Chapter 1

Book I Chapter 1

…

The sunny weather warms the land where creatures of all kinds go roundabout exploring its vastness and majesty.

The lush green forest is like the endless seas covering the land and the mountains with its greenery.

The rolling mountains would go as far as the eyes could see, while the plain is cast and abundant with life.

In this vast and unknown wilderness lays a small village from out of nowhere where its inhabitants live through hunting, farming, and trading of some sort.

This small place is known as the Mok village near the outskirts of the Calm forest near the foot of one of the Urokai Sect's mountains.

In such a small village lived a lovely young girl by the name of Wu Hyuna, or Na-na as her playmates called her.

Na-na is a free-spirited little girl who likes to explore areas around the village.

Though she is the smallest child in the village, no one dares to bully her because of her fiery temperament and her ability to defend herself even against those that are bigger than her.

Every time a boy would come home crying, they would always blame it on Na-na.

"It was Na-na who punched me…"

"It was Na-na who kicked me…"

"It was Na-na's fault…"

"It was Na-na…"

And so, Na-na's mother would always have to pacify those parents who would visit their home every time.

"Mom… do you think Na-na is wrong for fighting back?" she asked one evening after her mother told her a lovely story before sleeping.

"Nope… Na-na is strong so mom is not worried about her…" Wu Min said while patting her daughter's head.

"Mom… you taught me not to finish the lines I was drawing right? But… Na-na finished it and the ground glowed… Why?" she said in her childish tone.

When Wu Min heard the words of her daughter, she suddenly showed a slight panic in her eyes. But she also felt a bit happy.

This is because… she knew that her daughter is actually a prodigy. If her daughter continuously grew like this, then she would not worry about the future.

While thinking about this point, she subconsciously grabbed the egg-shaped jade pendant on her neck and rubs it carefully.

"You will know when you grew up… for now, you little girl should sleep already…" she said as she carefully tucks her into bed.

…

The days passed by and Na-na was taught by her mother more details and she would need to practice more every day more than her peers.

But Na-na would still have time to play with the other kids in the village.

Soon, years have passed and Na-na is already 9 years old.

Na-na is a bit mature in terms of thinking and attitude compared to her peers. Some children her age would like to play and run around in the village.

For Na-na she likes to spend her time following the hunters of the village in secret or discovering trails around it and would sometimes hunt animals on her own.

No one knew that a 9-year-old little girl possesses such strength and ability that could rival those male adults in the village.

But Na-na did not show this to others and would prefer to keep it a secret.

For some time now, she had known that her mother is no ordinary villager. She might be a teacher in the village, but at home, she knew that her mother is more than meets the eye.

The reason for this is that one day, she discovered her mother going to the deep forest. After stealthily following her for some time, she saw her mother was actually able to float up in the air and began gathering some herbs.

She held her breath while she watches this scene from far away.

After she got home, she decided to follow what her mother tells her and to learn from her diligently.

She also wanted to be like her mother, she also wanted to be able to fly high up in the air.

After the lesson in class, Na-na, as usual, decided to visit the old house on the outskirts of the village.

This old house is already dilapidated and no one wanted to stay in such a house because it is rumored to be haunted.

This is also Na-na's fault as she decided to make this house her secret hideout.

She would always visit this place and would spend time writing strange symbols in this place and practicing all the things she has learned from her mother.

After that, she would also burn the things she wrote and then erase them as that is what she saw her mother does.

That day, she was engrossed in her writing practice that she did not notice something is happening to the village.

Suddenly…

Swoosh!!!

A strong gust of air blew open the windows of the dilapidated house and darkness swept over the entire place.

A dark mist slowly crept inside the broken house and slowly drifted through every corner of the house.

Meanwhile, from a small peephole, a pair of small eyes watch what is happening in the living room of the house.

Na-na covers her mouth to prevent herself from making any sound as she observes the shadow roaming around the house.

From the first time she saw that dark mist, she almost immediately knew that the thing is not normal.

Well, who would think that there would be a normal dark mist that would move like that?

The shadow slowly crept out of the house which made Na-na feel relieved.

She heaved a deep sigh as she patted her chest.

She looks back at her things and quickly gets down from where she stands and then threw everything into the small hole she had dug where she burns them.

But before she could light it up, she heard a light creaking sound from outside.

She looks at the writings and decided to just use the dirt and bury them instead of burning them.

She then carefully walked to the place where she could observe outside and then looked at the peephole.

As soon as she did, she saw two large pairs of red glowing eyes which almost made her fall to the ground.

Crash!!!

The wall that separated them was immediately broken into pieces and Na-na was sent flying to the side.

"Hmm… What do we have here?!" an eerie voice froze her in place as she saw a man wearing black clothing looking straight at her.

His face is covered with a black demon mask and only his red glowing eyes could be seen.

She wanted to run, but her little legs would not move and all she could do is look at the guy in front of her with fearful eyes.

Her hand is shaking, her body is shaking, and she even suspects that her very soul is shaking with fear while looking at the guy.

The reason for her fear is that she thought that this guy might be an actual ghost judging from the black mist surrounding his body.

"Come here… little thing…" the man said with an eerie tone that raises fear in Na-na's heart.

Without being able to fight back, the little girl was grabbed by the man easily and brought outside the broken-down house.

One could tell that there is a slight hesitation in his eyes while looking at the little girl in his hand.

Suddenly, the man stopped walking as he looks at the forest sky. He could see some signal in the air which made him frown for a bit.

He suddenly released the little girl and disappears from the spot.

Na-na is still afraid but she did not break into tears. She just picks herself up and then looks in the direction of the village.

From where she stood, she could see some smoke rising from the village which startled her deeply.

She became worried for her mother and wanted to run when she felt an ominous feeling behind her.

As she looks behind, her eyes went wide in fear as she could see another masked man surrounded by dark mist around his body and a bamboo hat covering his head.

"A survivor? What clumsy act…" he muttered as he lifted his hand to kill Na-na.

She knew that she would surely die in this place, so Na-na's eyes suddenly turned misty as she wanted to see her mother at this time.

As the man waves his hand a beam of black light flew out from them and headed towards the little girl in front of him.

Na-na closes her eyes and muttered.

"Bye-bye… Mom…" she muttered.

In her mind, flashes of sweet memories she has with her mom began playing back.

The way her mom tucks her in bed, the way her mom teaches her how to write those weird lines, and the way her mom would kiss her before sleeping.

Those sweet memories replayed in her head in slow motion as if savoring the last sweet moment she has before being killed by that mysterious guy.

"Na-na doesn't want to die… Na-na just wanted to see mom one last time…" she thought.

Though she might act like an adult sometimes, she is still a young child after all. So her mother is the only person she wanted to see before she would leave this world.

She closes her eyes and waited for that time to come… for the time that she would not see her mother again.

She even bit her lips hard as she felt really uneasy and horrified but did not want to cower at this time.

She did not know how long it was or if she is already dead, but right now, she suddenly felt a bit confused.

"Am I still alive or am I already dead?" she thought as she slowly opened her eyes.

What she saw next made Na-na's tears subconsciously let go of her fears and tears.