In the night sky, the shadow that had devoured the Three Moons was still moving slowly, and less and less of the March Moon remained. Darkness was engulfing the Green Lake Region. All was silent, as though everything tonight had already come to an end.
Within that darkness, Megan and Shade noticed the flight trails of the Church's Thirteenth Ring Warlocks appearing by the lakeshore. Megan released Shade, pressed her forehead against his, and felt the abnormal tremors running through his body.
"After we return, I..."
Before she could finish, Shade suddenly pushed her away. The next moment, a beam of light shot out from the center of the lake, pierced through Shade's chest, and streaked toward the distant shore.
Megan did not even have time to react to what happened. Her eyes widened as she stared at Shade's deathly pale face, at the lake water beneath their feet that had somehow turned pale green, and at the clouds and mist parting behind them to reveal the peak of a strange island surrounded by jagged reefs, as well as the Ancestor standing there with his hands behind his back, watching the scene.
She thought everything tonight was a dream.
"This is insane—no, no!"
Shade lowered his head to look at his chest, then his body fell toward the water's surface. Megan reached out to grab his hand, but missed by a single centimeter, watching his "corpse" sink beneath the water.
Shocked, she stared at her outstretched hand, then heard a voice.
"Miss Edwardz, the troublemaker has temporarily disappeared. Please look over here."
The Demon of the Labyrinth, the bald figure tossing a black cube, had somehow appeared at the edge of the thinning fog. The mist behind it was gradually drifting farther across the lake. The mist that had shrouded