The girl seated atop the dark red crescent moon still maintained her posture of sovereign command.
Violent moonlight radiated from her as the center, eroding everything in all directions like an inverted sea of blood.
But at the heart of those overlapping halos, she herself was as silent as an exquisite porcelain doll that had been drained of all life.
This was the effect of the Forbidden Spell 【Invincibility Art】.
It granted immunity to all statuses and all damage.
Even magic powerful enough to destroy a continent could not leave a single scorch mark on her hemline.
The price was that during this lengthy period while the Law was in effect, she was completely severed from the rest of the world.
She could not hear, see, speak, or move.
All her senses were forcibly cut off, and her soul was imprisoned in a pitch-black box with no boundaries and no bottom.
Miaoyue had always hated this Forbidden Spell.
Because in this box, there was nothing.
She couldn't even hear her own heartbeat.
Here, there was only that shadow-like loneliness capable of driving a person mad.
However, she could not die.
She could not die here, not at the hands of that old hag who only knew how to pull rotten strings all day, and certainly not at the hands of that Solar Cult remnant wielding a blinding light.
To grind those who tried to lay hands on her territory and get close to her Teacher’s scent into dust, she had no choice but to activate her domain and forcibly lock herself in this long, nearly eternal silence.
—Actually, you don't need to be so afraid.
He had once told her that.
During the formation stage of this Forbidden Spell, her Teacher had rubbed her hair and comforted her in that casual, playful tone he always used.
“What is there to be afraid of? Isn't it just closing your eyes and counting? Just focus on finishing the spell. Once the progress bar is done and you open your eyes, I'll definitely be standing right in front of you.”
“Even if the sky falls, I'll push it back for you.”
Teacher had always been kind to her.
So, she had always believed in him.
As long as she endured this darkness, as long as she opened her eyes, Teacher would appear before her with that mischievous smile.
That was how it was.
That was how it had to be.
Teacher had just... lost his way.
Teacher, have you lost your way?
Ah, I’m truly so sad.
But it doesn't matter. Inside this pitch-black box, upon today’s moon.
No one would see her cry.
...
This trembling silence and coldness would always remind her of the past.
That was a story from a long, long time ago.
On the border of the Red Moon Empire, there was once a small mountain village surrounded by peaks, named Baoyue Village.
The village wasn't wealthy, but the surrounding land was incredibly fertile, enough to support their self-sufficiency.
Scholars from the empire had once come to investigate, and they called the soil there Moon Soil.
Strangely, although the Moon Soil was fertile, the mana within it would vanish the moment it was taken outside the area.
Coupled with the fact that the area of the Moon Soil itself wasn't large and the village was remote, the empire abandoned its development.
The villagers did not tell the scholars the truth.
This village had a sacred tradition that had lasted for centuries.
Every twelve years, on the night of the full moon, the village had to select a pure, untainted maiden. She would be bathed clean and offered as a supreme sacrifice to the Lord of the Moon residing deep in the mountains.
The so-called Lord of the Moon was not some deity looking down with pity from the clouds.
It was merely an ancient magical beast entrenched in the deep, old forests, having lived for countless years with a staggering appetite.
It used calamity and intimidation as leverage to openly collect living human sacrifices.
Its requirements for the sacrifices often changed. Sometimes it demanded those who “looked heroic yet a bit arrogant, with a petite frame.”
Sometimes it demanded those who “seemed easy to handle at first glance, but would glare fiercely when forced to submit.”
Sometimes it demanded those with “strong body odor and particularly foul-smelling feet.”
And sometimes it demanded those who were “young enough.”
As long as the villagers precisely satisfied the monster's desires, the deep mountains would grant twelve years of peace.
After those poor girls were swallowed, the dregs and filth were excreted at the foot of the mountains.
The so-called Moon Soil was actually the magical soil irrigated by the excrement left behind after that magical beast had finished devouring its sacrifices.
Moon Soil could grow high-value magical crops that fetched a good price in nearby cities.
Therefore, this tradition continued.
The chosen girl would be crowned with a wreath and dressed in the cleanest linen dress.
The villagers would tell her: “You are the hero of the village. You will become a fairy on the moon and protect everyone from the heavens.”
Everyone believed it.
“You are the chosen child. How fortunate you are,” the people in the village would always say.
And she, Miaoyue, was the chosen girl of this generation.
From the moment the village head loudly announced that the Lord of the Moon wanted a quiet and innocent girl this time, her fate had been decided.
Actually, Miaoyue never felt like she was an innocent child.
Although when she later met Teacher, he would always pinch her cheeks and tease her for being a simple idiot.
But she was clearly very smart.
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