CHAPTER 28: CRYSTAL.

In the game, the location of the Lunarbloom was never marked on the map. Neither it was given in any dialogue scenario nor in any side quest.

Instead, it was described with just a single cryptic phrase:

"Beneath the embrace of fog,

A path laid filled with fangs and thorns.

Only those with an iron will shall suffice,

As for the reward to the courageous ones

A carpet laid in white and golden, shall bloom for them. "

Azhriel remembered those lines clearly.

Back then, the phrase was treated like a riddle. Most players passed it by.

But those who chased it knew—It wasn’t just flavor text.

The three quickly reached the foot of the mountain, its peak hidden beneath a blanket of pale mist. The moonlight shimmered softly above, casting eerie shadows on the rugged path ahead.

Cold wind swept down from above, carrying the scent of wild herbs and something more primal—danger.

"Let me take it from here," Azhriel said, his voice calm and steady as he stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the misty trail ahead.

Arianne glanced at him but said nothing, simply observing.

Beside her, Serica spoke with a low, wary tone, "I don’t know if you can sense it or not, but this mountain... it’s crawling with monsters. And some of them are strong."

Azhriel gave a slight nod. "Yeah, I know. That’s why I said I’ll lead. I’ve already been to this place once. There’s a hidden path that i know, it will take us quickly to the herbs "

Serica hesitated for a second, but then gave a small nod. "Alright."

Without another word, Azhriel moved toward the faint mist blanketing the narrow trail, his steps confident but quiet. The mist curled around him like a living thing, and without looking back, he disappeared into it.

Arianne followed a few steps behind, her crimson eyes flicking toward the mist ahead, while Serica took her place behind them—silent, but always alert.

Azhriel had lied.

When he told them that he’d already come to this place before, it was nothing more than a calculated bluff.

In truth, this was his first time stepping foot on the mountain. The cold mist curling around his boots, the oppressive silence pressing down on them—it was all new.

But that didn’t mean he was clueless.

From the game, The Legends of Aldoria, he had memorized the path. The route to the Lunarbloom had been etched into his mind through hours of play.

Of course, reality wasn’t exactly the same as the game—there were bound to be changes. The terrain might differ, the enemies stronger, even the timing could shift.

Yet the core of it—the sequence of turns, the hidden paths, the natural markers—remained the same. He didn’t need to tell them that. Sometimes, certainty mattered more than truth.

They moved steadily through the mountain trails, but instead of climbing toward the peak, Azhriel guided them along a narrow path that curled behind the mountain’s shadowed flank.

The moonlight barely filtered through the mist, and the air grew colder with each step.

Azhriel walked at the front, his senses sharp, his mind racing—not with panic, but with calculation. Every twist in the trail, every faint rustle in the trees, he matched them to the fragments of memory from the game.

He connected the dots, avoided the known monster dens, and skirted around traps only a player-turned-walker would recognize.

Eventually, after what felt longer than it truly was, they reached a break in the dense mist. The trees parted, and a low stone ridge came into view.

In front of them stretched a valley—quiet, silvered by the moonlight, and shrouded in a thin veil of fog that clung to the earth like silk.

"Just inside that valley," Azhriel said, his voice low, "and we’ll find them."

Arianne’s eyes widened. Her heartbeat quickened in her chest, and her steps, once cautious, now hastened with a new intensity. The hope that had flickered uncertainly within her now flared, bright and urgent.

She didn’t say anything—but the look in her crimson eyes said it all.

****

"Woah..."

The word slipped from Arianne’s lips before she could stop it.

Even she, the ever-composed daughter of a duke, found herself breathless at the sight before her. Her crimson eyes shimmered under the pale moonlight as she took a step forward, eyes wide with a rare, almost childlike wonder.

’Damn... pixel graphics couldn’t even come close to this.’

That thought crossed Azhriel’s mind as he watched her expression—pure, unfiltered awe.

Even Serica, whose face rarely shifted from stern vigilance, had her eyes widened slightly. Her lips parted just barely, betraying her own surprise.

The valley was alive in silver and gold.

Thousands of delicate blooms swayed gently in the cool mountain breeze—white petals trimmed with golden veins, glowing softly under the full moon’s light.

It was as if the moon itself had laid down a blessing on the land. A shimmering carpet of Lunarblooms and multiple other flowers covered the earth, each one swaying gently as if dancing to a rhythm only nature understood.

Azhriel was the first to move, stepping into the middle of the field where a cluster of lily-like flowers bloomed quietly. Their petals shimmered with golden and azure veins, glowing softly under the moonlight.

He knelt down, gently picked a few of them, and left the rest untouched. There was no reason to take more than needed. With the flowers in hand, he returned to Arianne.

"Here, take them," he said, holding the herbs out.

Arianne blinked, snapping out of her daze. With slightly trembling hands, she reached out and took the Lunarblooms. Her heart was pounding—after months of searching, after all the effort and failures, she had finally found them.

’Now... you’ll be okay, Mom,’ she thought, gripping the flowers gently.

"Thank you... thank you so much," she said, her voice quiet but full of emotion. She gave a small bow, her head lowered in gratitude. Serica followed beside her, bowing respectfully as well.

"It’s fin—" Azhriel spoke, but stopped midway.

For a moment, he just stared.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The Arianne in front of him was nothing like the one he remembered from the game. There, she had always been cold, distant.

But right now...now in her place stood a girl with a bright, heartfelt smile. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, her expression filled with something he had never seen from her before.

Happiness

Even Serica, usually expressionless, glanced at her lady with a rare softness in her gaze.

Azhriel looked at Arianne again.

That smile—so real, so full of light—left him momentarily speechless.

However, it was said that changing someone’s fate was never so simple.

Before any of them could do anything, it descended.

An unseen pressure—heavy and suffocating—fell over the valley. Both Azhriel and Arianne froze. Their knees buckled slightly under the weight, and a sharp, choking tightness wrapped around their chests, as if invisible hands had gripped their hearts.

"Ugh—!"

"Aagk—!"

A strange heat clung to their skin, like searing mist, stinging and crawling as though something was trying to burrow into them. Every breath was a struggle.

Then, in the blink of an eye, it vanished.

The pressure dispersed as suddenly as it had come—like mist blown away by a sudden gust.

Standing before them was Serica, her blade already drawn, her expression sharper than ever. A low hum surrounded her, mana swirling faintly at her feet like coiled threads ready to strike.

She had moved in an instant, shielding the both of them before anything else could happen.

"Demonic energy?" Azhriel muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing as he steadied himself. He could feel it clearly now—the thick, rotten air that came with it, unmistakable and vile.

"Don’t let your guard down," Serica said sharply, stepping forward, her stance low and blade pointed outward. "It’s coming."

The ground trembled beneath their feet.

Azhriel looked up—and saw it.

Crashing through the mist and trees came a massive creature, at least twelve meters tall. It moved on its knuckles like a gorilla, but there was nothing natural about it.

Its thick brown fur was marked with black ring-like patterns, as if something had scorched them into its skin. Every muscle on its arms bulged with brute force, strong enough to rip through steel.

Its yellow eyes burned with a sickly black glow, and its mouth, filled with jagged canines, opened in a guttural snarl. Long, dagger-like claws extended from both arms.

Behind it, two smaller, monkey-like monsters followed—clearly lesser versions of the beast, but dangerous in their own right.

What made Azhriel’s stomach sink, though, was the glint of black crystal embedded in each of their chests, pulsing with a faint, eerie light.

Then, the creature raised its head—and roared.

ROOOOAR!

The sound shook the trees, rattled the bones in their chests, and silenced the entire valley.

"It’s a grandmaster rank, but how is it radiating this much demonic energy?" Serica said calmly.

"It’s because of that crystal..".

[A/N - Apprentice, Adept, Advanced, Expert, Master, Grandmaster, Transcendent, Divine, Archon, Sovereign.]