Souls Online: Mythic Ascension
Chapter 275: Potential?

Chapter 275: Potential?

The system message hung in the air like a bad joke. Nothing about this place felt serene. The ground was soft with moss that pulsed faintly, as if it had a heartbeat. Trees loomed tall and skeletal, bark peeling in strips that revealed raw, red wood beneath. Flowers wilted and bloomed in the same breath, their petals twitching like they were breathing.

Greg’s voice broke the quiet, low and wary. "Serenity, huh? If this is serene, I’d hate to see what they call hostile."

"No birds. No wind," Aria said softly. "Even the air feels... held back."

Rachel turned slowly, her staff at the ready. "There’s something wrong with the light. Look at the shadows. They’re not falling where they should."

Lily crouched down and touched a patch of moss. Her fingers came away damp with something that looked too dark to be water. "This place isn’t just creepy. It’s bleeding."

Penny’s brows drew together. "Okay, so what? This is another dungeon layer? Is this even part of the raid anymore?"

Crystal didn’t answer. Her eyes stayed on the horizon, where faint whispers echoed through the trees, too low to understand but impossible to ignore.

Luna winced as she felt a pain in her chest...almost as if something was trying to break out from inside of her.

"No...this isn’t right." she groaned, slipping to her knees, causing Leo to immediately rush to her side.

"You okay Sis? What’s going on?!".com

Luna winced again as she felt that pain intensify again.

"M-My chest! It’s on fire!"

could somehow will the pain away.

"Breathe, Luna. Just breathe."

"I am breathing," she hissed, voice tight with strain. "That’s the problem. It hurts more every time I do."

Her fingers dug into the moss, tearing it up in clumps that pulsed like raw muscle. The earth underneath steamed faintly.

Crystal moved quickly to their side, pressing her hand gently to Luna’s back, but her expression twisted with confusion. "She’s burning up, but there’s no heat. Her skin feels normal."

Crystal’s brows furrowed. "It’s not physical. This isn’t sickness. It’s something else."

The moss beneath Luna’s hands twitched, pulling away from her touch like it recognized her.

Rachel took a cautious step back. "Hold on. Does anyone else remember what that thing inside her called itself?"

There was a beat of silence.

Then Greg’s voice, flat and quiet. "Yeah. It had a name."

Aria’s eyes narrowed. "Something... poetic. Off-putting."

Penny snapped her fingers. "Demon of Serenity."

The moment the name was spoken aloud, the garden reacted. The moss underfoot pulsed harder. The shadows deepened. The trees groaned..com

Leo looked at Luna before he glanced at everyone else, they were all sporting matching expressions.

"This is that Demon’s domain... If things had gone any differently, Luna would have been the boss of this domain ... .Could it be the pain you were feeling was it trying to escape Arachne’s seal?"

Luna’s breath trembled as she forced herself upright, still clutching her chest. Her voice came out quiet, but steady.

"Yes," she said. "It was trying to escape. That must be it. "

The moment the word left her lips, the air shifted.

[System Notice: The Garden of Serenity has been Cleared.]

Everyone froze, the system message hanging heavy in the thick, pulsing air. Wide eyes flickered between each other, disbelief spreading like wildfire.

"Just like that?" Greg’s voice cracked the silence, low and cautious.

Rachel grinned, waving a hand dismissively. "That was easy. Can we get more fights like that, please~?"

Aria gave her a sharp look but said nothing, still scanning the unsettling garden around them.

Penny rolled her eyes, muttering, "Too easy, yeah. Something’s definitely off."

Crystal frowned. "No warning, no fight. It’s like the whole place was holding its breath."

Luna swayed slightly but held firm, her breathing still shaky. "If that thing really was trying to break free... why did it just stop?"

Completely oblivious to the unease everyone else was feeling,Lily crouched down, plucking a wilted flower and turning it over thoughtfully. "Honestly, with a little sprucing up, this garden wouldn’t be half bad."

Everyone slowly turned to stare at her, jaws slack and eyes wide, as if she’d just declared the sky was green.

Rachel blinked, then smirked. "Lily, you’re insane. Never change!

Crystal arched a brow, still clutching her sword. "You do realize the moss is breathing, right?"

Greg pointed toward a nearby tree with a peeling trunk that oozed something black and viscous. "That one’s crying blood. Just saying."

Penny crossed her arms and tilted her head. "There are literal whispers in the trees. Whispers. Plural."

Aria didn’t say anything. She just stared at Lily like she was trying to determine if she’d been replaced by a shapeshifter.

Lily stood up, brushing off her hands with a cheerful hum. "What? A few benches, some fairy lights, maybe a koi pond? It could be charming."

Luna looked at Lily with a look of profound fear, her best friends mentality was utterly monstrous. How could she even think of something like that now and here of all places.

"Lily this is the garden of Demons." she murmured softly, shaking her head. She couldn’t defend Lily’s sense of aesthetics any longer.

"Right, but now it’s vacant." Lily smiled. "Prime real estate."

Leo pinched the bridge of his nose. "We need to get you outside more."

"I am outside," Lily replied innocently, gesturing to the twisted forest around them. "See? Nature."

Adam, who had been quiet until now, shifted uneasily. His many limbs folded in close as he looked around with visible distaste.

"This place smells like rot and regret," he muttered. "If Lily wants to live here, she can do it solo."

Lily gave him a mock pout. "You wound me. I just said it has potential."

Greg looked at her like she had grown a second head. "Potential for what? Growing curses? Harvesting nightmares?"

Penny nodded toward a patch of moss that twitched when the wind didn’t blow. "It moved. That moss just moved. On its own. While we were watching."

Lily tilted her head. "Maybe it’s sentient. That could be useful."

Rachel burst out laughing. "She’s gone, guys. We’ve lost her."

Despite everything, the tension broke slightly as a few of them chuckled. But even the humor felt thin. Forced. There was still something wrong about this place, and none of them were ready to relax. Not yet.