"I FINALLY found you," Luna whispered to herself while looking at the cave that she found in the deepest part of the forest. The entrance was glowing with cold, blue Mana. She could tell that it belonged to the Blue Dragon. "Let's see what you're hiding here."
It wasn't easy to get to that forest.
After all, it was known as a lair of aggressive dragons that crave for human flesh.
[This definitely belongs to the cruel and crazy Elis Ripperton.]
But for a Moon Priestess like her, it was quite easy to avoid the dragons and navigate the forest as if it wasn't her first time there. Despite her hatred for Kyro, she couldn't deny the fact that his blessing was pretty useful on her journey.
By 'blessing,' she meant the fact that a Moon Priestess like her wouldn't get lost as long as she followed the moon. Moreover, it seemed like the forest itself was protected by Kyro's power. Thus, as a child of the moon, the forest had been kind to her.
[It's so dark in here,] she thought to herself as she slowly and carefully treaded inside the cave. She followed the blue-ish dust-like lights that somehow felt like pointing her somewhere. [But the malevolent aura I feel is so thick.]
To be honest, the aura inside the cave would be enough to knock down an average Mana-user. Moreover, it felt like the cave itself was alive. In fact, the air inside the cave felt like someone else's breath. While the ground that she walked on felt…
[It feels like human flesh.]
She also had a feeling that the "stones" and "rocks" around were actually broken human bones. And the pebbles? They looked like teeth.
[Why do I feel like I'm inside a dead body of a giant?]
She stopped on her tracks when realization hit her.
[I'm inside… a dead body… of a giant.]
But in this world, giants didn't only referred to the now perished giant race.
Gods, when they descend heavens in their original form, could be as big as a mountain. Thus, humans would often mistake them for a giant. But giants, aside from their impressive physical strength, didn't have any outstanding fighting skills because they had low Mana.
But the Mana inside that "cave" was thick.
All of a sudden, shivers went down her spine.
And it wasn't only because of her shocking realization.
[Soleil…?]
The bluish dust-like lights that she followed a while ago gathered in one place, making the area shine bright.
That was when she saw the 'person' literally hanged on the cave wall like a painting.
Yes, the sleeping woman, dressed in a light blue cloak, looks exactly like Soleil. Moreover, the rectangular, plain white "bed" behind the lady looked like a canvas. Thus, it looked like a painting of the Supreme Fire Mage.
[It looks so real…]
But obviously, it wasn't. It was merely a doll made of flesh. To be honest, it wasn't the first time that she saw a human doll. But this was the first time that she saw a human doll that looked very real.
That was when she connected the dots.
"Those blasted demons," she whispered to herself with clenched hands, cursing Kyro and Elis Ripperton. "They killed a god and made a human doll that resembles Soleil."
A human doll didn't need a real brain to function. A Spirit Stone called 'Moonstone' would suffice as a brain replacement, but it wasn't something an ordinary human could possess. After all, a Moonstone was the type of Spirit Stone that could produce fake memories.
But for a human doll to be "alive," one needed a real heart. Of course, it had to be the heart of the human that the doll resembled.
"Elis Ripperton," she whispered with clenched. "You're digusting to the core."
Now she finally understood why Elis Ripperton joined hands with Kyro.
The Blue Dragon couldn't possibly kill an ancient god on his own. She could imagine the Moon God offering Elis Ripperton a hand. Moreover, since Kyro was the Moon God himself, he could produce a Moonstone easily.
She smiled bitterly to herself. "Now I know why the Mistress of Fate said that I would die protecting Soleil."
It was thanks to the Mistress of Fate that she found that forest and that cave.
As promised, the mistress really did tell her when and where she would die. Thus, she went to that forest to investigate the would-be cause of her death. She wasn't afraid to die anyway, since she knew all beings would die in the end.
So, instead of getting sad over her impending doom, she decided to face it and see how she could help Soleil before she died.
[But I have a feeling that the Mistress of Fate told me that to guide me here.]
Maybe that strange goddess was an ally all along.
"I was feeling guilty for stealing the Holy Scepter when Asher Forrester was mourning his brother's death," she said, then she opened her hand. A few moments later, the new saint's Holy Scepter manifested above her palm. She grabbed it tightly. "But I'm glad that I followed Lord Kalel's ridiculous plan."
She took a breath, then she threw the Holy Scepter as if it was a spear. Luckily, despite being more reliant on her Mana, her physical strength didn't betray her.
The sharper end of the scepter pierced through the fake Soleil's chest.
Then, it disappeared.
Luna took a deep breath, preparing for her next move. "I won't let them use your heart for something this despicable, Soleil."
***
ELIS RIPPERTON smiled after Auro Moonchester cut open the chest of the human doll that resembled his beloved.
After Auro Moonchester received the heart from Kalel, the young emperor summoned him. Then, the two of them travelled to the forest protected by him and Kyro. To be precise, they went to the "cave" where he kept the human doll all this time.
He laid the human doll on the floating table as Auro Moonchester operated on it.
"Even Soleil's heart is beautiful," Elis Ripperton said while admiring the heart in Auro Moonchester's hand. "It looks like a ruby."
Soleil's heart, after being frozen by Kalel's ice, had turned into a gem that resembled a ruby.
[A bright red and shining ruby, that is.]
"Nia told me that Lady Soleil is the Daughter of the Sun," Auro Moonchester explained while putting the heart inside the chest of the human doll. "Thus, her heart would freeze like a beautiful gem once it's ripped out of her body."
"Who's Nia?"
"The one who'd take Elaine's position soon," the young emperor said. "I'm going to marry her once "Elaine" reached her coming of age."
"Ah, I see."
He didn't give a damn about this child's private affair.
"Lord Ripperton, why do you have to do all of this just to have your own Lady Soleil?" Auro Moonchester asked him after he closed the cut that he made on the human doll's chest. "You asked Lord Kyro to kill an ancient god for you, then you used the flesh of that god to create a human doll that resembles Lady Soleil."
It wasn't just any ancient god that Kyro killed.
The Moon God actually killed the god that had served the Plane as its guardian for many, many centuries.
"A god's flesh is the best material to use in creating a perfect human doll," he explained. "Just look at my Soleil's body. It's soft, smooth, and warm. It doesn't look like a doll at all, does it?"
"That's not what I meant," the young emperor said while wiping his hands with a white handkerchief. "Lord Kyro promised you before that he'd give Lady Soleil to you. Once you have her, we can just erase her memories and replace it with a new one. No matter how "human" the doll looks, wouldn't the real Lady Soleil be better than it?"
"Hmm…" he said while thinking, then he looked up at the ceiling of the "cave." "Soleil's body is already impure, and she even carried another man's child in her womb."
He loved Soleil.
But the thought that her body had already been owned by a man who wasn't him was… revolting.
Thus, he wanted a new and fresh body for his beloved.
"You're a scumbag, Lord Ripperton."
Shocked that the young emperor cursed at him, he lowered his head to meet his gaze. "Did you just call me a scumbag? I thought we were on the same side."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I don't have respect for Lady Soleil as a woman and as a person," Auro Moonchester said seriously. "Moreover, she's still my sister-in-law. Calling her "impure" when she's a married woman is stupid and unnecessary, Lord Ripperton."
He smirked bitterly at that. "Aren't you being a hypocrite? You say you respect Soleil, but aren't you willing to hand her to me in the past?"
"That's because I thought you truly love Lady Soleil," the young emperor said. "I thought you would accept her wholly. After all, you know from the very start that you're trying to covet a married woman."
He didn't like being scolded by a mere moon turned human. "Are you done?"
"Yes, I'm done. We just have to wait for a whole day to see if the human doll will accept or reject the heart," Auro Moonchester said, still cold and distant. It seemed like the cheeky young emperor was really offended by what he said regarding Soleil. "And Lord Ripperton?"
"What?"
"Now I understand why you can never beat my brother when it comes to Lady Soleil."
Elis snarled at the young emperor. "Know your place, Auro Moonchester."
***
LUNA was relieved when Elis Ripperton and Auro Moonchester left the cave without the human doll.
She thought she'd have to follow them to steal the heart.
Had that been the case, she wasn't confident if she could have stolen the heart from the two. After all, Elis Ripperton was still a Beast God while Auro Moonchester was blessed by Kyro. There was no way she could beat the two in a confrontation.
Thankfully, she outwitted them this time.
"I'm glad that they didn't notice the Holy Scepter," Luna whispered to herself while looking at the human doll's body on the floating table. "Now, let's steal the heart."
Then, she stabbed the chest with her hand. After that, she grabbed the Holy Scepter and pulled it out. Of course, the scepter only appeared because it reacted to her energy.
When she pulled it out, the other end of the Holy Scepter had changed. It was replaced by a transparent cube. Inside the box was Soleil's heart that turned into a beautiful and shiny ruby. But she noticed that it was slowly losing its life.
"The Holy Scepter can't keep Soleil's heart alive for too long," Luna said to herself worriedly. "We have to find a living vessel."
"I FINALLY found you," Luna whispered to herself while looking at the cave that she found in the deepest part of the forest. The entrance was glowing with cold, blue Mana. She could tell that it belonged to the Blue Dragon. "Let's see what you're hiding here."
It wasn't easy to get to that forest.
After all, it was known as a lair of aggressive dragons that crave for human flesh.
[This definitely belongs to the cruel and crazy Elis Ripperton.]
But for a Moon Priestess like her, it was quite easy to avoid the dragons and navigate the forest as if it wasn't her first time there. Despite her hatred for Kyro, she couldn't deny the fact that his blessing was pretty useful on her journey.
By 'blessing,' she meant the fact that a Moon Priestess like her wouldn't get lost as long as she followed the moon. Moreover, it seemed like the forest itself was protected by Kyro's power. Thus, as a child of the moon, the forest had been kind to her.
[It's so dark in here,] she thought to herself as she slowly and carefully treaded inside the cave. She followed the blue-ish dust-like lights that somehow felt like pointing her somewhere. [But the malevolent aura I feel is so thick.]
To be honest, the aura inside the cave would be enough to knock down an average Mana-user. Moreover, it felt like the cave itself was alive. In fact, the air inside the cave felt like someone else's breath. While the ground that she walked on felt…
[It feels like human flesh.]
She also had a feeling that the "stones" and "rocks" around were actually broken human bones. And the pebbles? They looked like teeth.
[Why do I feel like I'm inside a dead body of a giant?]
She stopped on her tracks when realization hit her.
[I'm inside… a dead body… of a giant.]
But in this world, giants didn't only referred to the now perished giant race.
Gods, when they descend heavens in their original form, could be as big as a mountain. Thus, humans would often mistake them for a giant. But giants, aside from their impressive physical strength, didn't have any outstanding fighting skills because they had low Mana.
But the Mana inside that "cave" was thick.
All of a sudden, shivers went down her spine.
And it wasn't only because of her shocking realization.
[Soleil…?]
The bluish dust-like lights that she followed a while ago gathered in one place, making the area shine bright.
That was when she saw the 'person' literally hanged on the cave wall like a painting.
Yes, the sleeping woman, dressed in a light blue cloak, looks exactly like Soleil. Moreover, the rectangular, plain white "bed" behind the lady looked like a canvas. Thus, it looked like a painting of the Supreme Fire Mage.
[It looks so real…]
But obviously, it wasn't. It was merely a doll made of flesh. To be honest, it wasn't the first time that she saw a human doll. But this was the first time that she saw a human doll that looked very real.
That was when she connected the dots.
"Those blasted demons," she whispered to herself with clenched hands, cursing Kyro and Elis Ripperton. "They killed a god and made a human doll that resembles Soleil."
A human doll didn't need a real brain to function. A Spirit Stone called 'Moonstone' would suffice as a brain replacement, but it wasn't something an ordinary human could possess. After all, a Moonstone was the type of Spirit Stone that could produce fake memories.
But for a human doll to be "alive," one needed a real heart. Of course, it had to be the heart of the human that the doll resembled.
"Elis Ripperton," she whispered with clenched. "You're digusting to the core."
Now she finally understood why Elis Ripperton joined hands with Kyro.
The Blue Dragon couldn't possibly kill an ancient god on his own. She could imagine the Moon God offering Elis Ripperton a hand. Moreover, since Kyro was the Moon God himself, he could produce a Moonstone easily.
She smiled bitterly to herself. "Now I know why the Mistress of Fate said that I would die protecting Soleil."
It was thanks to the Mistress of Fate that she found that forest and that cave.
As promised, the mistress really did tell her when and where she would die. Thus, she went to that forest to investigate the would-be cause of her death. She wasn't afraid to die anyway, since she knew all beings would die in the end.
So, instead of getting sad over her impending doom, she decided to face it and see how she could help Soleil before she died.
[But I have a feeling that the Mistress of Fate told me that to guide me here.]
Maybe that strange goddess was an ally all along.
"I was feeling guilty for stealing the Holy Scepter when Asher Forrester was mourning his brother's death," she said, then she opened her hand. A few moments later, the new saint's Holy Scepter manifested above her palm. She grabbed it tightly. "But I'm glad that I followed Lord Kalel's ridiculous plan."
She took a breath, then she threw the Holy Scepter as if it was a spear. Luckily, despite being more reliant on her Mana, her physical strength didn't betray her.
The sharper end of the scepter pierced through the fake Soleil's chest.
Then, it disappeared.
Luna took a deep breath, preparing for her next move. "I won't let them use your heart for something this despicable, Soleil."
***
ELIS RIPPERTON smiled after Auro Moonchester cut open the chest of the human doll that resembled his beloved.
After Auro Moonchester received the heart from Kalel, the young emperor summoned him. Then, the two of them travelled to the forest protected by him and Kyro. To be precise, they went to the "cave" where he kept the human doll all this time.
He laid the human doll on the floating table as Auro Moonchester operated on it.
"Even Soleil's heart is beautiful," Elis Ripperton said while admiring the heart in Auro Moonchester's hand. "It looks like a ruby."
Soleil's heart, after being frozen by Kalel's ice, had turned into a gem that resembled a ruby.
[A bright red and shining ruby, that is.]
"Nia told me that Lady Soleil is the Daughter of the Sun," Auro Moonchester explained while putting the heart inside the chest of the human doll. "Thus, her heart would freeze like a beautiful gem once it's ripped out of her body."
"Who's Nia?"
"The one who'd take Elaine's position soon," the young emperor said. "I'm going to marry her once "Elaine" reached her coming of age."
"Ah, I see."
He didn't give a damn about this child's private affair.
"Lord Ripperton, why do you have to do all of this just to have your own Lady Soleil?" Auro Moonchester asked him after he closed the cut that he made on the human doll's chest. "You asked Lord Kyro to kill an ancient god for you, then you used the flesh of that god to create a human doll that resembles Lady Soleil."
It wasn't just any ancient god that Kyro killed.
The Moon God actually killed the god that had served the Plane as its guardian for many, many centuries.
"A god's flesh is the best material to use in creating a perfect human doll," he explained. "Just look at my Soleil's body. It's soft, smooth, and warm. It doesn't look like a doll at all, does it?"
"That's not what I meant," the young emperor said while wiping his hands with a white handkerchief. "Lord Kyro promised you before that he'd give Lady Soleil to you. Once you have her, we can just erase her memories and replace it with a new one. No matter how "human" the doll looks, wouldn't the real Lady Soleil be better than it?"
"Hmm…" he said while thinking, then he looked up at the ceiling of the "cave." "Soleil's body is already impure, and she even carried another man's child in her womb."
He loved Soleil.
But the thought that her body had already been owned by a man who wasn't him was… revolting.
Thus, he wanted a new and fresh body for his beloved.
"You're a scumbag, Lord Ripperton."
Shocked that the young emperor cursed at him, he lowered his head to meet his gaze. "Did you just call me a scumbag? I thought we were on the same side."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I don't have respect for Lady Soleil as a woman and as a person," Auro Moonchester said seriously. "Moreover, she's still my sister-in-law. Calling her "impure" when she's a married woman is stupid and unnecessary, Lord Ripperton."
He smirked bitterly at that. "Aren't you being a hypocrite? You say you respect Soleil, but aren't you willing to hand her to me in the past?"
"That's because I thought you truly love Lady Soleil," the young emperor said. "I thought you would accept her wholly. After all, you know from the very start that you're trying to covet a married woman."
He didn't like being scolded by a mere moon turned human. "Are you done?"
"Yes, I'm done. We just have to wait for a whole day to see if the human doll will accept or reject the heart," Auro Moonchester said, still cold and distant. It seemed like the cheeky young emperor was really offended by what he said regarding Soleil. "And Lord Ripperton?"
"What?"
"Now I understand why you can never beat my brother when it comes to Lady Soleil."
Elis snarled at the young emperor. "Know your place, Auro Moonchester."
***
LUNA was relieved when Elis Ripperton and Auro Moonchester left the cave without the human doll.
She thought she'd have to follow them to steal the heart.
Had that been the case, she wasn't confident if she could have stolen the heart from the two. After all, Elis Ripperton was still a Beast God while Auro Moonchester was blessed by Kyro. There was no way she could beat the two in a confrontation.
Thankfully, she outwitted them this time.
"I'm glad that they didn't notice the Holy Scepter," Luna whispered to herself while looking at the human doll's body on the floating table. "Now, let's steal the heart."
Then, she stabbed the chest with her hand. After that, she grabbed the Holy Scepter and pulled it out. Of course, the scepter only appeared because it reacted to her energy.
When she pulled it out, the other end of the Holy Scepter had changed. It was replaced by a transparent cube. Inside the box was Soleil's heart that turned into a beautiful and shiny ruby. But she noticed that it was slowly losing its life.
"The Holy Scepter can't keep Soleil's heart alive for too long," Luna said to herself worriedly. "We have to find a living vessel."
