In the dimly lit confines of their tent, Makina sat beside her peacefully sleeping sister, Marin.

The faint glow of a single candle flickered, casting elongated shadows that danced on the tent walls, emphasizing the weight of their dire circumstances.

Marin’s fragile form lay atop a makeshift bedding, her breathing steady but her body bearing the marks of the plague’s relentless grip.

Makina’s eyes were fixed on Marin’s face, her thoughts a tumultuous whirlwind of fear, despair, and desperation.

The scarcity of food was becoming increasingly apparent, and the severity of the plague’s toll on their bodies was undeniable.

The sight of Marin’s hairless scalp and the knowledge of her sister’s blindness only added to Makina’s overwhelming sense of helplessness.

The sound of Marin’s rhythmic breathing was a stark contrast to Makina’s racing thoughts.

“What should I do?”

Her voice, a mere whisper, carried the weight of a thousand questions without answers.

She felt trapped in a merciless cycle of suffering, the walls of their tent echoing her inner turmoil. ｂｏ𝚟𝚕.

The days blended into nights, and as the candle continued to burn, Makina’s desperation grew.

The realization that their lives were slipping away, hour by hour, gnawed at her soul.

The plague’s grip was tightening, and with it, the spectre of death loomed closer.

The thought of losing her sister, her only family, was an agony that consumed Makina’s every waking moment.

She had seen friends succumb to the plague, and she knew that their fate was no different if something didn’t change.

Tears welled in her eyes as she imagined a future without Marin’s presence, without her laughter and warmth.

As the candle sputtered, casting fleeting shadows that mirrored Makina’s wavering resolve, she clenched her fists in frustration.

“What should I do?”

The question reverberated, each iteration etching deeper lines of distress onto her face.

The room felt suffocating, a reflection of the hopelessness that had taken root in her heart.

Outside, the sky transitioned from darkness to dawn, a silent reminder that time was running out.

The first rays of sunlight pierced through the tent’s fabric, casting a soft glow on Marin’s sleeping form.

Makina’s gaze shifted from her sister to the fading candle, and with it came a surge of heartache.

In the stillness of the afternoon, as the sun hung lazily in the sky, Makina’s ears perked at the distant voices of the guards engaged in their duties nearby.

The tent’s fabric barely muffled their conversation, and her curiosity drew her focus toward their words like a moth to a flame.

“Hey, haven’t you heard of that piece of news lately?”

One guard’s voice carried a tone of intrigue, capturing Makina’s attention immediately.

She shifted slightly within the confines of the tent, straining to listen more closely to the impending revelation.

“Ah…you meant that, right?”

His companion’s sigh held a sense of shared concern, a precursor to whatever they were about to discuss.

The anticipation gnawed at Makina’s insides as she awaited the continuation of their conversation.

“Right. Apparently, the nobles are furious, and the whole upper echelon is boiling about this land.”

The words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken implications.

Makina’s heart quickened as she felt the weight of their words, sensing that this ‘land’ held significance far beyond what she could have anticipated.

Her brows furrowed in confusion, and she mentally prodded her thoughts, attempting to unravel the puzzle they had presented.

‘What land are they talking about?’ she questioned, her mind racing to fill in the gaps.

“No one knows when or how, but the land that was known to be the most deadly of all because of the plague had now turned into a paradise.”

The revelation hit Makina like a tidal wave, crashing into her consciousness with breathtaking force.

Her eyes widened, pupils dilating as the significance of those words sunk in.

A rush of emotions flooded her, disbelief, hope, and a desperate urgency.

The land that was once a nightmare, consumed by the plague that had ravaged her and her sister’s bodies, had miraculously transformed into a paradise.

It was an inconceivable twist of fate, a beacon of light amid the darkness that had ensnared them.

As the guards’ voices faded into the background, Makina’s mind whirled with possibilities.

‘The land of paradise…’ Her thoughts echoed, and her heart pounded with newfound determination.

She had heard enough to know that this was her chance, her glimmer of hope.

But a new question emerged, one that carried both excitement and apprehension, ‘Where is it?’

Makina’s eyes flickered with a mixture of resolve and uncertainty.

The tantalizing prospect of salvation beckoned to her, a distant dream that now seemed within reach.

With Marin still asleep beside her, Makina’s mind began to form a plan.

She needed to find out more about this land, its location, and how she could reach it.

“Well, at first, the heads had sent some cultivators in to find a clue about this land…but you know what happened?”

The guard’s words carried a mix of intrigue and foreboding, drawing the attention of his friend and Makina alike.

Eager to learn more, they leaned in, awaiting the tale he was about to unfold.

“What happened?”

His friend’s curiosity mirrored Makina’s, their anticipation palpable in the air.

The guard’s next words held the promise of unveiling something that defied belief.

“None of the 100 cultivators that were sent had returned alive. And you have to know that all of them were foundations or even near towards the Origin realm.”

The weight of his statement hit like a ton of bricks, causing the jaws of both his friend and Makina to drop in astonishment.

The implications of what he was saying were staggering, a group of cultivators, formidable and renowned for their realms, had ventured into this mysterious land and met their doom.

“What!? There’s no way that can be true!”

The incredulity in his friend’s voice was matched by Makina’s own disbelief.

To her, cultivators were beings of immense power and longevity, bordering on the realm of immortals.

The notion that they could be felled was a concept she struggled to accept.

“I had the same reaction as you, but this is true. That’s why the higher-ups are panicking right now.”

The gravity of the situation hung in the air like a storm cloud, casting a shadow over their perceptions.

The city’s most skilled and formidable individuals had ventured into the land of paradise and met their demise.

The implications were staggering.

“No one knows when, but that land grew towering, impenetrable walls that not even the strongest cultivator in this city could destroy.”

The words conjured images of walls rising like colossal titans, shielding the land from prying eyes and intrusion.

Makina’s mind raced, trying to comprehend the scale of this transformation.

“The heads don’t know what is happening inside and how it grew, and the only clue that they have is the wide, broad name that’s plastered on the huge golden gate, Heavenly Harem Sect.”

The revelation was like a puzzle piece slotting into place.

The name resonated with both awe and intrigue, a beacon that beckoned the desperate and hopeful alike.

Makina’s thoughts whirred as she absorbed the information.

The Heavenly Harem Sect, an enigmatic sanctuary that had arisen from the depths of plague and despair.

It was a name that bore both hope and mystery, and its golden gate held the promise of salvation.

As the guard’s words settled, Makina’s determination was reignited.

Now, Makina felt like they had dropped a huge clue on her, and she clung to those words, ‘Heavenly Harem Sect’.

The name reverberated in her mind, a beacon of hope guiding her thoughts.

It was as if destiny itself had whispered to her, offering a path to salvation that she hadn’t dared to dream of.

As the guard continued to speak, she hung on his every word, hoping to extract more information that might aid her in her quest.

“What… What kind of name is that!?”

The guard’s incredulity mirrored Makina’s initial reaction to the name.

His mocking tone did little to deter her, though, the name had sparked a fire within her, and she was determined to uncover the truth.

“Still, the higher-ups believe that it’s a force or sect of some kind. And for now, they have no idea what this… sect… wants. They didn’t want to send any more men, fearing that they would lose even more.”

The pieces of the puzzle were slowly falling into place.

The higher-ups were wary, cautious of the enigmatic power that had emerged from the ashes of plague and despair.

Makina could sense the mixture of fear and uncertainty in the guard’s words, a sentiment that resonated within her own heart.

“Hence, for now, they are observing before making any decisions.”

The guard’s revelation hung in the air, an unspoken invitation for Makina to draw her own conclusions.

The Heavenly Harem Sect was a phenomenon that defied explanation, a force that had transformed a land once ravaged by plague into a sanctuary of promise.

The fact that even the city’s most powerful cultivators had met their demise within its reaching the Heavenly Harem Sect held a glimmer of hope that she couldn’t ignore.

“But where is this land located?”

walls only added to the air of mystery surrounding it.

As the conversation with the guard concluded, Makina’s mind raced with newfound purpose.

The path ahead was fraught with danger and uncertainty, but the prospect of reaching the Heavenly Harem Sect held a glimmer of hope that she couldn’t ignore.

“But where is this land located?”

Makina’s desperation was evident as she sought the critical piece of information.

The guard’s response was both unexpected and intriguing, drawing her further into the unfolding mystery.

“You might not believe this, but you know about the land that’s known to be abandoned?”

His friend’s interest was piqued, and he ventured a guess.

“You mean the Efea Land, where it was once prosperous due to its abundance of Spiritual Stones?”

The confirmation left his friend in disbelief, unable to reconcile the prosperous history of Efea Land with its current state.

“Yeah, it’s that land.”

The guard’s response carried a weight of both truth and intrigue.

His friend’s incredulous laughter mirrored Makina’s own astonishment.

After all, Efea Land had become a forbidden and forsaken place, its riches of spiritual stones now overshadowed by the haunting plague that gripped its soil.

The land was no longer one of abundance but of ruin, a place where even the healthiest of individuals would find their limbs withering away upon entry.

“It’s up to you whether to believe it, man, but duty calls regardless.”

With those words, the conversationbetween the guards reached its conclusion, leaving Makina alone with her racing thoughts.

The revelation that the transformed land, the Heavenly Harem Sect, was situated within the abandoned Efea Land hit her like a bolt of lightning.

It was a convergence of despair and hope, a juxtaposition that she struggled to wrap her mind around.

As the guards resumed their duties, Makina’s heart raced with a newfound sense of purpose.

The path ahead was clearer now, even as the challenges loomed large.

Efea Land, a place that had fallen into darkness, now held the promise of salvation.

The journey to the Heavenly Harem Sect was bound to be perilous, but the potential reward was worth every risk.

As the city’s dim lights cast long shadows across the ground, Makina’s gaze shifted to her sister, still resting peacefully.

The weight of her responsibility bore down on her, but the spark of determination burned bright within her chest.

With the name of the sect etched into her heart and the memory of Efea Land’s fall as a reminder, Makina knew that her path was set.

She would do whatever it took to reach the Heavenly Harem Sect, to secure a future for her and Marin, and to free them from the shackles of the plague that had held them captive for far too long.