207. Red Moon Pagoda (II)

The door was set deep into an archway. A mural ran over its surface in bare gold lines. It was simple yet vivid—it almost seemed to move as Zane looked at it, like an optical illusion.

It was the Red Moon Emperor, sketched out. A bright-red disc flared behind him, a big halo. Before him stood a field of enemies. They were casting thick gold lines at him—lines that bounced right off his red shield thing.

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕝 𝕕𝕖𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕃𝕒𝕪𝕖𝕣'𝕤 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝—𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟—𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟.

boomed a smooth deep voice.

Zane looked around. He didn't see anyone.

𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤. 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕖𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 ℙ𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕕𝕒.

Oh.

𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕘𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖 𝕒𝕖𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕒𝕘𝕠 𝕕𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕄𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟, 𝕒𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕒𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖. 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕘𝕠. 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕕𝕒 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕙𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕠𝕨𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕤… 𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕕. 𝕎𝕙𝕚𝕝𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖, 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕘𝕦𝕚𝕕𝕖, 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕒𝕟𝕥, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕔𝕥𝕠𝕣.

Zane blinked.

"Cool," he said.

ℂ𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕖𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 ℙ𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕕𝕒 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕟 𝕙𝕠𝕟𝕠𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒 𝕓𝕦𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕟. 𝕆𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤, 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕝𝕪 𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕕, 𝕧𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕝𝕪 𝕗𝕖𝕨 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕗𝕦𝕝𝕝. 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕞𝕖 ℍ𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕖 𝔾𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕩𝕪.

Neat.

𝕀 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕚𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕓𝕖𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕕𝕠𝕠𝕣! 𝕋𝕠 𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕟. ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝔼𝕞𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕠𝕣'𝕤 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝.

It went quiet again.

Only then did Zane notice that the door didn't have a handle. But when he looked at it in the Astral Plane he saw one—big fat gold thing, right in the middle of it. He gave it a twist and a shove. And the whole thing rumbled. Slid aside.

Beyond lay a simple redwood staircase. It went off into the gloom, seemingly into nowhere.

Zane went on through.

It was like he'd gone into some alternate dimension. The only things that stayed were the thick red mists billowing about, snaking around his shins, hazing the distance. He thought there was a night sky overhead at first—it was all dusky grays and purples. But instead of stars golden runes blanketed the sky, twinkling softly. Wrapping around him in some vast bowl.

Then he saw someone striding toward him. A figure coming through the mists, growing clearer.

It was an old man. The Pagoda Spirit? It was ghostly, wispy at the edges. Its faint body was colored a faint red. It was bushy-browed and long-bearded. It was very small. Then a bank of mist passed, and Zane saw it in full.

It stood there, hands clasped behind its back. Looking all stern, like a drill sergeant. Its eyes were leveled at Zane's waist. It looked like it meant business.

Then it looked up.

Its eyes popped. It went quite still.

"Hello," said Zane.

Its mouth slowly dropped open.

"…"

The Spirit blinked. Blinked again. Looked Zane up and down, toe to shin to knee to belly to head.

ℍ𝕞𝕞, said the Spirit at last. ℍ𝕞𝕞𝕞𝕞.

A pause. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖… 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕞 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖…

It seemed at a bit of a loss. Zane knew that look. He got it a lot. He scratched his head.

"…I know," said Zane.

𝕐𝕠𝕦… 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟚𝟚𝟙.

"Yes."

The Pagoda Spirit swallowed. It gave him another once-over. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖… 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕒 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝔸𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℕ𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤. ℕ𝕠𝕣 𝕒 ℙ𝕒𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕣𝕔𝕙, 𝕀 𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕦𝕞𝕖.

"No."

𝔸 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℂ𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕒𝕝 𝕀𝕞𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕦𝕞?

"Don't think so."

…𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦, 𝕖𝕩𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕝𝕪?

Zane wasn't sure what to say to that. "I'm Zane."

…ℍ𝕞𝕞 said the Spirit again. It didn't say anything after that. Just stared at him. It started walking around him, giving him a bit of a 360, getting a good look at him from a bunch of angles, frowning all the while.

ℍ𝕞𝕞.

"Uh," said Zane. It was getting a bit awkward. "So. What now?"

𝔸𝕙. 𝕐𝕖𝕤. 𝔼𝕣𝕣 said the Spirit. It sounded a little strangled. 𝔸𝕤 𝕀 𝕤𝕒𝕚𝕕—𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕕𝕒. 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕠𝕗 𝕞𝕖 𝕒𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕒𝕟𝕥. 𝔸𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕥. 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕡 𝕪𝕠𝕦, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕕𝕒'𝕤 𝕠𝕨𝕟𝕖𝕣, 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕗𝕦𝕝𝕝 𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕞𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖. ℍ𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕀'𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕖𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕀𝕟𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖.

"Nice," said Zane.

𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟, it said absently. 𝕀𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕟 𝕚𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕥𝕖𝕔𝕙𝕟𝕚𝕢𝕦𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕕—𝕒𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕕𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕖 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕘𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕩𝕪… it trailed off.

𝕊𝕒𝕪—𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗… 𝕒 𝕣𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 ℙ𝕣𝕚𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕚𝕒𝕝 𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥, 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕤? 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤…

It was doing another lap around him again. Like a horse breeder admiring an award-winning stallion.

𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤… 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪…A pause. ℍ𝕞𝕞. 𝔼𝕣𝕣—𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕.

It shook its head, frowning, like it was trying to remember its script. 𝔼𝕣𝕣. ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕖𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣… 𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕦𝕒𝕝 𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕥…

"…"

…

𝕀𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕖 said the Spirit, coughing. 𝔼𝕣𝕣. ℍ𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕘𝕠. 𝕀 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕔𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕠𝕟 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕠 𝕚𝕟𝕧𝕠𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 𝕒𝕥 𝕒 𝕓𝕒𝕤𝕚𝕔 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝. 𝕋𝕠 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕖𝕣 𝕚𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕒 𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 '𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕝𝕤.' 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕'𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕩𝕚𝕞𝕦𝕞.

"Okay," said Zane.

𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕝𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕠𝕥𝕒𝕝—𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕒𝕟 𝕖𝕩𝕒𝕔𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕒 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣. 𝔼𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕧𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕪𝕡𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕪. 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣… 𝕖𝕣𝕣…It cleared its throat. 𝕀𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕘.

It gave Zane a dubious look.

𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙… 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕝𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕚𝕥… 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕒𝕪… 𝕚𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕒 𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕤𝕠…

Another long pause.

ℍ𝕠𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕟. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕓𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕒𝕟 𝕌𝕣-ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕖𝕥.

"Yes."

𝔸𝕙.

The Pagoda Spirit looked suddenly relieved. Like things were finally starting to make sense.

𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖… 𝕒𝕟 𝕖𝕩𝕔𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕟… 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕓𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕖𝕥, 𝕀 𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕦𝕞𝕖. 𝕊𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕪.

"I guess?" He wasn't sure how he felt about being called a specimen, though.

𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕓𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕤. 𝔹𝕪 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕚𝕟, 𝕀 𝕚𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕖?

Zane shrugged. "I think so."

𝕀 𝕤𝕖𝕖. 𝕀 𝕤𝕖𝕖. 𝕐𝕖𝕤—𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥… 𝕀 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤… 𝕖𝕩𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕓𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕞𝕦𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟… 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕠𝕔𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕟𝕠𝕨.

Another pause.

ℝ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥—𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘,said the Spirit. 𝔼𝕣𝕣. ℍ𝕖𝕣𝕖—𝕝𝕖𝕥 𝕞𝕖 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨.

***

The mists before him shifted. Splashing with colors, painting a new scene, a projection. It seemed to be a very similar situation to the one Zane found himself in. Same setting, same background. Same spirit, even.

It was speaking to a different person though. The guy looked very much like the statue outside, just less wrinkly and more muscular. It had to be the young Red Moon Emperor.

The young Emperor was cringing before the Pagoda Spirit, who drew up to its full height. It was actually taller than the Emperor here.

𝔻𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕚𝕡𝕝𝕖! It boomed. ℍ𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕗 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖?

Zane was surprised. Here it sounded much more imposing. And its voice sounded much deeper too. Maybe because it was all scaled up.

"Yes!" growled the young Emperor.

𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕝 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕠 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕝𝕚𝕞𝕚𝕥𝕤. 𝔽𝕒𝕚𝕝 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖… 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕜 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕝𝕪 𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕡𝕡𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥. ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕤 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙! 𝔻𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕖𝕡𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕖?

"Yes!" roared the young Emperor again. This time with gritted teeth, eyes shining. He balled his hands into fists. "Constellation Order," he breathed. "You bastards—once I become the true master of the Red Moon Pagoda, you'll all pay!"

𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝 said the Spirit. It nodded. 𝕀𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕒 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕦𝕠𝕦𝕤 𝕛𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕪… 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖. 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕝𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕠𝕟𝕖. ℍ𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕖 𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕥. 𝔸𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕪?

The Emperor nodded.

𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕝𝕖𝕥 𝕦𝕤 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕔𝕖𝕖𝕕.

The Emperor gritted his teeth.

All around him, though, mists began to swirl. Began to heat up, glow with an otherworldly crimson light.

And right above him, the air began to tremble. A terrible ghost blossomed there—a phantom creature, the flickering head of a dragon, tendrils of ectoplasm smoke trickling from its snarling lips.

It opened its massive mouth. There, lodged in its throat, was a ghastly gray-white storm. Gathering fast, shining bone-white...

It didn't feel like any normal Skill to Zane—there was very little essence in it. In the physical world. But in the Astral Plane it flared quite bright. If it struck you, your body would be untouched. But your soul would immolate instantly.

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕝, intoned the Pagoda Spirit. 𝔹𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟!

The attack roared out of its throat, a translucent white tornado making landfall. Right on the young Emperor's head. He screamed, threw up his hands—and a pale red moon flared out of him. So dark you could hardly tell it was there. But it was.

Zane sensed the barest trace of a certain aura—the aura of the Pagoda. Mysterious, fathomless. Trickling out from him.

The red shield caught the raging white. And for a good few seconds, it held.

Then it cracked. Straight down the middle. Just as the dragon breath sputtered out. And the Emperor dropped to his knees, face deathly pale—he hacked out a mouthful of blood. Then another.

But the shield had taken the brunt of the blow. He'd lived.

ℕ𝕠𝕨 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕝, said the Pagoda Spirit.ℝ𝕖𝕗𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥. 𝔽𝕠𝕣 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝. 𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕪, 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕖 𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖—𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕝 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟—𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕚𝕥, 𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕥 𝕗𝕦𝕝𝕝𝕪! 𝔽𝕠𝕣 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤…

The Spirit paused. Softened a little. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜. 𝔽𝕖𝕨 𝕕𝕠. 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝕡𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕒𝕝 𝕚𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦, 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕤𝕚𝕤. 𝕋𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕒 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕥. ℝ𝕖𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕦𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕕. 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕜 𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕕. 𝕄𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕤𝕖 𝕋𝕖𝕔𝕙𝕟𝕚𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕤. 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕝𝕦𝕔𝕜… 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕫𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕙 𝕗𝕠𝕣. 𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕤𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕝𝕖.

The young Emperor nodded. There was a fierceness in his dark eyes. "Yes!"

The scene faded.

***

Then it was just the Spirit and Zane blinking at each other again. It was a bit strange to see the Spirit at gnome-size again.

The Spirit coughed awkwardly. …ℝ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥. 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕖𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝔼𝕞𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕠𝕣. ℍ𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕕 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦—𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕚𝕥. 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕗𝕠𝕣.

"Cool," said Zane.

The Spirit hesitated. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖, 𝕒𝕙, 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕕. 𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖… 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕖… 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕤𝕚𝕤. 𝕀 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕤 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕣. 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕧𝕖. 𝕄𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕝𝕤 𝕕𝕠 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕧𝕖—𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕡𝕦𝕤𝕙. 𝔸𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦… 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟—𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣… 𝕀 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕚𝕗… 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕒𝕪, 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟, 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕖… 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕀 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕒𝕪 𝕚𝕤. 𝕀 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕠 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕪𝕠𝕦, 𝕀 𝕤𝕦𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕖. 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤... 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥.

"…"

The Spirit let out a strange noise. 𝕎𝕖𝕝𝕝—𝕝𝕖𝕥 𝕦𝕤 𝕣𝕦𝕟 𝕚𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕤! 𝕀 𝕓𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝔻𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕖 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕖𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 ℙ𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕕𝕒. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕤𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕓𝕦𝕗𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 ℙ𝕒𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕣𝕔𝕙𝕤—𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟!