Monster

Point of View: A New Maid

The sun hung lazily in the sky, bathing the distant hills of Red Heaven in golden light, but within the walls of the inner estate, unease festered like rot.

"Hey Maria, the person in that house must be dead. He hasn't touched his food in months. I think we should go take a look," I said cheerfully, trying to mask my curiosity with a casual tone.

Maria, the older maid and far more cautious, frowned deeply. Her hands tightened around the bundle of clean linens she carried. "I don't know. Maybe we should report this to the Clan Head. He's still a member of the main family, even if… well, you know."

"Come on, Maria! Just a quick peek. We'll report what we find, okay? I just… I just want to see him. The youngest master of the Red Heaven Clan. Just once. Please?"

Maria glanced down the corridor toward the forbidden wing. Her lips thinned, and for a moment, I thought she'd walk away. But then she sighed, and I saw the moment her will broke.

"Alright," she muttered. "Just this once. But remember, he hasn't stepped out of that room in years. They say he went mad. From shame. From powerlessness."

"Let's go!" I grinned, grabbing her arm with excitement, heart racing.

We passed the silent garden, overgrown and wild, as if nature itself had forgotten this part of the estate. The building loomed ahead, worn down by time, its paint faded and windows boarded. The air grew heavier as we approached—each step slower than the last, as though the shadows clung to our ankles.

Maria hesitated at the door. "No one's supposed to enter. This was sealed by the Clan Elders."

"But it's not locked," I pointed out, and pushed it open.

---

The door groaned like a dying beast as it creaked open, dust cascading from the frame in waves.

A wave of unnatural coldness greeted us, curling around our necks like ghostly fingers. Our lanterns flickered weakly, struggling to stay lit against the strange energy pressing in.

The moment we stepped inside, I felt it—the room rejected us. The stone floor was cracked with veins of silver frost. The air was heavy, impossibly still, as though we had stepped into another realm altogether.

And then we saw it.

Floating in the center of the chamber, untouched by dust or time, was an egg.

But no egg should shimmer like that. Its surface shimmered with cosmic radiance, as if glass had been formed from nebulae and moonlight. Inside, galaxies turned. Star clusters spiraled in lazy motion. A heartbeat—slow, titanic—echoed through the space.

Time warped around it. A single glance felt like an eternity.

"What... what is that?" I breathed.

But something else drew our gaze—the black tendrils.

Three of them. Root-like, twisting things. They coiled tightly around the egg, pulsing faintly with eerie life. They weren't connected to anything. They just… were.

Maria's breath caught in her throat. Her hand reached instinctively for the door behind us.

Then—one of the tendrils moved.

Just a twitch.

Maria screamed, her lantern slipping from her hand and shattering on the floor. Light died instantly.

I couldn't move. My feet were rooted. The cold had crept into my bones.

"It's… it's alive," I whispered, barely able to speak.

The tendrils twitched again, almost playfully.

We ran. I don't remember grabbing Maria, or how we reached the door, but we ran—skirts tearing on cracked stone, lungs burning. Just as we crossed the threshold, the ancient door slammed shut behind us with a thunderous boom.

And in the darkness… the egg pulsed once more.

Like it was laughing.

---

"Hey, hey! Wake up! What are you doing sleeping in here?" Maria was shaking me hard.

I blinked, confused. "We're not dead?"

"What nonsense are you babbling? Get up already!"

I stared at her, heart thudding, memories spinning in chaos. "But… the egg… the chamber…"

"What chamber? Have you been dreaming on the job again? Hurry up, before the head steward sees you!"

"...Yes, yes, I'm going!" I said, still dazed, but forced myself to my feet.

Why can't I remember what happened after we ran?

---

Inside the Sealed Chamber...

Finally, thought David, eyes closed as silver flames curled gently around his body. Just a few more breaths...

He sat in perfect stillness. Around him, ancient sigils burned in silence. The egg had vanished, absorbed into his spirit long ago.

It's time.

With a deep inhale, his body trembled. Then—

A cracking sound.

Like ice splitting on a frozen lake.

Light exploded from his core. His body lifted an inch above the ground. Spirit energy surged, bathing the chamber in starlight.

—You have entered Spiritroot Foundation Stage—

Each cell has become a spiritual core.

Flesh and bone are now spirit-coded constructs.

Body immune to decay, fatigue, and poison.

David opened his eyes. Galaxies spun in his irises before fading.

He walked to the long-forgotten mirror, brushing off dust. The face he saw was that of a young man—sharp, elegant, immortal.

This won't do, he thought. Too much attention.

With a wave of his hand, his body rippled. His hair grayed. Wrinkles formed like brushstrokes across a canvas. A long beard emerged. His back hunched ever so slightly. From divine youth to venerable elder in a breath.

He reached for the door.

With a single step, it exploded outward.

---

Sunlight.

Blinding.

He winced, eyes adjusting. But now… he saw everything.

Radiation pouring from the sun like divine ink. He saw through the clouds, into the hearts of beasts flying miles above. Fire itself whispered its truths to him—the Law of Flame bending in greeting.

Two maids froze in the courtyard, mouths agape.

"Y-Young Master...? You're... alive?" Maria whispered.

David turned to her with a slight smirk. "Are you disappointed?"

"No! Not at all! Please forgive me!" she said, dropping to her knees, trembling.

"No need to kneel. Just tidy my room before nightfall. I'm going for a walk."

"But, Young Master! Your health—"

"I'll be fine," he said, tapping the cane conjured from his own energy. His steps echoed like drums of war.

---

Phoenix Land – The Main Hall

A grand palace of floating flame and marble clouds. The ceiling spun with constellations, alive and shifting.

At its center, on a throne carved from crystallized time, sat a being wrapped in cosmic robes. Her presence distorted space.

"The youngest?" she asked.

A maid bowed low. "He has emerged from seclusion. After nearly fifty years of silence."

The woman's eyes opened, twin suns behind her lashes. "He should have died in there. Someone interfered with his fate."

The maid dared to speak. "Your daughter, Rose… she has tamed a Stage 9 Dark Phoenix from the Dark Star Empire."

"Good. She must prepare for the Star Competition. But if the youngest is walking again..." She rose, her power shaking the chamber.

"Lilit. What do you think of the boy?"

Her shadow-maid blinked. "I think… being born weak is a misfortune. But choosing to remain weak—that is the gravest sin of all."

"Hah. Well said."

The woman's face darkened. "Where is my husband?"

"He is still pursuing the soul of the Primordial Dragon on the Ancient Blue Dragon Star."

"Tell him to return. Before the Star Competition begins."

"Yes, Mistress."

---

Back in Red Heaven

David walked alone. Each step drew murmurs from servants, gasps from elders, and silence from guards.

In the mirror pools, his reflection flickered between old and young—truth and illusion.

"David…" someone whispered from the shadows.

He turned. A girl, no more than sixteen, stared at him from the garden gate. Her eyes were wide, filled with awe.

"You're the one in the sealed room," she said.

"I was," he replied. "And who are you?"

"I'm Mei. I... I bring food to the sealed quarters. No one ever answers, but I always hoped…"

David smiled softly. "Then I suppose I owe you thanks."

Mei blinked. "They said you were useless. That your soul was damaged. That the Red Heaven Clan abandoned you."

"They did," he said, with no bitterness. "And yet… here I am."

The wind shifted. Far away, thunder rolled across a clear sky.

David's eyes turned toward the horizon, beyond the clan walls. Beyond the floating mountains.

Beyond the world.

It's not over, he thought. This is only the beginning.