The Moonlit Myth Garden

The night had long fallen yet the forest beside Moc Ha village glowed with a strange gentle light. It was not the light of fireflies nor the bioluminescent mushrooms that people usually saw. This light was clear and soft like night mist, like silver dust falling from a full moon hanging over the mountain peak. People said that deep in this forest there existed a myth garden where time stopped and ancient stories never faded. All were rumors until Minh appeared.

Minh was a twenty-year-old young man who lived alone after losing his parents. He was raised by his aunt, a strict woman who cared deeply for him. Since childhood Minh loved reading old books and studying forest legends. He always believed that every story reflected a fragment of truth. When he heard that Moc Ha forest emitted strange light on a full moon night, his heart urged him to explore.

On the first full moon of July, Minh took a flashlight, a small notebook, and entered the forest. The air was cool and damp, mixed with the scent of wood, leaves, and earthy soil. He walked for over an hour without seeing anything unusual. Only insects chirped and moonlight filtered through layers of leaves. Just as Minh was about to turn back, a brighter light appeared ahead. He quickly turned off the flashlight and hid behind a tree.

From afar, the light pulsed softly like gentle waves. Minh held his breath and stepped closer. The closer he came, the stronger the light became. When he lifted the hanging vines, Minh froze. Before him stretched a garden so vast he could not see the end. Thousands of unknown glowing flowers bloomed, each radiating its own energy. Their lights merged, creating a sky-like brilliance on the ground. Minh thought he had entered another world.

While he marveled, a voice sounded behind him. It was neither human nor animal. The voice was clear like flowing water. Minh turned. A girl stood there. Her long hair nearly touched the ground and shimmered like celestial silk. She wore a soft white dress like mist, her bare feet touched the earth without leaving marks. What unnerved Minh was that she glowed like the flowers around them.

She looked at Minh with pale blue eyes and smiled.

You are the first to see the Myth Garden in a hundred years.

Minh was speechless. He did not understand why he was chosen. The girl stepped closer. Each step left sparkling rings on the ground. She said her name was Ylira, the last guardian of the garden.

Minh asked why the garden existed and why he could see it. Ylira gently touched a glowing flower and replied.

This garden appears only to those whose hearts are free from greed. Many have tried to enter, but most bring selfishness, fear, or ambition. You are the only one who came seeking truth without asking for more.

Minh lowered his head, embarrassed. He did not know what to say. Ylira invited him to go deeper. As he followed, the flowers shifted colors with each step. Sometimes violet like sunset, sometimes blue like a clear sky. Each color created a wave of emotion, making Minh feel he was in a symphony of light.

While walking, Ylira explained that the garden preserved the purest human emotions. Each flower was a crystallization of lost or unfinished stories, promises, and faith. Her duty was to maintain balance. But the garden was in danger.

An ancient entity named Vhalos sought to consume the garden’s light. Vhalos had once been a forest spirit like Ylira but was corrupted by hatred. He absorbed beautiful emotions to increase his power. If he succeeded, all pure human emotions would vanish.

Minh shivered. He could not understand why an ordinary person like him was entrusted with this knowledge. Yet Ylira held his hand firmly and said.

You are the only one Vhalos cannot manipulate. He fears the purity of your heart.

Minh panicked. He was not a hero. He had no special powers. But Ylira said softly.

The greatest power lies in what you do not realize you have. Your honesty and purity are what Vhalos fears.

Suddenly the ground trembled. Cold air swept through like ice. Trees bent and the garden’s glow dimmed. From afar, a massive dark figure approached. It twisted like a giant smoke tornado, emitting a growl like thousands of fears combined.

Ylira held Minh’s hand and pulled him into a glowing tunnel beneath an ancient tree. The entrance sealed behind them. Minh gasped as Ylira poured her light into the walls, illuminating the passage like stars.

She explained that Vhalos sensed Minh’s presence because he held a pure soul that Vhalos wanted to absorb. Minh trembled but Ylira guided him to a small underground chamber where a giant crystalline flower awaited.

The flower was called the Spirit Core. It was the garden’s life essence. If Minh touched it, he would see his deepest truths and learn how to defeat Vhalos. Yet if he harbored hidden desires, the Core could destroy his mind.

Minh stood before the Core and took a deep breath. Its light pulsed like a heartbeat. He touched it, and a white wave exploded.

In that moment, Minh saw his life. He saw his parents holding him, his aunt hiding tears to raise him, his moments of struggle and resilience. He saw his loneliness and the belief that he was unworthy of being remembered.

The Spirit Core revealed a truth. Loneliness was not weakness but a way to understand the value of presence. Minh had never been greedy. That purity was the power Vhalos feared.

When Minh opened his eyes, the Core had merged with him. Ylira looked hopeful. But the ground shook again. Vhalos had found the tunnel. Ylira led Minh out to the garden’s center. To stop Vhalos, Minh had to face him at the brightest light.

The sky darkened as if covered by a thick fog. Flowers dimmed. In the garden’s center, Vhalos swirled like a black storm with glowing red eyes. He laughed, shaking the air.

I have found your pure soul. I will consume you.

Minh trembled. But light from within him radiated like moonlight. Vhalos lunged with sharp smoke spikes, yet Minh’s light formed a shield. Every attack was nullified before reaching him.

Ylira stood behind him, adding her power. The flowers brightened, sending streams of light to Minh as if lending hope from countless stories.

Vhalos screamed in pain. Minh took a step forward, and the darkness surrounding Vhalos melted like smoke under sunlight.

Finally, Minh touched the dark core within Vhalos. Light poured from him, exploding. Vhalos roared then shattered into black dust, carried away by the wind. The sky cleared. Flowers bloomed brighter than ever.

Ylira looked at Minh, tears in her glowing eyes. But her light began to fade. Minh panicked. Ylira shook her head.

Now the garden’s duty is complete. Its guardian belongs to you. I was only temporary.

Minh wanted to speak but Ylira put a finger to his lips.

Thank you. For believing in beauty when no one else did. That saved the Myth Garden and me.

Glowing fragments of Ylira fell like stardust, vanishing into the air. Minh’s heart ached, but no tears came. In his chest, the Spirit Core shone. A part of Ylira lived within him.

The garden became more beautiful than ever. Flowers bloomed, soft light spread across the ground. Minh stepped onto the light bridge to the garden’s center. From that moment, he became the new guardian, preserving the purest human emotions.

Every full moon, the garden’s light spread across Moc Ha forest. Villagers saw it but few dared to enter. Minh and Ylira were unseen, yet stories of the young man with a pure heart who saved a world of emotions continued to spread.

And somewhere in that light, Minh felt Ylira beside him, gentle as the moonlit night.