Escape The Fate (1)

"Luna?" 

Val had searched for Luna's whereabouts around his room until the dining room, but she was found nowhere, making Val feel even more depressed. He just wanted to rest, not take care of a little demon kid.

"Well, it seems she went back to her room and slept. I can go back now," gave up, Val made his own conclusion. He turned around to go back to his room and then prepared to sleep.

As soon as he started walking, a glimpse of faint red light showered upon him, making Val look up and find a gigantic red moon floating above the ceilings. The moon was almost three times the size of Earth's moon, and Val could sense something shady about that moon, as if it could see everything beneath it.

The red light shone through the glass ceilings and illuminated this passageway as if it bathed in crimson blood. At that time, Val noticed something strange: a steel door placed at the end of the hall, and it was slightly opened.

"No, don't tell me she is…"

Val covered his mouth in shock as he drew nearer toward the door.

Creak.

A long stone staircase led to the dark underground passage exposed in front of Val's eyes. He noticed something on the staircase and picked it up.

A pencil, or to be precise, it was Luna's pencil.

"Argh, what the hell is she doing down there alone?"

Val clicked his tongue but still walked down the stone staircase to fetch that impish little demon before her mom blamed Val because he was the last person with Luna before she went missing.

He passed down a long and dim staircase before arriving at a stone door with two torches beside it, and the door was just tall enough for Val to pass through. Also, the door was not locked, again.

"Luna, are you there?"

"Brother Val?"

A familiar voice answered Val's question and made him sigh in relief because that girl was not missing. He opened the door and went inside. Val picked up one torch before going inside.

"What are you doing here alone?"

He approached Luna who stood alone in this dark room; she looked lost.

"I… I don't know. I just followed a cute black cat and did not realize I ended up here. I'm scared, Brother Val. Hic, hic." Luna explained what happened to her and drew nearer to him; she held the tip of Val's shirt tightly.

'Black cat?'

As Val remembered in the book, Auremont house animal sigil was a serpent and not a cat. It was common to see the sigil around the house, but it was rare to see another animal beside it.

However, since Val still needed to investigate some more things, he did not want to take harsh action and just let it slip.

"It's alright. I'll take you back to your room now."

Just as both of them almost turned around, a blinding light appeared behind them.

Shiiiiiiiing—!

"What the fuck?" cursed Valac when the light flashed into his eyes and made him unable to open his eyes wide but squint to see what happened behind them.

"What's that?"

A whirl of light spheres running around floated, and Luna shouted something about it.

"Brother, it's the portal! The portal is open! We must go now before it swallows us—"

However, it was too late for them to withdraw from there when the whirl started to engulf them inside it.

Shwaaaaaaaaa— 

Val started screaming and held tight to Luna, making sure she did not fall from his grip.

"The fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck—?!"

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

---

The first thing he felt was the rough texture stroking his skin while relishing the cold wind on his face and hair.

As Val gradually regained consciousness, the sensation of the earth beneath him became more distinct. It was as if he lay on a bed of coarse grass, the blades tickling his skin persistently.

One of Val's fingers started to move, followed by a faint jolt in all his muscles, as if telling him that he had adjusted to the new surroundings. 

The air carried a refreshing scent, a mix of dew and the subtle fragrance of wildflowers. The distant chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves contributed to a symphony that accompanied his awakening.

His eyelids twitched, and then Val slowly opened his eyes. He squinted as an intense light ray assaulted his eyes before adjusting to them and could open them fully. 

The radiant sunlight painted the meadow in a dazzling array of colors, revealing a vibrant tapestry of greens, yellows, and blues.

"Where … the fuck … am I?" 

He leered and found that he was not in Auremont's house—he was not even inside the Demonic realm anymore. 

The green meadow stretched endlessly, interrupted only by clusters of trees and bushes. A meandering soil road wound its way through the landscape, inviting exploration. Rabbits and squirrels hopped about, seemingly untroubled by his sudden appearance.

"Am I in the Mortal realm now?" mumbled Val while pressing his chin using his thumb. 

"Shit," cursed him before continuing, "That means I never could avoid the damned plot of this cursed book, whatever or however I do."

Valac tried to remain calm, but he started to grind his teeth together—his bad habit whenever he felt depressed. He needed to think fast. If he was in the Mortal realm, it meant that Val would face Ryland sooner or later.

"Waaaaaagh, th-there is a demon! Help me! S-someone please help us!"

"No… I'm not going to hurt you…"

"Waaah! Don't come here, you bad demon!"

Turning his head back, Val saw his little sibling, Luna, standing not far from his place and surrounded by some human kids who were frightened of her appearance as a demon and were arming themselves using branches or pebbles. 

She looked so scared but could not leave because she did not know where she was now.

'Tch. Let's think later about Ryland.'

Val needed to help her now.