Many people said that dying isn't the end of everything. Unless one is cursed upon their death, then the outcome will probably be a little different. But dying isn't a good experience either and true enough, sometimes, it really isn't the end of everything. My name is Luna Hysi, well I had another name but let's get to that later, and I am the Red Sovereign. This story is about my journey to becoming one of the most powerful people in Afasia, meeting friends and enemies, my ups and downs in life and unraveling the secrets behind my existence and situation. Why the secrets? You'll see... It all started that one fateful evening... *** When I opened my eyes I noticed that my surroundings were quite dark. The faint light which helped me see was the moonlight, but even then, it was very hard to make out anything a few feet away from me. I wondered where I was, and why everything felt so unfamiliar, but no answer came to my mind. All of a sudden I felt my hand was quite wet and sticky, and a metallic smell was piercing my nose. I looked down and saw blood on both my hands. didn't know why but I became really scared. My chest started to hurt and my eyes started to sting. And before 1 knew it, tears started falling from my eyes and I broke out crying. 1, a five thousand year old fox deity, was crying uncontrollably like a child. I looked around me once more and I saw dead bodies. Dead. Human. Bodies. Lying near me. From the looks of it, they were killed by beasts. My cries echoed around me. I suddenly heard something snap which made me stop. I looked towards its direction and saw a pack of wolves. Really big wolves! Foxes and wolves had never been friends, and considering I felt utterly hopeless and weak for unknown reasons, I knew I was going to die. I held back a sob and only stared at the direction where the wolves were coming from. I stood frozen in fear. The wolves slowly crept closer and I could see it from their eyes, I was about to become their meal. All of a sudden, a hooded figure landed between me and the wolves. I could see a golden aura wrapped around her and felt safe at her arrival. She suddenly slammed her hands down and spikes made from ice grew from the ground. It made its way to the wolves which in return started running away with their tails between their legs. I was fascinated at the figure because the longer I stared at her, the more she felt familiar and the more I felt more comfortable. She pulled down her hood and I saw golden hair which seemed to glow under the light of the moon. She slowly made her way towards me and crouched to my level. "Are you okay?" she asked in a soothing manner. I wanted to answer her but only sobs came out from my mouth, and I started crying once again. She suddenly hugged me and caressed my back while muttering, "It's fine. You're safe now. You're safe now." She broke the hug and looked at me in the eyes. She suddenly smiled. "I finally found you." It was probably because of exhaustion but after she said that, I passed out. When I woke up again, I was inside a carriage, I saw the woman who saved me sitting across where I was lying with a neutral expression. When I looked up, I saw a girl, who was only a few years older than me, looking at me with a smile on her face. I noticed that I was lying on her lap so I immediately sat up which made me regret. Pain suddenly shot from my chest which made me growl. "Oh my gosh! Are you okay?" asked the girl. "You shouldn't have done that. You're injured." "I-I-" Without knowing where I was and who the people with me were, 1 started to panic. Plus the sight of a very scary experience from last time made me hyperventilate. Two hands suddenly cupped my face and I saw the girl's face near mine. "Take a deep breath and calm down." I did what she asked and took a deep breath. When I finally felt fine, I sat properly and started scanning my surroundings. The carriage I was in looked very luxurious. The seats were velvet green and the walls had the same color. The outlines were gold, and whether it was real or not, I never really bothered to know. I was too busy at the sight of the carriage and the looks of the two people with me inside it that I almost forgot about my situation. I heard a cough and I could feel my cheeks flush which made me stop and look down. But then I noticed that my legs were somehow smaller and shorter. I glanced at my hands and saw that it resembled a child's. I put small hands on my chest and was very shocked to not feel anything but my heartbeat. As a fox deity. I had an energy core which I would usually place on my heart. It was the source of my power and immortality, but it was gone! A thought suddenly came into my mind: -Don't tell me. I've become human? And a human child at that? "Are you okay?" I took a deep breath and calmed myself. If there was one thing I learned in my long life. it was being calm can make you think clearly. I turned to the girl who asked the question. "I'm fine." I answered in a small voice. "That's good. My name's Eliza, what about you?" Eliza had long black straight hair and a pair of dark blue eyes. She was also quite fair and very pretty. "My name is... it's..." I tried to think hard. If had become human. I couldn't tell them my real identity. Or else those guys might come after me again. But I then wondered, what was the name of the human that I ended up possessing? a voice in my head suddenly said. "Luna Hysi!" I blurted out. "How old are you?" she asked again. "Eight." I copied the voice's answer. "I see. Can you tell me what happened to you when we found you last night?" I waited for the voice, but there was no response. The last thing I remembered was falling in a chasm after being chased by the celestial guards, but as to how little Luna got into the previous situation, 1 didn't know. "L... I don't know." I said. telling them the truth. "When I woke up I was already there, injured, with those dead bodies around me." "If you don't remember, then it's probably better." said the woman sitting across me and Eliza. "Do you remember anything about your relatives?" Her question was a total blank in my mind. If I really possessed the body of Luna, I didn't have access to her memories. So I just shook my head as my answer. "Do you know someone that can take care of you?" she asked again. "How about my parents then?" I asked in return. The human body I was in should have parents. "Two of the people you saw dead around you back there were your parents. Right now, you're an orphan." "Oh." I didn't know why, but I felt sad at what she said. "Then, I don't know anyone. I don't even remember anything." "It's probably the trauma, right auntie?" "Probably" "Can we take her in?" Eliza suddenly asked. "Luna, would you like to live with us?" I was only wide-eyed at her question. I felt like the two were quite reliable so I nodded. I decided that it was important to survive if I wanted to investigate my very own death and search for the reason why I ended up in Luna Hysi's body. "Auntie?" Eliza pleaded her aunt. "Fine. But you're in-charge of her, got it?" the woman answered in an annoyed tone. "Yay! I have a little sister now!" Eliza cheered and hugged me. I couldn't help but smile at her actions. She reminded me of my real sister. "By the way Luna, she's Zaira Chrishni von Celestine. I call her auntie." "Is she your real aunt?" I asked. "Nope. But she had been taking care of me. my brother and a few other people. We all call her auntie. From now on, you should call her auntie or Aunt Zaira as well." "Is that... is that really okay?" I asked again. I looked at Aunt Zaira who only stared at me in return. She just nodded and looked away afterwards, seemingly uninterested at what just happened. "Luna! You can call me big sister, okay?" It felt a little embarrassing to call her big sister since I was mentally older but I had to adapt to the situation, so I agreed. I had always been able to adapt easily, and maybe that was the reason I was able to accept my new life quite easily as well. Along the way, Eliza was very enthusiastic about the idea of having a younger sister, even if we weren't blood-related. She said she was the only girl in the house so I guessed it was the reason for her excitement. Back in my life as a fox deity, I had eight elder brothers, one younger brother and only one elder sister, so I understood her situation. But, all of them were dead... A tear escaped my eyes and I could hear Eliza's panicked voice. "Luna! Don't worry! Your new older brothers are really nice!" she said. "It's not that big sis," I wiped the tear. "Im just... I'm just inside.

Soon after we arrived at the front of

the manor, Eliza immediately ushered

me inside. She started to drag me to the

backyard, so I never had the chance to

look around the inside of the manor. A

few seconds later, we reached a wide

clearing that seemed to be a training

ground. There was a wide space at the

center and the sides were filled with

open-air pavilions and rows of racks

that were filled with different kinds of

weapons; from swords, to spears, bows,

etc. "Guys!" called Eliza in a cheerful

manner. A figure practicing the sword

caught my eyes at the center of the big

space. He was wearing simple clothing

and his moves looked really fluid and

majestic. His light brown hair looked

like it was glowing under the sun and

even at the distance I could see a pair of

sky blue eyes. We stopped at a pavilion,

which seemed to be the biggest, where

a boy was sitting. The boy was playing

a stringed instrument and he looked

the same age as Eliza. He also had the

same black hair as her but instead of

dark blue eyes like Eliza he had eyes

the shade of the sky. Just a few meters

away from him was a mysterious figure

with dark blue hair that was leaning

on a pillar with his eyes closed. A spear

was strapped on his back and from the

aura he was emitting, he seemed like

the silent and calm type. I noticed that

all three of them, plus Eliza, looked to

be the same age. "Eliza, you're a lady.

You shouldn't run around like that."

commented the boy that was playing

music a while ago. Eliza only pouted

at the comment. "Don't say that Ed."

inserted the one practicing the sword

as he made his way to us. "You're her

brother, shouldn't you be used to it now?

And besides, she's still thirteen, let her

enjoy her childhood first. Welcome back

EL" I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow

at the latter's statement. His words

didn't seem like the type to be spoken

by a child like him. "You're also thirteen

Seb." retorted the former, Ed. "That's

enough already!" Eliza interrupted them.

"This is not criticize-Eliza' day!" "Hey

El, who's that?" asked the last unknown

boy. His eyes were no longer closed so

I could see a pair of piercing grey eyes,

and they were directed at me. "Oh, that's

what I'm here for," she dragged me in

front of her "This is Luna and starting

today, she's also a member of the House

of Celestine! And is therefore our sister!

Luna, these are Edmund, Sebastian and

Zach. They also live here." I wanted to

shy away at the stares they were giving

me. Especially from the one called Zach.

But I bowed anyway. "Hi. My name is

Luna Hysi," "You went with Aunt Zaira

to investigate an incident up in the north

and you came back with a kid?" the one

called Edmund questioned. "What's

going on?" "Aunt Zaira agreed already.

And you know her personality. If she

wants to keep someone, she really will."

Eliza commented, "Hey little Luna."

said the one called Sebastian. "I'm

Sebastian. I'm thirteen years old. And

starting today, I'm your older brother."

As someone mentally older, I knew trust

wasn't that easy to give on someone

you had only met for the first time. But

somehow, for some reason, the boys

in front of me, even though Zach was

staring at me intently, seemed really

trustworthy. I didn't know whether it

was 'my instinct or the real Luna's.

"Hello Luna." greeted Edmund. "I'm

Edmund, Eliza's twin brother." -No

wonder they look alike. "Younger twin

brother." Eliza inserted. "You were only

like five seconds older than me." "Hey! I

learned a lot in those live seconds!" Eliza

exclaimed. "Don't mind her." Edmund

said with a smile. I couldn't help but

chuckle at the twins' interaction. "That

silent guy in the corner is Zach. Don't

worry, he's a nice guy. He just likes

being silent." "Oh. Nice to meet you." My

transition into the Celestine Manor was

quite easy. Eliza and the rest took really

good care of me and the servants of the

house were really friendly. The only guy

I found very hard to approach was Zach.

I still felt a little intimidating around him

despite being only fourteen years old.

During my stay in the Celestine Territory.

I also learned a bit of its information.

The Celestine Territory used to be

a monster-infested land just in the

northwest of the Praiji Empire territory.

Well, it was still monster-infested even

up to the present and the entire territory

only had five human settlements,

including the Celestine Manor. The

land was gifted by the founder of the

Praiji Empire to Aunt Zaira for her

contribution in slaying the demon king

more than a hundred years ago, together

with her noble status as Archduchess

of the empire. I didn't believe it the first

time I heard it. If that was really the

case that would mean Aunt Zaira was

more than a hundred years old! Then

why did she look like a young woman in

her middle twenties? Eliza said it was

because she was a powerful sorceress,

who had a massive amount of magical

power inside her and could access all

types of Magic Arts. She was currently

the most powerful mage in the entire

Central Continent. After hearing that. I

got sold. Anyway, the Celestine Territory

had the most population of monsters, as

well as had the most number of active

dungeons in the entire central continent.

No regular citizen would want to live

in it if they were sane enough. Most

people that lived in it were warriors who

wanted to get away from the complexity

of the big cities or those that worked

for Aunt Zaira. "Then how will people

earn money?" I asked Sebastian one

time when he was explaining it. "That's

simple..." To earn money inside the

territory, they only had to hunt monsters.

collect its cores and any valuable parts,

and sell it to the archduchess store

placed on each of the settlements or

bring it to the cities themselves and

sell it there. The archduchess' men in

return would sell what they bought

to merchants, or to any various guilds

that would deem the items valuable. It

was one of the ways the archduchess

and her land could earn. That and the

people's taxes, as well as the magic ore

mines. The Celestine Territory had the

most and biggest magic ore mines in

the empire. "What are magic ores?" I

asked again. "You don't know?" I only

shook my head. "Wow, I can't believe

your amnesia made you forget even

such a basic knowledge like what magic

ores are!" I only stared at Sebastian

with a deadpanned look. He noticed it

and started explaining anyway. Magic

ores are energy sources with magic in

it. They're formed from the energy of

the surroundings and the magic/aura

of the monsters. They're used to store

magical energy, and many mages and

knights use it as a back up if they run

out of magic power themselves. Magic

ores are also used to power up different

weapons that needed magic power.

Regular people also use it for many other

things. It can also be used as currency

between mages and has more value

than gold coins. "Whoa! Doesn't that

mean, Aunt Zaira is really rich?" I asked.

"Maybe, but she doesn't like spending a

lot. Also, we pay a huge yearly tax to the

Praiji Empire," "Hmm... Makes sense.

How about people from outside the

territory?" Sometimes hunters who were

not locals of the territory would visit to

hunt or try to clear a dungeon. Anyone

who wished to hunt in the Celestine

Territory of course had to follow the

rules of the land if they didn't want to

be banned. Some of the rules were to

never overhunt, and to never hunt the

intelligent monsters that also lived inside

the territory. Well, the Celestine Territory

was a very interesting and dangerous

land. It certainly wasn't a place for

sightseeing. It was also not a place to get

lost to if a person never had the plans

to be monster kebab. Two weeks after

my arrival, I had fitted quite well in

the manor. I had recuperated and the

most exciting thing was I could use my

original ability from when I was still a

fox deity. Mystic Arts. Although it was

quite weak, my current body was quite

compatible with it. I had been training to

get a full grasp of using mystic arts in the

mortal realm. It might take some time.

but I decided to just go with it. While

I was meditating in my room, a magic

message suddenly appeared in front

of me. Magic Message was a method

to communicate with someone. The

sender would write his/her message in

the air using magical energy and send it

to his/her desired receiver afterwards.

The receiver would receive a written

message only he/she could see floating in

the air. The message said: ["Come to my

study. -Zaira"] I stopped my meditation

and made my away towards her study. It

took me minutes to realize that I actually

got lost. "Tch. The house is a huge maze."

I muttered. "Where am I supposed to

go?" Taking my chances, I continued

walking but I seemed to become even

more lost. Just as I was confused on

I couldn't help but smile. That time, I

realized Zach was actually a pretty nice

guy.

The way to Aunt Zaira's study was

very awkward. The silence was also

deafening that I just started humming

a tune that came to my mind. From

what I remembered, the tune was one

of the nursery rhyme songs my sister

taught me when I was just a small fox.

Only the two of us knew about those

and she would usually sing it to me

whenever we were together. One of the

sungs was about the stars, and it had

a very catchy tune. I used to ask her if

she was the one that made the song but

she would deny it and say that she just

heard it as well. Later on, I asked other

people if they knew about it but they all

replied a negative. Even earth deities

that usually stayed in the mortal realm

also didn't know anything about it. Since

asking around was unproductive, I just

stopped. There was another one about

rain and I usually sing it whenever

there 'is' a rain, I was humming the one

about stars. "Twinkle twinkle little star

How I wonder what you are? Up above

the world so high Like a diamond in

the sky." There were only four lines so I

would just sing it repeatedly. I stopped

humming when I reached the study.

Zach never said anything so I bumped

on his back since I was behind him.

"Will you be able to find your way back

to your room? The west wing has a

spell to confuse someone who doesn't

know how to interpret the signs. So

it's kind of like a maze in a sense."

Zach said. I was surprised. It was the

longest statement I had heard from him

ever since coming to the manor. The

west wing of the Celestine Manor was

exclusively used by Aunt Zaira. She was

a woman with many secrets so putting

a complicated spell on her side of the

house was normal. I shook my head

in response to his question. "Ask Aunt

Zaira to give you a temporary guide then

until you finally know your way around

the manor." "Okay." I just watched as

he slowly disappeared from my sight. I

turned to the door of Aunt Zaira's study

and knocked. "Come in," she said. After

entering the room, I saw her drinking

tea and she offered the seat across hers

so I sat there. "How were you able to find

your way?" she asked. "Ah, Zach led the

way," "I see. I forgot to give you a guide."

she gave me a thin book. "These are all

the signs you will need to interpret to

not get lost in the spellbound hallways."

I nodded my head and received the

book. I noticed she kept looking out the

window so I glanced at well. Not that

far from the manor's boundary was

inaudible explosions. "What's going

on, Aunt Zaira?" I asked. "Some fifth

year students from the Military Arts

Department of the Imperial Academy are

taking their exams. Whether they'll be

trainees for the Hunters, the Knights, the

Army or the Royal Knights for the next

two years will depend on the results of

this." she answered. "I see." "Next month

should be the fifth year students of the

Magic Arts Department." "Uhm... Is there

any other reason you called me?" "Oh,

right. I meant to give you a familiar

after finishing your adoption process.

"A familiar? Adoption process?" I was

really confused at her words. "Yes." she

gave me a piece of paper and asked me

to read it. It was adoption documents

and it said that I had legally become

an adopted daughter of the Celestine

Family. And my new identity was.....

"Luna Hysi von Celestine?" "The family

name von Celestine, is more like just an

additional name. For whatever reason.

whether good or bad, anyone adopted

into the Celestine Household, will

hear their original family names," she

explained. "For example, my full name

is Zaira Chrishni von Celestine. Eliza's is

Eliza Castea von Celestine and Edmund's

is Edmund Castea von Celestine." "What

about Sebastian and Zach?" "Those two

are in quite a different situation and

you don't have to dwell on it." I wasn't

sure that time if Aunt Zaira was aware

that I only looked like an eight-year-old

girl but she had already given me a

complicated explanation. When I asked

her about it one time she said I seem

to be smarter than kids my age. "As of

this moment, you are officially one of

the members of the Celestine Family."

At the thought of being part of such a

fun and warm family, my chest welled

up in happiness and before I knew it

I was already hugging Aunt Zaira with

tears of joy in my eyes. She didn't seem

to mind it and just caressed my head.

"Thank you very much." I said. After

crying, which I became embarrassed

afterwards, she gave me her other gift.

"I found this one in a dungeon up in the

northern ridges. It's still an egg but if

you care for it really well it will be very

loyal to you." she said and handed me

a scaled egg that was bigger than my

head. "What kind of creature is it?" "I'm

not sure myself. The dungeons are filled

with many things so it's no use guessing,"

"Is it really mine?" "Yes" My eyes

were sparkling when she gave me the

confirmation. But my happiness turned

to uneasiness when she placed three

thick books in front of me. "Uhm..." "The

Celestine Family had always produced

exceptional mages and knights. And you

should have a contribution as well." I

looked at the titles of the book and they

were all basic manuals for combat and

magic. "Aunt Zaira, I'm not suitable for

magic though." she only gave me a raised

eyebrow as if asking what I meant. "I

mean, it's magic in a sense but it's not

fully magic?" "What does that mean? Do

you remember something?" "No, but I

have a feeling." I paused and cautiously

looked at her. "Aunt Zaira, have you ever

heard of Mystic Arts?" For a second, I

thought I saw her getting surprised but

she was able to immediately mask it

into a neutral one. "That's a lost form of

martial arts." she answered. "How did

you know about that?" "I'm not sure

myself. It just popped up in my head."

Ilied. "Mystic arts huh. A long time

ago it is said to be an ability available

only to non-human species. Nature

spirits to be exact." she said. "Instead of

converting the natural energy around

us to magic energy and perform our

spells, mystic arts directly manipulate

the natural energy by injecting a bit of

the user's own energy or inner energy

on the surroundings." "Yes." "It's very

dangerous though. Sure the techniques

based on it are powerful, but it also has

huge drawbacks." she warned. "I'll just

have to be careful." "Are you sure you're

eight?" I nodded with a cheeky smile.

"Fine." She took the two books about

the foundations of magic and instead

replaced it with a book titled "The Body

Tempering Manual", "Mystic arts and

combat arts are a perfect pair. And if

you're really set on learning mystic arts,

you must first strengthen your body. Do

you understand?" "Aunt Zaira, do you

perhaps know how to-" "I don't practice

it myself, but I can teach you. Once I

run out of things to teach you then you'll

have to figure things out yourself. You

should be able to do that. Right now, you

have to build your foundations first." I

smiled and gave her an enthusiastic nod.

"Training starts tomorrow. Give those

books a read and try to sleep early." "Yes

Aunt Zaira!" I happily exited the room

despite my hands being full. Aunt Zaira

formed a magical light orb that would

lead me out of the west wing. I happily

started reading The Body Tempering

Manual. With my knowledge of the

divine mystic arts which I learned from

my sister while I was still a young fox.

and the method Aunt Zaira was trying

to use, I decided to become strong. No,

one of the strongest, if not 'the' strongest.

Luna's family was murdered and she

died as well before I took over her body.

I needed to find some answers about

their death. It was the least I could do for

letting me use her body. I also aimed to

be strong enough to confront those who

executed my sister, Elthesia, thru unjust

reasons, as well as those who drove me

to my death. Even if they were divinities

of Afasia, as a previous fox deity. I know

determination preceded the thought

of giving up. After all, with all that

happened, I had no intentions of giving

up.