Volume 1 — Chapter 3: Darkness of the World

Morning arrived quietly.

A pale light slipped through the old window of the orphanage and spread across the small room.

Yuna Tsukishiro slowly opened her eyes.

For a moment, she remained still.

She stared at the ceiling without moving, trying to remember where she was.

Then everything returned.

The ritual.

The four candles.

The darkness.

The grey mist.

The mysterious throne.

Han Sora.

Seo Yerin.

And the name she had given herself.

Shadow.

Yuna slowly sat up.

She looked at her hands.

They were still the hands of a twelve-year-old girl.

Nothing about her body seemed different.

Yet Yuna knew that her life had already changed.

She had discovered that the world was far more complicated than she had imagined.

There were Beyonders.

There were Paths.

There were potions.

There were supernatural abilities.

And somewhere beyond the ordinary world was that strange realm covered in grey mist.

Yuna still didn't understand what the realm was.

She didn't know why the throne had appeared.

She didn't know why two strangers had been summoned.

And she didn't know why the moon-shaped mark had appeared on her hand.

But one thing had become clear.

That place might be her only chance to return home.

Yuna lowered her gaze.

I have to find a way back.

She remembered her previous world.

Her home.

The life she had lived before performing the ritual.

She remembered the room where everything had happened.

She remembered the candles.

She remembered the strange words of the ritual.

She remembered believing that eternal life was possible.

And then—

Nothing.

She had awakened in the body of a twelve-year-old girl in a completely unfamiliar world.

Yuna clenched her fist.

“I'll return.”

Her voice was quiet.

“But first, I need to understand this world.”

She got out of bed.

The orphanage was already beginning to wake.

Children were moving through the corridors.

Someone was speaking downstairs.

A door opened.

Then closed.

The familiar sounds of an ordinary morning slowly filled the building.

Yuna left her room.

She greeted several children as she passed them.

“Good morning, Yuna.”

“Good morning.”

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yes.”

She smiled.

“I feel fine.”

The children seemed satisfied.

Nobody suspected anything.

To them, she was still the same girl.
Yuna continued walking.

Her destination was the place where her parents' belongings had been stored.

She needed information.

The memories she had inherited were incomplete.

They contained emotions and fragments of events, but they didn't explain everything about the supernatural world.

Her parents had known about Beyonders.

They had studied them.

And if they had left behind notes, those notes could contain answers.

Yuna entered the storage room.

Dust floated in the air.

Old boxes were stacked against the wall.

She closed the door behind herself and began searching.

The first box contained clothing.

The second contained old letters.

The third contained books.

Yuna carefully opened each one.

She searched through pages.

Names.

Dates.

Descriptions.

Fragments of information.

Most of it was useless.

But she continued.

She wasn't going to give up.

After several minutes, she found another book.

Its cover was worn and dark.

There was no title.

Yuna opened it.

The first pages contained handwritten notes.

Her eyes moved across the words.

Then she saw something that made her stop.

Beyonders.

Yuna's expression became serious.

She sat down and began reading.

The book explained that the supernatural world was divided into different Paths.

There were twenty-four Paths.

Each Path represented a particular branch of Beyonder power.

Each Path contained nine Sequences.

Sequence 9 was the beginning.

As a Beyonder advanced through the Sequences, their power increased.

Each advancement brought them closer to the highest levels of the Path.

And ultimately—

All of the Paths led toward divinity.
Yuna slowly turned the page.

“So there are twenty-four Paths…”

She had heard some of this from Yerin, but the book gave her a broader picture.

The Paths were different from one another.

Their powers were different.

Their methods of advancement were different.

Their dangers were different.
And yet they all shared the same basic structure.

Nine Sequences.

One after another.

Yuna continued reading.

Some of the notes were written in a hurry.

Some pages were covered with corrections.

Several sections were incomplete.

It seemed that her parents had spent a considerable amount of time studying this subject.

Yuna touched one of the handwritten lines.

“They knew so much…”

She felt a strange emotion.

The memories of the original girl immediately surfaced.

Her parents had once been alive.

They had smiled.

They had protected her.

They had tried to keep her away from the supernatural world.

And then they had died.

Yuna's expression darkened.

She continued reading.

Eventually, she found a section that immediately caught her attention.

The Abyss Path.

Her eyes stopped moving.

This was the Path her parents had studied.

Yuna read the notes carefully.

The page contained information about its Sequences.

At the very beginning was:

Sequence 9.

And beneath it—

A potion recipe.

Yuna's breathing became slightly faster.

She read every word.

The ingredients were listed clearly.

Mandrake.

Tear of Darkness.

Spider eye.

Gloom-grass.

Hot water.

Yuna read the recipe twice.

Then a third time.

She wanted to make certain she had not misunderstood anything.

“This is the Sequence 9 potion…”

She looked at the page.

Her parents had researched this Path.

They had apparently possessed enough 

information to create the first potion.

Yuna's fingers tightened around the book.

If she could become a Beyonder, perhaps she could learn more.

Perhaps she could eventually discover a way to cross between worlds.

And perhaps she could learn the truth about her parents.

Yuna closed her eyes.

She remembered the girl's memories again.

Her parents' deaths.

The fear.

The helplessness.

The people who had caused it.

Yuna's expression became cold.

“I'll find them.”

She didn't know their names.

She didn't know their organization.

She didn't know why they had killed her parents.

But she knew one thing.

She would not forget.

“I'll find a way home.”

Her voice became firmer.

“And I'll take revenge on the Beyonders who killed them.”

Yuna looked back at the recipe.

The decision was becoming clear.

She needed power.

If she remained an ordinary girl, she would have almost no chance of discovering the truth.

She needed to become stronger.

But there was another problem.

The ingredients.

Yuna closed the book and began thinking.

Where could she possibly find them?
She searched through the notes again.

Then she remembered something.

The orphanage had a storeroom.

It contained medicines, herbs, food, and various materials.

Perhaps—

Yuna stood up.

She searched the storage room again.

This time, she paid attention to every container.

Dried herbs.

Roots.

Medical supplies.

Small bottles.

Old packages.

Then she found it.

Mandrake.

Yuna stared at the container.

Her heart skipped.

“No…”

She checked the label.

It was exactly what she needed.

She searched again.

Tear of Darkness.

Found.

Spider eye.

Found.

Gloom-grass.

Found.

Yuna stood completely still.

All four ingredients were here.

She didn't know why.

It seemed far too convenient.

Then a memory suddenly returned.

A conversation.

One she had accidentally overheard.

The orphanage director had been speaking with a stranger.

Yuna closed her eyes.

The memory became clearer.

The director had sounded confused.

The stranger had spoken calmly.

“Prepare all the ingredients on this list.”

The director had looked at the list.

“What are these for?”

The stranger answered:

“Hide them in the storeroom.”

Then came the sentence that made Yuna's expression change.

“This is for the glory of my god.”

Yuna opened her eyes.

“So that's why.”

The ingredients had not appeared here by chance.

Someone had arranged it.

Someone had deliberately brought them to the orphanage.

And the stranger had asked about Yuna.

That was the most important part.

Why had they asked about her?

Why did someone connected to Beyonders know about her?

Yuna began thinking.

The director had not seemed like himself during that conversation.

His behavior had been strange.

His eyes had looked empty.

He had simply accepted the stranger's instructions.

Yuna remembered what she had learned about Beyonder abilities.

Some supernatural powers could affect ordinary people.

Mind manipulation.

Control.

Influence.

Yuna's expression became serious.

“That person used the director.”

She looked toward the door.

The orphanage suddenly seemed much less safe.

A powerful Beyonder had visited this place.

And if the person had been able to manipulate the director's mind, they couldn't have been weak.

Yuna considered what she knew about the Sequences.

She couldn't prove it.

But based on the level of power required, she believed that the stranger had to 

have been at least Sequence 4.

“A Sequence 4…”

Yuna whispered.

That was far beyond her current level.

If such a person was connected to her parents' deaths, then she couldn't 

confront them now.

She needed to become stronger.

Much stronger.

But for the moment, the potion was within reach.

Yuna carefully gathered the ingredients.

She made sure nobody was watching.

She hid them somewhere safe.

Then she returned to the main room.

The rest of the day passed normally.

At breakfast, Yuna sat with the other children.

At lunch, she helped with chores.

In the afternoon, she spoke with several children.

Everything appeared ordinary.

Nobody knew what she had discovered.

Nobody knew what she planned to do that night.

Yuna kept her expression calm.

But inside, she was waiting.

She waited for darkness.

She waited for everyone to sleep.

She waited for the right moment.

Finally, night arrived.

One by one, the children disappeared into their rooms.

The orphanage became quiet.

Yuna remained awake.

She listened.

No footsteps.

No voices.

Nothing.

She quietly left her room.

The kitchen was dark.

Moonlight entered through the window.

Yuna closed the door.

She placed the book on the table.

Then she placed the ingredients beside it.

Mandrake.

Tear of Darkness.

Spider eye.

Gloom-grass.

She looked at them.

This was the first step.

There was no turning back.

Yuna took a container.

She filled it with exactly 100 milliliters of hot water.

She checked the amount carefully.

The recipe was very specific.

One mistake could change everything.

She took the mandrake.

The root was hard.

Yuna placed it on a small board and began grinding it.

The sound seemed incredibly loud in the silent kitchen.

She stopped several times to listen.

Nothing.

She continued.

The mandrake gradually became a fine substance.

Next came the Tear of Darkness.

Yuna carefully prepared it and added it to the mixture.

The liquid changed.

Its color became darker.

Yuna frowned.

She picked up the spider eye.

She ground it carefully.

Then she added it.

Finally came the gloom-grass.

She prepared it exactly as the recipe instructed.

One ingredient after another.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

The liquid slowly became darker.

The candlelight seemed weaker around it.

Yuna stared.

The potion was complete.

The Sequence 9 potion of the Abyss Path was sitting in front of her.

For a moment, she did nothing.

She could feel her heart beating.

She knew this was dangerous.

She remembered what the book had said about Beyonders.

Power was never free.

The higher someone advanced, the more dangerous the path became.

But she had already chosen.

Yuna picked up the container.

She looked at the dark liquid.

“I'm going to do this.”

Her voice was barely audible.

She thought of her home.

She thought of her parents.

She thought of the grey mist.

Then she drank.

The moment the potion entered her body

—

Yuna froze.

A strange sensation spread through her.

Cold.

Then heat.

Then something impossible to describe.

She dropped the container.

It struck the floor.

The sound echoed through the kitchen.

Yuna grabbed the edge of the table.

“What…”

Her body trembled.

The power was awakening.

Something was moving through her.

It was not ordinary energy.

It felt as though something invisible had entered her body and was gradually becoming part of her.

Yuna's breathing became uneven.

Her vision blurred.

The kitchen disappeared.

She saw another place.

A place she knew.

Her old world.

Her eyes widened.

“My world…”

She saw streets.

Buildings.

Lights.

People.

Memories.

Her memories.

She saw herself before the ritual.

Then the image changed.

The orphanage.

The twelve-year-old girl.

Her parents.

Her childhood.

Her fear.

Her sadness.

The memories of two lives began mixing together.

Yuna tried to separate them.

She couldn't.

Her head began hurting.

“Stop…”

The visions continued.

She saw her old life.

Then the girl's life.

Then the ritual.

Then her parents' deaths.

Then the orphanage.

Everything overlapped.

Yuna heard a whisper.

“Argenia…”

She froze.

The word came from nowhere.

“Argenia…”

Again.

Yuna looked around.

“Who are you?”

There was no answer.

Only the whisper.

“Argenia…”

Again.

And again.

“Argenia…”

The word repeated inside her mind.

Yuna tried to remember it.

She searched both sets of memories.

Nothing.

She had never heard it before.

At least—

She didn't think she had.

“What does that mean?”

The answer never came.

The vision changed.

The orphanage appeared before her.

But something was wrong.

The entire building was shaking.

A crack appeared across one of the walls.

Then another.

The floor trembled.

Yuna's eyes widened.

“What is happening?”

The power inside her continued spreading.

The potion seemed to influence the environment around her.

The wooden walls creaked.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Another crack appeared.

Somewhere nearby, a child cried out in their sleep.

Yuna struggled to maintain control.

“I have to stay calm.”

She took a breath.

But the visions became stronger.

She saw the old world.

She saw the girl's memories.

She saw her parents.

She saw darkness.

And again—

“Argenia…”

The whisper repeated.

Yuna clenched her teeth.

“I don't understand!”

The building shook again.

For one terrifying moment, Yuna thought 

the entire orphanage might collapse.

Then—

Everything stopped.

The visions disappeared.

The trembling ceased.

The kitchen became silent.

Yuna opened her eyes.

She was standing in the same place.

The potion container lay broken on the floor.

The cracks remained.

But the strange disturbance had ended.

Yuna breathed heavily.

She looked around.

Nothing moved.

Slowly, she straightened.

Her hands were trembling.

She touched her chest.

Her heartbeat was gradually returning to normal.

“I survived…”

She closed her eyes.

The visions had been terrifying.

But she had felt something else within them.

Power.

Something had awakened.

She was now a Beyonder.

Sequence 9.

Yuna looked at the book on the table.

She picked it up.

Her fingers were still slightly unsteady.

She turned to the section about the Abyss Path.

The description of Sequence 9 was frustratingly short.

The book did not provide a complete explanation.

It only said that the Sequence 9 of the 

Abyss Path allowed the Beyonder to influence their own destiny and luck.

Yuna read the sentence again.

“Destiny and luck…”

She thought about it.

What did that actually mean?

Could she control the future?

Could she change events?

Could she influence probability?

The book didn't explain.

It was frustrating.

But there was one interpretation that made Yuna smile.

“If luck really follows me…”

She imagined what that could mean.

Perhaps she would encounter fortunate events.

Perhaps she would find important clues by accident.

Perhaps dangerous situations would somehow turn in her favor.

Perhaps she would discover what she needed at exactly the right moment.

Maybe fortune would smile upon her.

Yuna allowed herself a small smile.

“Then maybe I'll have many fortunate days.”

She closed the book.

For the first time since entering this world, she felt a small amount of confidence.

She had a supernatural power now.

She had the mysterious realm of grey mist.

She had the recipe for the Abyss Path.

She had a clue about the person who had manipulated the orphanage director.

And she had a goal.

Return home.

Find the truth.

And avenge the parents of the girl whose life she had inherited.

Yuna began cleaning the kitchen.

She carefully removed the broken container.

She wiped away the traces of the potion.

She knew she couldn't leave evidence behind.

Nobody could know what she had done.

At least, not yet.

She finished cleaning.

Then she stood quietly in the middle of the kitchen.

The orphanage was silent.

Everyone was sleeping.

Yuna looked toward the door.

She was about to leave.

Then—

Knock.

Yuna froze.

Her expression changed instantly.

Someone had knocked on the door.

She didn't move.

Perhaps she had imagined it.

Then—

Knock. Knock.

Yuna's breathing stopped for a moment.

Someone was outside.

But who?

Everyone in the orphanage should have been asleep.

The children.

The director.

Everyone.

Yuna's newly awakened senses seemed to become strangely alert.

She stared at the door.

Another knock.

Knock.

Yuna slowly took a step backward.

Her mind raced.

Could it be one of the children?

Could the director have woken up?

Or—

Could it be someone connected to the mysterious Beyonder who had visited the orphanage?

Yuna's expression became serious.
She didn't know.

She had just consumed the Sequence 9 potion.

She had barely begun to understand her new power.

And now, someone had appeared at the door in the middle of the night.

Yuna stood motionless.

The person outside didn't speak.

Only silence remained between them.

Yuna looked at the door.

Her hand slowly tightened.

Who could it be?

End of Chapter 3.