Chapter 102: The Moon Dew Mountain!

Chapter 102: The moon Dew mountain

Tessa's consciousness darted through the sky like a wisp of silver smoke, moving faster than thought.

She didn't have time to waste—her body was missing, and if she didn't act quickly, someone else would take control of it for good. Her ethereal form raced along the trail left by the impostor and her band of followers. Whoever they were, they had stolen her identity, her very essence, and now they were heading toward Rivermount.

The junction appeared before her like a crossroads of destiny. One path led toward Rhemon, the city they had come from, where the Rhemonic people lived; the other veered straight into Rivermount's towering gates.

Confusion filled her as she floated at the intersection, invisible to the world. Why Rivermount? It was a quiet city, known for a time when the moon goddess frequented the city and little else.

The impostor and her accomplice- Ikehara, should've headed back to Rhemon City, where they could blend in with the Rhemonic lands' in deception and secrecy.

Tessa's thoughts swirled. What could possibly draw them to Rivermount? It was no metropolis, no seat of power, no place of hidden wealth. But there was no time to ponder the question further. The trail was clear: they had gone to Rivermount, and so must she.

As she approached Rivermount's gates, she overheard the soldiers on duty, their idle chatter drifting up to her like whispers from a distant dream.

"Which queen do you reckon she was?" one soldier asked, still wide-eyed from the recent encounter.

"I don't care who she was, mate," the second soldier muttered, rubbing his neck nervously. "Her bodyguard threw a dagger clean across the field, and it went straight into Ronny's throat. He was dead before he hit the ground. You won't catch me making a joke about any queen again!"

The first soldier snorted. "Lucky for you. Had you joined in, you'd be as dead as Ronny. I'm telling you, that bodyguard is mad dangerous."

"But come on, lads," a third voice cut in, trying to break the tension. "She's fine, though. Her curves? Man, if I could just bang that—"

"If a dagger flies out of thin air and cuts off your head, mate, I'm gonna pretend I never knew you," a fourth soldier interrupted with mock surrender, raising his hands high as the others burst out laughing.

Tessa's consciousness bristled at their crudeness. The body they were ogling was hers and not the impostors'. And the woman who was inside it? Far worse than any of them could imagine. Her suspicions were confirmed: the impostor had already arrived in Rivermount. She couldn't waste another second.

---

Meanwhile, the impostor moved with unshakable confidence, her every step oozing with the arrogance of someone who thought themselves untouchable.

She led the group through the winding streets of Rivermount as if she owned the very stones beneath her feet. Ikehara, her devoted accomplice, followed closely behind, eyes gleaming with barely contained excitement. He knew her secret, and he was loving every minute of it.

This "new Tessa" was a far cry from the girl everyone remembered. She was sly, seductive, manipulative. Everything Adrian loathed. He kept his distance, eyes narrowing every time Ikehara and the impostor exchanged a glance. Something was off. Ikehara was always near her, too close for comfort, and Adrian wasn't blind to the whispers that passed between them.

"I can't believe this is happening," Adrian muttered under his breath, his hands clenched into fists. "This… isn't her."

He had known Tessa for too long, fought beside her, watched her struggle with her powers, her doubts, her fears. The girl who led them now was someone else entirely—a puppet shell controlled by the moon goddess's impostor. And Ikehara? Adrian wasn't sure, but it was clear he had his own dark reasons for following her so closely.

Ikehara, for his part, was delighted. This version of Tessa wasn't new to him. She reminded him of the woman he had known back on Planet Kael—the so-called "slut of Rhemon" who used to plot with him in secret.

Back then, they'd shared a bed behind Rhemon's back, scheming and laughing at their little games. Now, though, Ikehara had to be careful. Adrian's eyes were everywhere, watching, with unmasked suspicion. If Ikehara got too close, he'd risk exposing everything, and he wasn't ready for that yet.

The group pressed onward, moving toward a mountain that overlooked a deep, shimmering lake. At the foot of the mountain, they stopped to catch their breath, eyes widening at the massive structure looming above them. At its peak, a towering statue of the moon goddess stood like a sentinel, gazing down upon them. The sight was awe-inspiring, yet eerie, as if the stone goddess knew their every secret.

"Built by the last priestess when they visited Earth," Ikehara whispered, his voice reverent.

The impostor turned to him with a sly smile. "Let's go. The climb won't kill you… yet."

With that, they began their ascent. At first, it was bearable. The incline was steep, but the group managed, gripping onto rocks and tree roots to pull themselves up. But the higher they climbed, the more unforgiving the terrain became.

The air thinned, the rocks grew sharper, and soon, members of the group began to slip and tumble back down, defeated by the treacherous slope. Some gave up entirely, their bodies bruised and bloodied from the relentless climb.

But not Adrian. He moved like a trained climber, scaling the rocks with the ease of someone who had done this a hundred times before. He swung himself higher and higher, and every time Nymff, Ecdy, Nyala or any member of the big seven struggled, he was there, lending a hand to pull them up. His face, however, remained grim. He wasn't here to play hero. He was here to find out what the impostor was up to.

After hours of torturous climbing, they reached the summit. The group collapsed in exhaustion, gasping for air, their limbs shaking. But their relief was short-lived. Water wolves—creatures of myth, their bodies fluid and translucent—emerged from the shadows, growling as they encircled the gourd that floated beside the moon goddess statue. The gourd glowed faintly, its power unmistakable. The moon dew was inside it.

The wolves bared their teeth, their growls low and dangerous. They protected the gourd with fierce loyalty, their eyes locked on the impostor. If the real Tessa had been here, they would have recognized her scent—the scent of the true moon goddess's bloodline. But this wasn't Tessa. This was a fraud, and the wolves knew it.

Nyala leaned toward Adrian, whispering, "What is she doing? She's going to get torn apart by those wolves."

"She knows this isn't her real body," Adrian muttered. "She doesn't care if it gets bitten or mauled. She's gambling to see if the wolves can sense the real moon goddess's presence."

Nyala blinked in surprise. "You know all this?"

Adrian smirked, the first flicker of humor in his eyes since this entire ordeal began. "I'm from Kael, remember? I know more about the moon goddess than you think."

The impostor approached the gourd with measured steps, her smirk never faltering. The wolves' growls intensified, their sleek bodies rippling like water ready to crash. She extended a hand toward the gourd, as if she believed she had the right to touch it, as if the wolves were no more than a minor obstacle in her way.

"They're going to rip her apart," Nymff whispered, watching with wide eyes.

Adrian's smirk deepened. "She's about to find out that pretending to be a goddess doesn't come without consequences."

The tension hung thick in the air, every heartbeat echoing like thunder as the impostor dared to step closer.