The atmosphere inside the Wargon grew heavier with every word Luke spoke, the golden lacquered walls flickering faintly, as if resonating with the ancient tale he unraveled. Luke's voice lowered, steady and weighted with gravity, his eyes glinting with a mix of awe and reverence.
"But before I tell you all this," he began, his tone measured, almost hesitant, "keep in mind — this is only a possibility. A legend passed down through the shadows of time, a whisper from the annals of forgotten epochs." He paused, his gaze sweeping across Liora, Kairo and Vivy whose eyes fluttered closed but remained attentive. "I've been thinking about home... about the stories our ancestors once believed, tales that shaped the very marrow of our bloodlines."
He inhaled deeply, voice threading through the tense silence like a spell. "Long ago, in an age buried beneath centuries of dust and memory, there was a sacred bond forged between our kind and the Moon Goddess — Thalune. It was her blessing, ethereal and immutable, that bestowed upon our bloodline its pallid thinness, its almost translucent fragility. It is said this blessing shielded us, a delicate shroud that preserved our essence when the world was ablaze with chaos."
Luke's eyes narrowed, his expression steeped in solemnity. "This story was first passed down by a lone figure, an anonymous chronicler of that dire epoch. They say she was the first Ruka — no name survives, only her legacy. This was during the Faithrend Epoch, a time when the lands were scorched by endless war, where survival was a twisted game of carnage and extinction." His voice darkened, resonating with the gravity of ancient calamity. "Countless species were wiped from existence, vanquished into oblivion. Our people, the Ruka, were nearly eradicated."
Luke's fingers tightened around the edge of his sleeve as he continued. "Amidst this turmoil, the invaders came. The armies of Savrax. Their leader... The Silent Sovereign Vhaerax. A name that sent shudders through the bones of those who dared whisper it. At his side was his right hand — Krellix, The Blade of the Silent Sovereign. An unyielding force, he commanded with precision, his troops moving as one, a symphony of destruction synchronized by a cruel will."
His voice grew urgent, eyes alight with the vivid images of that cataclysm. "Krellix's army crushed everything beneath their march — towns reduced to ash, lives shattered and broken in their wake. But even as they tore through the lands, their advance was halted by one."
Luke's face darkened with tension. "The same woman who passed down this tale. No one paid her heed, dismissed her as a ghost, a dead shadow among the living. Yet, as Krellix's forces surged forward, she vanished beneath the earth, only to reappear in the heavens above."
His eyes widened, voice dropping to a reverent whisper. "She pointed a single finger toward Krellix and his battalion. In that instant, thousands of stars, sharp as ice, rained down — faster than any man could react — shattering bone, flesh, and steel. The entire army fell, silenced in a frozen grave."
Luke's gaze fixed intensely on the invisible horizon beyond the Wargon's walls, voice tightening with anticipation. "But Krellix... he did not fall. The only one left standing amidst the frozen corpses. With a blink, he moved to confront her — the woman in the sky."
Luke's hand clenched into a fist. "Then, the ice itself twisted and writhed, condensing into a colossal hand of crystal frost. It surged upward, grasping at Krellix with relentless grip."
Liora's breath caught, eyes wide, lips parted in silent awe. She took a half-step closer, fingers curling anxiously at her side. Her voice was barely above a whisper, trembling, "This… this power… It's beyond anything we've heard. Could she be the Moon Goddess herself?"
Kairo's brow furrowed deeply, eyes flickering with unease and fascination. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, voice low but urgent, "someone who wielding the heavens like a weapon... and a warrior like Krellix who withstood such wrath? That's a story of gods and monsters colliding."
Vivy's gaze sharpened, lips pressed into a thin line. She shifted her stance, crossing her arms tightly as if bracing herself. Her voice was steady but heavy with concern, "If the first Ruka was this powerful, if she could wield the Moon's blessing to that extent… what does it mean for you Luke?"
Luke's hand clenched tightly, knuckles whitening, the faint scarlet of his earlier wound smearing faintly on his palm. The Wargon's interior glowed faintly with rhythmic pulses, its strange walls echoing with quiet, unseen memory. He inhaled slowly, and the fire in his voice reignited.
The others listened in breathless stillness, shadows flickering over their faces as the golden lacquer lining the Wargon walls pulsed in slow, syncopated waves. The vehicle felt almost alive — almost listening.
"Krellix—" Luke said the name like a curse, "—vanished in a blur of speed, a breath against the wind... and reappeared in front of her."
His fingers opened and hovered in the air, mimicking the phantom blade's strike. "With blade in hand, he lunged—aimed straight for her throat, nothing but cold silence in his eyes, death in his every movement. But—"
Luke's voice sharpened, a controlled flare.
"—in the space between heartbeats, that massive hand shattered into a thousand spears of jagged frost. They didn't fall — they sang. With a sound like cracking stars, they lanced forward, piercing Krellix from every angle. His form froze, fractured, and then—"
He made a slicing motion with his fingers.
"Split in half. Spine to chest. Blade still in motion. Still reaching."
Kairo's face tightened at the image. His hand had subconsciously moved to his side where his weapon usually rested, fingers twitching.
Luke exhaled sharply through his nose, jaw clenched as if still seeing it. "Even then, with death already crawling through his veins, his hand moved... the blade almost grazed her neck."
Liora stepped forward slightly, breath caught halfway. Her eyes gleamed with a quiet tremor, arms crossed but body leaning toward Luke.
Luke continued, quieter now.
"But she—" He paused, his gaze faltering for the briefest moment before steadying again. "She stepped back. Just a whisper of movement. Her long violet hair lifted like silk in windless air. And as it parted—"
He stopped. His voice changed. More cautious. More distant.
"Her face..."
He didn't say more.
A heavy pause followed. The glow in the Wargon dimmed, as if recognizing the weight of that moment, the recognition unspoken.
Vivy turned her head away, expression unreadable, though the twitch of her brow betrayed thought. Deep, troubled thought.
Kairo, arms now folded, whispered more to himself than the others, "She wasn't supposed to be someone... but she was."
Luke's voice broke the silence again, low and pressing.
"Krellix fell. Two pieces. Like a puppet whose strings had been burned away. His black blade cracked. His mouth open but no voice came out."
He took a breath, then added, "And Vhaerax, the Silent Sovereign... he didn't even blink."
Luke's voice hardened.
"He gave no order to retrieve the body. No moment of silence nor anger. Just a single gesture — a subtle sweep of the hand, like brushing aside dust — and the rest of the Savrax forces... turned away."
Liora's expression twisted — disbelief, disgust. "They abandoned him? Just like that?"
Luke nodded, the weight in his eyes settling in like iron. "Retreated. Redirected. Moved toward another region entirely. They didn't even pause to mourn the loss of their right hand. Their 'blade.' It was like... like Krellix had already been counted among the dead."
He paused, the memory of the tale swimming vividly in his mind, the fragments clicking together like pieces of ancient obsidian.
"And that's when... we saw it."
His tone shifted again — quiet awe, wrapped in solemn reverence.
Everyone leaned in. Even Vivy's shoulders had tensed, despite herself.
"Long. Violet. Cascading like threads of dusk torn from the horizon. It lifted with the wind as if time itself parted to show her face."
Luke's expression changed subtly — distant, almost entranced, almost shaken. But he didn't speak about it. He only continued:
"Her eyes..."
Liora leaned in unconsciously. Vivy remained silent. Even Kairo's breathing slowed.
"They were... moons. Shaped like crescents. Not by makeup nor by some illusion. It was as if the moons themselves had been carved and laid into her gaze."
He paused.
"Her face… young. Timeless. Like she had never once tasted sorrow — and yet..."
No one spoke.
Liora whispered something under her breath. A name. No one caught it fully but Luke heard — and his eyes flicked toward her with a subtle confirmation.
Liora's mouth moved as she spoke again, louder this time. "Vael'unir..."
Luke nodded — once. Heavy. Final.
"She is the tale. The myth. The ghost in our lineage. No name in any record. Just Vael'unir."
Luke's gaze swept deliberately over the group, eyes narrowing ever so slightly as if measuring how well they had absorbed the weight of his tale. A dry, almost amused smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Seems like you all caught up," he said, voice low, edged with a hint of challenge.
Kairo's eyes locked onto Luke's, sharp and probing. "Are you... suggesting the shopkeeper might be that woman? Vael'unir?" His words hung in the charged air like a sudden flare—curiosity tangled with disbelief.
Vivy and Liora both shifted subtly, their bodies tightening as their attention sharpened. Vivy's face, especially, betrayed the deepest stirrings of interest and curiosity — a complex interplay of intrigue and wariness swirling beneath her calm exterior. Luke caught that look, and it didn't escape his notice.
He let out a quiet breath, his tone measured, almost cautious. "It's just... possibilities, after listening to her. Just the fact she owns those artifacts you bought alone —" he glanced toward Kairo, "— is suspicious enough. And the shop itself... there's something ancient about it. Like it's not just old, but timeless. Like it's tethered to something beyond."
He paused, eyes scanning the dimly glowing walls as if the shadows themselves might offer a clue. "Could be connected to her power, or something even older. But don't get too caught up in the past. We don't even know how much of it is truth."
Kairo didn't speak, his expression unreadable as he absorbed Luke's words.
Vivy's gaze drifted downward, her eyes tracing the intricate patterns on the floor. Without a word, she rose, her movements deliberate yet fluid, and slipped toward a shadowed corner of the chamber. She stopped there, back turned for a moment, as if wrestling with some silent internal debate.
Before she could disappear completely, Luke's voice cut through the heavy silence again, calm but authoritative.
"Anyway, enough about my history. What about you all? Didn't your kind almost face extinction from the Savrax as well?"
Kairo's shoulders sagged fractionally, the tension melting away just a bit as he relaxed into the question. His voice came steady, a hint of pride threading through the relief. "Oh, yes. We survived, thanks to our savior — the Great Sages."
Vivy turned slightly, her profile sharp against the flickering ambient light. "Right. Thanks to the Red Apostle and the Black Apostle, humanity still stands today."
Luke's eyes darkened, lips tightening into a brief, reflective pause. "That's the name..." He exhaled slowly, voice heavy with reverence and a touch of melancholy. "They're the ones who didn't just defend us... they fought back. The Savrax were wiped out completely by their power. I still remember the stories... the one about the Black Apostle. With just a swing of his hand, the land the Savrax stood on — gone. Erased. No trace left."
Liora and Vivy exchanged a glance laced with confusion, brows furrowed in shared bewilderment. Kairo's expression mirrored theirs, yet he was the first to break the silence, voice rising with sharp disbelief.
"You mean with his flower — the Hungering Bloom Path?" Kairo's hand gestured sharply as if pulling the image from memory, eyes wide with incredulity. "The one that grew over half his face, firing those black tendrils that completely erased the land?"
Luke blinked, a flicker of confusion crossing his features. His voice shifted slightly, laced with incredulity. "What? No...?"
Humans didn't have that kind of power in that era. His tone was firm, almost defensive.
From the corners of the chamber came a chorus of disbelief. "What?" — Liora, Vivy, and Kairo, their voices overlapping in a blend of shock and incredulity, as if the very notion had shattered some fragment of their understanding.
For a long moment, the Wargon's faint hum was the only sound, a low vibration that seemed to echo the dissonance rippling through them all.