CHAPTER 75: APEX

The Xyontra city was illuminated by the usual glow of the moonlight, which was ever present here.

Two months had passed from that fateful night, Anna had let go of her chains and broken her normality as she decided to use whatever she had for her goals.

Anna stood disguised—her hair silver and eyes deep black—at the balcony of her room within the Kinten villa, with a white porcelain teacup in her hand which she sipped tea from time to time.

"Who would have thought that she would be a limitbreaker?" Damien, who stood beside him, said as he looked at Hanna training her trait abilities within the training ground of the Kinten villa’s garden.

Anna nodded at his words as she spoke.

"And a healing triat too...That alone is pretty rare, right?"

"It is... Some healers can even heal a severed limb, but she can bring someone at their last breath to life." Damien stated with an impressed look.

"Those vines can be great defence too," Anna stated.

Anna turned towards Damien with hopeful eyes as she questioned.

"Did you find anything?"

Damien, however, poured cold water on her expectations with a shake of his head.

"I have searched everywhere I could, but I can’t do anything to help Neo awaken."

Anna didn’t frown at his words and replied in resolute words.

"Then we mustn’t have looked enough."

"Anna... Not everyone can awaken, you have to get in terms with that." Damien said with a frown.

"Hah..." Anna heaved a sigh as she turned around and looked at Neo, who no longer had any scars and had a youthful face instead of his old, rugged appearance.

"I’ve seen it... There has to be a way." She said with a determined look.

Damien studied her for a few moments before shaking his head.

’She has changed... I wanted her to stay away from the world of Midnighters, but...’ He thought as his eyes glinted with something hidden deep within.

’Should I not have changed things that much?’ he shook his head on the question and looked at Anna as he asked.

"Are you sure about meeting the Night Seer?"

"Mhm. She can help me find the cure for Zora... and must know more about the runes than anyone else." Anna answered in a flat tone.

"She is the saintess of Night Tower, after all."

"I don’t trust her," Damien stated as he turned towards the training ground.

Anna nodded at his words as she spoke.

"You can trust me."

"That I do," Damien replied with a smile.

Anna smiled at his words as she placed the finished teacup on the table.

"What did they say?" She questioned.

"We have decided to let Midnighters of other factions actively take part in facing the rifts."

"I see..."

Hanna, who was practising control over her trait, saw Anna looking at them and waved at her.

"Anna!"

Anna smiled and waved back at her.

"I should take my leave," Damien spoke as he turned to leave.

Anna called out to him, making him stop in his tracks.

"Brother... Don’t think too much of it, I won’t lose myself."

Damien didn’t turn; he nodded and left the room with clenched fists as his body rippled, disguising him as Mars Kinten.

Anna stared at his departing figure as her eyes glowed golden.

Suddenly, she felt a headache. She sighed as her eyes stopped glowing.

’I am still too weak to even look at his fate threads.’

Anna blinked her eyes and appeared in her mind’s plane.

It was the same as before; the mystical golden egg was placed on the shrine, which was encircled by seven cracked pillars. The only change, however, was the tall black gate with a golden rabbit motif inscribed on it. The gate had taken the place of the wall when Anna had truly accepted her new self.

Anna stepped toward the gate and pushed it open. She stepped in and looked around.

She now stood in the clearing of a forest with a child holding to a dead woman’s body as blood tears rolled down its face. However, the child was not a human; its skin was like that of a shadow, and its eyes were burning crimson red.

"Mother... I would decree... your revenge on those who dare follow... not your wishes," the child whispered in the woman’s ear, its voice deep, monotonous yet full of grief.

Anna raised an eyebrow as the scene before them changed, and she found herself in a dark room.

The once child now stood tall as it gazed at the ruined city while grinning from ear to ear. Its malevolent eyes appeared amused by the death and dread it had spread.

She stood beside it as she looked at the ruined city with a frown.

She turned towards the shadow-like being as a single question left her lips.

"Do you feel complete by this revenge?’

The shadow-like being suddenly turned towards her as if it could see her, but right then, Anna heard cracking noises, and she returned to her mind plane as the illusory realm shattered.

"Why do I keep seeing the same vision from the last month... I even tried to find that city, but it doesn’t even exist." Anna mumbled as she touched the gate with her right hand.

"How curious..."

She turned around and looked at the mystical golden egg as she spoke with a smile.

"I’ll find out what you are one day."

She blinked her eyes and returned to her room within Kinten Vila.

"Hah... It’s time," she said as she left her body and turned into her soul body.

The star essence nearby her started to move towards her at a fast pace. It entered her star core—A blue orb which contains her star essence—and spread all around her body.

Moments passed, and finally her soul body stopped attracting the star essence. Anna entered her physical body and started to flow her star essence into a vortex at her lower abdomen.

Suddenly, she felt like some unseen shackles were removed from her body.

She smiled and mumbled to herself.

"Apex..."