“The New Moon Lady?”
Sophie repeated the title subconsciously.
“Precisely. The New Moon Lady. You may not be very familiar with that name,” Modi said with a nod.
He slowly reached up and pulled out a badge hidden beneath the collar of his rough cloth shirt. It was a silver crescent moon insignia.
Not... familiar? I used to hold her when I was little.
As the badge was revealed, Modi’s entire aura underwent a dramatic transformation.
The shifty-eyed, sycophantic merchant who had bowed and scraped for a few Silver Moons was gone.
In his place stood a fanatical preacher, looking as if he were standing in a tavern about to deliver a final, stirring speech.
“Yes, esteemed lady... no, great Divine Chosen.”
“Please forgive my earlier lack of insight for tainting your greatness with the stench of worldly coins. But the moment you pushed open that door and fearlessly downed that bottle of high-grade holy water—a liquid capable of turning a demon to ash—I knew... this was divine guidance.”
Sophie blinked, confusion flashing across her face.
Divine Chosen? Me?
“I wish to reveal a truth to you—a truth obscured by this ignorant city!” Modi flung his arms wide.
“Look at the world outside! Look at this Silvervein City, sealed tight beneath black lead tiles! Look at the commoners tethered together with ropes like livestock!”
Modi’s voice began to rise.
“They fear the night; they curse the moonlight. This so-called ‘Companion System’—those hemp ropes binding people together—is nothing more than a ridiculous shackle! They scrape by on this land, trading their freedom and dignity for a sliver of warmth at night, twisting love and kinship into nothing more than a transaction for survival!”
“They claim this is a wicked curse brought down by the Moon Witch, a punishment for humanity.” Modi let out a cold laugh filled with contempt for worldly laws. “But that is a lie! A lie fabricated by an incompetent royalty to mask their own cowardice!”
It actually wasn't a lie; it really wasn't a curse brought down by the Moon Witch. It was just that the Witch had been traumatized, and that trauma had rippled out across the kingdom.
Sophie was going to save the world from this dire situation. As for where the dire situation came from, best not to ask.
“Then what is the truth, sir?” Sophie played along.
Modi leaned forward slightly, the silver crescent moon badge swaying on his chest.
“The truth is, it is not a curse, but a baptism! A trial!”
“In this tragic era of Twilight of the Gods, when all the deities have abandoned this continent, only the New Moon Lady—our great Heavenly Mother—still casts her gaze upon this barren land.”
Modi clasped his hands in a pious prayer gesture, his tone becoming incredibly gentle.
“People are prone to forgetting their own fragility in the warm sunlight. Only in absolute cold and solitude do they understand the value of relying on one another.”
“What the New Moon Lady brought was not slaughter, but a way to break down those hypocritical barriers. She made the moonlight the most impartial of scales. Only those truly willing to open their hearts to others, to give of their own warmth without reservation, can survive the night.”
“This is the Lady’s mercy! She uses the harshest means to force lonely souls together. She is stitching this fractured world back together!”
“Is that how great she looks in your eyes?” Sophie couldn't help but mutter under her breath.
Her voice was extremely faint, but Modi caught a fragment of it.
“What did you say? Great?” Modi’s eyes brightened further, certain he had found a kindred spirit. “Yes! You truly understand her greatness!”
“In fact, the Lady’s grace goes even beyond that. For those believers who truly open their souls to her, for those of us who heed the New Moon’s teachings, she bestows true miracles!”
Modi pointed excitedly at the alchemy room Sophie had just left, as if it were the site of a divine occurrence.
“I have seen with my own eyes the Lady’s glory pouring down, granting us mana and favor.”
“And today, I have seen that same miracle within you!”
Modi took a sudden step forward, closing the distance to less than two paces from Sophie.
“That bottle of high-grade holy water... do you have any idea? Even the most devout Paladin of the Holy See would have their internal organs incinerated by that violent light energy if they drank it directly. Yet you were not only unharmed, but your exhaustion and wounds were swept away in an instant!”
“This is not a constitution a mortal could possess. This is a Divine Choice! It is an incorruptible body granted to you by the New Moon Lady amidst the long night!”
“What you performed in the alchemy room just now was by no means an ordinary refinement of materials. That pungent scent, those powerful mana fluctuations... You are a High-tier Ritual Master hiding in the mundane world, aren't you?”
Sophie didn't answer, simply watching him in silence. But to Modi, her silence was confirmation.
“The New Moon Sect needs you, great Divine Chosen!”
“Solitude’s royalty has rotted to the core, and the patrol guards are nothing more than a pack of thugs who only know how to extort. Our sect is powerful, our resources are vast, and we are supported by noble members who have long since realized the truth.”
“Though our sect has gone underground in this kingdom, our centuries of accumulation are far beyond anything those pampered nobles could imagine!”
“We control Solitude’s most secretive transport networks. The Oriental Snow Lotus you just purchased is but the tip of the iceberg. In our hidden vaults, we possess Troll Heart-Blood that can bring dead wood back to life, Nightmare Dust that can invert perception, and even ancient fragments of Abyssal knowledge strictly forbidden by the authorities!”
“If you are willing to join us and become the sect's new Bishop... no! Become the Saintess who leads us! All these resources, this wealth, this vast underground empire will be yours to command!”
Modi spoke with fervor.
“In this age where the gods have departed, only the New Moon Lady’s protection can save us from annihilation.”
“Noble Divine Chosen, please accept the New Moon’s blessing. Let us welcome the Lady’s glory together. Let us build a true paradise together on this land filled with despair!”
Modi held the silver crescent moon badge high, his wrist trembling slightly from extreme excitement and tension.
This guy is quite the orator. When the price of black bread hits five hundred thousand Copper Shells, he might actually start a movement.
Still, as for joining them... Sophie’s goal was to resolve Miaoyue’s Blackening anyway.
“Let me think about it,” Sophie said.
“As you wish, my lady. However, there is a gathering tomorrow at noon. I hope you will reach a decision before then.”
Rate on N.U.
