Chapter 30: True Moon

Western part of the End of the World

If someone had just walked by, they would have seen an unusual and strange sight. In the middle of the street, eleven people stood side by side, or rather broke their backs.

All the other nine persons in black cloaks were bent so that their bodies formed a right-angled triangle. Their butts poked up in the air, foreheads resting on the ground while they stood on tiptoes with their hands joined behind their backs. It looked very uncomfortable, and judging by the groaning sounds, it was also very painful.

Behind them, a man looking like he was made entirely of origami paper marched back and forth, lightly tapping his palm with a paper fan. Whenever he felt that one of the sufferers was slackening off, he brutally swiped the fan across their asses and roughly nagged them.

Bishop Archie was one of these sufferers. He stared down at the cobblestones while sweat ran down his face, and he panted with exhaustion. He felt like the tendons in his legs were going to explode, and his spine was going to break. He had no idea what had happened.

When the Corrector appeared, he began heavily criticizing the dazed group. Whether it was the way they stood or the way they breathed, he always had something to say. And before anyone could collect themselves, whether they wanted to or not, they all found themselves in this painful position.

Archie tried to fight it, but his body refused to obey his will and just did what the Corrector said.

"Aaahhh! Ooohhh!" Archie heard the whine, so he turned his gaze to the side. What was most bizarre was that the two strange mummies were suffering too. Cyrano and Julie were right next to him with their backs bent the same way, groaning the loudest.

"Corrector! Why are you doing this to us!?" cried Cyrano.

"Master, spare us!" yelled Julie.

"Silence!" Corrector snapped, hitting them both on the butt with a paper fan.

SMACK!

Corrector was good at this; he could hit both asses in one blow.

"Aaaah!"

"Yikes!"

"You're the ones who need correcting the most! You're a disgrace to the entire News Department! DISGRACE!" The Corrector didn't spare even his own people.

If Archie hadn't been in such pain, he would have been impressed. But he was more concerned now with getting out of this situation. He tried to say a prayer, but the moment he tried, his ass and back were massacred by a paper fan, and his efforts were cut short. The Corrector was careful about who was doing what, and every time someone tried to use divine power, they got a spanking with a ton of aggressive advice on how to do it better.

"I... can't.... anymore..." Archie heard a voice from the other side beside him. He turned his gaze again and saw one of his men beside him. His whole body was shaking, and the golden mask had fallen off long ago from how sweaty the man was. He was a young man of about twenty-five. His face was ashen pale, and he looked like he would probably pass out soon.

"Hang in there." Archie sighed heavily. "I'll get us out of this soon." He promised. Archie didn't know how he was going to do it yet, but everything had its weaknesses. This ability was very strong, but it was a rule that it always had some major flaw. Just find it.

The man next to him already had a glassy look in his eyes, and it was hard to tell if he'd even heard Archie, but after another two minutes, his eyes rolled inside his head, and he fell to the ground. The groaning quickly stopped because suddenly the atmosphere around them changed.

The hairs on Archie's body stood on end as he listened to the approaching footsteps of the Corrector. He paused over the collapsed body next to Archie and clicked his tongue. "Tsk. You are as weak as your weakest link. Getting rid of your weak link will only make you stronger!"

Archie strained his eyes to the side, and his Adam's apple jumped as he swallowed hard. What the hell was he talking about? What was he going to do?

Archie couldn't see it, but the Corrector unfurled his paper fan with a lash and fanned himself lightly with it while his eyes, the color of yellowed paper, stared down at the collapsed figure. "The weak link must be removed to correct the mistake." He said before swinging slightly and then swinging the fan forward violently towards the collapsed priest.

A whirlwind swept past him, fluttering his paper clothes as the wind followed his lead.

Archie couldn't see what the Corrector was doing, but the whistling of the wind sounded in his ears, and it felt as if a breeze had swept right past him, forcing him to close his eyes. His loose hair flickered, and if he could open his eyes, he could see a few strands of his hair had been cleanly cut.

Archie flinched as he felt something warm splash onto his cheek. Once the wind died down, he slowly opened his eyes, and his gaze automatically turned sideways again.

His heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, he forgot about the pain. The blast had left deep grooves in the cobblestones into which the blood from what was left of the collapsed priest slowly dripped. He was now sliced so cleanly that if someone had pressed the pieces back together, it would have been impossible to tell that there had been any cut at all.

A moment ago Archie had felt that the whole situation was ridiculous and strange. Now he realized with a heavy heart that their situation was not good at all. How could their enemies act so relaxed and at ease and the next moment do something like this?

Archie stopped looking beside him and stared again at the cobblestones in front of him, his heart pounding up in his throat as he thought quickly. Corrector could do something like that? Then why torture them like this? Why he only killed after one of them collapsed? Could it be some rule of his ability?

"Kekeke."

"Kekeke."

He heard laughter from the other side, so he looked over. Cyrano and Julie were grinning, and their teeth could be seen through the paper bandages. "The Corrector is as cruel as ever," Julie said.

"Don't you think his obsessive-compulsive disorder is worse than before?" commented Cyrano.

"His corrections were brutal before as well," Julie replied.

"True. But do you think he'll chop us up too?"

"If we don't endure? Probably."

Archie listened to the two clowns, and an idea popped into his head. Maybe this was a chance to change out of the Corrector's influence. But it was risky. Archie glanced at the other side again and pressed his lips tightly together.

Both mummies said they just had to endure it, but how many of his people could endure it and for how long? He gritted his teeth and began to focus on his body, which wasn't listening to him but was definitely bringing him a lot of pain.

Soon, the sounds of pain and blows began again, followed by a wail. Archie was the first to try to force his body to relax, but it was no use. He thought of the dead priest and realized that he had only freed himself after he had lost consciousness, but he couldn't afford to lose consciousness; he would end up chopped to pieces before he recovered.

He froze when he heard someone else collapse. There were the quick footsteps of the Corrector and his words. "Another weak link. What a disappointment, looks like I'm going to be busier here than I thought. How do you think you'll hold up against our Liege if you can't even last that long?"

Archie couldn't see what was happening; it was out of his field of vision. Given what happened last time, he knew what was going to happen. He gritted his teeth in frustration. "Stop it!" He snapped at the Corrector.

"Impossible. Weakness only produces more weakness. It is my duty to correct you. Under my guidance, you will become stronger. Only then will you be worthy opponents," the Corrector replied coldly.

Archie couldn't understand that logic. This madman is trying to train them to be stronger? "What if we all fail? Then there will be no opponents left!" Archie shouted, staring angrily at the cobblestones.

The Corrector didn't answer right away, but Archie heard the wind whistle and the faint sound of cutting. "Then it's your failure. My correction is correct." Archie heard footsteps approaching, and the Corrector hit him painfully with his fan. "Enough talking! Concentrate on the correction!"

Archie gritted his teeth again. This madman!

Bishop Archie kept trying; all he needed was to ease his body a little. Gradually, his whole body hurt, but Archie didn't give up. Veins bulged on his forehead and neck, his face turned all red as the blood rushed to his head.

He didn't stop even after he heard someone else collapsing, and the mummies next to him giggled at their misery. He heard the wind again, and Archie groaned in frustration, anger, and helplessness rising up in him like a massive wave of a tsunami.

He tried to summon all the divine power inside him, but the silver light that emerged as he did so was too obvious, and the Corrector immediately headed towards him to interrupt his attempts.

"Θεός του φεγγαριού..." Archie whispered, and at that moment, it was as if someone had hit him over the head with a hard club. His consciousness shut down, and he collapsed to the ground. The Corrector paused for a moment before continuing, stopping over the collapsed Archie. "The leader is the weak link? Disgusting," he said, unfurling his paper fan.

***** 

Archie felt as if his body were sinking; movement was not easy, as if he were trying to walk on the seabed, but the sensation of wetness was missing. Archie took a breath and coughed as the air smelled of ozone, smoldering ash, and something acrid he couldn't name.

He blinked and looked around. Darkness surrounded him, but it wasn't quite true. He could see strange energies rippling in the darkness, occasionally glimpsed jutting black rocks, and heard distant rumbling like a volcano erupting somewhere far away. He stood on a narrow path that glittered and sparkled like crystal. Archie stared at it and then looked ahead, the path disappearing into the chaotic darkness. The path was the only thing that was absolutely clear here.

Archie dared not enter the darkness. It felt like a multitude of hungry eyes were staring at him, and though he couldn't see it, he could feel light touches trying to grab him and pull him into the darkness. Archie shivered and moved forward on the path.

He couldn't tell how long he walked, a few seconds, days, years. The darkness was oppressive, and at one point he froze in place as he saw a gigantic shadow moving in the darkness, and Archie wished he could run from it. He was only able to move when the shadow disappeared. Archie couldn't quite think clearly; his mind was clouded but he was guided by the clear thought that he had to follow the path.

After some time, the space in front of him began to brighten. He noticed that more crystals appeared along the path. He raised his head and saw a frozen lake in front of him, in the center of which a twisted tree was growing on a piece of rock, half crystallized. The leaves were white to gray, but as Archie got closer, he realized they were jagged crystalline pearls that only looked like leaves from a distance.

As he got closer, he noticed more details; the expanding crystal seemed to come from the tree itself, it covered the ground, the rocks, and the tree itself. Archie continued walking without stopping, climbing up the sludge to the trunk of the tree where he finally stopped and looked at a large piece of crystal that remotely resembled a human figure.

Tinkle. Tinkle.

The crystal moved slightly at the sound, a slight cracking sound like glass breaking, and a network of tiny cracks appeared on the crystal. At that moment, Archie's mind cleared, and his eyes widened in shock. He looked around quickly; where the hell was he? What was this place?

"You..." An old voice came from the tree, not the crystal, and though it spoke softly, it carried an ancient power that made Archie's bones tingle. Archie wanted to ask, but his mouth remained tightly shut, not daring to speak.

"True..."

"Moon..." Archie looked up hesitantly and looked at what looked like the head of the creature in front of him. He understood the creature's words, but he didn't understand the meaning. "A true moon?" Archie finally spoke up, questioning the meaning.

"Baa..." The voice continued.

When Archie heard the voice say the name of his god, he tensed up, and a frown appeared on his forehead.

"'Murderer... shadow of the moon... impostor." The voice fell silent, and Archie also remained silent while he pondered the meaning of the words.

"Touch..." Archie hesitated when the voice urged him to touch, but he was driven by his curiosity and felt like he was on the verge of uncovering something big here. He reached out and hesitated for a moment about where to place his hand, but finally chose what looked like a shoulder, and his eyes filled with silver light.

***** 

Archie appeared in a field of red grass where there was a single tall tree with pure white leaves. He wasn't alone; several other people were there, though not all of them looked human. He looked down and saw that he was wearing white clothes with splashes of red grass stains. No, it wasn't blood, but red grass stains.

Archie slowly walked with everyone over to a nearby calm body of water that he peered into. Archie saw his form. He became a thin man in a white coat and hat, whose mouth and jaw were covered by a thin striped turtleneck. His hair was short and straight as nails of a brilliant crimson color. The eyes, however, were deep, sad, and tired. Archie gripped the thick branch he carried and touched the still surface of the pond. Clear ripples appeared on the surface and began to show images of battle, destruction, and death.

Higher beings fought in the air and in the sky, destroying the earth and innocent beings who could only hide and wait for death. Archie touched the surface again, and the image changed to a view of a city. Archie recognized the city. It looked like the city they had landed in to hunt down the Dark God.

The image showed streets with stone statues; they showed a palace, but the image didn't go any further; instead, it reversed and zoomed in. The city itself seemed like a peaceful oasis amidst the chaos. The land around was breaking and disappearing, millions of lives were lost. Silent weeping and wailing echoed around Archie as everyone present was overwhelmed by the sight of the destruction.

"Why don't we do something?" someone asked.

"We should go fight too. Moon," someone said to Archie, and he was surprised. Moon?

However, Archie shook his head. "The Sun has already perished. If the Moon disappears too, what's left won't be able to survive." But as he said that, he felt a deep sadness and loss. They could only wait and watch, hidden. The battle went on for many days and nights; the Traitors won and hunted down those who remained. Years passed; those who remained gradually disappeared for various reasons before the Moon was left all alone. Day after day, he did his duty, illuminating the ruined land with a soft silver light to ensure the survival of the survivors.

For hundreds of years, he had sat by the pond, watching the water's surface with his head bowed, waiting.

Then one day, the surface of the water was illuminated. The moon straightened and watched the sun rise into the sky, banishing the darkness, illuminating the earth, and putting the Moon to sleep.

"At last. Recovery," Moon smiled weakly before falling into a long sleep.

But his sleep didn't last long. His domain was disturbed; even in his sleep, he sensed it and woke up. He sat up and watched as the figure of a tall man in a suit approached him. His face was sinister—a white skull with empty eye sockets and grinning exposed teeth—while black tentacles wove excitedly around his bare skull.

Moon was surprised, but not so much. "I knew you'd let your guard down as soon as the Sun appeared, old geezer," the man said mockingly without moving his mouth, as if his voice were coming directly from the white skull.

Archie was shocked because he recognized the voice. It was the voice of his god, Baa. Archie was shocked by the appearance of the god Baa, who looked more like a demon from a nightmare than a god.

Moon let out a long sigh. "I was looking forward to resting," he replied.

"Of course. I suppose it must have been exhausting to watch over those ruins for so long without a break," Baa walked faster and faster towards the moon, as if he couldn't wait. But the Moon remained sitting on the ground, not moving, not having the energy to do anything. His domain was his ultimate defense, but even that failed in the face of someone who was searching intensely for him.

"I doubt you understand. After all, that's why I didn't choose you," Moon said, making Baa flinch. Moon knew he had struck a blow to his weak spot.

"Enough talk, old timer. I've come for what's mine," Baa growled and walked over to Moon.

"It was never yours. You don't have what it takes," Moon said calmly. Baa stopped at Moon and glared at him disdainfully, reaching out and snatching the thick branch from Moon's hand. Moon weakly reached out his hand, but Baa swept it to the side before grabbing him by the clothes below his neck and lifting him off the ground. "I killed your successor, and I'm gonna kill you, too. Then I will become a true God of the Moon and Darkness. Just as it was meant to be."

Moon laughed, but then raised his hand, and even though he was exhausted, he was still a God of the Moon and Darkness. His hand flashed silver, and Baa was shot backward, where he hit the ground and flipped over several times. Moon slowly descended to the ground and smoothed his cloak. "You're still in my domain, Baa. You won't have it easy."

Baa slammed his clenched fist into the ground and rose from the ground, his dark, empty sockets peering at Moon, but his smile seemed to widen. "Don't worry. I was counting on that." He stood up and unbuttoned his jacket, reaching into his inside pocket and pulling something out. It was a mask, which he picked up and put on his face. The mask seemed to cling to his malevolent face, and the black tentacles disappeared. In the empty sockets appeared greyish skin and a pair of eyes that rolled wildly before finally settling and fixing their gaze on the Moon.

Moon staggered at the sight, his eyes filling with sorrow, his fingers trembling before he clenched them into a fist. "How... no... how could you do this to him?" he whispered.

Baa spread his hands in amusement. "What do you mean? You're not welcoming back your successor? Haha... or at least... his face?" As he said that, a silver light surrounded Baa, but it wasn't coming from him, but from the mask he had on.

The mask bore the face of a true follower that Moon had chosen and raised. Moon knew that the boy who was almost like his son had died when he had willfully ventured out of the domain and was already mourning him. What he didn't know was that his killer was Baa and yet he had created something so vile out of him. Moon felt his successor's soul scream in agony as the mask began to glow with the silver power of the god of the Moon and Darkness.

"See, old man? Your Domain does not affect me now," Baa once again made his way to the Moon, who was shaking his head.

Baa then picked up the branch he had dropped earlier and tilted his head to the side mockingly. "Now I have all the triumphs on my side. Die." He slammed the branch into the ground, and the space around him began to change. The ground and space turned black and shone like polished glass.

Moon immediately recovered and stomped the ground hard. The surrounding grass wavered and surged forward like a blood wave, attacking the blackness that was trying to spread. Baa didn't stand still and attacked Moon. His hand flew forward at the speed of light, but Moon dodged his head to the side, so Baa's fist only caught his flying hair.

Moon swung his leg out to kick Baa in the side, but he blocked the kick with his arm. Without losing momentum, Moon pulled his leg together and pirouetted to create distance between them. Moon moved his arms, and five silver arrows sprang up around him, which he sent at Baa. Baa mimicked him, and the arrows formed around him as well, flying out to meet him and colliding in mid-air.

Even after that brief exchange, Moon was even more exhausted and knew that this battle would not end in his favor. Still, he intended to endure to the end.

Archie, who was just watching everything, felt miserable. This was his god Baa? This?! He felt betrayed. He wasn't the most exemplary believer, but he never doubted his god and was ready to fight and die for him. Now he didn't even know what Baa really was. What was he?

The battle was short but intense. Baa mimicked the moon's attacks, and they were at a stalemate, or it would have been if Moon hadn't been suffering from severe exhaustion. Eventually, he slowed down and became inaccurate, which Baa took advantage of and knocked Moon down. Moon didn't get up, but Baa kept him pinned down anyway. He raised his hand and stabbed Moon's chest and began to absorb his Prana.

Moon watched him, or rather his mask. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into," he said. "I know what the price is," Baa replied calmly.

Moon's eyes curved in a hidden smile. "Hahaha... naive child. You haven't seen anything yet, and you don't know what true Godhood is. It's a pity I didn't get to see her return."

"What are you talking about, old man?" Baa sounded irritated as he said it.

"Someone like you becomes nothing but mere food. My Liege, I will wait for the glow of your blue flame in the abyss." Moon said before taking one last sad look at Baa's mask and turning his head to take one last look at the memento he had left of the lost Goddess.

Archie's heart was pounding, or at least it felt that way, or was it Moon's heart? Moon's last feelings were a mixture of sadness, disappointment, but also relief. Archie found himself back in front of the tree and the crystalline being. Archie blinked and gasped. "Moon?" He asked the figure cautiously but was even more horrified when he saw the crystal on the figure and the tree begin to crack and crumble.

"You... the real one."

Archie shook his head. "'What? What do you mean?"

"Regret... Liege..."

The crystal continued to crumble, turning into dust that was carried away into the darkness. "Wait!" Archie called out, but in that moment, he opened his eyes again.

Whatever place he was in, he was now back to reality. His eyes shone with a brilliant silver light, which he fixed on the Corrector, who was now raising the hand in which he held the fan ready to cut Archie to pieces.

Archie was a little confused, but he was also furious at the sight. His body reacted faster than his mind, and he rushed forward. He slammed his hand into the Corrector's body, and it passed through his chest without resistance, and his palm appeared on the other side. Corrector froze in mid-motion and looked down at his pierced chest.

Archie gritted his teeth while his eyes were filled with silver light. "Don't touch my people, asshole," he growled.

***** 

End of the World Palace

Dong! Dong!

Caila raised her head as the sound of a bell rang in her ears. For a moment, she was surprised, but she understood where the sound was coming from. She immediately went to her Divine Space and turned towards the strange bell.

The core of the bell moved slightly on its own, bumping side to side to announce that something was happening.

Caila felt a strange urgency. She quickly grabbed the handle and swung the bell, which struck the bell.

DONG!

The space around her grew lighter, and black dots appeared, remaining the same as the last time. Caila looked around. She wasn't sure what was happening, but she could sense that something was different. As she looked around, the feeling of anxiety and loss grew stronger and stronger.

"What happened?" she muttered, feeling her throat tighten. Was she suppressing a cry now? Why did she feel like she had lost something important?