"Kanon?" A female voice came from the void, its exact direction indistinguishable.
Columbina's heart leaped. Her body tensed slightly as she vigilantly scanned her surroundings left and right. Here, there was only an expanse of empty darkness, with only the silhouettes of floating giant obsidian pillars in the distance.
She mobilized a portion of her Lunar Force, letting the silver-white halo flow silently around her body like water ripples, forming a gentle protection.
Unable to determine the source of the voice, she had no choice but to face the void ahead, raise her volume slightly, and say, "I am not Kanon." She paused for a moment. "My name is Columbina."
As soon as her voice fell, a circular area of gray mist not far in front of her began to rise.
The mist condensed and stretched, as if countless extremely thin, transparent veils were simultaneously lifted by invisible hands, forming a hazy curtain before her.
The female voice that had previously called her "Kanon" now came from behind this curtain. The sense of distance felt much closer, no longer ethereal.
"You may call me the Night God."
With the voice drawing near, it brought the feeling of a face-to-face conversation. Columbina's tense shoulders relaxed slightly. With a thought, the halo of Lunar Force surrounding her silently retracted.
"Who is Kanon?" she asked.
"Kanon is the name of the Goddess of the Frost Moon," the Night God's voice passed through the mist curtain. "The characteristics of your power and the status of your existence are very similar to hers. I mistook you for her."
"The respective goddesses of the Three Moons... who are they?"
"Aria, Goddess of the Eternal Moon; Kanon, Goddess of the Frost Moon; and Sonnet, Goddess of the Rainbow Moon," the Night God answered. "These are the three goddesses who wield the authority of the Three Moons. Your older sisters."
Older sisters. This address made Columbina's heartbeat skip a beat, and a surge of warm palpitation welled up within her. She actually had other family members.
But this warmth only lasted for an instant before being smothered by heavier memories. Her voice lowered, carrying an unconcealable desolation. "The Three Moon Goddesses... have already died."
The voice behind the curtain fell silent for a moment, pausing for about a dozen seconds. "The Three Moon Goddesses and our angel race always had a harmonious relationship. The disaster that crushed the world back then happened far too suddenly. I didn't have time to... learn of their ultimate fate."
"The disaster that crushed the world... does it refer to the War of the Buried Fire?"
"A long time ago, the Original Dragon returned with pitch-black power, and a war erupted with the throne of the high heavens," the Night God recounted while reminiscing. "Humanity unavoidably came into contact with taboo powers. The innate mission of us angels is to love and protect humans. We shielded those humans who touched the taboo; thus, we overstepped the rules and were punished."
She paused for a moment. "I was fortunate enough to retain a portion of my power and consciousness. But my kin... all degenerated into Seelies due to the curse sent down by the high heavens."
The throne of the high heavens—that should refer to the Heavenly Principles. The island suspended high in the sky once again surfaced in Columbina's mind.
"Seelies..." Hearing this term, she remembered meeting one underground in Fontaine, that little fellow who had led her to find the moonstone. "Are they those... little balls of light that really like leading people to find treasure?"
"Guiding humanity is the rule etched into the instincts of us angels by the throne of the high heavens." The Night God's voice revealed neither sorrow nor joy. "Even after losing our original forms, such rules still exert their effect."
Three sentences without leaving the throne of the high heavens... Columbina felt this was somewhat dangerous. It was not suitable to delve any deeper into this topic. Continuing to chat about "angels" would inevitably involve more secrets regarding the "throne of the high heavens." That existence seemed unwilling to see others discussing Its secrets, otherwise Coppelia wouldn't have been so scrupulous about It before.
She shifted the topic to her purpose for coming. "I have an extremely important item currently held by the Fire Dragon King Xiuhcoatl. But I do not have the courage, nor sufficient power, to face that Dragon King directly. Therefore, I want to wait until the war here ends and the Fire Dragon King falls before going to retrieve that item."
"War..." The Night God knew what this meant. "Have you... foreseen Natlan's future destiny?"
"I saw some fragments," Columbina replied cautiously, trying her best to avoid mentioning Coppelia's existence. "A hero named Xbalanque will lead humanity to defeat the Dragon race and kill the Fire Dragon King." She then expressed her stance. "I want to provide some help within my power. Before that, I need to understand the situation here better."
"Right now, the only means humanity can use to counter the Dragon race are Phlogiston and the Kingdom of the Night God, which is this hidden kingdom concealed within the Ley Lines," the Night God analyzed. "Humanity's utilization of Phlogiston still remains at a fairly rudimentary stage. The connection with the Kingdom of the Night God is also far from being widely established. They do not yet possess the sufficient conditions to launch an all-out war."
She paused, adding the most critical information: "And Xbalanque... has not yet embarked on his hero's journey."
Columbina deduced from the Night God's description that this person, Xbalanque, already existed now; he just hadn't yet stepped onto that predestined path. This meant that while the time to retrieve her authority must indeed be delayed, it might be much earlier than the worst-case scenario she had envisioned—having to wait for his birth.
"I understand." She pondered for a moment and made a decision. "I will leave first. Afterwards, I will frequently return to this land to take a look."
"If you have questions you want answered," the Night God's voice came from behind the curtain, "you can enter the Kingdom of the Night God through the obsidian scattered on the ground."
After she finished speaking, Columbina felt a gentle yet massive stream of information—following the Ley Line connection linked to the obsidian ground beneath her feet—surge into her consciousness. It was a map, clearly marking the locations of over a dozen obsidians. Like starlight, they were scattered across Natlan.
She concentrated her attention, carefully memorizing the few locations closest to the Court of the Silver Moon. "I have memorized them," she said.
After bidding farewell to the Night God, she did not linger any longer. Her consciousness traced back along the Ley Line path from whence she came.
Her vision was once again filled with the texture of rock. She had returned to the underground cavern embedded with the giant obsidian, her consciousness having returned to her body. She did not stay in this place for long. With a flash of her figure, she teleported directly to the crimson earth illuminated by sunlight.
...
Following the locations in her memory, Columbina found a high mountain in the northern part of Natlan's crimson land, near the southern edge of the fog sea region.
She went up along the mountain slope and found a dense forest halfway up the mountain. In the clearing within the forest, there were actually traces of a human tribal settlement.
This surprised her somewhat. "Looking from outside the forest," she muttered to herself, "you can't tell at all that people live inside."
During her previous explorations of Natlan, she had passed nearby more than once. But because she had observed too roughly, she completely missed this settlement hidden within the woods.
She planned to first find the obsidian pointed out by the Night God, and then delve deeper to investigate the interior of the tribe.
Following that trace of stable sensation in the Ley Line flow beneath her feet, she found an obsidian pillar inserted vertically into the ground deep in the dense forest. The stone pillar was about three meters tall and pitch-black throughout. Its surface was engraved with huge but not overly complex runes using some kind of golden pigment, reflecting light slightly under the sunlight spilling through the gaps in the leaves.
Confirming no one was nearby, she silently approached the stone pillar, reached out her hand, and probed her consciousness into the cold interior of the stone.
A moment later, her consciousness successfully followed the channel of the Ley Lines, once again touching that dark, orderly space where giant obsidian pillars floated—the Kingdom of the Night God. The connection was unobstructed.
She withdrew her consciousness. "No problem," she said softly.
Raising her head, she looked toward the sky through the gaps in the branches and leaves. The sun hung high, right in the center of the zenith.
"It's still early," she said to herself. "Let's go take a look at the nearby tribe."
She floated off the ground, maintaining a low suspension height. Relying on the shadows of the woods and the cover of branches and leaves, she glided silently toward the direction of the settlement. She did not directly enter the clearing between those houses, but chose to stop at the edge of the forest where the light was darker, observing quietly.
The structure of those houses was quite unique. They were not built with rocks or earth, but were modified from a type of low, rotund arbor tree. The craftsmen seemed to have hollowed out the interior of this type of tree, leaving only the tough wooden shell as the walls and roof.
After the bark was completely stripped away, the exposed wood presented a grayish-white hue similar to eggshells. Looking from afar, the domed houses hidden amidst the greenery were like giant eggs carefully placed in the woodland.
The people walking around the settlement had a fairly unified clothing style. They mostly used dark brown as the main tone, only embellishing and decorating the lapels, cuffs, or belts with bright crimson fabrics or pigments.
Furthermore, Columbina also saw several mechanical devices with simple structures here, with pipes connecting to the deeper ground. Those were equipments for extracting Phlogiston. She also saw several people with orange-red and multicolored radiance faintly flowing on the surface of their bodies. Most of them were throwing punches and kicks against rocks or wooden stakes, seemingly practicing combat techniques.
"This place can also be considered one of the tribes that have initially mastered Phlogiston," she concluded.
She continued to move slowly, observing from another angle. At this moment, faint sounds of an argument came from the edge of the tribe's territory, close to the direction of the forest.
She floated closer and hid behind the trunk of a thick tree. She saw two youths pulling at each other in the forest clearing.
The taller one used his left hand to tightly guard an object wrapped in coarse cloth in his arms, while his right hand grabbed the clothes on the shorter one's chest, trying to push the other party away.
"I already told you I won't give it to you!" his voice was somewhat hoarse and urgent. "If you dare snatch it again, I'll go tell Sister and have her teach you a good lesson!"
The shorter one showed no sign of weakness. His left hand also grabbed the taller one's clothes, pulling back with force.
"Before Sister teaches me a lesson, I'll teach you a lesson first!" Before his words even fell, his left hand suddenly exerted force, actually yanking the taller one so hard that his body tilted, making him half a head shorter. At the same time, his right fist was already clenched and raised, aiming at the taller one's cheek.
Just as the fist was about to fall, a figure rushed over quickly from behind a nearby tree house.
"Talo! Cole! What do you two want to do?" The newcomer was a young woman with a clear voice.
The tall Talo and the short Cole turned their heads simultaneously, calling out, "Sister Ika!"
But neither of their hands clutching each other's clothes let go first.
"Hurry up and let go!" the woman named Ika said, walking between the two, her brows furrowed tightly.
The short Cole immediately let go. The tall Talo hesitated for a second, then also let go.
Ika's gaze landed on the cloth bundle in Talo's arms. "Talo, what are you guarding?"
Talo hesitated for a moment, then opened the cloth bundle. Inside was a palm-sized, toasted golden-brown wheat flatbread.
Ika turned to the short Cole. "Why did you try to snatch it?"
Cole pursed his lips. "I practiced the Nightsoul state all morning, and I didn't eat enough for lunch, so I wanted to eat a little more. I already told him." He pointed at Talo.
Ika looked at Talo again. "Your younger brother is hungry, why didn't you share a little with him?"
Talo wrapped the wheat flatbread up again, hugging it back in his arms, his tone somewhat aggrieved. "I have to follow the seniors on a mission this afternoon, and I won't be back until dusk. This is my ration for the road. If I give him half, I won't have enough to eat."
Cole immediately widened his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me this just now?"
"You didn't ask me why I wouldn't give it." Talo turned his face away.
"...Let me punch you!" Cole said, clenching his fists again.
Talo didn't speak further. He merely hugged the wheat flatbread and took a step sideways, completely hiding himself behind his sister Ika.
"Enough!" Ika stopped Cole with a shout, her gaze sweeping over their faces.
She first said to Cole, "I know you're hungry. But even if you're hungry, you can't go snatching other people's things."
She then turned to Talo hiding behind her. "And you. If you don't want to give it, make yourself clear. If you just guard the flatbread without saying a word, how is he supposed to know?"
Both Talo and Cole fell silent. One looked at the ground, the other tilted his head, neither looking at the other.
Ika looked at them and sighed. "Wait for me a moment."
After saying this, she turned and walked briskly toward a tree house not far away.
Before long, she walked back, holding another wheat flatbread wrapped in clean leaves. She handed the flatbread to Cole.
Cole froze, not taking it immediately.
"Take it." Ika shoved the flatbread into his hand. "Since both of you have things to do, then both of you must eat your fill."
Talo poked his head out from behind his sister. "Then what will you eat, Sister?"
Cole also realized this, holding the flatbread, somewhat at a loss. "Yeah, what will you eat?"
"I don't have much to do this afternoon. Being hungry for one meal is nothing," Ika said, her tone very calm as she looked at her two younger brothers. "When you have free time, just save half a flatbread each and pay me back." She paused, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly. "Oh right, if you two can promise me that you will never argue and fight over such trivial matters again, you don't even need to pay this flatbread back."
Talo and Cole exchanged a glance.
Cole spoke first, his voice muffled, "I... I just won't argue with him."
Talo also chimed in softly, "Me too."
Hiding in the shadows, Columbina watched the entire process, feeling deeply moved. Looking at that sister who was so considerate of her younger brothers, she couldn't help but think of her own three older sisters, the Three Moon Goddesses.
"If they were still around, if I could have been born by their side, that would definitely be a very happy thing..." Columbina allowed herself to immerse in beautiful fantasies. After a short while, she returned to the cold reality.
That sister named Ika would rather go hungry herself to let her younger brothers eat their fill... The feeling of a hungry stomach is not pleasant at all... Columbina had profound personal experience with this.
"I should go get some delicious food and give it to her." Columbina's figure disappeared from where she stood.
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