Chapter III

With the grand war coming to a mysterious end, the Lords of Light and the Abyss had to retreat to their domains to recharge their energy. As time past, the two Lords kept pondering how the energy of the mysterious halo brought the war to a close. Deep within them, they knew that the legends of the Twilight Orb had come true. At the same time, their followers abandoned their fielty and pursued their own personal desires. The hidden tribe in the valley thus became the next target for both lords.

In the Prophet's tribe, where Lunox was born, her parents helped the tribe's survivors find a better place to live. The prophets had to give up their original homes within the valley and moved to somewhere more secret. Even so, they still worried about Lunox. They recalled the battle during which they lost their oldest chief and the terrifying energy wave lingered within their minds. Some prophets even foresaw an even more cataclysmic catastrophe looming over them. All the bad symbols led to Lunox and she was viewed as an ominous sign.

Lunox grew up bit by bit. The energy of black and light halo became a part of her. Her black and white made her the topic of gossip within the tribe. Some naughty kids tried to tease or bully Lunox every day. Yet, the cute and simple Lunox still lived a happy life.

Lunox's parents kept telling her that her most important duty in life is to protect the tribe. She was always happy to help others and wished to contribute to the tribe in any way. When she saw a tall and thin boy, bullied by some kids, she went to him instantly and tried to help him. Unluckily, this shy boy got teased more because of hiding behind a girl. The shy boy shouted, "I don't need help from an alien!" Then, he ran away towards the Enchanted Forest, but the forest was so dangerous that Lunox wanted to stop him. While other mean kids didn't let her chase after him, they kept laughing and teasing her. That's the first time that Lunox heard so many negative words.  Words teasing her about her different look, her hair colors, or how she didn't have many friends. When those mean kids wouldn't stop talking about when she was born and called her something like a demon, devil or monster, Lunox became deeply hurt. Her heart was broken.

She ran away from the tribe as fast as possible to leave those who bullied her. She was running but without directions. She calmed herself and then she realized that she was on the verge of the Dark Forest. Lunox saw some giant trees, strange plants, and odd flowers. She got attracted to this mysterious but beautiful scene. She decided to venture deeper to admire the beauty of nature. However, a sudden scream burst out which led her to an entrance of a black cave. Screams came out of the cave, from a person who sounded familiar to Lunox. She ran into the cave. When Lunox gets serious, she looks just like a boy with short blonde hair and a pinch of black hair. Her clear and pretty eyes were looking around the cave.

She hoped that the cave was used for hunting by her tribe so that she can find some equipment to make a fire. Fortunately, she found the equipment and made a fire. There are 3 paths in the deeper cave. Lunox chose the mid lane according to her instincts. She found the boy but the boy was bitten by some beast. When he saw the appearance of Lunox, the boy looked a bit grateful. Lunox wanted to take him out of there. She saw a lot of ancient carvings on the wall. The carving seems to show a war, perfectly encapsulating the pain that conflict brought to the land. The last carving, which is the longest and biggest, showed countless soldiers in it more than any other carvings. Lunox didn't find anything strange until she saw that there is a girl of black and white, just like her, in the middle of armies.

Lunox heard some weird sounds from behind her. She instinctively stood up and ran away, but a huge tail appeared in front of her. She tried her best to protect the boy but fell down by accident. Luckily, the torch is still burning but it was almost at the end of the cave. Lunox became darker and a lightning shot down from the sky and illuminated the cave. Lunox saw a giant snake-like creature moving slowly to her. She could see its deep dark skin, huge mouth with sharp saw teeth, and a pair of cold blood eyes. Come from nowhere, Lunox heard an old slithering and said, "Are you afraid of darkness?"

Lunox calmed down after hearing that voice. She thought of her mothers' words, "Wherever the darkness lies, you will always be the light". Lunox saw that the monster blocked the cave entrance. When another flash of lightning hit, she saw something shining near the torch. She stared into the darkness and felt that the wet, cold snake was wrapping around her feet and legs.

At this moment when the brightest lightning hit the earth, the snake withdrew a bit. The giant snake lifted Lunox's body and threw it into the cave. Lunox got hurt but she immediately stood up and limped to the corner of the cave. She saw a golden crystal embedded in the wall. She grasped it. When her hand touched the warm crystal, she felt that she was full of energy. She absorbed in all the energy that she could feel from the crystal. "Light can expel darkness," she thought in her mind. She turned over and raised her hands towards the approaching monster, shouted "Starlight Pulse!" The snake was hit by a bright energy wave, it made a painful sound then fell over. When Lunox fell on her knees out of fear, the basilisk was cut in two. Tired, Lunox looked into the pieces of the snake and she saw a familiar male figure. That was his father with a deep blue sword on his hand. Lunox cried "Dad!" and then fainted.

When Lunox awoke, she didn't realize that there were three other people standing behind her father. They were shamans and 2 experienced hunters from the tribe, who were family members of the boy she chased after. Lunox could overhear the hunters telling Orfax that this cave was marked by tribe's shamans. Apparently, not long ago, they felt a dark presence lurking within this cave and forbade people from venturing near it, but still, some people went missing. Without hesitation, Lunox's dad started to dissect the giant snake and discovered that a monster tamer he knew was one of the snake's victims. Everyone felt a seething anger, as they realized that someone in the tribe must have given in to the powers of darkness, otherwise such a beast would not have been here. In the end, they burned the snake's corpse. Orfax led his daughter, Lunox, out of the cave and into the light.

Far away from this cave, prophets from tribe told people that the monsters and beasts that plagued the world are planning to come again.