Moonlight Flower: Book III

Chapter I

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a golden glow over the landscape, Sunoo and his companions emerged from the shimmering portal that connected the Kingdom of Astro to Etherea. They stepped onto the soft, once-vibrant fields of their homeland, now a ghostly echo of the paradise they remembered. The air was thick with an unnatural stillness, as if the land itself held its breath in anticipation of some looming dread.

Etherea had always been a place of vibrant hues and gentle breezes, where magic danced freely among the flora and fauna. But now, the colors were muted, drained of their brilliance. The trees, once towering sentinels of life, stood gnarled and brittle, their leaves crumbling to dust at the slightest touch. The flowers, which used to bloom in a riot of colors, lay wilted and gray, their petals lifeless on the cracked earth.

The group exchanged uneasy glances, their hearts heavy with a palpable sense of loss. Each step they took seemed to echo louder than the last in the unnerving silence. Sunoo, still grappling with the loss of his magical abilities, felt an oppressive weight settle upon him. The reflection in the mirror that had haunted him seemed now a portent of the desolation before them.

"What has happened?" Sunoo gasped, his voice barely above a whisper, his eyes wide with shock.

"I... I don't know," Heeseung stammered, his expression mirroring Sunoo's bewilderment. The entire group stood in stunned silence, their minds struggling to comprehend the sight before them.

"It didn't look like this when we left," Riki choked out, his voice cracking with disbelief. He scanned the horizon, hoping to find some semblance of the vibrant kingdom they once knew.

Their knees grew weak, and one by one, they sank to the ground, unable to tear their eyes away from the devastation that lay before them. The once lively kingdom of Etherea, renowned as the home of elements, now lay in ruins. The sky, once a brilliant azure, was now cloaked in a menacing shade of gray, as if mourning the loss of its beauty.

The majestic palace, once the heart of the kingdom, stood in shattered silence. Its towering spires, which had once gleamed like beacons of hope, were now crumbled and broken, casting long shadows over the desolate landscape. The gardens, once teeming with life and color, were now barren, their flowers wilted and their trees stripped bare. The air was thick with the acrid scent of smoke and ash, remnants of the fires that had ravaged the land.

The streets, once filled with the cheerful chatter of merchants and townsfolk, were eerily silent. Everything lays overturned, scattered and trampled. The fountains, which had once sparkled with crystal-clear water, were now dry and cracked, their stone figures coated in soot.

As they took in the devastation, a profound sense of loss washed over them. Etherea had not merely been a kingdom; it had been their home, a place of laughter, love, and dreams. Now, it was reduced to a haunting memory of its former glory.

"We have to find out who did this," Sunoo said, his voice trembling with a mix of anger and sorrow. "We have to make them pay."

Heeseung nodded, his jaw set in determination. "We will, Sunoo. We will. But first, we must find any survivors. There has to be someone left who can tell us what happened here."

The group rose to their feet, their hearts heavy but their resolve unshaken. They began to move through the ruins, their steps echoing in the silent void that had once been Etherea. Each step was a painful reminder of what they had lost, but also a testament to their unwavering determination to restore their beloved kingdom to its former glory.

"We need to find the source of this decay," murmured Sunghoon, his usually steady voice tinged with apprehension. Soobin knelt and touched the ground, feeling the cold, lifeless soil beneath him fingertips. "This isn't natural. It's as if the life force of Etherea is being siphoned away."