Antarctica, also known as the Southern Settlement.

Since the Fall, the once snow-covered landscape has experienced a natural shift that splits the region into two: the North Sector, Jotunheim, and the Southern Sector, Midgard.

Johtenhuim was constantly covered in endless night and was the prestigious territory of the Great House of Night. It was rich with minerals used to make forged weapons and was a blessed land, with clean, cold air and one of the largest cities in the world.

The second region, Midgard, was a lush and vibrant landscape—green fields, scattered towns, and quiet farms stretching beneath wide skies. But its beauty came at a price. Living in Midgard required more than just a will to survive; it demanded power. Anyone residing here needed to be an Ascender, or at the very least, possess a Divine Spark, due to how dangerously close the region lay to the settlement boundary.

To protect the lives within, a thousand-meter alloy wall had been constructed at the edge of the Southern Sector—a final bulwark between humanity and the horrors that roamed beyond.

Standing atop that wall, Rand Night surveyed the frozen horizon. His bow still pulsed faintly with residual Zenshi after the last shot—a single shadow-forged arrow that had pierced the alpha of the beast pack.

Below, the Snow Mountain Bears advanced like living avalanches—massive, white-furred monsters with golden, glowing eyes and breath that steamed like fire. Even with their leader slain, their advance was relentless.

Rand narrowed his gaze.

From this height, the beasts looked deceptively slow, but their growls rolled through the air like thunder, and the snowstorm split around them like waves around stone.

He drew back his bowstring once more. Darkness coiled and gathered, shadow essence forming between his fingers.

Pew!

He released the shot.

The arrow did not veer or wobble. It expanded mid-flight, growing into a long, black spear of shadow that tore through the storm like a bolt of lightning. Then it fractured, splitting into three more spears. Each one found its mark.

Three Snow Mountain Bears fell in silence.

"The storm's too strong for air units!" Rand shouted over the wind to his fellow archers. "We'll hold them from the wall!"

The sudden eruption of light answered his words—elemental arrows, glowing bolts, and compressed magic--filled the sky in a radiant arc, raining destruction down upon the encroaching horde.

One by one, the cursed beasts fell.

They were just Snow Mountain Bears. Powerful, but predictable without an alpha. Compared to what roamed the snowy world, these were nothing.

When the final beast fell, one of the Ascenders quickly stepped forward and silently opened his second gate. Green flames erupted around the slain creatures, devouring their massive corpses and dissolving the stench of blood before it could draw more predators.

"That's the last horde for the day," Rand muttered, dismissing his shadow-forged weapon as it dissolved into black mist.

He turned, ready to descend from the wall, when a voice broke through the storm.

"Captain! Unknown movement in the snow!"

Rand halted immediately and rushed to the edge of the platform. One of the sentries handed him a pair of enchanted binoculars, and he pressed them to his eyes.

At first, there was only the endless white.

Then he saw them—two figures moving steadily through the blizzard. They were human, cloaked in white robes that shimmered faintly, untouched by the wind or ice. Their pace was both calm and deliberate. One was tall, almost eight feet. The other was an average-looking male with long, dark hair.

Rand adjusted the lens and froze. His breath caught when he noticed a familiar face.

"…Valentine Artemis. He's alive!"

He lowered the binoculars with grim urgency, his expression hardening. Then, without a word to his comrades, he leapt from the wall. The wind howled around him, but his armor shifted mid-air, reconfiguring into its combat mode. He landed on the snow with a heavy crunch, shadows coiling around his legs as he sprinted toward the mysterious pair.

A mad, sharp, and jagged laugh echoed across the white expanse.

"Hehehehehehehe."

Artemis's face lit up with excitement as he stepped forward. His pale hand lifted, summoning a blade of glistening ice. It was thin as a whisper, sharp on both edges, humming with unnatural chill.

He surged toward Rand with terrifying speed.

But before he could reach him, a black and clawed hand appeared from his shadow and snatched his ankle like a serpent.

Victor halted mid-stride, eyes narrowing with fascination.

"One of the Night Children… I see."

Without hesitation, he quickly swung the ice blade and severed his leg. He then launched himself backward, landing on one knee. The snow bloomed red beneath him.

"My impulsive nature strikes again. Haha."

Even though he was in pain, Victor didn't cry out. He merely watched with unsettling calm as his severed limb was devoured by the shadow creature in seconds.

Had he not reacted swiftly. And get pulled into Rand's domain without countermeasures, he would've been dead before he could scream. The shadow world was dangerous without an affinity for shadows.

That much he knew.

With that, silver life essence exploded from Victor's body, and the bleeding ceased in an instant. Bone regrew like twisting roots, followed by layers of muscle and skin, until his entire leg reconstructed itself with eerie precision.

Rand skidded to a halt. His brown eyes narrowed into slits. 'So it's true… he doesn't use Zenshi.' He thought. The implications were dangerous. Valentine Artemis was an anomaly well-known by everyone.

After the Crimson Tower, they were able to learn more about this mysterious second gate ascender that went toe to toe against powerful ascenders like Darkness and Snow.

'I need to proceed with caution.'

Suddenly, the larger man in the white robe took a step forward. Power radiated from him like pressure before a storm.

Rand unleashed his Battle Aura and prepared himself for a clash, but then—

Victor's pale hand lifted.

"Killing him would be messy," he said casually. "Besides, I need to reflect his power. It's... too good to waste. I'd consider taking the power of the other Night Children, but I'm not ready to give anything up just yet."

The larger man gave a quiet snort and stepped back, letting Victor take the lead.

That, more than anything, unsettled Rand.

He clenched his fists, and divine essence surged into his second soul gate. A radiant blue light engulfed his body, and his shadow stretched unnaturally across the snow, rippling like oil on water.

His brows bent into a frown."… Let's dance."

The atmosphere shifted, and the wind held its breath as five black wolves emerged from Rand's shadow—each one the size of a transport vehicle. Their fur crackled with living lightning, fangs gleaming as they growled in unison. The ground beneath them steamed as heat met frost.

Rand's eyes glowed with purpose as he gave his silent command.

The wolves pounced, fangs bared and claws sparking.

Victor welcomed them with open arms and a twisted smile. His ice blade sang as it slashed through the air, aimed cleanly at the first wolf.

But the creature vanished in a flicker of current. He'd cut nothing but air.

Howl!

A chilling howl pierced the storm.

One of the shadow wolves opened its maw, releasing a ripple of jagged lightning that tore through the air. Victor's body twisted mid-dodge as he lunged forward. His sword gleamed with cold light.

Shhhrrk!

He cleaved straight through the wolf's midsection. But instead of blood or flesh, its form cracked like shattered glass, revealing it as a construct of shadow essence and elemental force. It dissolved, drawn back into the shadows like ink spilling into water.

CLANG!

Rand appeared, and his odachi struck with brutal precision.

Their blades collided, releasing a shockwave that blasted the snow in all directions. The sheer force pushed back the storm itself, clearing the battlefield in an instant.

Victor's feet dug deep into the snow. Rand didn't move an inch. He was a young master, and his skills were nothing short of incredible.

The clash only lasted seconds, but the air was thick with pressure.

A massive wolf leapt from the swirling shadows behind Victor, its mouth wide and fangs glistening, ready to tear him apart.

But Victor didn't flinch. He snapped his fingers, and a pulse of invisible force erupted from his body.

Boom!

The world seemed to recoil as everything around him—wolves, snow, even Rand—was thrown back in a radius of sheer kinetic rejection. The wolf was blasted apart mid-air, its body scattering like ash on the wind.

Victor stood alone at the center, cloak rippling, sword humming, and a wild grin spreading across his face.

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"You're fun," he said, eyes gleaming unnaturally.

Rand gritted his teeth and dug his boots into the snow, regaining his stance as the wind whipped past him. Three of his wolves had already been swallowed back into the shadow realm, shattered by Victor's unexplainable powers.

He didn't hesitate to use the remaining wolf.

"Go!" Rand commanded.

The last shadow wolf snarled and burst forward like a black thunderbolt, trailing sparks of energy. Its fur bristled with raw lightning as it opened its mouth.

HOOOWWL!

A blinding beam of light erupted from its maw, cutting through the storm like a divine spear. The snowfield split in half, the terrain itself sheared open by the devastating blast. Ice cracked, and steam hissed upward from the sheer heat of the discharge.

Victor's smile widened.

The blast struck—but when the snow cleared, he was still standing, surrounded by a faint barrier of reflected light, a glimmer of essence bent to his will. His robes fluttered, pristine and untouched.

"A good try," Victor said calmly, brushing snowflakes off his shoulder. "But light... is a poor weapon against a mirror. You have a unique power, Mr Night. Can you imagine? The power to command shadows at the palm of your hand, and this is all you can do. Pathetic. I forget zenshi keeps you false ones so grounded. It denies you the power to defy the heavens."

The wolf's charge faltered.

And in the blink of an eye, Victor vanished.

Rand's eyes widened. He was too late.

Victor appeared behind the wolf and thrust his ice blade straight into its spine. The creature convulsed once, letting out a low, broken growl before shattering into black fragments.

Rand felt the feedback through his bond, like a wire snapping in his chest. He coughed blood, an effect from the backlash sent to his second gate.

Victor turned toward him again, eyes alight with madness and something deeper—curiosity.

"Now then," he said, gripping his sword tightly, "shall we see what the captain of the Night House is really capable of?"

"What does House Artemis want with the South?" Even against two enemies, the confidence in Rand's voice was palpable.

"We are not here by Lord Artemis's request. We're here because the Heavenly Court demands your Clan's cooperation, and join the Ice Wing Sect."

The large man spoke.

***

Lena sat across the table while the many officials in the room proceeded with their discussion concerning the news about House Ares merging with the Feng Clan.

"This is great because with Feng's resources, our House can grow much stronger."

"Two of the most powerful clans are about to merge. This is going to pivotal point in history."

"We will lose our value as House Ares. Has the Head gone insane?" An older, grey-haired man slammed his fist on the table as they discussed. His face was covered in scars, and his brown eyes were dim.

"We owe them this much. They helped return the surface to our continent."

Luna pretended not to listen to the old men and women discuss. She watched them all with a very calm expression.

The room was filled with powerful people from the various clans of this settlement and the settlements around the world. Most of them were government officials who had come to witness the great power move that Mao Feng was about to make.

The elegant figure stood dressed in a flowing white kimono, as always. Part of her long silver hair was tied neatly behind her head, and her pale face remained untouched by time--ageless despite the wars she had endured.

She had faced entire cursed armies alone, cleared dungeons without backup, and even now stood as the second strongest Fourth Gate user in the world, second only to Lord Artemis—the man powerful enough to earn the respect of House Val, the Central Settlement's dominant family.

What the public didn't know was that it was this quiet alliance between Lord Artemis and House Val that had set the wheels of this great merger in motion.

House Val, while harboring the weakest sorcerer in the world, held unmatched influence. Lord Val had put his Aura to great use and created an Empire of his own. He had a whole royal guard of sorcerers to protect him. And an entire army of ascenders marked by his mysterious Aura.

To counter this growing influence, Mao Feng and Lord Ares orchestrated this political show of force—a silent warning to Artemis and House Val: the New World still had rulers of its own..

It was a battle of ideology, and the other side was much stronger. Many ascenders were now siding with them, agreeing that the only way humanity could live on was through acquiring the divine realm for themselves.

While the other side was going to the Divine in search of a power incredible enough to protect what was left of this realm. It was an ethical plan, one that saved the nonpowered side of humanity.

"You've been here all morning?" Snow asked as he approached and sat beside her.

"Yes," Lena replied without looking at him. Her gaze stayed fixed on the cluster of men and women arguing near the center.

"The announcement is later this evening, huh?"

"Yep," she said, adjusting her posture on the hard seat. Her body ached from sitting too long. "They're making sure everyone's on the same side before the big reveal. All of them are so obsessed with maintaining control over humanity. It's like they've forgotten who they're supposed to be protecting. It's disgusting…"

Lena sighed, her face blank with boredom. She would rather be out leading soldiers into the jaws of death than stuck in this room another hour.

Snow narrowed his eyes at the assembly and frowned. "The Ascenders are failing to stop the end. What we uncovered two years ago… it's all coming true."

"Exactly. Which is why this entire meeting is pointless. It's all for show. Propaganda to calm the sheep. If they actually cared, why aren't we being sent to the Moon for the Subjugation?" Her voice sharpened with frustration as her eyes drifted to the emotionless figure of her mother at the front of the room.

"You already have the answers, Len. We will die if we rush to the moon without a plan or enough sorcerers. This meeting isn't pointless as it might attract more of the government's support."

In the previous two years, Lena had worked herself to near death just to prove her strength to the clan members. She perfected her martial combat, advanced her zenshi to level three. She opened her third gate within just months after the Blood Tower, and the world recognized her as one of the strongest summoners in the world.

However, although the world was impressed by her tremendous growth, Mao Feng wasn't.

Her mother had grown distant over the past years. She was always not around for many reasons, and that left Lena bothered.

With the current state of the world, Lena tried her best to understand her mother's absence to a degree. She was a Sorcerer, of course. She needed to keep protecting humanity.

Gods…why was she desperate for her mother's attention? She wasn't a child anymore, damn it!

Her grey eyes narrowed. She felt bitter that her mother had ignored her gaze.

'Why am I even bothered by this?' she scoffed and looked away from her mother.

An hour passed, and the conference meeting finally began.

Lena didn't bother staying.

She stood up just moments after the first words were spoken, leaving the room without a glance at Snow or anyone nearby. No one dared to stop her.

Her footsteps echoed with quiet power as she made her way through the long marble hallway and out of the grand building. A few reporters stationed near the entrance turned their cameras toward her, recognizing her immediately, but none approached. Her presence alone was enough to hold them at bay.

She walked a few blocks in silence, up a clean street, and entered a quiet restaurant nestled between two closed galleries.

Without a word, she took a seat at an empty table near the window.

Conversations died down the moment she entered.

The restaurant wasn't fancy, but its patrons were far from ordinary. A few low-level Ascenders were among them, easily noticeable by their aura marks and the subtle glow in their eyes. Yet even they froze when she walked in.

White hair. Silver-grey eyes. Skin like moonlit snow. She looked like something carved out of light. Something divine.

Even among Ascenders, Lena was something else.

Of course, she was used to the stares. People always stared when they saw something they didn't understand. Something that didn't belong.

But Lena didn't mind. As someone on the divine path, stares were inevitable, especially when half the world already knew her face.

"How may I serve you….Ascender, I mean Lady Feng." A dark-haired teenager stood in front of her. She was in an apron and held a small notebook in her hands.

'You don't see that every day.' Lena smiled from within. Her gentle gaze was fixed on the young girl for a moment.

"Coffee and Biscuits if you have any." She spoke calmly.

The girl quickly nodded and scribbled down her order. Her brown eyes were trembling. She was nervous and excited to be in the presence of Lady Feng—the woman who led an army of soldiers into a Dungeon two years ago and the first person to open her third gate months after opening her second.

She was a Genius!

Lena noticed the teenager's excitement and asked, "What is your name?"

The teenager's eyes sparkled. "My name is Rose. I'm fourteen years old, and am about to awaken soon. I would like to join a Knight school here….But I sent an application to the White Dragon sect in the Southern Settlement."

Lena raised an eyebrow. She had only asked for her name, but she had decided to tell her everything. It was good to know that this young girl was excited to step onto the path of ascension.

She reminded her of herself when she was the same age.

"White Dragon Sect?" she laughed bitterly. "You're ambitious for someone as young as yourself. I'm pretty jealous."

"But you're incredible, Lady Feng." She paused when she noticed what she was doing. She was quickly reminded of her job and dipped her head. "I apologize if I was getting too chatty, Lady Feng. I will go get your order."

Lena shook her hand and head. "No… It's fine. It's always fun to talk to another human. If you get into the White Dragon Sect, I look forward to seeing you again, Rose."

With that, the teenager rushed off to the kitchen with the warmest smile she had seen today.

'Crazy that the world considers me a genius after cultivating to the third gate in months. And yet I've been on the same gate for two years now.'

She shifted her eyes to the screen ahead. It was broadcasting the conference meeting, labeled as a pivotal point in humanity's history.

"Fellow Humans and Clans of the Mortal realm. Fifty years have passed since the first Gateway and the beginning of what many humans at the time labeled as the end."

Lord Ares was speaking in a powerful and balanced tone as he stared at the camera drones ahead. All the main heads from both clans were seated behind one long table that faced multiple rows of seats. Each seat was carrying a government official, a leader of a vassal clan, and a representative from one of the main houses.

The representative from House Val was a tall, dark-skinned woman with beautiful golden eyes and braided black hair. She was one of the presumed Divine Guards and one of the strongest ascenders in the world because of that.

The representative from House Artemis was a grown man in his mid-thirties with a yellow beard. There was no information about him apart from the fact that he was a very skilled enchanter from the West.

House Night was represented by none other than the Queen of Darkness herself. She was extremely pale and beautiful with dark, long hair, blood red lips, and enchanting dark eyes that stared at the table ahead.

"Is that the Queen of Darkness. Holy shit!"

"…I thought she didn't move during daylight."

"Do you have eyes, you idiot? They're indoors!"

Many had their eyes glued to the screen. When the camera shifted to her, almost everyone's jaw dropped. That's because the Queen of Darkness was a very rare sight. She was the ruler of House Night and often never left the Southern Settlement due to the complications that came with her powers.

"Is it true that the Queen is a Vampire?"

One of the men in the restaurant asked his colleague. He whispered, of course—but Lena's eavesdropping skills were top shelf.

His colleague, a blond-haired woman with strikingly blue eyes, then shrugged and whispered back:

"I have no idea. All I know is that her powers are connected to the shadows. In fact, everyone in House Night has some dark, twisted ability that connects them to the darkness. By the way, I heard the Queen started her clan in Antarctica because of how strong the night is there."

'What a well-informed person. I bet she works for the government.'

But she was right, House Night was a very dark and mysterious clan that resided in Antarctica. The Night Queen was an unranked Fourth Gate Ascender whose Aura made her weak under the sun. But incredibly powerful in the darkness.

This was the same for all her children, hence the title, The Night Children.

Lena remembered only seeing Rand Night when the clan sent her to the Southern Settlement to fight off a level three threat. They were both summoners. But unlike her, he was much closer to his fourth gate and expected to become a sorcerer soon.

Lena stared at the screen for a while until the steaming cup of coffee and a small plate with a biscuit were placed in front of her.

The smell of coffee often calmed her.

Listening to politics was pointless to her. Sure, she was next in line as clan head—all of this was going to matter one day. But not today. Today, she was one of House Feng's sharpest swords. Politics were just a bunch of people talking nonsense that couldn't give a damn about.

***

"I guess Len skipped this event. Doesn't that idiot know I want to see her?"

Luna had her eyes glued to the projected screen while she waited for her results from the waiting room.

As of now, she had succeeded in faking her status as an ascender. The sphere read the zenshi in her system clearly and displayed the disappointing energy waves on the screen ahead.

Gina almost cried when she saw the readings. She restarted the system so many times to confirm this. And in the end, Lara was just a level 1 zenshi user.

Ascender Vast, a prodigy, was defeated by a level one zenshi user!

The damage had already been done, and Luna was now ranked higher than Vast solely because of skill alone. In the Guild, an ascender with skill was superior to an ascender blessed with strength or talent.

Luna obviously had all. The lineage of the Supreme Ruler made her very talented and physically strong. She was superior to most first gate users in the world.

The door finally opened, and Gina nervously rushed in holding a file. She wore a disappointed look as she handed the files to Luna.

Luna opened the file and started reading through. She was satisfied with the low results. Though her combat skills were given high readings, which she didn't like.

"We checked multiple times to confirm these readings. Indeed, you're just a level one. We'll send the video to Sir Phillips as you requested."

"Thank you."

Luna closed the file and smiled with her lips. She was happy with this.

'What is she so happy about? How dare she display such abilities only to be so pathetic!' Gina wanted to wipe that smile off Luna's face.

Her thoughts were now chaotic.

"…as of today, House Ares will now be under the mighty House Feng as one of its vassal clans."

Gina's thoughts snapped, and her eyes flickered to the screen. All her malicious thoughts disappeared, and her attention was drawn to Lord Ares, who was still talking.

'House Ares is becoming a Vassal clan after more than ten years of partnership. Interesting.'

Luna stared at the screen and scoffed.

Little did she know that there was another power shift happening right now in the South.

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