With a powerful kick, the rusty chains holding the door to the abandoned factory snap, as though they were held together with crafts glue. The moon illuminates the long, flowing silver hair as it cascades down the back of the lovely Luna LaBelle , the leader of a team of formidable elite agents who were of a higher rank than soldiers in the special forces. Her steps light, Luna walks into the dusty factory holding a container of gasoline, looking at the crates of lethal substances.

At this point, her feet feel as though thousands of fresh cuts are being rubbed with salt whilst ants slowly crawl their way upwards her body. The excruciating pain was a result of a lethal poison she was injected with during one of her missions, but no one on her team knows of this, for she had been keeping it a secret for 4 years already. But her time was running out, so she decided to go on a solo mission as a way to tell the world goodbye and make her death a memorable one that helped protect her team of agents.

Taking a deep breath, Luna raises the container of gasoline and uncaps it, tipping it so gasoline trickles onto the dirty ground. Slowly, she walks around the abandoned factory, kicking up dust that enveloped her like an aura of death, a reminder of what’s to come. With a sad smile, she uses her index finger to run it along her surroundings. Those gorgeous deep pine green eyes of hers began to brim with tears, as they filled with sorrow and longing.

“Luna! What the heck are you doing?!” A voice suddenly came through her earpiece.

“Ah, you guys found out.” Luna said with a dreary voice, it slightly trembling, the sobs chained within her heart threatening to escape. “I’m sorry guys, I hope you won’t hate me after this.” She continues with a smile as her tears trickle down her porcelain skin.

“What are you talking about?! Luna, just get out of there and return to the base!” A worried voice said over the earpiece.

“I can’t do that. I’ve come here to do something very important.” Luna refutes gently, the sadness in her voice unconcealed.

The sound of movement comes through the earpiece, suddenly another voice talks. “Luna, you’re scaring me. Please come back!” The voice exclaimed with a sniffle.

“Even if I were to come back, I wouldn’t have much longer before I’d have to leave you all.” Luna states gloomily, hating herself for causing distress to those on her team, her only family.

“. . .” It was silent on the other end before another voice timidly spoke, “What are you talking about?” The sniffles were easily heard through the high-tech earpiece. “You’re in good health! You’re the strongest of all of us!”

“Truth be told, I’ve been keeping something from you all. . .” Luna sadly began, not hiding the melancholy in her voice. “During mission Raging Flame, I was poisoned with Million Snake Poison, the completed version.”

“. . .” All that could be heard was silence on the other end, along with the sniffles and sobs of her team of agents.

“I didn’t want to die from that,” Luna finally said. “I want to die on my own terms. Hopefully what I do today will protect you all in the future.” She said, returning to the center of the abandoned factory, her head tipped back, allowing the moonlight to fall on her delicate face. As she looked at the starry night sky for one last time, she briefly saw a shooting star, or a “star who fell from heaven”, as her mother had called it.

‘Mom, are you watching this from heaven?’ Luna thought with a sorrowful expression, before returning her attention to the task at hand.

“Wait! Luna! Don’t do this! Come back!” Shouts of protest, each filled with unending worry from her team, filled her ears.

Gasoline soaking her black combat boots, “Good bye everyone...” she said into her earpiece with tears flowing from her deep pine green eyes, before she smashed it under her foot. Grabbing a match, she lights it and then throws it, setting the whole place aflame and resulting in an earth-trembling explosion.

Luna could feel the searing flames on her skin before the explosion made everything disappear in a flurry. Devoid of pain & filled with a dark nothingness, Luna felt at peace for the first time, after 24 years of a life filled with hardship and pain.

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*Author’s Note* : I know that my chapters are pretty short, but don’t worry, I’m going to be working super hard to make them longer! I’m a full-time student, so it’s mainly due to my exams that are coming up. Anyways, if you have any suggestions for my writing or this novel in general, feel free to comment down below! :) I’d appreciate your honest feedback and support! Bye! 😁

Memories. They shine through the darkness, bringing sorrow, pain, and regret along with them. Memories of how she had lost her innocence at the tender age of 10 because her father believed that she was a “burden” to her family and should contribute financially. The scene where she met the General when she was lying half-dead on the streets, covered in wounds, both physical and psychological, flashed briefly. The feeling of fear that radiated from EVERY SINGLE moment of her life, washing over her in tsunami-like waves. However, it had all come to a gruesome end after she had blown herself up, for she desired to die on her own terms.

Darkness then engulfed everything, leaving nothing behind. Suddenly a flicker of light dimly shone, revealing a happy memory Luna had had with her mother, Sienna LaBelle, a few months before she passed away, leaving Luna motherless at the age of 6. Her mother’s golden brown hair was flowing through the wind as her familiar deep pine green eyes looked up at the starry sky, a little Luna sitting on her lap within a vast meadow of wildflowers. A shooting star appeared in the sky and Luna’s mother told her a tale.

“Luna, do you know why people are always making wishes on shooting stars?”

“No. Why do they mommy?” Luna responded, curious as to what her mother would say.

“Well, it’s because shooting stars are stars who fall from heaven, their magic believed to contain the ability to grant one person a wish.” Sienna stated with a light smile.

“But mommy, how do the stars know who to help?” Little Luna had inquired.

“The stars can only fall if heaven allows them to, so it is based on the will of the world and the heavens themselves that will determine whether your wish comes true.” Sienna answers with a light chuckle.

And just like that, the mother-and-daughter pair enjoyed watching the starry sky with their deep pine green eyes, in a comfortable silence filled with the light sounds of the flowing breeze and chirping crickets. The memory faded out.

‘Is this what they call “your life flashing before your eyes” when you toe the line between life and death?’ Luna thought, the happy memory bringing back the bitter feeling of losing her mother, the only source of light in her bleak world.

She could feel her consciousness drifting, meaning her soul was probably on its way to meet the King of Hell. But just then, a stream of golden light shines though the never-ending darkness, zipping towards the curled up figure of Luna, her very soul, at breakneck speed. The ray of light wraps itself around Luna like a snake, and with a strong pull and excruciating pain, Luna was once again thrown into turbulent darkness.

This time, however, the darkness was different. It wasn’t peaceful, rather it was dreadful. Miserable. Unbearable. It was like a cage that consumed Luna. A cage that she so desperately tried to break, but felt as thought it would keep her captive for all eternity. It was exactly like when people are sleeping and struggle to regain consciousness, but were unable to. It was a throbbing sensation as she thrashed like a fish flopping on land, trying to desperately return to water.

She could’ve just stopped struggling and succumb to the aura of death, but her intuition and instincts both told her that something was wrong. That this wasn’t supposed to be how it ended. She was at peace, so what was happening? She struggled and fought for life. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light that penetrated the infinite depths of the surrounding darkness.

With a throbbing head and weak limbs, Luna opens her breathtaking deep pine green eyes, “Tsss, ouch.” She said while grabbing her head with her hand. A warm liquid substance flows onto her hand, so she she pulls it back to examine it, only to find her delicate fingers dripping with scarlet fluid. Blood. “Where am I? I thought I died...” As she shakily looks around her, the sight of a breathtakingly beautiful night sky with trees surrounding her, fills her vision.

‘A forest?’ Luna thinks, confused. ‘What the heck happened? Nevermind, what’s important right now is that I bandage up my wounds.’

With this thought, Luna looks at her clothes and realizes that she’s wearing a set of rags. ‘What the?’ That’s when she notices that her chest is completely flat, as though she had never hit puberty. “Huh? What the heck! Don’t tell me that the explosion did this?” She yelled weakly, completely dumbfounded.

Just then, her a stinging sensation fills her head, as though it’s being injected with something. Memories. Once again a variety of memories flash through her head, filling her with emotion, pain, and information. However, this time, the memories weren’t hers. Luna grabs her head with her hands and brings her knees up to her elbows, curling into a little ball on the forest floor.

“Ugh. . .” Luna groans weakly, sweat dripping from her forehead. Blood and sweat drip down her face, pooling on the ground beneath it. Her head felt as though it was going to explode and she could feel the exhaustion on her body. All she wanted to do at this moment was to pass out and be relieved of this pain, but she knew that once she falls unconscious, she won’t wake up again due to blood loss. So she endured through the pain as the memories washed over her.

Gritting her teeth, she kept herself conscious through the head-splitting pain. It felt like hours, but it was only mere minutes before she felt the pain go away and her body relax. “So the owner of this body was only 7 when she died. Emma Winchester was her name. How unfortunate that after her mother died, her father despised her and threw her out of the family, erasing her name from their genealogy book.” Luna paused, lightly chuckling before continuing. “. . . and it’s all due to one of his concubines whose daughter and son are the ‘epitome of perfection’, whereas she was a just some disfigured trash that was a shame to the family.” Luna finished with a sarcastic tone of voice.

‘This sounds like one of those cliche transmigration stories.’ Luna thought whilst slightly shaking her head. ‘However that concubine sent people to kill her after she was thrown out, to ensure that Emma would never interfere with her plans again. The owner of this body never desired for revenge, but since I might as well get her justice in return for having her body.’ Luna thought with a wicked grin, determination filling her eyes as she tenderly tended to the various wounds on her body.

Her back was covered in sword slashes, one of them going almost straight down her delicate spine. ‘I’m lucky my back isn’t broken; however, these wounds are very deep and might scar.’ Luna thought with a sad sigh. She wasn’t one who placed her focus on materialistic things, such as looks, but in this world, women’s looks were just as important as a man’s strength. ‘This world practices polygamy.’ Luna thought with disgust. ‘If I were to ever find a man, he must be loyal to me & me alone.’ Luna bitterly thought. Her psychological trauma from her past life ran so deep that she doubted that she’d ever be able to get over it and find herself a partner.

After some time, Luna finished bandaging her wounds, making do with what she had on and around her because she was unable to walk. One of her legs had been broken, so Luna had used some twigs and torn cloth to make a stint to set her bones. She had found a thick branch that would suffice as a walking crutch. Using her arms, Luna scooted over to a nearby tree, the crutch sitting in her lap. Cautiously, she used the tree to stand up onto her good leg, placing the branch under her right armpit. Slowly but surely, she started moving away from the forest clearing, knowing the smell of blood would attract predators her way.

Although it felt as though it had been hours since she had first arrived, it had merely been 15 minutes or so. The night was filled with a breeze that chilled Luna down to her bones, for her tattered clothes had become shredded as she had used the cloth for bandaging up her wounds. After some time, a shivering Luna found some foliage under a large pine tree that lead to a small abandoned burrow, it was just big enough to fit her petite body.

Carefully settling herself into the burrow, Luna placed the walking crutch in a diagonal position along the enterance, in order to further protect herself. The hole and the foliage protected her from the breeze, allowing Luna to enter a deep sleep since her body and mind were completely exhausted.

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*Author’s Note* : Please tell me what you think of this chapter length! I’d really appreciate your feedback! Anyways, I’m always open to constructive criticism regarding my writing. I’m always looking for ways to improve! ;D By the way, my updates will most likely be irregular because I do this in between schoolwork, and I’d rather prioritize quality over quantity. I hope you understand! 😄

Sunlight filtered through the foliage, illuminating the small burrow, the rays of light falling on rivulets of peachy strawberry blonde hair with red tinted golden-amber streaks. The light’s glow revealed the gorgeous contours of Luna’s smooth, ivory skin, making her have an erethral glow. Fluttering her long, curled eyelashes, Luna opened her eyes, revealing big, deep pine green irises filled with determination and devoid of fear. Light pink lips that contained a hint of deep rose, showcased a slender Cupid’s bow that accented a petite nose. However the sunlight also exposed the wounds that were likely to scar, upon Luna’s delicate back. In short, Luna looked just like a wounded fairy resting within the earth’s embrace.

After waking, she remained still and silent, analyzing her surroundings for a long time. Her mind was in turmoil, not completely understanding and accepting of her new reality. Luna would’ve stayed in the burrow all day, but the tickling sensation the rays of light as they danced on her skin and the sound of her rumbling stomach reminded her that she had to get up. Sitting up & stretching, whilst being careful not to reopen any of her wounds, Luna could tell it was just after noon. Last night she had dreamt of the memories of the original owner of the body, so she had finally understood the kind of world she now resided in.

She lived in a world called Xionet, where the law of the jungle reigned. People’s strength would be based off of the level and type(s) of magic they practice. There were 5 types of magic that people within this world could learn and practice, with them directly affecting the practitioner’s future prospects. People could practice close combat magic (Warrior), medicinal magic (Alchemist / Physician), creation magic (Weapon Refining / Array Masters), long distance combat magic (Battle Mages), and beastly magic (Beast Tamers). However it’s not like these people were able to pick and choose, rather their physique, spiritual strength, and mental strength all played a heavy hand in what they were able to practice.

But over everything else, the practitioner had to have the ability to sense the flow of a specific type of magic in their environment before they could even consider practicing it. In this way, all physical and mental strength would determine is the part of the person’s potential and future accomplishments. In the case of this body’s original owner, Emma Winchester, she was unable to feel even a sliver of magical power that flowed around her, on top of having blocked meridians. Luna knew that she wasn’t poisoned, but rather it was due to her body’s physique that she suffered this fate. Inevitably, Emma had been labeled as trash and a complete failure that was the shame of the Winchester clan.

On top of this, many didn’t see Emma as a beautiful child because she had constantly dirtied her skin and hair in order to not draw attention to herself, for this advice was a last warning to her from her mother on her death bed. Emma’s mother had died from poisoning when she was 5 years of age. ‘How sad. . .’ Luna thought, for she could relate to the feeling of losing one’s mother at a young age. Emma had also used black rogue to create the illusion of a scar that ran from near her temple to past her left cheekbone, thus also earning her the title of being a disfigured young miss. Since she had sweat a lot and dirtied herself thoroughly due to being forced to run from a group of assassins in the forest, Luna’s face was like a beautiful jade that had to be cleaned in order for its elegance to be revealed.

Eventually, Luna carefully lifted herself out of the burrow and moved away from the foliage. Using her tracking skills from her previous life, Luna was able to successfully locate a source of water. Following the current of the river downstream, she discovered a beautiful spring. The river’s waters flowed freely over an edge, resulting in a waterfall that looked like a cascading crystal wall, emptying into a wide spring surrounded by a clearing. The spring was hard to find because it was a tributary which branched off from the major river. Most sensible people would follow the main body of the river, but Luna’s instincts told her otherwise and proved to be correct.

Completely and utterly exhausted from making the long journey with a lame leg, Luna sat by the edge of the spring, her bare feet full of dirty cuts, and placed them gently into the water. “Tssss. . .” Luna hissed when she felt the stinging sensation. She found some weeds growing by the edges of the spring and rubbed them, making them become string-like. Continuing the motion, she made the small weeds in her hand become a delicate scrubber that she could use to clean the wounds on her feet and protect them from getting infected. After tenderly caring for her feet and finding some common herbs within the clearing, Luna used the spring water & two rocks to crush the herbs and create a light salve that would help her injuries heal faster.

Setting the salve aside, she used her instincts and senses to see if there were any people or beasts in the area, but the place seemed deserted. Although she wondered why this was, she just believed that it was because the area was very secluded. Tenderly stripping the rags that covered her body, Luna stepped into the clear, cold spring water, submerging herself & snapping all her senses awake. After cautiously bathing in the spring, she spread salve over each of her wounds. Once again, she tore the rags that were her clothes, after thoroughly washing them, and used them as bandages. Unfortunately, in the end, she had to only wear a bound chest and a small pair of shorts that she had hastily tailored using the remaining of the completely scrapped cloth. She looked like a primitive woman from a tribe & if any were to see her at this moment, her reputation would crumble like a house of cards.

Luna sat by the water’s edge, in order to see what her new body looked like. The clear water reflected her image as though it was a mirror, her deep pine green eyes staring back at her. ‘Woah!’ Luna thought, ‘My eyes are exactly the same as my past life.’ She was bewildered because according to her memory, the original owner had dull brown eyes. ‘Maybe this is why they call the eyes the window to the soul,’ Luna wondered. The eye color completely enhanced the beauty of the body, and Luna knew this well. If she were to put the old look and the new one, side-by-side, one could only call them similar rather than identical. This was mainly because the dull brown eyes that Emma Winchester had, made her appear like a very standard beauty whose hair was the only unique feature. However, Luna’s deep pine green eyes made her seem more like a fairy who fell from the heavens, one that had the beauty to topple nations.

Sighing, Luna leaned back, toppling onto the lucious green grass surrounding her. It tickled her bare shoulders, waist, along with her thighs, giving Luna a pleasant feeling. She felt peaceful and felt her conciousness slowly drift away, allowing her to enter a restful sleep.

The sound of men yelling orders and the galloping of horses hooves startled Luna awake. Her killer instincts made her subconsciously jump onto her feet, causing her wounds to threaten to reopen. Ignoring the pain, Luna listened. The sound seemed to originate from cliff-like area where the water spilled into the spring. She looked around, desperate to find a place to hide. The forest was around 100 meters away, but with her broken leg, it’d be impossible for her to make it there. Then she peered at the waterfall and decided to take a gamble. Many waterfalls had cave enterances behind them, and even if this one didn’t, she was small enough to fit between the rock surface and the cascading water. With great effort, Luna began to lightly spring with all her might, for she still had to use the branch as a crutch to get around.

Finally, she reached the end of the spring, near the waterfall, the sounds of people on horses getting closer. Now that she was able to hear it better, it seemed to be a group of people that were 10 to 15 men strong. Although this wasn’t many in her last life, in Xionet where people practice magic, she stood no chance. Especially in her weakened condition.

Precariously teetering, Luna finally made her way safely across the narrow strip of dirt and rocks, reaching the water fall. Pressing her back to the rocks behind her, Luna scooted sideways, managing to get behind the waterfall without getting drenched. Feeling the empty space behind her, Luna realized that her gamble had definitely been worth it. Another thing she noticed is that behind the waterfall, one could view the clearing perfectly, but on the other side you couldn’t make out what was behind the waterfall.

Putting her curiosity aside, Luna found the cave to be lightly furnished, full of interesting things that she didn’t know about. But her curiosity was soon overwhelmed by her fatigue. Finding a small cot in the corner of the cave, Luna collapsed on it and immediately entered in a deep slumber.

Suddenly a bright light shone in the cave, revealing the remnants of the spirit of an elderly man. “Hmmm. . .” The man said, looking at the sleeping child, “What a pitiful little girl, but for her to survive this long, she must have immense willpower.” The man observed, stroking his long, white beard. “She might make an excellent disciple, let’s observe her for some more time.” The man finished, disappearing as though he had never been there in the first place.

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* Author’s Note * : Hello! What do you think of this chapter? Please comment and subscribe! Also, if you have questions about the story, I will be happy to answer in the. Comments section, as long as answering it won’t spoil the plot. ;)