The light vanished.
Not like you flip a switch and poof—no dramatic fireworks or anything. Just… gone. One second, we're standing on these stupidly perfect obsidian tiles under the Academy's dome, all clean and sterile, and the next? Somewhere else. Somewhere wrong.
Moss-covered cliffs curling around us like they're trying to swallow the sky. The forest was breathing—yeah, I know, forests don't breathe, but these trees? White trunks, veins glowing faintly like they've got some messed-up blood running through them. Vines that didn't just hang there—they slithered, like they had a deadline to meet. Flowers the size of your head opening and closing like lazy mouths waiting for something to say.
So, yeah. This wasn't your average academy field trip.
I always thought this place was bizarre. Even in the novel, readers called it cursed.
It still is.
No creepy dungeon doors had slammed open yet, but the air already tasted like failure. Weird little twitching creatures lurked just out of sight—chimera-born mistakes, like some bored god decided to remix evolution after one too many drinks. A butterfly with a fish head, a lion with a goat face—take your pick.
"This place is alive," Elin whispered, voice caught somewhere between awe and terror.
No. Not alive.
Aware.
Big difference.
You know that feeling when you walk into a room and something's watching you? That sudden prick down your spine like cold glass? That's what this was. Not alive. Waiting.
Because this wasn't a garden. It was a failed experiment—a biosphere trying to play God, copying some Eden mythos nobody could really explain. Here, mana ran wild and monsters mutated like they had no brakes. Even the novel dodged the details on who the hell built this or why.
There's just a brief mention in the later chapters, when Cale Ashblood—the protagonist—finally decides to storm the Forbidden Dungeon of Eden. That's when he finds out it was made by the pure humans before the Fall.
Yeah. Prehistoric times. Before mana was even a thing. When humans thought they were the only smart kids on the block.
Even then, the novel glossed over it. The Fall wiped everything clean. Two centuries ago. Other races took over. The world moved on.
This garden was supposed to be a divine nursery—breeding ascended beings or something grand. But it went sideways. Too fast, too violent. Mana shattered minds. Creatures snapped and tore each other apart. Most didn't make it.
Immortality, huh? Judging by the place now... those pure humans failed spectacularly.
But hey. Let's focus. I gotta secure a decent rank on this test before the whole garden eats us alive.
[[Constellation "The Fallen Prince of the Lunar Throne" is watching you.]]
Yeah, yeah, I know. No need to announce it like a creepy stalker.
"Brace yourselves," I muttered mostly to myself. Because talking to constellations is the peak of sanity, right?
A sharp crack broke the silence—Elena rustling through the underbrush, probably trying to figure out if we're all about to die or just mildly inconvenienced.
Then the first monsters showed up.
Six-legged hounds with mouths way too big for their heads. D-rank trash. Fast but fragile. They moved like starving wolves hopped up on bloodlust and bad decisions.
I tried to summon the novel's monster manual from the back of my brain.
[[Your Personal Attribute: ■■■■■'s ■■■■■ (?) is reacting to your intense desire. You have unlocked an Exclusive Attribute: Perfect Recall.]]
And just like that, it hit me.
Like a dam breaking inside my head.
Every word from the book. Every breath of that other life I thought I'd buried deep. My memories. My death. My sins.
No. No, no, no—
I don't want to remember.
It's not a gift. It's a curse.
Every mistake. Every scream. Every face I lost. Her name tasted like ash. Mine, like a curse.
"Lucifer, snap out of it! What are you doing, you fucking moron!" Aren yelled, already tearing into the hounds with his twin ice daggers.
"Elin! Ice burst on the left flank!" Elena was commanding like a boss, summoning flame sprites—fox-shaped little fire spirits—burning enemies to ash while patching up wounds on the fly.
"Already on it!" Elin shouted, hands glowing blue. Frost exploded from her palms, jagged spears raining down like some frozen apocalypse. Three monsters down instantly.
Aren blurred past me, twin daggers slicing through the green gloom, every step bloody and precise, efficient and ruthless.
"Cover me!" Elena called, steady as ever. She summoned a spirit gate—a glowing wisp spreading golden mist, sealing bruises and cuts. Two flame foxes jumped through, snarling fire and rage.
I clawed my way back to control. Hands trembling—not from fear, but because my head was pounding.
Barely in command, I clung to the details—the monsters' weak spots sharp in my mind.
"Princess Elena! The monsters' weak spots—below the head and the third pair of legs!" I shouted.
"How do you know—ugh, forget it. We'll talk later," she snapped. Not stupid enough to argue mid-fight. "Follow his lead, strike where he said."
I moved. My daggers flashed—not graceful, just efficient. The others finished the job. Six minutes later, the last hound fell. Steam hissed from its corpse.
We caught our breath.
"Well, that was fun," Elin muttered. "Who's next?"
A deeper growl answered.
A shadow crashed down from the trees, shaking the ground.
"Oh, come on," Aren groaned.
C-rank. Mid-tier jungle predator. Panther-like beast with bone spikes along its spine. Mouth unhinged too wide, rows of teeth spinning like drills.
Fuck. I was just starting to stabilize.
What do I do now? What the hell do I do?
"Formation Two!" Elena barked. "Don't let it isolate anyone!"
We tightened up—backs together, weapons ready, eyes everywhere. My mind burned, but I could still recall monster stats.
It felt like a nightmare—my body sometimes refusing to move, like it had already given up.
The fight got messy.
We circled, weapons raised, eyes sharp.
I could still fight. Just barely.
The panther's speed was vicious. Knowing it didn't help much. It lunged, I ducked. Shoulder stung from a shallow cut. Elin froze its tail mid-whip. Aren drove a dagger between its eyes.
It screeched and fell.
Two fights down. Everyone panting.
Barely finishing off the last panther—
The world stilled.
Wind died. Birds stopped singing.
A thick, sulfurous stench slid into the clearing.
Elena froze. Eyes wide.
"No…" she whispered, her whole body freezing—like the shock had reached her bones before her mind could catch up.
I turned. Saw it.
An A-rank mutant.
Bear-like, twelve feet tall, hide plated like obsidian bark. Eyes bleeding red mist. Fangs like swords. One arm thick as a torso, the other a twitching mass of thorny fingers.
This was it.
The monster that almost killed Elena in the novel.
The one that awakened the demon inside her.
The one that triggered her fall.
And now… we were face to face.
[[The Constellation "The Fallen Prince of the Lunar Throne" finds this situation amusing.]]
Fuck.
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[[ Author's Note:
If you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a comment and a Power Stone! Your support means a lot to me.]]