WITCH OF THE END

In the expanse of a grand chamber, a figure of ethereal beauty commanded attention. With silver hair cascading like liquid moonlight, and her porcelain skin unblemished by worldly scars. She exuded an aura of pristine elegance. Pale gray eyes, devoid of emotion, surveyed the surrounding darkness with an eerie calmness, adding to her doll-like allure.

Dressed in a lavish silver gown that hugged her form, the hem just grazing her knees, she radiated an air of regal poise. Each movement spoke of grace and purpose as if she were a porcelain figurine brought to life in the dimly lit expanse of the room.

In front of her, a large dim screen was displaying her recorded statistics:

Name: Lena Feng

Age: 18 years

Blood group: A1 (Special inheritance)

Zenshi Mastery: Level 2

Aura: Ice

"Ice Aura? As expected of the Feng clan," remarked one of the soldiers, prompting Feng to shift her attention towards them.

The soldiers had seemingly materialized out of thin air. One, a young woman with ebony skin and short brown hair, possessed bright green eyes that exuded an aura of determination. The other was a tall and imposing figure with a comically thick mustache. He stood beside her, his presence commanding attention despite his cartoonish appearance.

The tall man was in a black uniform adorned with four stars upon his shoulders denoting his rank as a general in the army and commanded respect with his imposing presence. While the young woman's uniform bared two stars indicating her position was two ranks below him.

"General Blackthorn, it's an honor," Feng acknowledged respectfully, her voice as detached and cold as her Aura, she lowered her head in deference to the esteemed military leader.

The general smiled with his lips for a brief moment and said:

"The Military is as thankful as ever for the Feng clan's continuous contributions. The five great clans are the main reason humanity still fights. So technically speaking, it's an honor meeting you, Lena Feng," General Blackthorn expressed, acknowledging the significance of the Feng clan's role in the ongoing struggle against adversaries.

"I've heard great things about you. It's a shame Lady Lunaris can't be here with us."

As soon as the general mentioned that name, Feng's eyes widened as if shocked by the general. Their unlively nature had disappeared for a moment.

"Is something wrong, Miss Feng?" The general must have noticed the slight change in her expression. "Is Lady Lunaris well?"

"Luna is fine. She's probably locked in her room playing Raiden Lords."

"Oh?" The general exchanged a confused expression with his subordinate.

The woman frowned and shook her head. She too had no idea what 'Raiden Lords' was.

Blackthorn turned back to the imposing young lady and continued. "It's a shame she wasn't born with the gift of wielding zenshi. The world could use more soldiers if we wish to take back it."

The corners of her lips curved upwards into a weak but genuine smile. Lena Feng was now thinking of her little sister.

"The world has enough soldiers, general. They just need to be trained more."

***

Click…click…click

"Okay guys, I've got three hundred credits in my bank account as we speak. The armor of truth is only fifty because it's Raider's season."

Just as her sister guessed, Luna was indeed playing Raiden Lords. Locked in her dark room as always.

She stared at her wide display, her dark eyes burning with anticipation as she stared at The Armor of Truth's description.

Enchantments: [Guardian of truth], [Light Bringer], [Mantle of Reality]

Descriptions: [Guardian of truth]: the player is immune to all magic for sixty seconds. The player must have completed level ten to acquire this.

[Light Bringer]: Your party will have a power boost for thirty seconds. {only works if the party members agree}

[Mantle of Reality]: Players can cancel out spells and copy them for their use. {Mana points must be full}

A weak smile appeared on her pale face as she moved the cursor on her screen down to the word "BUY" on the screen. Luna had dark circles under her eyes and looked pale, thin, and wild after not being touched by the sun for over three days now.

This new Demo had taken all her time.

Before she selected the option, a message appeared on the corner of her screen.

It was from one of her online friends:

Neonmonkey: "What if it's a scam or a glitch in the servers? Doesn't that armor sound too good to be true? Come on, Raya."

Raya was her username.

Dragonhunter: "But Raya has the money to spend. She once spent one hundred and fifty credits on a limited edition quest and came out on top, winning all the money back."

Frozenpanda: "150 CREDITS!! I spend that much in half a year and you're telling me she spent all that on a game! These rich bureaucrats are something."

Her expression darkened when she read that. And just like that, Luna lost the appetite for her game and logged out of the game without saying anything else.

'Rich bureaucrat? What an asshole.' She hissed at her fellow gamer's comment.

Who was he to say that? That brat barely knew her to make such a comment.

With a sigh, she picked up her communicator and started reading through the latest news. The headlines, however, didn't brighten up her mood at all.

They only made it worse.

"Lena Feng joins the Ascenders continuing the great Feng legacy."

The second one read:

"The Military is proud to announce another great Ascender has joined their ranks. The Feng clan continues to fight for our realm against the devils and cursed beings. Word has it that the Feng acquired the Ice Aura just like Mao Feng…"

Luna quickly shut her communicator after feeling a pang of jealousy awaken in her chest. Feeling this way is inevitable when you're someone like her.

Luna sighed heavily, curling up in her gamer chair as her screen saver cast a soft glow in the dark room. Her fingers traced the outline of her gaming headset absently. The reminder of her sister's achievements gnawed at her insides. Unlike everyone else in her clan, Luna had no zenshi, no spark of divinity. She was a hollow vessel in a family of warriors.

Unlike everyone else in her clan, Luna was the only one who hadn't been blessed with the ability to use zenshi.

According to the elders, Luna simply wasn't born with a spark of divinity despite being a Generational Inheritance in terms of blood type.

Who could imagine that? She was the rarest of all the divine blood types and yet didn't gain the one thing her family stood for.

…She was a failure. Even though no one said it to her.

'I shouldn't have been born in the first place.'

Luna felt bitter with each day that passed by. Her sister, Lena Feng was of special inheritance which meant that she inherited one of the gifts that moved through the Feng clan which was her Aura of Ice. When Lena opened her first gate at fifteen, half of the estate was blown to bits because her Zenshi levels were abnormally high. Just as expected for someone born in a great lineage.

At that time, Luna remembered feeling excited. She assumed that her awakening was going to be something of a much greater spectacle. All her life she had been fueled by a fantasy fed to her by her family.

However, when Luna turned fifteen, which was the normal age for awakening, she never opened her first gate after cultivating energy for ten whole years.

They thought she was a late bloomer maybe but the truth was harsher than that….

Luna lacked the divinity meant to make her an Ascender in the first place. It was at that moment where Luna's dream of following her father's footsteps collapsed and becoming the strongest ascender shattered like delicate glass.

"At least I don't have to go to a military academy. I don't have to risk my life to fight those things…"

She shivered when the thought of going against a cursed fiend or a devil crossed her mind.

In this world, Ascenders were the natural weapon against the alien beings that came to consume the mortal realm.

This battle has been going on for fifty years because humanity refused to go down without a fight thanks to the sudden gift of zenshi which could be awakened by opening the first gate. No one knew how the gates worked exactly, but they connected humans to the Source, which was believed to be the heart of all divinity.

So far, humanity has unlocked four gates. The first gate allowed one to acquire and manipulate zenshi. The second gate unlocked one's Aura which granted them an ability. The third allowed the summoning of ancient creatures from the Endless Void.

The fourth gate was the strongest and turned them into Sorcerers. They were few in the world capable of wielding their Auras like magic, affecting the natural world as they willed. Sorcerers were the peak of human evolution, possessing godlike authority over their Auras.

Both her mother and late father were sorcerers. Perhaps one of the strongest in the world.

After spending about an hour silently sulking. The raven-haired girl moved her small body to the bath and prepared for the day.

Today, a congratulatory party was going to be held for her sister and Luna needed to attend as the younger sister.

The entire Feng family was attending. Just the thought of being surrounded by many people made her sick. After all, she wasn't used to crowds.

***

"Congratulations on enlisting in the military, Miss Lena." said the tall old man as he offered Lena his hand. "I am from the Chau Family. We've served under your clan for over forty years. "

Lena acted amused and rushed to share his cold hands. she smiled—a smile she had practiced so many times—and said:

"How can I forget General Lin Chau? One of the few humans to ever take down a Sovereign devil. I've heard they're crazy powerful."

The lanky general looked around, smiled shyly, and then ran his hand through the bald center of his head:

"Well of course they are, sovereigns have incredible powers like us perhaps even surpass us."

Lena was silent for a moment. Everyone in this room knew Lin was a lair. That sovereign was killed by her father a few years ago when a rift appeared and two sovereigns along with five cursed tyrants destroyed an entire continent.

On that day, humanity suffered a great loss when the leader of the Feng Clan, Zheng Feng died. Or as the masses called him, The Master of Calamity. He died from a fatal wound after slaying a high-ranked devil.

He died a hero.

His second in command at the time was Lin Chau who was given some credit because he was nearby.

'Probably hiding like the coward he is.'

Lena scowled.

This man was a pathetic excuse of an ascender. How did even open four gates with this level of…

Lena didn't finish that thought because something else had caught her attention. Standing beautifully at the entrance, a pale woman stood elegantly at the ballroom's entrance....

Dressed in a glossy white kimono with a silver obi tightly tied around her abdomen area, the woman looked nothing but incredible. Her radiant silver hair was tied back in a bun with a flower-shaped silver hairpin to hold back her hair.

The room temperature seemed to fall as everyone else, including Lena, turned quiet and bowed to welcome the current head of the Feng House...

Mao Feng, The Flame Of Winter.

For a moment, the woman's cold grey eyes scanned the room before she also bowed back to the many people who had come to celebrate with them.

Raising her head, Lena's eyes landed on another figure that surprised her.

Hiding behind her mother's height was a slightly tall pale young woman in a beautiful black kimono. Her long black hair had been cleaned and treated well to the point where it was now shining under the ballroom's lights.

Her dark eyes were filled with complicated emotion as she looked left and right, feeling the weight of the gazes aimed at her.

Lena scoffed. 'Her social anxiety might kill before any devil ever does.'

The pale girl quickly traced Lena's gaze and smiled weakly. Her smiling muscles or bones had once again betrayed her. This is all they could muster up.

Luna hadn't smiled in a long time, after all.

Anyway, today appeared to be the day she was doing things she hadn't done in a long time…

Things like socializing.