"In the end, you were actually using that evil god all along?"
The air in Shadow-fold Valley was filled with a pungent odor of rot mixed with scorched earth.
Castorice stood among the ruins, her purple eyes narrowing slightly as her gaze fell upon the old man before her like frost.
Chief Thorne hunched his back, his once upright stature appearing exceptionally aged at this moment.
"That is correct."
Thorne let out a long sigh, his withered fingers unconsciously rubbing the gemstone atop his staff.
"The moonlight purified from that evil god... to us, it was like a sweet spring to a desert traveler. It not only replenished our exhausted magic, but that sense of unobstructed absorption was even addictive."
After receiving confirmation, Castorice remained silent for a while. She closed her eyes to feel the remaining power of moonlight within her body.
Aside from a slight aura of death that did not belong to her, she felt nothing else.
Seeing this, Castorice opened her eyes and shook her head helplessly, letting out a very faint sigh.
"I thought you tried so hard to stop me from crusading against it because you lacked confidence in my strength and feared an outsider would provoke a deity... but I never expected the truth to be like this."
She took a step forward, her purple skirt brushing against the mess on the ground.
"No matter what, it is an evil god. Where did you get the confidence to think it had not left behind a hidden hand?"
Though Castorice's voice was soft, it carried an unquestionable pressure.
"If that power of moonlight you treat as a treasure has already planted the seeds of mutation, by the time it erupts, I fear no one in the Moon-marked Clan will be able to afford the price."
"I am sorry..."
Thorne's head hung even lower, his voice hoarse like two rough whetstones rubbing together.
"The power brought by moonlight was too enchanting. In the face of that power, we were... too greedy."
Looking at the ashamed old man, the reproach in Castorice's heart eventually turned into a sense of powerlessness.
She spoke no more and turned to walk away.
What this chief needed now was not condemnation, but to face the interrogation of his own conscience alone.
Castorice looked up, her gaze passing through the sparse shadows of the trees to land on an open space nearby.
There, Phainon was stooped over, working alongside a group of white-robed priests to clean up the filth left behind by the evil god.
He used no spells, simply holding a tool and shoveling away the foul-smelling remains one stroke at a time, his movements focused and earnest.
Watching that white silhouette from behind, Castorice stopped in her tracks.
Her heart felt as if it were being gently squeezed by a formless hand, a fine sense of aching bitterness rising within her.
'Castorice, do not be afraid.'
She whispered to herself in her heart.
'I have to face it eventually... before this, he must have been very lonely, being alone in this strange world.'
Phainon's previous words about searching for companions constantly echoed in her mind now.
Waking up in a completely foreign world.
No intelligence, no direction, not even a single person to talk to.
Relying solely on that faint notion called hope, searching for familiar figures among the vast crowds of people, day after day, year after year.
Now, he had finally managed to find a companion.
And what about her?
Because she was afraid of being discovered as not being the Castorice in his memories, because of this ridiculous selfishness, she actually wanted to distance herself from this person who had given almost everything for his companions.
Castorice took a deep breath and clenched her fingers hidden in her sleeves.
She could not forgive herself for being like this.
She adjusted her breathing and set off toward that silhouette.
A few breaths later, she was standing behind Phainon.
Phainon, who was processing the pollutants, seemed to sense the movement behind him.
He straightened his back and turned around, a hint of appropriate confusion in those golden eyes.
"Excellency Castorice? Is there something I can help you with?"
Looking at that familiar face, Castorice felt her throat tighten.
"Whew..."
She exhaled softly, forcing the corners of her mouth upward to reveal a signature gentle smile.
"Excellency Phainon, the situation has stabilized now. Could you... tell me about your time in this world? I have not been here long, and I am curious about your experiences."
"Yes, yes! Excellency Phainon!"
Before Phainon could answer, an energetic voice suddenly cut in.
Hyacine had finished tending to the wounded at some point and approached like a lithe lark.
"Just like Little Castorice, I am very curious about your story! In exchange, I can share my experiences too!"
"Doot doot~"
Accompanied by a cheerful sound, the round Little Ica also flew over, spinning in the air before hovering steadily beside Hyacine.
"Mhm~ and of course our cute Little Ica."
Hyacine smiled and reached out, pulling Little Ica into her arms for a nuzzle.
Looking at the two people and one beast that had suddenly surrounded him, Phainon was clearly taken aback.
He blinked, and then the polite sense of distance on his face melted like snow, turning into a warm and sincere smile.
"Alright."
He set down his tool, patted the dust off his robes, and cast his gaze toward the dim horizon in the distance.
"Then this will have to start from when I first arrived in this world... about ten or so years ago."
Phainon's voice became somewhat distant, as if piercing through the mists of time.
"When I first woke up, I was also very lost."
"It took me a long time to confirm that this was not Amphoreus, and there was no one I knew."
"At that time, I thought, since I could come here, did others come as well?"
"So, I began to search."
He spoke lightly of that long journey.
Setting foot on desolate plateaus, crossing bustling towns, questioning every passing traveler, and pursuing every possible lead.
For over a year, aside from wearing out a few pairs of soles, he had gained nothing.
"Just when I was about to doubt if I had gone mad, people from the Church of the Radiant Sun found me."
Phainon shrugged, his tone carrying a bit of helplessness.
"They said I was some Saint and invited me to join the church. At the time, my head was full of finding people, so how could I have the heart to be a Saint? I refused on the spot."
At this point, he paused, a complex light flashing in his eyes.
"But they did not give up."
"They said the church possessed an intelligence network spanning the continent and could even use the power of prophecy to help me find people."
"Immediately after, they showed me a prophecy."
Phainon cleared his throat and, imitating the cantillation of those cultists, slowly recited:
"A visitor from another world seeking companions shall enter the shroud of radiance because of those companions, becoming a newly rising radiant sun to burn away all darkness in the world."
Hearing this prophecy, Castorice and Hyacine looked at each other, both seeing surprise in the other's eyes.
"Very accurate, right?"
Phainon gave a wry smile.
"They might have learned about the matter of seeking companions by observing me. But a visitor from another world... in this closed-off world, how did they know I did not belong here?"
"And that part about becoming a new radiant sun... that strong sense of déjà vu made me have to wonder if this truly was some kind of arrangement by fate."
"When there are too many coincidences, it is no longer a coincidence, but a fact."
Phainon spread his hands.
"For that potentially existing hope, I joined the Church of the Radiant Sun, put on these white robes, and became their Saint."
"And in exchange, I received a second prophecy regarding my companions."
His expression turned serious, his voice low and powerful:
"Go seek that filth that devours all things, where carcasses and new sprouts are endlessly entangled."
"When the radiant sun falls into this vortex of life and death, the scattered light shall converge once more, turning into the fire of the end that incinerates the gods."
Phainon raised his head, looking at the two in front of him with burning eyes.
"Following this guidance, I began a hunt that lasted for ten years."
"Wherever evil sprouted, wherever filth spread, I went there."
"Just like that, I kept fighting, kept searching..."
His voice gradually lowered, then rose again with a lightness that felt like a huge burden being lifted.
"Fortunately, the prophecy did not lie to me."
"This time, it has finally come true."
★ ★ ★
Good news: We finally caught up with the raw!
Bad news: We finally caught up with the raw!