way, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Eldrin."
He extended his hand.
This might take some time.
"Aen-jie."