Noah’s eyelids twitched faintly before slowly opening.

At first, everything was blurry. His thoughts were sluggish, as though his mind had been submerged beneath an endless ocean.

The excruciating pain that had tormented him only moments ago had vanished completely, disappearing as if it had never existed.

’Where am I...? What happened...?’

He struggled to gather his memories. Then they came rushing back.

The underground passage where he was running alongside Mary.

’Mary...’

His eyes widened.

"Ma... Mary!"

He abruptly tried to sit up. His vision finally began to clear.

What greeted him wasn’t the forest. Nor was it the underground ruin. Instead, beneath him stretched an endless expanse of rough gray ground, barren and lifeless.

It resembled weathered stone, scarred by countless cracks and untouched by any sign of life.

There was no trees, no wind nor any sound. There was only silence.

"...What?"

Noah slowly pushed himself to his feet. His eyes wandered across the desolate landscape before instinctively lifting toward the sky. His breath caught.

Above him stretched a sea of stars unlike anything he had ever witnessed. Countless brilliant stars glittered across the endless darkness.

Some shone silver. Others glowed with hues of crimson, sapphire, emerald, and violet.

Nebulas painted distant stretches of space with faint ribbons of celestial light, giving the heavens an almost dreamlike beauty.

It was as though he were standing at the very edge of the universe itself.

"...Where am I?"

His voice echoed softly before disappearing into the endless silence.

Then as he slowly turned around. His entire body froze.

His pupils contracted. Far away in the darkness hung an enormous celestial sphere. A breathtaking planet floated silently through space.

Its vast oceans shimmered with deep sapphire blue, while emerald-green continents stretched across its surface like precious jewels.

Massive swirls of white clouds drifted gracefully around the world.

A faint golden glow outlined its horizon, making the entire planet appear almost divine. It was unimaginably beautiful.

Noah stared blankly.

"T-That’s..."

His voice trembled.

"...Earth?"

He immediately shook his head. "No..."

His eyes widened even further. "...Not Earth. It... it’s Terranis."

The world where he had been transmigrated. The very planet on which he now lived.

He was looking at it from space. An impossible sight. His breathing became uneven.

’How...? How am I here on the moon? Why can I breathe? Am I... dead?’

His mind descended into complete confusion.

Crack.

A strange sound echoed through the silent void.

Noah’s body stiffened.

Slowly he turned around. Nearly ten meters behind him, the space itself cracked. A thin fracture appeared in empty air.

Like shattered glass. The crack spread wider.

Crack.

Crack.

The fracture continued expanding until it stood more than two meters tall.

Beyond it there was nothing. There was only endless darkness.

Not even starlight could enter that abyss. Noah unconsciously swallowed.

"What..."

He couldn’t understand what he was witnessing.

A foot stepped out from the darkness. It touched the gray ground soundlessly. Another followed. A tall figure slowly emerged from the fractured space.

The instant Noah saw her. His entire body became rigid. A chilling sensation ran down his spine.

His breathing stopped.

She wore flowing robes of pure lunar white that draped elegantly over her tall, slender figure. The fabric seemed almost unreal, shimmering faintly like moonlight dancing across calm water.

A long white veil covered her head and concealed everything above her lips. Only her pale chin remained visible beneath it.

Several strands of hair escaped from beneath the veil. They were the color of fresh blood red. While near the roots, gradually fading into a soft light lunar-blue at their ends, glowing faintly beneath the countless stars.

Her skin was unnaturally pale. Not the pale complexion of an ordinary woman. It was as though no blood had ever flowed beneath it.

She stood nearly two meters tall. She was graceful, elegant and perfect.

Yet what stole Noah’s breath wasn’t her appearance. He couldn’t see her face since she wore a veil.

It was her presence. It wasn’t something that could be described with words. She didn’t simply look powerful.

She felt divine and otherworldly. Like a being who existed far beyond mortal understanding. Standing before her made Noah feel smaller than an ant before the heavens.

It wasn’t merely fear. It was instinct. Every fiber of his being screamed that this existence stood at a level infinitely above him.

If she wished she could erase him with nothing more than a thought.

’Is she...The Moon Goddess...?’

His mind flashed back to the enormous statue hidden within the ancient temple.

’It’s her... She’s definitely the Moon Goddess...’

Cold sweat formed across his forehead. His thoughts spiraled wildly.

’Why am I here? Did she summon me? Was she the one who brought me into this world? Or did she discover that I’m not the original Noah? ...Is she going to kill me?’

He didn’t know. He couldn’t understand anything.

The mysterious goddess continued walking toward him. Her footsteps made no sound. Yet each step carried a pressure that felt heavier than mountains.

Noah wanted to retreat. He wanted to move. But his body refused.

It was as though space itself had imprisoned him. His muscles wouldn’t obey. His voice wouldn’t come out.

Soon she stood directly before him, towering over him.

He still couldn’t see her face beneath the veil. Silence stretched between them.

She simply observed him.

Slowly she raised her right hand. Her movements were graceful beyond description.

Her pale fingers stopped inches from Noah’s forehead. Only her index finger extended.

Tap.

The fingertip touched the center of his forehead.

Instantly an unbearable coldness spread through his body. It wasn’t ordinary cold. It felt as though winter itself had entered his bloodstream.

His blood froze. His bones froze. His muscles froze. Even his soul seemed to freeze.

Noah desperately tried to move. Nothing happened. His body no longer belonged to him. His eyes widened in terror.

’Am...Am I going to die...?’

He looked up at the silent goddess.

She never spoke. She simply watched. The freezing sensation intensified. Ice crystals slowly spread across his fingertips.

Then it moved to his hands, his arms, his chest.

Frost climbed across his neck before reaching his cheeks. His eyelashes froze. His vision gradually became obscured by a layer of crystalline ice.

Finally his entire body became a flawless statue of transparent blue ice.

Only his eyes remained fixed upon the silent goddess standing before him beneath the endless sea of stars.

Darkness slowly swallowed his vision. The last thing Noah saw was the mysterious veiled goddess silently gazing at him.

Crack.

His frozen body shattered into countless glittering fragments of ice. The crystalline shards drifted silently into the darkness. Until nothing remained.

---

[End Of The Volume 1: The Beginning of a New Fate ]