Rain fell in thin veils across the mountaintop as the Moonlight Court stirred in silence.
While most outer disciples continued their early morning meditations and inner circle lessons, Rael rose before the third chime, already moving.
Not toward the main pavilion.
But toward the cliff's far edge—where ancient stone stairs wound down like a serpent into the mists below the sect.
He'd memorized the patrol routes. Avoided the sentries. And found the worn cracks where the barrier seals had grown thin.
---
System Alert: You are entering a hidden sector — [Moon Burial Vaults]
Status: Unauthorized access.
Restrictions: High.
Warning:
Entry without all three Wills may result in backlash.
Proceed?
▸ [Yes]
---
The moment he stepped beyond the final stone, the world changed.
His vision dimmed.
Not like darkness.
But like memory—faded colors, muffled air, echoes of footsteps long dead.
Rael stepped into the passage.
Dust clung to the bones of broken beasts.
Ancient corpses were fused into the walls—horned serpents, blind silver birds, creatures with too many joints and not enough eyes. They had been sealed here. Buried. Forgotten.
And something still breathed among them.
---
The heir fragment is down here, Rael thought. But so is its guardian.
He reached into his robes and retrieved a small bone dagger carved from the fanged jaw of the Three-Faced Wolf he had slain in the forest days ago.
A low, vibrating pulse responded from the walls.
This dagger… opens something.
He pressed it against one of the embedded sigils — crescent-shaped carvings swirling in a tri-form spiral — and a low groan echoed as stone split apart.
Air rushed out like a hiss from an open grave.
Rael stepped through.
---
At the center of the buried chamber stood a massive lotus pond — completely dry.
Hovering above it, suspended by a thousand spider-silk chains, was a crystal sphere.
And inside it—
A pale heart.
Still beating.
---
System Alert: Heir Fragment Confirmed – [Moon-Flesh Core]
Origin: First Heir of Moonlight
Soul Imprint: Incomplete
Compatibility: 31%
Action Required: Absorb fragment or seal it again.
Warning: Absorbing without stabilization will alter body.
Possible Effects:
– Change to Physique
– Temporary Martial Awakening
– Instability
– Mutation
---
Rael's eyes narrowed.
"Every power has its price," he murmured.
He reached for the fragment.
But something moved beneath the dry lotus pond.
Stone cracked.
Chains snapped.
And a silhouette rose — malformed and ancient.
It had no mouth.
Its face was a blank slab of bone, its arms like long sleeves of flesh, dragging across the floor. But Rael felt its hunger.
Not for the heir core.
For him.
---
Combat Initiated:
Hostile Entity: Moon-Sewn Guardian
Status: Bound Revenant
Danger Class: High
Weakness: Unstable core threads exposed during attack wind-up.
▸ System Assistance Temporarily Available
---
The thing lunged.
Rael threw himself aside, rolling behind a half-broken statue as its arm smashed into stone, shattering the floor.
His eyes flashed.
He didn't have raw power. But he had angles.
He kicked off a wall, feinted left — and in the heartbeat when the creature turned to follow—
He drove the bone dagger into its exposed core thread.
The beast screamed without sound.
Black ichor poured from its torso.
But it didn't fall.
---
System Trait Triggered: [Predatory Recalibration] (Temporary)
Effect: Movement pattern and strike memory recorded.
Allows prediction of next three attacks.
Cost: Nerve fatigue. Vision will blur with repeated use.
Duration Remaining: 7 minutes
---
Rael's lips curled into a grin.
"You're strong. But I'm learning."
The next exchange was different.
He dodged faster. Slipped beneath the first swing, let the second pass above, then pivoted beneath the revenant's legs and slashed at the spine.
Not to kill — to cripple.
The guardian collapsed, legs buckling, tendrils writhing in protest.
Rael didn't hesitate.
He flipped the dagger and stabbed it into the thing's throat. Or where a throat should be.
With a gurgling crack, it fell still.
---
Silence returned.
Then—
The suspended core pulsed.
Rael walked toward it, eyes cold.
"You tried to stop me. Let's hope you're worth it."
He placed a hand on the crystal.
It shattered.
And the heart melted into light — flowing into his chest.
---
System Alert: Heir Fragment Absorbed – [Moon-Flesh Core]
Temporary Boost: [Lunar Flesh Adaptation]
– Wounds seal faster in moonlight
– Resistance to blood-based techniques
– Soul signature partially masked during stealth
Note: This is not a gift. Fragment influence increasing…
---
Rael dropped to one knee.
Pain wracked his spine. His veins burned silver for a moment — pulsing beneath his skin like spiderwebs.
"It hurts…"
But then he stood.
Not stronger.
Not faster.
Just quieter.
More dangerous.
He exited the vault in silence.
And no one saw him return.
---
Back in his quarters, Wei Lin looked up sharply as Rael stumbled in, robes torn and blood crusted.
"Again?! Did you go spar with demons?"
Rael sat down slowly. "Something like that."
She sighed, wrapping gauze around his arm.
"One day you'll tell me what you're doing at night."
He didn't answer.
But outside, the rain finally stopped.
And far above the sect, the moon pulsed once — as if acknowledging its new bearer.