NOVPUBMy father used to tell stories about this place.
Okay, well… not to me. He told Thalia. I just eavesdropped.
But I won't unpack my daddy issues right now.
Anyway, he used to say that the Land of Eternal Night — where Selene's Sanctuary now stood — was once known as the Land of the Dying Sun.
Why?
Because it was a scorched, godforsaken wasteland where the sun didn't give life. It took it.
A place where the merciless light rained down from the heavens like judgment, burning everything that lived to smoldering ash.
Everything… except them.
A rare breed of Elder and Unholy Spirit Beasts.
Twisted by the very flames that forged them.
They were called Solbraiths.
Born from the cremated bones of everything the Dying Sun devoured, Solbraiths rose like revenants — wielding the sun's might, the raw starfire that forged them.
You couldn't kill them. Or at least, not easily. It was almost impossible. Those monsters possessed the closest thing to true immortality.
Actually, they weren't just monsters. They were apex predators in a land designed to annihilate all life.
An army of them was a waking nightmare for even the most elite Heroes of humanity.
That's why no one could ever conquer the Land of the Dying Sun.
But eventually… humanity had no choice.
The Solbraiths started changing.
They started evolving.
At first, they were rare — lurking anomalies. Only a few dozen were spotted every year. They haunted the ruins, fed on heat and light, basked in the fury of their Dying Sun.
But then…
Something shifted.
They began to multiply. Fast.
Settlements at the edges of the wasteland disappeared overnight. No screams. No bodies. No survivors. Just slagged walls and molten sand still hissing with ghost-heat weeks later.
Soon, they were spreading like wildfire.
Every single living creature they burned rose from the ashes as one of them.
As another Solbraith. As another sun-born horror.
And the more of them there were, the hotter the Dying Lands became — unnaturally so.
Researchers theorized the Solbraiths were awakening something. Or worse… becoming something else.
Some believed they were trying to create a new sun — a second star, like the one that gave birth to them.
Had they succeeded, entire neighboring regions of the Spirit Realm would've been reduced to scorched husks.
It would've become one big burning Death-Zone.
A wasteland of ash and melted sky.
It would've crippled humanity's advance. Set our conquest back by decades.
But that was when Selene arrived.
Without any armies. Without any banners.
Just by herself. Alone.
She walked into a land where sunlight was a death sentence… and simply turned it off.
Some say the battle raged for six days.
Others say it never even began — that she simply whispered for the night to fall, and the night obeyed.
Either way… when it was over…
The sun never rose again.
Darkness claimed the sky.
The Solbraiths fell into slumber the moment the Dying Sun vanished. Their connection to its light was severed.
And Selene built her Sanctuary atop the ash-covered heart of the Solbraiths' former domain. She buried the surviving monsters into the very foundation of her new city.
Now those monsters whisper in the walls.
Now they howl beneath her throne.
…Now they sleep under the Land of Eternal Night.
And that was how Night Sanctuary came to be.
Now, after all that… you'd think Selene would be a legend. A myth in motion. A name sung in every Hunter hall across the world.
But that wasn't the case.
Why?
Well, first of all — she never wanted the spotlight. So she went out of her way to avoid it.
Second, by the time she founded her Sanctuary, my father — Arthur Kaizer Theosbane — had already conquered a region even more dangerous, known as the Grave of Old Gods.
His feat overshadowed hers.
…I suppose he just had a better PR team.
Still, I grew up hearing and reading stories of Selene's adventures. She was one of the few people my father respected as a Hunter.
Establishing the Night Sanctuary was only one of her many crowning achievements.
She had proved, time and again, why she would be remembered as one of humanity's greatest champions.
And for that, I idolized her throughout my childhood.
Not as much as I idolized my father, of course… but still. Enough.
She was, in my eyes, a true hero.
"But it's like they say," I muttered, "never meet your heroes."
Because now I knew the truth.
I knew the side she'd chosen.
I knew Selene Valkryn was aligned with the Syndicate.
And that made her… my enemy.
"...Ah, did you say something, My Lord?"
I looked up.
The old shopkeeper was fidgeting with his fingers, looking at me the way most lowborns look at nobles — with that uneasy mix of fear and something close to reverence.
"...Nothing," I said, shaking my head and handing him two Cards I had selected from his shop. "How much are these?"
The old man adjusted his spectacles, politely took the Cards from me, and began appraising them.
He replied after a beat, "Two hundred grand each, My Lord."
Wow.
So expensive.
Almost half a million Credits.
Then again, it was not surprising.
Both of them were Rare-grade.
One was an Item Card called «Mirrorcloak» — it could summon a magical cloak capable of reflecting a single spell or projectile aimed at the wearer back to the attacker. It needed to be resummoned after one use.
The other was a Transformation Card called «Scaled Hide», which temporarily turned the user's skin into a layer of semi-draconic scales. Great for reducing physical damage — and unsurprisingly effective against elemental attacks too, especially fire.
Both were solid defensive Cards. Both worked well against attacks from anyone up to B-rank.
And I desperately needed some proper defense.
Because my last defensive Card was shattered weeks ago, and since then, I'd also leveled up.
Normally, I would've grabbed something from the Academy's Vault, but during exam season, the Vault was sealed.
Because obviously, nothing screams strategic timing like cutting off student access to essential life-saving tools before a life-threatening test.
And tomorrow… well, tomorrow I'd be fighting.
A lot of people.
So, the real question was — which one should I buy?
I had enough money to buy both, but I didn't think it was a good idea to load up two defensive Cards into my Soul Arsenal since I'd rarely ever use them together.
Besides, the two were good in different scenarios.
«Scaled Hide» was better for close-quarters fights.
«Mirrorcloak» was a perfect counter against long-range ambushes.
I stood there for a moment, rubbing my chin, weighing the options.
Then I made my decision.
I bought «Scaled Hide».
…And «Mirrorcloak».
Yes, I bought both!
Yes, I'm indecisive!
Sue me!
I paid the old shopkeeper — who looked both grateful and mildly terrified by the number on the receipt — and stepped out of the Card and Relic shop.
The bell above the door gave a tired jingle as I passed through.
Outside, the Night Sanctuary was as breathtaking as ever.
The sky stretched above like a suffocating ocean of ink, occasionally flickering with bright flashes of violet lightning that never struck anywhere.
There were no stars.
There was no moon.
Only a dim twilight cast by glowing crystalline vines embedded in the sides of the buildings.
The silver vines shimmered coldly, blanketing the city in a soft glow that made every shadow appear deeper and every figure seem more dramatic.
This was a city draped in shades of black and white.
This was the City of Eternal Night.
The architecture here was elegantly ancient.
Gothic towers rose like obsidian spires, windows were adorned with stained glass mosaics, and sharp steeples pierced the sky like fangs.
Stone bridges arched between rooftops, threading the towers together like a web.
The people here also dressed to match the scenery, wearing garments like long coats, lace veils, wide-brimmed hats, and cloaks that swept behind them like shadows.
Blacks, greys, and deep purples could be seen everywhere. As if the city had an unspoken dress code and everyone just went along with it.
And yet, despite the weird aesthetic, the city felt as alive as any other.
Street vendors shouted over one another, children laughed and chased each other through the alleys, and the sound of boots clacking against cobblestones filled the background.
I watched as Essence-powered carriages and sleek black trucks glided by.
Sentries with animal skull masks patrolled the walkways, while wealthy elites in velvet-lined cloaks stepped out of their black sedans.
One vendor nearby loudly claimed his glowing potions would "boost your stamina in under ten seconds!"
Which was, obviously, total nonsense.
…Or was it? I kind of wanted to try it now.
A few kids dashed past me, swinging their plastic swords and yelling dramatic battle cries as if they were the heroes of some epic saga.
Near the central plaza, a street musician was playing a slow tune on a glass harp.
The sound was catchy, delicate, and utterly haunting.
Truly, this dark city had its charm.
Too much charm, if I were being honest.
I wanted to explore it more. Really, I did.
…But if I were being even more honest? I just wanted to crawl into my bedchamber instead and sleep until it was time for the dinner banquet.
After all, tomorrow's test was going to be stressful.
I needed every bit of rest I could get before that.
So, I decided to head back to the Night Castle, return to my assigned bedchamber, and get a good few hours of sleep.
…But of course.
The universe wasn't about to let me have something even as simple as rest.
No, it had just to inject unnecessary drama and chaos into my life — whether I wanted it or not.
"Oh, come on," I sighed. "Seriously?"
I hadn't even properly crossed the central plaza when a girl stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
She had lush black hair and golden eyes as bright as the sun.
"Oh, what a coincidence meeting you here," she said in a tone that was far too sweet to be sincere. "Hello… baby brother."
