Chapter 27: Vol.1 Part 27:

Luna opened her eyes. Her whole body was immersed in the darkness of the night. Raindrops rippled from the sky, soaking her clothes. Her hair grew heavier as icy water ran down her warm skin like a stream. Her eyes wandered curiously around the area. The moonlight illuminated the darkness, which veiled the side street like a shadow. She could see rubble walls on both sides, shimmering in the moonlight. No light came from the street lamps under the night sky, as the moon was the only thing that glowed in the night. Closed windows had been set into the walls of the houses at regular intervals. The panes were clear, but viewing was impossible as all light was blocked.

Luna realized she was on an asphalt road. The water formed puddles and ran down the sides of the street into the drains. Again, the landscape was plunged into darkness as clouds pushed in front of the smiling moon.

Luna was confused; the street looked way too modern for Athylia. As if a veil had been lifted from her eyes, she perceived the scenery more and more clearly. She started to see signs that she hadn't noticed previously. Strings of lights began to appear and clung limply to those in the window frames as if by magic. Luna looked in all directions, puzzled at what was happening in front of her eyes.

"Well, look at that!" thundered a malicious voice behind her. Luna turned around in a flash and prepared for combat. She raised an eyebrow in perplexity at the lonely road in front of her. "If that isn't my little Luna," the voice continued. This time, it was right in her ears.

"Show yourself!" Luna yelled into the empty alley as the wind blew her wet hair in her face. "I know you're hiding here!" Her gaze swept in all directions as she desperately tried to find the shadow that corrupted her dream. From the cold, empty streets to the damp roofs on which the rain pelted

Suddenly, Luna felt a heavy cold hand press against her shoulder. She immediately whirled around and tried to grab it. The void greeted her where a person should have stood. Luna had to shift her weight to keep from losing her balance and slipping on the wet road.

"Why so hectic?" a malicious voice inquired."I thought you'd be happy to meet me after you escaped your once-called prison."

"You know very well that I can't stand the honored visit of a shadow lingering outside our world. I had hoped you had died long ago," Luna replied.

"Now that hurts me a lot," answered the voice. "And I thought we had already become friends." Luna pressed her lips together. Despite her best efforts, she was unable to locate the demon that was speaking to her. It dwelt in the shadows, where no gaze could reach it. Only if decided by him could the mortal eyes perceive its presence.

It became quiet again; only the falling rain could be heard. Luna was concerned about its visit shortly before the battle by the gates of Athylia.

"May I know the reason why you honor me with your presence?" Luna asked, still slowly spinning in circles, looking for the hiding demon in her dream world.

"Oh, I just came here to have a little chat with you. As you probably know, Athylia has a big event coming up; you should keep an eye on the surrounding; who knows how trustworthy everyone is."

Luna frowned, "how deeply have your fingers dug into the conflict plaguing Athylia or perhaps even this world??"

"As you are my old friend, I was thinking you might want some information regarding the upcoming battle," the voice suddenly said in a charming tone in her right ear. "Of course, only for a certain consideration," it slowly spoke.

Luna's face twisted in anger, "what makes you think I'm going to make a deal with a creature as evil and deceitful as you?"

"The information could be of great use to you. You should truly consider my offer."

"While that might be true, I don't like what you demand in return."

"Only a little thing, likely found by you in the future; we can discuss the small details later." Luna shook her head. Her eyes wandered wildly around. She was still communicating with the emptiness that seemed to be watching her from all angles.

"You should know me better," Luna said in a calm voice. "Did you really think I'd go into one of your deals just because we haven't seen each other in hundreds of years? I may be old, but I'm far from being forgetful."

Laughter could be heard echoing down the empty street where only Luna was present. Luna clenched her fists. "Get out of my dream. A being like you has no dominion in our world."

She felt something smile down at her from afar. It was definitely present, yet incomprehensible to her. "Hah, still as stubborn as ever," cried the creature, shaking the corrupted dream with its thundering voice. "Do you think an insect like you can stand against the winds of this world? The time is running out; one day, you will seek my advice; until then, I will keep an eye on you."

The strings of lights burst open, throwing shards of glass in all directions. Everything became black as night; even the moonlight dancing in the cold storm got swallowed. Her whole body tensed, and she pressed her nails into her palms when she heard a deep yet menacing voice next to her ear. "I'm waiting for you." 

Suddenly, the presence that had been looking at her all along vanished.

A jerk ripped Luna out of her sleep. She carefully looked to the side and watched as Jannet slept peacefully in her bed. The blanket moved up and down with each breath. It was still the middle of the night, and only the pale moonlight shimmered through the curtains into the bedroom. She remembered her dream, or more accurately, the conversation with the evil creature. Luna wanted to hit her mattress with full force but held back out of consideration for the still-sleeping Jannet.

Luna slipped smoothly out of her bed and walked into the living room. She was concerned that the demon could potentially have a finger in the pie. Although it was impossible that it was directly involved, should information have flowed from him, a fall of the wall would not be unthinkable.

Luna often wondered who or what that creature was. But unfortunately, she had no idea. It was possible to buy any kind of information from it. And by everything, Luna meant everything. Fatigue seized her body again as she made her way to bed once more, searching for the needed sleep her body desired.

The next day, she awoke from her slumber. Slowly sitting up in her bed, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Her gaze wandered to the side where Jannet had made herself comfortable last night.

She strolled into the bathroom, still exhausted from the ascended encounter yesterday. She was surprised to find the bathroom to be more modern than one might have expected at first glance. However, at a second glance, one could see the runes on the items and walls. There was a drain in the bathtub, but there was no water tap to let it in.

While Luna wasn't 100% sure, the runes carved into the side walls controlled the temperature and the water. However, she still had to test it. The same was also true for the faucet on the sink. The temperature had to be set with a rune behind the tap.

However, Luna was still unclear as to how the toilet worked. There seemed to be a system of pipes in the city, but that was all she was aware of. There was probably a magical solution to this as well.

After Luna jumped into the shower and washed, she put on black trousers and a dark-colored long-sleeved shirt, already kept in the house when they arrived yesterday. She tied her hair with a white and black hair band, hung up the towel, and then went to the kitchen, where Jannet was already cooking.

Jannet, who must have heard the door creaking, greeted Luna before she even entered the room. "Did you sleep well?"

"More or less. How about you?"

"Everything is perfect. Would you like mirror eggs?" she asked while pulling a pan off the shelf.

"Sure," Luna replied. While Jannet was preparing breakfast, Luna took the chance to take a closer look at the runes of this world.

'My runic language is quite similar to the variant developed in this world,' she thought. 'But they have a problem compared to mine. They don't use the mana efficiently.' Luna primarily used offensive rune magic to cast large spells with her bow. A major problem with this was the time it took to construct the runes and fill them with mana. If she could improve that aspect, then great spells wouldn't only be good for unique conditions.

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Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent that she couldn't use any of the other languages for her spells. Her ears perked up when she suddenly heard a shout. "Food is ready!"

Jannet had already set the table and was waiting for Luna. "This is probably the first "normal day" we have experienced so far," Luna said calmly before she sat down as well. Jannet chuckled slightly at the comment.

"I had my doubts for a while, but in the end, we managed to get to safety." She answered before putting a portion in her mouth with a fork.

"It won't be safe until the monster problem threatening Athylia has been eliminated and the wall has withstood the frontal attack."

"Do you think a masonry as mighty as this one could fall?" Jannet asked a little curiously, but Luna could hear the slight concern in her voice.

She paused as she was about to put a fork to her mouth. The dream she had was very disturbing, but she felt it would be better for Jannet not to know about this evil creature yet. If the demon had a finger in the pie, then it was not impossible that even a divine wall would crumble.

"I'm always very skeptical," she replied. "I think it would be better to make preparations. Just in case the worst-case scenario happens."

"If that's what you mean, that'll probably be for the best," she murmured. "What exactly do you have planned for the next few days?"

"For today, I would suggest that we first see the city and buy some winter clothes. I also wanted to check out the Divine Runes on the gate. She took another bite and placed it in her mouth. After the city and shopping tour, I don't care if you do whatever you want. However, I would recommend magic training. You will need it in the future."

"You're right; it would probably be for the best," said Jannet, and she put the fork and knife on the table. Luna was already done and had started washing the dishes in the sink.

 

***

Luna and Jannet left their new apartment. It was a small house in the middle of the city. The cold wind greeted them and made their thick coats flutter in the air. They made their way to the city center. The sun had now risen and was slowly climbing over the distant wall that stood mighty in the distance.

"Is it really colder today, or am I just imagining it?" asked Jannet while binding her jacket.

"Yes, it has gotten colder. And it's not even November yet. It might be better to get extra warm clothes. It seems they gave us a lot of money, so why not put it to use?" Luna asked and grinned. "Now you're acting like my daughter whenever she gets her monthly allowance," Jannet replied, laughing happily.

"Then we absolutely have to go back to our world; otherwise, how am I supposed to get to know your little angels?"

They turned into a side street. After 5 minutes of walking, they arrived at the marketplace. Many shops were already open, and small stands were set up. Citizens and merchants flocked to any business in a frenzy. Merchants yelled to sell their wares. Luna had to grab Jannet's hand to keep it from getting lost in the floating masses of people. Luna led them straight to a shop that sold clothes. As was the case with the tent, the interior of the store was larger than the exterior suggested.

Dozens of dresses hung from poles floating in the air, adorned with different colors. Luna and Jannet looked puzzled as they saw a person tossing a coat out of the dressing room. In flight, the cloak changed direction. Two runes glowed before they hung back on the pole.

"That puts even our modern businesses in the shade," Jannet whispered in Luna's ear, who just nodded.

It took them a while to get their bearings, and they began to work through the masses of clothing. They quickly discovered the principle by which the clothes were organized. Clothes without runes were at the front; clothes with one or more runes were at the back. Each garment had its clip that made the runes on the fabric glow. At least that's what Luna suspected.

Luna pulled out any clothing that contained runes for protection or warmth.

In the end, they left the store with dozens of bags in hand and made their way to their little house. Luna had bought a lot of clothes, most of them for Jannet, whose body is still sensitive to magic. As a vampire, Luna has it easy. Her heart had few worries because her body is naturally strong and resistant. The winter cold doesn't bother her. That doesn't mean a warm coat doesn't warm her heart.

Warmth and protection enchantments had been woven into the clothes that would prepare Jannet for the battle to come. Luna had decided to strengthen the enchantments that equipped the clothes in the coming days.

When they got home, they unlocked the door and began to hang everything in their closets.

"I'm going to concentrate on my magic training now; would you get some things for lunch when you visit the wall? You can decide what there is."

"Of course, I will. We'll see each other later, and don't forget to take a break and relax your body and mind."

She was dying to learn more about runes, and the Divine Runes of the masonry were ideal for that. Cheerful, she strutted through the busy streets of Athylia. It didn't take long for Luna to reach the gate. Like yesterday, it loomed over the city like a protective hand, casting shadows over the mortal city. The runes sparkled like the stars in the night sky, even without the light shining on the gemstones.

Her gaze wandered from the jewels at the center of the runes to the golden writings surrounding them. She noticed how differently the language was carved on the hundred-year-old brickwork. If she had to compare it to something, her runic language would be the closest to it. The evolved language of this world, she concluded, was not modeled after the Divine Scriptures.

No wonder the runes in her house or on the clothes you buy don't have the same effectiveness as yours.

A deep voice behind her snapped Luna out of her reverie. "I didn't expect to see you here today. Perhaps the gods provided for this encounter?"

She turned around. Sighsten, dressed in a red coat trimmed with white fur, looked up at her with a warm smile. "It is indeed a surprise. I didn't have the opportunity to see the artful wall yesterday and wanted to do so today," Luna replied, trying to hide her panicked face with a smile. In no way did she want to reveal that she was interested in the protective runes of the masonry.

"Probably true! I also come here regularly to look at the sacred runes. Are you proficient in the art of rune crafting, perhaps?"

"I wouldn't call myself a master, but I have a basic understanding," she replied.

"That's nice; unfortunately, the field of rune magic is very little represented, so it warms my heart to meet like-minded people. Unfortunately, I have to say goodbye; otherwise, I'll be late for the meeting. We might see each other in the coming days."

Sighsten bowed and, a moment later, disappeared into the brickwork. Luna took one last look up at the wall. She smiled when she saw the runes carved into the stone, turned, and headed toward the market to do some last-minute shopping.

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