WITCH OF THE END

'It's just like two years ago.'

Luna froze, her breath catching as the mirror creature's words sank into her soul. She was a mortal, and therefore the fear of death was as natural as breathing. However, learning of her fate ignited her paranoia and memories she wished had stayed buried. This exact moment reminded her of the time she read that message in the Everlight shrine two years ago. That message was a warning, and this confirmed exactly who that message was meant for.

'The feeling of a past life means that I've died before,' she thought, her mind racing. 'The Singularities are fragments, glimpses of what I experienced while in this realm.'

The other important detail about these singularities was that she was much older, and most of everything she saw was completely different. Take, for example, the first Singularity; she was referred to as a master, and everything was in chaos. This was a life she experienced, a life where she became someone powerful in this sect to earn herself the title of master.

'Although it is obvious that I am experiencing these episodes because of this realm's fractured laws, there is something else that this thing's words have translated to. Someone, or something, is orchestrating my existence, manipulating my path to keep me alive.'

The warning at the altar was put there by someone to tell her that she would die at some point in time.

The cold facade shattered like the mirrors around her. Her pupils trembled, a chill of fear gripping her heart. Suddenly, the Nightmare's words made sense. Her mastery of true sorcery, the effortless flow of her Qi, all stemmed from a familiarity etched in her soul across lifetimes.

"I need to reach the Bridge of Time," she turned to Anna, her voice urgent yet steady. "It holds the answers to what's happening. Is that true, Mirror Creature?"

The orb of energy hovered, its prismatic glow flickering. It remained silent as if her question trespassed forbidden bounds.

Noticing this, Luna moved on to her third and final question that rang like a bell through the mirror chamber. "What killed the Dream Goddess?"

The mirrors shuddered. Their fractured surfaces flickered as if recoiling from a forbidden truth. The creature answered in a pained, low voice.

[The Dream Goddess succumbed to a power known as Chaos at the hands of the former Witch of Chaos]

Luna's throat tightened. The title of "Witch" echoed in her mind like a tolling bell. Storm had called herself a Witch of Protection. And the Sovereign she faced called herself the Witch of Destruction. Now, the Witch of Chaos loomed as the slayer of a literal god. Who were these witches, and what was their role in the tangled web of her fate?

She turned to Anna again, her dark eyes steady despite the storm of questions within. "Do you have any questions? I can squeeze a special one for you?"

Anna hesitated before a sly sneer curled her lips. She snapped her fingers and asked, "How do I join the True Path?"

Luna faced the light and crossed her arms. This was an interesting question. Ginyu has said that her father, Mao Feng, had uncovered the True Path's secrets, but the details remained shrouded, even to her.

"I know you said three questions," she said in a firm tone, "but Anna deserves one too. We found this shrine together."

The light flickered.

[No]

"No?"

The flickered once more.

[No mortal should attempt that. To join the True Path, you must shatter the spark of divinity and all your Soul Gates. If the process doesn't kill you, the pain will. Even with your unique soul]

The words struck like a blade. And before Anna or Luna could respond, the shrine's mirrors pulsed, and a surge of an unseen force hurled them back to the entrance. The stone wall sealed itself shut with a grinding roar, and its runes faded into the darkness.

Luna cast a final glance at the wall. Opening it again wasn't worth the risk—not now. She had acquired the valuable information she had come for and more. The Mirror creature had confirmed her hunches about the singularities and also shed light on what killed the God of this realm.

To her, this was a win.

'Aside from the fact that I died and someone manipulated the concept of time.'

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

"We should return to the castle," Luna said, igniting her light crystal with a pulse of qi. Her mind churned with revelations—the witches, the death of the Dream goddess, and most importantly, her coming death. Her focus was fraying like a worn thread.

"Wait," Anna called. "That thing said that the Singularities are meant to keep you alive. Does that mean you've died before to experience those memories?"

Luna's steady steps flatered. "Yes, it does," she admitted, her voice heavy with the weight of her truth. "The singularities are memories forced into me to keep me alive. What's odd about them is that all of them take place in this castle, and I am much older in them."

"So does that mean you're in a cycle?"

"A what?"

"A cycle." Anna pressed, a spark of excitement in her tone. "Haven't you read a single regression novel in your entire life? It is when the protagonist keeps on resetting events until they get it right."

'But that wouldn't explain the message at the shrine.' A cycle might explain her singularities, but it didn't align with the warning. What kind of power lets one reset the realms? What messy Domain is that?

'Storm Rider already knew who I was because of her master,' she thought. 'That must mean her master is aware of all of this. Is that why I have to go to the Bridge of Time?'

She resumed walking. "Whatever it is, I won't go down just like that."

"Hehe, spoken like a person without a plan." Anna laughed bitterly as they climbed a narrow flight of stone stairs toward the entrance.

"The best plan is no plan at all."

Reaching the stone entrance, Luna gripped its edge. It was a heavy wall—one that no ordinary ascender could just open. Her strength surged until she opened a gap just wide enough for them to slip through. The Astral Vigil's cold air greeted them, its silence a stark contrast to what they had just experienced in the Shrine.

She and Anna slipped back into the castle like shadows, the night swallowing their presence as if the shrine's chaos had never happened. But Luna knew better. Some truths cling, even in silence.

***

By morning, the Astral Vigil shone in deceptive tranquility.

Qwan stood in the Junior Wing's interior garden. Its delicate beauty bathed in the Dream Realm's gentle dawn. Sunlight filtered through crystalline leaves, casting glints across the mossy stones.

The air was crisp, saturated with pure Qi that hummed with quiet power. The ambiance brought with it a spring of memories.

Qwan's gaze softened, her gaze drifting to a time when this garen was a lone, defiant tree, rooted in a Dreaming crawling with demons and monsters that could slay with a thought. By that time, Qwan was only fifteen. The first gateways had taken the world by storm, and humanity's future was uncertain, teetering on the edge of despair. The gods were dead, their altars silent. There was no hope, not even dreams were a place for escapism.

Now, the Dreaming's tranquility felt alien after so many years of death and trauma.

"Lady Qwan." A voice called, pulling her back to the present.

Before her stood Lunaris Feng, radiant as a white rose. She was clad in the junior uniform and had cupped one fist in a formal bow while wearing a gentle, cunning smile.

"Lunaris." Qwan acknowledged.

"Three watchers in one month. The juniors are going to start feeling jealous, don't ya think?" Luna winked. She woke up today in the worst mood imaginable. The idea of dying doesn't sit well with anyone. However, when she heard that she was getting placed under the care of Qwan—someone who was here when Sir Phillips became a dream lord—Luna couldn't be more excited for this.

This is how she gets closer to Aaron Phillips!

Qwan raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't blame them," she said, looking around. "You had two handsome guys guiding you, and now an extreme beauty such as myself as your master."

Much as she didn't want to admit it. She wasn't wrong. Qwan was very beautiful. Her features were perfect, with a curvy body that complemented her gold and white robe well. Her complexion glowed in the morning light along with her blond hair.

"So, a king-class member of the sect. Are you aware that the first Dream Lord of this place was from my clan?"

Qwan's golden eyes glinted. "Yes, I am. He was running from his fellow clansmen when he came across Storm Rider and got pulled into a deal. He created the illusion of the Astral Vigil that you see in the Dream World, a perfect reflection. Even in death, his power still keeps this castle hidden from them." The woman spoke with a tinge of caged arrogance in her tone. "Though we don't need it anymore thanks to the treaty between the Heavenly Order and the Visionaries."

"Does that confirm that there is a Feng clan in the Divine Realm?"

She nodded. "Of course. There are about twenty visionaries, and ten of them have sects because they're the closest to becoming divine beings."

"Twenty Visionaries," Luna murmured. "That many."

"Yes," Qwan replied. "The Astral Vigil thrives because Aaron Phillips nears the divine status. Unfortunately, there is a difference between an ascender born in the divine realm and one born in the mortal realm. He is not as strong as the leader of the Feng clan because they originally came from the divine realm. I am training you to cater for that error."

Luna did not act surprised. It was obvious that she was in the hands of the best for a reason. She was okay with this because she was depending on them to make her stronger, something she needed desperately right now.

"It is an honor." She bowed formally. "What about Anna?"

"Anna made a heavy request to join the True Path. Her transitioning will take some time now that she has two fully formed gates. The Human soul is very fragile, and although many don't mention it, the soul of an ascender is much more fragile. It's a careful process from your father. It is through that method that we've managed to turn zenshi users into what you see today."

'So she has made her decision. I hope she survives. I will need her as my companion in the long run with Mira.'

"Were you a zenshi user?"

Qwan nodded. "One of the very first. I witnessed the Fall and was one of the first humans to awaken. At first, I thought Ether infected me, but I wasn't. We believed the gods had sent us one last gift," she said, solemnly.

To avoid turning this into a sob moment, Qwan quickly changed the topic. "By the way, I am in charge of testing you for the Saint Rank approval. Follow me."

With that, Luna followed behind Qwan as they left the Junior Wing. The only way she could counter her death and find out was by controlling her life was by getting strong enough that death is something she can swat away.

It's about time she opened her Second Gate.