Across the vast sweep of the Star Ocean, where stars shone like drifting pearls and reality seemed to fold upon itself in layered reflections, one colossal continent floated alone in an ethereal magnetosphere; it was the Great Cosmic Continent of Pisces!
The Continent of Pisces was shrouded in a peculiar stillness. Its skies shifted in hue like liquid crystal, bending light in impossible ways.
Beneath those skies, rivers glimmered as if they remembered countless dreams, flowing in directions that defied logic as sometimes upward, sometimes sideways, and sometimes even circling back upon themselves in quiet spirals.
Mountains stood like enormous, half-dissolved sculptures, marble and mist peaks, their outlines never truly fixed.
Forests grew in symmetrical patterns that seemed to change when unobserved, and the stars above were reflected beneath the ground as though the heavens and earth mirrored one another perfectly.
The Great Cosmic Continent of Pisces was the most mysterious and bizarre of the twelve great cosmic continents, and even seasoned adventurers whispered that it was not a place to be understood.
It was like a world where the present seemed to breathe, and the past lingered like perfume.
In the heart of this strange continent stood a city unlike any other, Elysion Aethernal, the grand citadel of the Alchemy Guild, one of the Three Leaders of the Life Faction.
From afar, Elysion seemed to float within a massive sphere of translucent energy, its towers resembling glass spires filled with swirling light.
Within those towers, rivers of luminous liquid streamed between colossal crucibles and suspended cauldrons, each one the size of a cathedral. The air was thick with fragrant vapor. It was metallic, herbal, and strangely intoxicating.
Here, alchemy was the heart of everything.
However, this Alchemy Guild was special because it was mainly built for the top race of the Alchemy Guild —the one race that stood at its pinnacle: the Witch Race!
Elegant, ageless, and veiled in mystery, the Witches were known for their unmatched affinity for metamorphosis, potion, and runic knowledge, and esoteric sciences.
Their territory lay in the western sector of Elysion, upon the floating lands of Lunaris Vale, where the wind itself shimmered with faint trails of runic vapor.
The Witch territories were a breathtaking realm of silver gardens, spiraling sanctums, and ethereal light branches suspended in midair.
The cities here were shaped like blooming sigils, and their architecture changed patterns with the moon’s passage. Every surface pulsed faintly with concealed arrays, their purpose known only to the high-ranking Matriarchs of the race.
Tonight, the vale was uncharacteristically silent as the perpetual glow of its floating glyphs dimmed slightly, and a peculiar current rippled through the air as if something vast had brushed against the invisible fabric surrounding the continent.
At the border of Lunaris Vale, atop a lone bridge of black crystal that arched over an ocean of mirrored mist, a cloaked figure appeared.
The figure’s steps made no sound. Even the mist beneath seemed hesitant to ripple. Its cloak was seamless, a color not found in the visible spectrum, neither black nor white, but something in between, something the eyes instinctively refused to hold.
Furthermore, a Möbius-shaped buckle was attached to this figure’s cloak, and despite its ordinary appearance, it seemed to shift constantly, like an endless loop.
Walking on the bridge that leads towards the Lunaris Vale, the figure seemed unbothered, and the arrays and natural defenses of the witch race’s territories appeared not to affect this mysterious figure.
"Are you sure that ’person’ will be here?"
At this moment, a melodious yet detached voice sounded from the cloaked figure, and this voice couldn’t be heard by anyone, even if they were standing right beside this person, unless this person allowed it.
There was no one to answer her question. Still, strangely, the Möbius-shaped buckle shifted once, and a static, distorted voice rang, "According to my owner’s instructions, the Life Law Essence that the Witch Race holds is an item of interest to the ’target’."
The cloaked woman scoffed, "Tsk, this sounds like absolute nonsense to me. Your owner can’t even predict that Cursed One’s actions or destiny, but he can somehow predict the items of interest?
"How does this destiny even work exactly? He said he can’t predict my destiny as well, yet he is still able to find me and told me that my path is entwined with this Cursed One?" She asked like a curious girl, but hidden within her casual words was an underlying thrust to know the truth behind ’destiny’.
However, the Möbius-shaped buckle seemed to be oblivious to her intent and emotionally replied, "Forgive me, but I’m nothing but a servant of my owner; I have no will, nor do I know anything about my owner. I only know how to follow orders, and my orders are to protect you throughout the task, and once you complete it, I shall report it to my master!"
The pitch-black eyes, like black holes behind the cloaked figure’s hood, seemed to swirl with endless darkness as she appeared slightly frustrated, but she couldn’t do anything about it. Because she had no advantage to speak of, not to mention she didn’t want to make an enemy out of this Möbius-shaped buckle’s owner, at least not yet.
However, she wasn’t going to just do as she was told, and right now she was just curious and wanted to see if what that ’person’ said was true. If the prediction of that ’person’ really turned out to be true, then she would consider acting.
At this moment, she suddenly thought, "Old Chaos, if you hadn’t convinced me, I wouldn’t have gone along with this plan!"
---
After an unknown time had passed, within the folds of space of the Lunaris Vale, a phantom-like spaceship silently made its way towards the territory of the witches.
Within the cockpit, Jacob, in Deathless Prince’s disguise, was sitting while he was looking at a hologram over the Dark Soul Ring.
At this moment, Black Mechanic’s voice rang, "Sir, we’ll be reaching the Lunaris Vale’s central region where the castle of the Witch Queen lies, in a few seconds. Do you want me to break into the castle directly?"
A ghastly light flickered in his abyssal eyes as he impassively commanded, "The Spirit Eye King is entrapped in the Sagittarius Continent, and the other high-ranking members of the Witch Race have gone there to rescue her; it doesn’t matter if we are discovered or not."
A hint of curly flashed past his eyes, "As long as they hand over the Life Essence, I’ll leave the Witch Race intact!"