Lord Of The Lost

William and Sophia found themselves back in the ruins.

The time they had spent in the dream felt fleeting, yet William couldn't shake the sensation that he had just stepped out of an entirely different world. He turned to glance at Sophia. Her hat had turned red again, and she looked unusually distracted.

"Are you okay?" William asked, his tone laced with concern.

Sophia barely spared him a glance before scoffing, "What could possibly happen to me?"

William wasn't sure what was going through her mind, nor did he fully grasp the weight of her emotions. He had always felt that the past, whatever burdens it carried, was not his concern. Yet, Sophia's unease was evident.

The revelation that the Moonlight Goddess shared her name had shaken her to the core. It wasn't just a coincidence; it felt orchestrated, as if she were merely a pawn in some grand, unseen game. And the only beings capable of playing at that level were gods.

Her grandmother had always warned her to be wary of the moon. Now, it seemed that both the werewolves and witches had noticed something she hadn't. She had been kept in the dark.

Not that it was Elise's fault. Even if she had known, what could she have done?

Fight back against a goddess?

A dead Dream God had been enough to deceive them. If the Dream God hadn't allowed it, they would still be trapped in that dream world.

Against beings of such power, what could she possibly do?

William observed her carefully. For all her usual bravado, there was a flicker of uncertainty on her small, determined face. She didn't like showing weakness, so she kept her expression stiff, as if willing herself to stay composed.

William scratched his cheek and suddenly grinned. "If anything's bothering you, just let me know. I'll do my best to help."

Sophia pursed her lips. For a split second, a smile flashed across her face before she quickly schooled her expression back to seriousness. She stared at him. "Why would I tell you?"

"Because we're friends," William said, his tone light but sincere. "We stick together, face things together. Your problems are my problems."

He never made promises lightly. But this time, he meant every word.

He didn't have many friends, just a handful. But Sophia was the most important one.

And if anyone dared to lay a hand on her, he wouldn't let it slide.

Of course, he wasn't the type to say all that out loud. Instead, he kept his words relaxed, his tone almost casual. But Sophia wasn't fooled. She could feel the weight behind them.

Somehow, hearing him say that made her feel less alone.

Even though she knew that William, compared to the gods, was insignificant—just another mortal caught in their schemes—there was a vast difference between facing things alone and facing them with someone by your side.

She bit her lip and huffed, "Don't flatter yourself. I don't think of you as a friend."

William only chuckled. He knew her well enough to recognize a tsundere when he saw one.

William was no stranger to this deity.

He had once received a priest's moonlight blessing, just that one time, but he hadn't forgotten.

His journey had begun at the crossroads outside Moonlight Village, a place tied to her domain.

Once, she had been a subordinate god of the Primordial Moon, only to later ascend and take its place.

The Primordial Moon was among the most powerful of the gods. Yet, all signs pointed to the fact that the current Moonlight Goddess had not inherited the full extent of that power.

Her dominion did not encompass the entire Moon Path, only fragments of it—Moonlight and Hunting.

The Moonlight Goddess may not have inherited all the power of the Primordial Moon, yet she remains an important deity, likely due to the influence of her predecessor.

A god's True Name is never spoken lightly—because to utter it is to call upon the god directly.

If it were merely a coincidence that Sophia shared the same name as the Moonlight Goddess, it wouldn't matter. It would be no different than a girl next door also being named Sophia, no one would mistake her for the goddess, nor would they replace a sacred statue with her likeness during prayer.

To the church, such confusion would be seen as disrespectful at worst, but there would be no divine punishment. The only consequence would be that the prayers simply wouldn't work.

From a mystical perspective, a name must match its owner for it to hold power. If the connection between the two is weak or incorrect, any supernatural effects, like blessings or curses, would fail.

Some curses, for instance, require precision. There's an old belief in Kyushu that being cursed by thousands could lead to ruin. But if the target is wrong? The curse is meaningless.

Perhaps that is why the gods reveal only their honorific titles, never their True Names. These titles act as a protective barrier, preventing any unintended influence.

If Sophia were just an ordinary girl, no one would link her to the Moonlight Goddess. But her origins were anything but ordinary, raising too many questions.

The Mystery of Sophia's Birth

Thinking back, Sophia realized her birth was no accident, it had been carefully orchestrated, shrouded in secrecy.

Her name was taken from the Primordial Moon's lost daughter, who had died in the womb over two or three thousand years ago. It was a tragedy, but not an unusual one; gods rarely have children, as doing so means relinquishing a portion of their divine authority.

Yet the Primordial Moon had given His daughter a name. That alone was significant. It meant He had serious intentions.

This act later influenced werewolves and witches, two ancient tribes deeply connected to the moon. They sacrificed their most powerful individuals, drained generations of their own lineage, and named the cornerstone of their inheritance "Sophia"—a ritual that led to something stirring in the darkness.

And finally, a child was born.

Was she a gift from the Primordial Moon?

But that god had fallen five hundred years ago. Could He truly return?

And if not Him, then who was behind all this?

Had the werewolves and witches unknowingly become pawns of another force, straying from their original purpose?

And what was her connection to the Moonlight Goddess?

Sophia had never trusted the gods. She was the last little witch, born into a race that had suffered under divine rule. Now, she had no choice but to prepare for the worst.

The Hunter's Path & the Gods' War

The Moonlight Goddess did not inherit all of the Primordial Moon's power. Instead, she only took fragments:

The Path of Moonlight, making her a Goddess of Illumination

The Path of Hunting, making her a Goddess of Predators

But while she carved out a path for hunters, she rejected the original followers of the Primordial Moon. She built her own new order, but her foundation was shallow.

Over time, gods became less active, fading from the world. Though their names remained well-known, their presence was nothing compared to the mythic era, when divine beings walked among mortals, and miracles were common.

That golden age ended thousands of years ago, after the last Great War of the Gods.

Since then, the gods have rarely gathered. Churches took over, becoming the mortal enforcers of divine will. As humanity rose, royal power began to challenge divine power, but that is another story.

What matters now is that the Hunter Path is weak. It lacks history, lacking the trials and battles that shaped other divine paths.

Older paths survived because they were forged in blood and war, emerging victorious through sheer survival of the fittest. Any path that still exists today has been tested through countless struggles.

The Hunter Path has not gone through that. It is young, untested, and fragile—a premature existence struggling to stand.

But the extraordinary paths of the gods are not isolated. The further one progresses in the supernatural, the more different paths start overlapping.

Some say this was the very reason for the War of the Gods, the struggle to claim neighboring paths.

A god's true power is measured by how many paths they can absorb. The more paths they hold, the stronger they become.

This is why the Primordial Moon and the Sun God are revered as the most powerful, because they hold the most paths.

William Logs Off

With just a few words to Sophia, William was gone.

He had just stepped out of the dream world.

In true form, the Sequence Game dictated that his game time was infinite. But in the real world, his login time was limited.

The moment he left the dream world, a health system notification popped up—forcing him to log off.

He had no choice.

The next thing he knew, he was back in the real world, opening his eyes.

And that's when he realized, two days had passed.

Checking the Forums

The first thing William did? Check the forums.

The place was more active than ever.

More and more high-level players were diving into the Lost Maze—a treasure trove filled with:

Rare materials

Wild monsters

Skills & equipment

Ancient inheritances from forgotten paths

The Lost Maze was a goldmine.

Sure, the risks were sky-high, and casualties were piling up, but the rewards were worth it.

For high-level players who had hit a growth plateau, the maze changed everything.

It was like starting the game all over again, a time when every single day brought massive power boosts.

William scrolled through the trading section of the forum.

Before, it had been a ghost town, players were too broke and lacked resources to trade.

But now?

With extraordinary loot pouring in, the marketplace was thriving.

Players who lacked skills were trading for blank skill books

Those with no gear were picking up enchanted weapons

Those who needed job advancements were hunting for class change items