Dark Moon Era

At the back of the cliff, the seven New Moon Warriors who had made up their minds stood in a straight line.

The warm wind blew into their faces. The scenery of forests and mountains before their eyes was exactly the same as the first time they saw it.

Compared to the front, the unusual silence suppressed everything like a lifeless world blanketed in surreal silence.

Thuja’s footsteps were silent as he walked in front of the young warriors, stopping right before the edge of the cliff.

The wind had tousled his hair a little, and as he turned around to look at the high-spirited teenagers, he took the purple badge in front of his chest off and clipped it between his fingers.

“Made up your mind already?” It was not a question; it sounded more like an exclamation.

Yes, they had really made up their minds. The only question that continued to puzzle them was where exactly was the First Reserved Camp?

Was it hiding in the cliff? Or was it similar to the other reserved camp and stationed at the edge of the forest?

The answer would be revealed soon.

“You guys really remind me of myself 20 over years ago.” Thuja turned away, his face revealing a helpless smile while he reminisced of the past.

After that single sentence, Thuja gazed into the empty space and took a step over the edge of the cliff.

“Instructor!” Christina cried out in shock while Vian covered her eyes anxiously.

Even the boys who were much bolder could not hold back their shock and panicked. Only Tang Ling barely remained calm as he instinctively reached out to the instructor with his hand, trying to pull him. Unfortunately, he was not as fast as Instructor Thuja who was much more powerful than a common Purple Moon Warrior.

Tang Ling missed his grasp.

The cliff was more than a thousand meters in height, and even a Purple Moon Warrior could not have survived the drop.

It was the only thought that lingered in Tang Ling’s mind before he froze in the next second. He even did not retract his hand.

Instructor Thuja did not fall off the cliff. Instead, he stood in the air without any support! His body was floating in the air! He defied the laws of physics!

Such an absurd thought popped up in Tang Ling’s messy mind.

However, Instructor Thuja did not stop and continued walking forward.

One step, two steps… It was as if there was an invisible path that extended as he walked and he was not walking on thin air!

Tang Ling and the others were rendered speechless. It was at that moment that they realized they were looking at the actual enormous secret.

They watched in silence as Instructor Thuja walked almost ten meters in the air before he stopped and turned around.

“I can see the real world whenever I want to because I am wearing this.” Instructor Thuja waved his hand with the purple badge in between his fingers that was unique to the Purple Moon Warriors.

“As for where the First Reserved Camp is? It’s stationed in the real world.” Instructor Thuja remained calm as he spoke, but when he said that out loud, the young warriors were in awe.  What is the meaning of the real world? Is it possible that we don’t live in the real world?

Instructor Thuja did not have the slightest intention to explain further although he said, “I will now activate this, and when it’s activated, it will allow the people within its limited range to see the ‘real world’.”

“Then, hurry up, Instructor!” Orston’s voice was trembling with excitement. Whether it was Instructor Thuja standing on thin air or the so-called ‘real world’, both notions powerfully stimulated everyone, especially Orston and his eagerness that was about to erupt.

Who else had a stronger curiosity than a young teen? Who else could better accept the drastic change of one’s world view?

The instructor did not say anything else. He raised his hand that held the purple badge that represented the identity of a Purple Moon Warrior up. Then, his thumb pressed the Purple Moon on the badge.

A purple glow emitted from the badge before it started to spread into thin purple lines that fanned out over the sky.

“The truth is only hidden behind a thin veil.” Instructor Thuja pinned his badge back on his chest.

The scenery before the young warriors then started to change into an unbelievable sight. The space at the back of the cliff started to tremble. Then, as though the paint on a mottled wall was starting to fall off, bits and pieces of space started to collapse.

How should it look like? Would it seem like the world was shattering into pieces? Or was it more like a mirror being broken before their eyes and shattering into many pieces?

Only Tang Ling managed to remain calm. He thought of the dream that he had, particularly the shattering scene that he had at the end of the dream.

Was it the same though? No, it was not.

After the dream shattered, it was nothing but a void. When the sky and the mountains fragmented, they started to reveal bits and pieces of a blurry scene.

A desolate forest was coupled with ruins of destruction with a background of smoke billowing into the sky and vague figures of giant living beings further away.

As the scene broke into their vision, a buzzing racket started to explode in the air.

As if someone had switched on something like the radio of the old civilization, the buzzes were sudden and noisy.

Drowning in extreme shock and fear about the unknown, Tang Ling tried his best to listen to the noises.

Were they the roars of beasts? The cries of humans? A huge explosion? And… and… Tang Ling widened his eyes when he saw a horde of greedy zombies and heard the whimpering from their grotesque mouths!

A zombie horde!

Tang Ling clenched his fists tightly. Even though his pain and grudge ran deep, it did not stop him from feeling dizzy because he dared not and could not believe what he saw!

However, the scene before their eyes continued to evolve even quicker than before.

Everything fell off in bigger chunks and started to unfold quicker.

In the end, after the shattering reached a certain limit, it was as though an invisible hand came out from the sky and tore the damaged cloth away, finally revealing the real world.

It was nothing but ruins, a sea of ruins!

The first thing that entered their sight was the billowing smoke further away and a sea of ruins that shocked them.

Despite the bleak scene, time left a tint of tenderness behind. There were traces and marks from the old civilization of the ruins.

In other words, the ruins they saw before their eyes should be the real ruins of the old civilization.

The old was slowly being consumed by the new. On the lifeless ruins of the old civilization, many hardy plants had clung on to the edges and corners, extending their roots and slowly forming a thick forest canopy with concrete mixed within.

Was that place not the mountains from earlier? Where were the mountains now?

The scarier thing was not just the missing mountains. There were also enormous beasts wandering at the edge of the concrete forest where both civilizations collided. How gargantuan were the enormous beasts?

Even though they were looking at the beasts from afar, none of them could tell how big the beasts were. Not even Tang Ling’s Precise Instinct could provide a specific number.

All he could see was that the beasts were far taller than the concrete forest, and every step they took shook the ground like an earthquake.

Due to the distance, none of them could have a clearer look at the beasts, but the creatures were certainly not the wild beasts or mutated beasts that the young warriors knew.

Are they vicious beasts? Tang Ling had no answer. All he felt was chill in between his fingers.