Chapter 1
Thousands of years ago, a fearsome peak known as the Mount of Dread loomed over the land, infamous not for its height, but for the countless souls who vanished upon its slopes without a trace. Its summit, perpetually veiled in snow and swirling fog, held a grim secret—a bunker-like structure, half-hidden among the crags, barely visible to the keenest eye.
Ancient legends whisper that within its stone walls lie vaults of luminous crystals and scrolls inscribed with forgotten knowledge from a civilization lost to time. Yet no explorer has ever returned to confirm the tales. For the moment one sets foot on the mountain's treacherous paths, the line between the living and the lost blurs, and the odds of returning are as thin as the mountain air itself.
Enough of all this nonsense. Let's go back to reality,meet Raya. Raya was 23, and innocence still clung to her like morning dew. Her hair fell past her shoulders — long, silky, the color of almond shells in sunlight. But it was her eyes you noticed first: sharp, crystalline blue, like winter sky reflected in a frozen lake. They held a quiet alertness, as if she saw more than she let on. Her mouth was a cupid's bow, delicately curved, always hovering between a smile and a question. She moved with a willow's grace — slender, light on her feet.
In her past life, her fiance broke up with her, because he said she's too bossy and demanding. He also cheated on Raya on her best friend, and left her heartbroken after. Raya thought all hope was lost and died painfully in a heart attack feeling both betrayed and sad. But the gods of death sensed her pain, so they gave her another chance, and she was reborn to where her fiance asked her out at 18.
She thought “wait… what… What happened??”
“Raya, will you be my girlfriend?” said Raya's boyfriend, Jinshi.
Out of the blue, a voice came from Raya's head, “Raya, I have given you a chance to restart your life, but there is a cost, you must go to the Mountain of Dread, and take a scroll from one of the bunkers, or else, all of your memories will vanish and turn into one of our gods slaves.”
Raya was flabbergasted, so of course, she declined Jinshi's offer and ran away.
“I never heard of this mountain of dread, maybe I should ask my grandfather.”
Raya's grandfather is a professional mountain climber, Raya’s grandfather, Rojin, was world famous for his mountain climbing records. Rojin was 65 years old,He had hair as white as chalk, narrowed lids that squeeze the iris like a predator locking onto prey, lips with a calm, tight smile that shows quiet strength,Time had lined his face with silver at the temples and crows-feet around the eyes.
