Crownless Reincarnation: New World? Nah I'd win-Chapter 98: Snow Witch’s Earrings.

Akamir blinked....

...Only to find himself standing on the rough surface of the moon.

’...What?’

Akamir staggered a step back in utter bewilderment.

The weightlessness hit him first, the strange sensation of gravity no longer pulling him down.

The surface beneath his feet felt rough and cold, like jagged stone carved in silence over centuries.

He slowly raised his head to look up.

The sky was black.

Pitch black.

There were no stars.

No sun.

No warmth.

Just the looming, eternal void that tried to grab his soul.

"...Nayomi?" he called, his voice shaky.

No response.

There was no sound in the place, not even his own voice echoed.

’This isn’t real.’

Akamir drew in a deep breath as he calmed his raging heart.

He quickly took notice of his current form.

’It’s not my physical body but.....more like my soul.’

He spun around, his breath came out in puffs that turned into glowing mist.

The horizon stretched forever, a dull silver landscape of craters and broken towers made of bone-white stone.

At the edge of his vision, something glowed.

Like a moth attracted to a fire, Akamir slowly walked toward it.

Each step echoed inside his mind, not in his ears.

It was like he was in a place that was a blurred plane of mixed realities.

....Finally he saw her.

A woman stood at the top of a broken staircase, her back to him.

She wore a flowing robe that looked like it was woven from strands of starlight and darkness.

Her long hair floated as if underwater, midnight blue with silver tips, glowing faintly like the dying embers of a once-burning sun.

’W-What is happening?’

Akamir felt a different type of pressure in her presence.

As if he was in the presence of a.... Goddess.

She slowly turned her head toward him.

And Akamir froze in his place.

Her face...

It was like looking at something half-formed and too real at the same time.

Her features shifted slightly, like a memory trying to be remembered.

One eye was silver.

The other, gold.

Her gaze pierced through him, into him, as though she saw every decision, every doubt, every lie he ever told.

’...Is this even real?’

Akamir tried to speak.

Nothing came out.

She raised her hand.

The world trembled.

A single word appeared in his mind—not spoken aloud but in his mind.

"You...?"

Akamir blinked in confusion at her words.

He blinked.

Now she stood in front of him.

The first thing that Akamir noticed was her hand.

She had four hands instead of two, the first pair folded.

He didn’t understand who she was, but his heart raced like prey before a predator.

...She stood still, unmoving.

Up close, the sheer weight of her presence pressed down on him like a mountain.

The second pair of her hands rose slowly in an elegant way.

Akamir took a step back away from her reach.

"Who... are you?" he finally whispered even though he knew who she might be.

The woman tilted her head, the way a question looks at itself.

Her voice echoed not in sound, but in memory.

<You’ve stepped where time is thin.>

Akamir’s eyes widened. "What... does that mean?"

<You were not meant to come here yet.>

Akamir frowned. "Yet?"

She took a step forward, closer to him.

<The time will come when we will meet properly, oh, otherworlder.>

Akamir felt goosebumps all over his body.

He whispered once again. "What do you mean?"

The woman’s lips parted but instead of words, images flashed in his mind:

A golden tree bleeding fire.

A face without eyes whispering something beside an eight-fingered hand.

A sword buried in a heart that still beat.

.....And a throne, cracked, that waited for its owner.

Akamir gasped audibly as he took a look at her confusingly.

<We shall meet again.>

She whispered softly, her voice echoed in his mind.

<Till then, accept my parting gift.>

Her inhuman hand touched his ears.

<Farewell, Consort.>

The moon beneath him shattered like glass.

---

"Hah!"

Akamir jerked back to reality as his body sat straight back up.

Cold sweat dripped down his back as his hands trembled violently.

"Hah..."

Akamir exhaled softly before he looked around the place.

Only to find himself in his room back in the estate.

’Why am I here?’

He frowned as he looked around the place.

"You were knocked unconscious after taking her name."

Nayomi’s voice echoed, making him look up.

"The faculty brought you back after finding nothing wrong with you."

Akamir let out a sigh as he leaned back on the bed.

He stared at the ceiling for a while, letting Nayomi’s words settle.

Her name?

That woman on the moon... was real?

’....What is wrong with this world?’

Akamir let out another sigh as the door of his room clicked open.

Zia, his maid, walked in with some bathwater.

She blinked and he blinked back at her.

"Young master." Zia cried out, rushing towards him. "Are you alright!?"

Zia dropped the water bowl, ignoring the splash that hit the floor as she knelt by Akamir’s bedside, her eyes wide with worry.

"I heard you collapsed. What happened?" Her voice trembled, hands already checking his forehead, cheeks, arms.

Akamir slapped her hand away. "I am fine." He groaned.

"But you collapsed!"

"Yeah, I know that." Akamir said, pushing himself up from the bed. "But I am fine now."

Zia quickly got back up, placing her hands behind him, fearing he might collapse again. freёnovelkiss.com

"Who brought me here?" Akamir asked, glancing back at her.

"Princess Inara." She replied softly. "She was concerned about you."

Akamir whispered. "....I see."

There was a silence that lingered between them.

Akamir now turned fully towards her. "By the way." He said. "I had something to ask."

Zia blinked in confusion. "What is it?"

"You said, you were with me since I was an infant." Akamir said, staring into her eyes. "Do you know anything about my mother?"

Zia froze.

For a second, she didn’t move, didn’t breathe.

Her lips parted slightly, as if the question had punched the air out of her.

"...Why are you asking about her now?" she finally asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Akamir tilted his head, eyes narrowing. "Just answer me."

Zia lowered her gaze. Her hands clenched in front of her apron.

"I don’t remember much," she said slowly. "I was just a child when I came to serve your family... but I do remember one thing clearly."

Akamir leaned forward. "Go on."

She finally looked up at him. "That your mother loved you."

Akamir tilted his head. "Have you seen my mother?"

Zia blinked then shook her head. "...No."

Akamir gave her a look. "Then how can you say she loved me?"

Zia’s fingers curled tighter into the fabric of her apron.

"Because," she said quietly, "someone told me."

Akamir narrowed his eyes. "Who?"

Zia hesitated, her lips pressing into a thin line. "...A maid. Older than me. She’s gone now."

"And you believe in her words?" Akamir asked, staring into her eyes.

Zia finally sighed. "I don’t know....I don’t remember much."

Akamir looked at her for a few seconds before he nodded. "Fine."

He turned around. "Can you get me something to eat?"

Zia bowed towards him. "Yes, young master."

She moved towards the door and grabbed the handle but at the last second she looked back.

"Young master." She said. "The earrings look good on you."

She opened the door and walked out leaving him alone in the room.

Akamir frowned. ’What earrings?’

He moved towards the mirror in his room and sure enough, he was wearing them.

"Do you think she is lying about your mother?" Nayomi said, floating close by.

Akamir replied without looking at her. "It’s obvious." He mumbled. "I wouldn’t be surprised if she worked for my mother."

"...."

Nayomi said nothing as Akamir observed the earrings.

It was pure white like snow in the shape of a half moon.

"You saw her didn’t you?" Nayomi asked, narrowing her eyes.

Akamir let out a sigh. ".... Yeah."

Nayomi blinked. "I am surprised you are still alive."

"...Me too." Akamir mumbled. "She said she was giving me a gift, is this earrings...?"

To confirm his doubt, Akamir touched the earrings.

And just as he expected....

[You are in the presence of a sealed Artifact.]

A message popped up in front of him.

[Would you like to use "memories"?]

[Yes/no]

Akamir clicked on "yes."

Only to get even more confused.

[Artifacts made by the user are automatically saved in memories.]

Akamir frowned hard. "Made by me?"

Those words made no sense to him as he opened the memories tab.

===

Snow Witch’s Earrings.

Abilities:

• Mastery over Lunar Magic.

• A slight increase in stats at Night.

• Protection from Golden Sun’s influence.

•?????

====

’....’

There were so many questions that Akamir had as he saw the status screen.

He couldn’t even understand what they signified.

’Lunar magic?’

Akamir frowned as he looked back at Nayomi.

"Is there something else you know about her?" He asked, his voice cautious now. "The Exalted Eympriain?"

"...."

Nayomi thought for a long while before she whispered.

"I think she is also related to an outer God." Her voice was uncertain. "Perhaps with the Crimson Moon?"

He tilted his head. "Crimson Moon?"

"It’s a force against the Golden Sun." She replied softly. "But nothing much is known about it."

Akamir let out a sigh as he sat back on the bed.

He lowered his gaze to his hand as a memory returned to him. "I saw an enormous tree bleed fire."

Nayomi opened her mouth to speak but shut it down.

"And....." He continued silently. "She called me Consort."

That got a reaction from the girl. "....What?"

Akamir looked at her. "What happened?"

"Do you even know what a consort is?"

Akamir frowned. "Of course I do. It’s....."

His words slowed down.

"....A partner."