Chapter 1

There were cheers and screams emitting from the colosseum. The prisoner was in the middle, calm and collected. She closed her eyes and tugged on her bonds just a little nudge. Her wrists hung above her head while bounded by chains connecting to the top of the pillar, however the noise was drowned by her focus.

Her name is Zhang Yin, a lost Argent who was regaining her strength one memory at a time.

The dungeon doors opened in front of her and an army of Daemen monsters quickly surrounded her. Their distorted spears were pointed towards her, ready to pierce her vulnerable flesh.

As soon as they were about to , Yin opened her eyes and flipped upside down to dodge all their sharp points. The eight spears were soon stuck in the stone pillar. She stood on their weapons and kicked three down, breaking their necks. She sprinted up the top where her chain was connected. The Daemens started to ram themselves into the structure, trying to knock it down.

With the strength she had, Yin pulled the chain out of the center. The pillar began to tumble down but she barely had much left to yank. When the peg finally came out, she swung the heavy weight at another Daemen across its face. Using her chain as a whip, she used her arm, waist and neck to continue the momentum. With every crack of the metal links, the crowd cheered.

Spotting the last Daemen, she wrapped the long chain around her wrists and enclosed her legs around its neck and flipped it down to crush its skull. She straightened up and scanned all the dead enemies. Her bonds disappeared and the dimension faded away into a white empty room. She smoothed out her grey shirt while her Origin Arm was bandaged again. Lu Han didn’t want the other members to figure her out yet, and so she kept it hidden.

Right outside the door, two men were standing outside listening to the crashing and thrashing inside. Lu Han had his arms crossed while his left hand covered the front of his right shoulder, thinking about how he nearly lost his life if he had summoned his Crux using the last of his strength. The silver satin material of his shirt delicately draped over his arms like thick curtains hanging on the top of the window, and his bangle dangled on his small wrist.

“How long has she been in there for again?” Baek Hyun put his hand on his hip after another booming sound reached their ears from the room.

“Two hours.” Lu Han's same serene and gentle voice answered.

“She never stopped training ever since she arrived here. Do you have any idea, Lu Han?” He scratched the side of his head with the hand that wore the chains that held his eight-point star symbol, his tattoo showing on his wrist.

He didn’t reply. Instead, he sighed and continued to listen to her knocking down all her targets. It has been three days since Lu Han and Yin returned to Lotis with an unconscious Kai in tow. He and the rest of Faction Twenty Four examined her three Origin Runes. They had a long discussion about Yin. Baek Hyun and Chan Yeol were catching onto her spitting image of Hong Ja Young but Lu Han covered up for her just to buy her some time before she could explain herself, if it were possible thought. If all Argents of Lotis discovered her resurrection, it would come to chaos and turmoil.

It was not only for the society’s or for her sake, but it was also for Kai’s sake. He always saw her sitting by his bed while he was asleep. She had an unreadable expression on her face. She tried to touch him but she never did, as if something was holding her back from reaching out to Kai. When he woke up the day before, he told Lu Han that he could have sworn he was dead.

"If I was dead, then I would say that I was sure that I saw Hong Ja Young." The image of her face was still haunting his dreams; he added on from what Lu Han could recall from.

Kai, even as a Boundless Daemen, always believed that she was dead. When he first saw Yin this morning, he could barely control his emotions and coldly pushed her away.

She didn’t want his attention. It was more like she couldn’t face him.

Lu Han wanted to tell him about Yin’s current situation, but it would only damage her past and her recovery process. When he examined her mind and its status, he sadly concluded that Kai would be the last person she would remember. It would become increasingly difficult to remember those who were so close to her in her heart. Kai and Hye Young were named.

The door slid open and Yin didn’t appear to be exhausted at all. Her face was still clouded and distracted.

“Yin,” he wanted to say something but she spoke up.

“I’ll be alright,” was all she said and walked past him and Baek Hyun. When she was out of their vision, the light-user shrugged. “You know she won’t be. She took Kai’s attitude to heart.”

He sighed and wondered whether he made the right decision.

Yin went back to her room and lay on the couch. She arrived in the society but she still felt very empty. Lately, there was nothing that made anything trigger in her mind. She was sick as if her heart had torn into two and sank in her stomach but she couldn't figure it out what it was. It was like she was swimming while blind. Tears streamed out of her eyes and onto her short messy hair.

She had been crying lately. Silently.

Kai stood outside of her room, contemplating on whether to apologize or not. The fact that a different person looking exactly like the one he had remembered was in front of him and he tried to kill her.

The overflowing guilt was eating him alive and he didn’t know what to do. The sins he committed as a Boundless Daemen was as clear as day, and he deeply and desperately wanted to atone for his crimes. He heard quiet sniffs and quivering from her room. The door was slightly opened and he peaked in. He saw her covering her eyes with her arm and choking on her tears. His heart was telling him to go and up his pride but his resolve spoke louder.

“You’re not going to go in there and talk to her?” Lu Han asked. Kai let go of the doorknob and walked away. He stopped him.

“Yin’s been crying in that same position ever since we came back. She even wept moments after she saved you. Look, she’s going through a very tough time right now. She’s very lonely and she needs friends; something for you to think about. I know you don’t want to believe it but that girl you knew - she’s gone.” Lu Han found it very difficult to make a white lie. Ja Young was in that room at the very minute.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re not telling me everything you know?” He sneered.

“I’ll tell you when you’re ready. You've just recovered and I need you to take it easy on your body; on Yin.”

Kai teleported away and Lu Han shook his head. “That habit never changes.” He chuckled and knocked softly on her door.

“Yin, the members want to speak to you.”

He heard her sniffing loudly and taking deep breaths. “I’ll be there soon.” He nodded and went to the meeting room first.

Yin looked at herself in the mirror and blinked out her red eyes. She needed to pull herself together and adjust the bandages. When she closed the door behind her and left, Kai, who disappeared earlier, watched her from the fourth floor above. He kept his eye on the heavily bandaged arm. He was curious about why she tried so hard to hide what was underneath as she strolled down the spiraling stairs down to the ground floor.

She sat in front of four faction members out of five. The three retrieved Runes were presented to them on the table in the middle. 

“We want you to be honest as possible with your answers to all our questions.” Lu Han reminded. She nodded, ready for the interrogation.

“Where did you find these Runes?” Baek Hyun asked.

“The Rune of Teleportation was located in a hidden chamber in the oldest Opera House in Notro, Rova; The Rune of Time in the Gunga Mountains; and the Rune of Healing from Zhang Yi Xing of Hua Jiang.”

They looked at each other.

“You are a friend of Yi Xing?” Chan Yeol opened one eye. He was the most relaxed out of all the members she observed.

“Yes.”

“Were you living with him?” Lu Han asked the next question.

“I was under his wing until we were attacked by a Boundless Daemen. He said that I wasn’t safe there anymore. He sent me to the mountains and find the Wushu Master Huang Zi Tao.”

“What is your connection with him?”

“He is a close friend,” she paused to choose her next words carefully, “And a good master.”

“Why did you come to Rova?”

“He wanted me hidden from both Argents and Daemens. He also recommended me to keep traveling around to avoid being tracked.”

“Does he think we’re a threat to you?” Su Ho inquired.

“I don’t think that’s what she’s trying to say, Su Ho.” Chan Yeol answered his assumption for her. “I think she’s saying she is a threat. That's why Tao's been keeping quiet about this.”

“I agree. Why do you think she has the Runes in her possession? These Runes are powerful and precious weapons and Only Yin can wield their power. Daemens, as far as I know, have two with them and they want to obtain all twelve. Many Argents in this society even sought out to collect them for themselves. And also, our faction is guilty as charged too.” Baek Hyun explained.

“How can you use them, then?” Su Ho asked again.

“That’s a secret only she should keep.” Lu Han said.

“She can speak for herself,” He retorted.

“She doesn’t have much to say. I looked through her mind and checked her mental symptoms. She has a severe case of amnesia and it has been cursing her for over a year.”

Yin looked away, uncomfortable.

“Until her memories return, we members will not invade her privacy. That is my decree.” Lu Han ordered. Baek Hyun nodded firmly, Chan Yeol lazily and Su Ho reluctantly.

“I guess this discussion is finished. But remember this Zhang Yin; You now have comrades who can help you on your quest. You carry a heavy burden. Let us handle some of it for you.” Baek Hyun gave a warm smile, which she couldn’t help smiling back. After hearing his words of encouragement, she felt a lot better than before.

Kai overheard the meeting from outside, feeling a bit inferior to the other members for not summoning him. When he listened to the conversation, he grew curious and walked away. He decided to not get involved with her but the telepathy user caught up to him. “I know you were there. I would have called you in the room, but I didn’t want to embarrass you in front of her.”

Kai rolled his eyes to that.

“Now that you know, I have a favor to ask you.” Kai didn’t turn around but he kept his ears open.

The same routine continued the next day. Yin would wake up and meditate, like how Tao did on the mountain religiously. She would also lock herself in the training facility for a long time, increasing the intensity each day. 

She had different plans after she completed today’s regime. She went to the Central Library across the street. Curious, Kai followed her without getting discovered. She went up many flights of stairs until she reached the history section and pulled out an old book.

Yin skimmed through the book until she stopped at the chapter where colourful images caught her eyes. The first page was an illustration of twelve identical shapes with a different color and emblem each. She recalled the colors of the Sages at the ruins and refreshed her memory. She traced the shape of the runes in admiration and in fear. She tapped her finger on the three runes she already had. She tugged the collar of her shirt slightly to study her feather symbol inked onto her chest, wondering about her own power and how it connected to her Crux.

“The Origin Runes of Shugo were first created by the First Five Gods (see page 58). The material consisted of the land’s core and the supernatural source of natural energy from twelve fundamentals: Teleportation, Telepathy, Earth, Thunder, Healing, Light, Wind, Time, Water, Ice, Fire and Flight. When the Five Gods passed into the Afterlife, leaving a will hidden in the society, the Sages were entrusted with the twelve runes in the first temple created in 6XX.

”The will was handwritten by Xiah Kim Jun Su the benevolent but it was never discovered. The only clue that was given to the society was the-”

Yin stopped reading when she heard a book fall from a row in front of her. For a moment, she thought she saw someone spying on her. She pushed the book back on the spot where she found it and took careful steps. She kept whipping her head left and right at every small sound she heard. 

When she turned around the corner, she yelped as soon as she saw Kai, startling her. He covered , telling her to keep quiet and pinned her to the book shelf. The old librarian scouted around the section for that noise, her heels clicking on the marble floor. Yin and Kai kept still. He didn’t dare to teleport out of the building because his power can be traced. The only thing they tried to listen to were their racing heartbeats.

The footsteps got louder and a drop of sweat trailed down their faces. They held their breath and the librarian turned back. When the clicking moved down the stairs, they sighed in relief. He removed his hand from her lips and pulled away. He cleared his throat. “Lu Han’s looking for us. Let’s go.”

Yin, who was still leaning against the bookshelf, lifted herself up and followed him down the stairs back to the residence.