Chapter 1: First time meeting

The sound of someone collapsing echoed through the rainy night. A completely exhausted girl fell into a puddle. She struggled for a moment but couldn’t get back up.

Cold raindrops hit her body, quickly stealing away her body heat.

Her consciousness grew faint, but flashes of past memories surfaced in her blurred vision.

She was once the youngest elite soldier—honored with the rare title of Knight among hundreds of thousands.

A Radiant Knight!

That was the highest honor she had earned on the battlefield alongside her spirit weapon, Radiance. Very few had ever achieved such a distinction.

But during a critical operation, while leading an elite squad deep into the enemy lines of the Void Demons to execute a decapitation strike, she was betrayed.

Betrayed by her entire team.

There were six of them. But the other five stopped fighting at the most critical moment. She was left alone—no support, no backup—and was severely wounded by a Void God.

The decapitation mission failed, and for her, the nightmare was only beginning.

When she returned to the Alliance, the five traitors twisted the story. They all gave the same testimony—accusing her of being corrupted by the Void God, claiming she had betrayed humanity and the Alliance.

She couldn’t defend herself. No matter what she said, no one believed her.

In prison, she was subjected to the harshest punishment given to spirit masters—the Seal of Thorns.

Special seals were branded onto her wrists, neck, chest, and limbs—an agonizing curse that made using spirit power unbearably painful.

But even that wasn’t the end of her nightmare.

The five traitors came to the prison—not to see her out of concern, but to force her to hand over Radiance, her spirit weapon.

She couldn’t bear it anymore. In the middle of that torture, she forcibly activated Radiance’s spirit armor, unleashing a 1000% resonance—twice the power she’d shown during the original decapitation mission.

She forgot what happened after that. She didn’t know if those five were killed by her or not. She couldn’t remember how she escaped.

She only remembered Radiance’s broken, smiling face as they said goodbye.

She remembered that at the moment her life was about to end, Radiance used everything—sacrificed everything—to make sure she lived.

In that moment, she and Radiance became one. She survived—but Radiance was gone forever.

He… had become her.

She didn’t know how long she had wandered since then. Somehow, she had ended up in this rain—rain that felt like it was saying farewell.

Footsteps approached, getting closer and closer, until someone stopped in front of her.

A woman in an elegant black dress stood there, holding a black umbrella, curiously studying the girl lying in the rain.

With the last ounce of strength, the girl reached out and grabbed the hem of the woman’s dress.

She… refused to give up!

The hatred and rage in her heart gave her one final burst of energy.

But then… she completely passed out.

When she woke again, she was lying on a soft, large bed. Looking around, she saw it was a simple, elegant bedroom.

Her head was pounding. She tried to get up—only to realize she was bound to the bed. Her arms and legs were restrained. She couldn’t move at all.

A terrible feeling crept up inside her.

She quickly looked down at herself—and realized that the body she now inhabited, reborn through Radiance, had fully become a woman’s.

And with Radiance’s body and looks…

She didn’t dare think further!

It was too terrifying!

“Relax. No one here is the type to do anything disgusting,”

A beautiful woman entered the room, holding a bowl of medicine.

“Who are you? Where is this? What are you planning to do to me?” she asked.

The woman placed the medicine on the nearby table and sat beside the bed.

“My name is Esbell May Aida. I’m the mistress of this estate. You can call me Lady Esbell or Miss Aida. Strictly speaking, I’m the one who saved you. As for the restraints, well, I had to ensure my own safety.”

Aida’s expression showed no emotion. She answered each question seriously.

Then she asked in return, “Now it’s my turn. Why are you here, Spirit Race—Miss Radiance? And where is your spirit

master? Also… if I’m not mistaken, that mark on your body—isn’t that the Seal of Thorns? Why would someone with that

punishment appear here?”

Her gaze sharpened. “Did you kill your spirit master? Is that why you were judged by the Alliance?”

The girl didn’t answer right away. She didn’t try to struggle either.

After a long silence, she finally spoke.

“I’m not Radiance. Radiance is dead. The Radiant Knight is also dead. The one alive now… I don’t even know what I am. Human? Spirit race? Ha… does it matter anymore?”

She looked bitter and turned to face Aida. “You’re right. This is the Seal of Thorns.”

She raised her arm, revealing the thorny pattern on her wrist.

“So what now? Are you going to send me back to be judged?”

“You don’t want to defend yourself?” Aida squinted her eyes as she opened the nearby computer to check the global news.

“What’s there to defend? The whole world believes the Radiant Knight betrayed humanity and the Alliance. What I say… who would believe it?”

At the same time, Aida was reading the official news.

It was all from the Alliance—an official statement declaring the Radiant Knight had committed suicide out of guilt.

The announcement said the Radiant Knight, after betraying humanity, refused to repent. Even after being judged, she injured three other titled knights and escaped prison.

During the pursuit, she realized she couldn’t escape. So she burned her life in a final desperate counterattack. Her body

couldn’t withstand the power, and along with half-spirit Radiance, it shattered. All that was left was a broken greatsword

and some remains of spirit armor.

The rest of the statement was the Alliance expressing outrage at the betrayal, and regret over losing a powerful titled knight.

Aida looked at the girl on the bed and gave a knowing smile.

It seemed the truth was very different from the Alliance’s version.

“I’ve read the announcement,” Aida said. “But now I want to hear the truth—from your mouth.”

The two locked eyes. After a long pause, the girl couldn’t bear the intense fire in Aida’s gaze and finally began to recount the entire betrayal.

Then—

“What are you doing?!” a furious voice rang out.

Aida had lifted the girl’s skirt.

“You really… turned into a girl! So what are you now? Human? Spirit race? Can you even have children?”

“I don’t know! Didn’t you check when you changed my clothes earlier? Also—cut it out!” the girl shouted in shame and anger.

Being stared at like this while tied up was unbearable.

Aida quickly lowered the skirt and untied her restraints. She sat back down beside the bed, cleared her throat, and pretended to act proper.

“I understand now. So… what should I call you? Radiance? Or…”

“I’ve already abandoned that name. As for the future…”

The girl moved her wrist, looking sad.

She tried to activate a tiny bit of spirit power, but the black Seal of Thorns on her right wrist suddenly flashed red.

Her expression twisted. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Her breathing grew heavy.

Just that small bit of spirit power—just one second of the seal glowing red—felt like being stabbed and twisted with a knife.

To her surprise, Aida gently wiped her sweat away with a silk handkerchief.

“Don’t try it again. It’s just asking for more pain,” Aida said softly.

The girl collapsed back onto the bed, drained. She was still seriously injured. Though she had woken up, she hadn’t eaten in who knows how long. She had no strength left.

“You said… only three titled knights were injured?”

Aida blinked and nodded. “Yeah. That’s what the announcement said.”

“Milias, that damned liar!”

“Eh? Are you thinking about revenge?” Aida suddenly leaned closer, resting her chin on her hand, curiously examining the girl’s beautiful face.

“What are you trying to do?!”

Aida ignored her fluster and repeated the question. “Just tell me—do you want revenge?”

The girl’s lips moved slightly. Deep hatred flickered in her eyes.

“I don’t need to be cleared. I don’t need honor. I just want to kill those five bastards.”

Satisfied, Aida gave a meaningful smile.

“This won’t be easy. If all five betrayed you at once, they planned it ahead of time. Betraying you in such a key battle

means powerful forces were backing them. This wasn’t just about you—it might’ve involved all of humanity, the Spirit

Race, even the Void Demons.”

But the girl smiled coldly. “So what? No matter how powerful they are… a life is still just one life.”

Aida picked up the medicine bowl from the table. It had cooled just enough.

She handed it to the girl, but seeing how weak she was, she began to feed her personally.

As the girl looked at the graceful woman so close to her, and felt that gentle care, her cheeks flushed slightly.

Even though she was still just 17 years old… Aida’s mature, elegant charm was too much for her to handle.

While she was getting lost in her thoughts, Aida quietly said:

“Whatever you plan to do from now on, whatever future you choose, the first thing you must do… is heal.”

After she finished the whole bowl of medicine, Aida looked into her eyes and spoke gently.

“And right now… the first thing you need is… a name.”

Aida smiled and reached out her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Mellow.”