"What? The 15th of Sun’s Dusk, 4E 187?"
"That was... fifteen years ago?"
Lordi double-checked the date on the death certificate, confirming it was correct.
"So the young heir of the house was only six years old when this was issued..."
"Meaning she’d be twenty-one now?"
The house, its polished zither gleaming under a veil of dust, and the room crowded with dolls—each with unblinking eyes—once belonged to Yunny Hanzwart. But the story didn’t end with her. The air in the room felt thick, charged with an unspoken presence, as if unseen eyes tracked every move. Lordi Payne prowled the shadowed corners of the chamber. His boots scuffed against the creaking floorboards when a soft thud drew his attention. A leather-bound diary had slipped from an open drawer, landing splayed on the ground. Its delicate, looping handwriting, hinted at a feminine hand.
Lordi coughed as he knelt, brushing off the faint layer of dust, and opened the diary. The pages was made by bark and leaves, yellowed but intact, told a story of devotion laced with something darker. The entries were as follows:
1st of Morning Star (January in the Abyss Pit Sect World)
Today, we moved into our new home—a vast, echoing mountain estate that feels like both a sanctuary and a labyrinth. Now, I am the mother of two daughters: Yunny and Mollie. My heart overflows with purpose. I vow to raise them with all the love I possess, to be the mother they deserve—no matter what it takes.
"Yunny and Mollie are like fire and ice, always at odds. Their bickering is a constant hum in this house, fraying my nerves. They’re sisters, bound by blood, yet they clash as if from different worlds. I love them fiercely, but I fear the day this house grows too small for their rivalry. May they learn to understand each other before then."
"Mollie begged for a pet today, her eyes bright with hope. But Yunny’s allergies make it impossible—her delicate frame shudders at the mere thought of animal fur. How can two sisters be so different? Still, my love for them is equal, unshakable. I’ll find a way to balance their needs, even if it tears me in two."
"Tensions are rising. Mollie and her father have started whispering complaints about Yunny—her quiet demeanor, her odd habits. I see their frustration, but they don’t understand. Yunny is my sister’s daughter, entrusted to me after tragedy took her mother. She’s family, no matter how strange they find her. I won’t turn her away. My love for her is a promise I’ll never break."
20th of Sun’s Dawn (February in the Abyss Pit Sect World)
"Panic gripped me today. The Hanz Clan enforcers arrived at dusk, their faces grim. Yunny and Mollie had gone for a walk, but Yunny wandered off, lost in the twisting paths of the nearby woods. Mollie returned alone, frantic. The enforcers found Yunny, pale and shivering, and brought her home. I held her tightly, her small body trembling in my arms. If I lost her, I don’t know how I’d go on."
18th of Rain’s Hand (April in the Abyss Pit Sect World)
"Yunny’s eyes are worsening. The healers say the treatment will be costly, a fortune I don’t yet have. But I’m close—so close—to gathering the amount. Every coin I save, every sacrifice I make, is for her. I’ll do whatever it takes to see her whole again, to see her smile without pain."
4th of Second Seed (May in the Abyss Pit Sect World)
"Yunny’s behavior grows stranger by the day. This morning, she recoiled when I tried to brush her long, tangled hair—a ritual we’ve shared for months. Her eyes, clouded and distant, seemed to look through me. It’s unnerving, but I won’t give up on her. I’m so close to securing the amount for treating her. She’ll be herself again soon. She has to be."
1st of Midyear (June in the Abyss Pit Sect World)
"Children’s Day brought a rare moment of joy. The three of us went to the festival in Hanz Stronghold. The streets were alive with laughter, music, and the scent of candied fruit. It’s been ages since we celebrated as a family."
Lordi Payne lingered on the final entry, and for a fleeting moment, his pulse quickening. At first glance, the diary painted a portrait of a devoted mother, her love for her two daughters spilling across every page. But a closer read revealed cracks in the facade—a faint, sinister undercurrent woven into the words. The entry on the 1st of Midyear gnawed at him most. The family was meant to be four—mother, father, Mollie, and Yunny. Yet the diary spoke of only three celebrating. Who was left behind?
The air in the house turned frigid, as if the walls themselves exhaled an unnatural chill. Lordi Payne’s breath clouded before him, each exhale forming wisps of mist in the dimming light. The room seemed to sink into shadow, as though the house had been swallowed by the earth, plunging into some subterranean abyss.
An incessant itch clawed at his throat, his body wracked with a deep, gnawing agony that set his nerves on edge. He coughed violently, spitting a mouthful of black blood onto the floor, its metallic tang lingering on his tongue. His head spun, and with each labored breath, a faint popping sound rattled from his lungs, like the crackle of a sickness he hadn’t felt since childhood—before he began his cultivation path. A primal dread, long buried, stirred within him, whispering that something was terribly wrong.
Lordi snapped the diary shut, its secrets still burning in his mind, and struggled to steady himself. The Blade of Life Hater, his trusted bone-carved weapon, felt impossibly heavy in his grip, as if it resisted his will. His tongue grew numb, an itch spreading through his mouth like a creeping poison. "Am I poisoned?" he rasped, his voice barely a whisper. "That distant strike from the Dominator... it must have been laced with venom." The realization hit like a blow—his situation was dire, and survival hung by a thread.