Ch.416Clarity Under the Moonlight. Lake Ariel (3)

Nothing moved across the frozen lake.

Even the starlight had diverted its rays elsewhere, yet the self-luminous frozen lake seemed as though it would remain frozen until the end of the world.

“From within the ice, She shall come… The most merciful and gentle goddess will rise again and illuminate the night of this world…”

Perhaps it was the power of faith, but disregarding the flesh-biting cold, the Moon disciples wearing only thin cloth garments continued to chant their prayers despite frost forming all over their bodies.

Before long, the frost had moved beyond the ground and began to engulf the Sky Warden ship standing above.

Covering windows and thrusters, the frost—which had repainted the ivory and burgundy coloring with the transparent hue of ice—was spreading endlessly, as if it would eventually cover all thirteen continents.

“Is this… cold? It’s been a very long time since I felt this…”

Even Viktor, the source of all heat and light, could feel the cold, which meant the temperature inside the Sky Warden had already plunged below -30 degrees.

Fortunately, thanks to Viktor’s blessing, the soldiers could overcome the cold without much difficulty, but the inorganic objects that could be blessed—namely, the various machines of the Sky Warden—couldn’t adapt to the sudden cold and inevitably suffered the fate of having all their major systems freeze and rupture.

Fortunately, the spare parts would be vacuum-sealed, so it wasn’t too serious a problem. If it became truly critical, they could receive support through orbit. Right now, Viktor was more concerned about his wife not emerging from the lake than about the ship being destroyed.

How long had they waited? Several hours had already passed since the praying disciples had completely turned into ice statues. Icicles had begun to form inside the Sky Warden, and the floor was covered with thin ice, making it nearly impossible to move properly.

Crack!

Just as they were helplessly enduring, a clear, crisp sound came from the center of the lake as cracks began to form.

The breaking sound, resonating like the striking of a massive bell, had the power to instantly free the disciples trapped in ice and shatter the icicles accumulated on the Sky Warden.

Crack! Crack!

As if an earthquake had struck only the lake, the ice split open, and cold lake water could be seen rising through the cracks. The thick layer of ice, now crisscrossed with lines like a spider web, was destined to shatter into pieces like ice in a crusher.

Crash!

Finally, after several impacts, the lake raised waves like the sea, scattering the shattered ice in all directions.

And rising from the center was the Moon Goddess wrapped in moonlight, the Sun’s companion.

“The Goddess walks this land again! Disciples, pray! This night shall be brighter than any day!”

“Hail to the Moon Goddess!”

And with the disciples’ prayers, the goddess slowly stepped forward to touch the ground once more.

*

“Haaah…”

Raisha parted her lips that had been pressed together for a long time.

Her head soon fell against her husband’s nape, and Viktor, melting her frozen skin with the sun’s heat, was deeply contemplating what she had told him.

Gods and humans cannot coexist. There are only humans who reject gods and gods who devour humans.

Even Viktor had lost a significant portion of his humanity upon ascending to godhood. The fact that he no longer considered humans as his kin was a grim example of this.

And her words to him—he couldn’t begin to fathom them.

A god with flawed humanity… She surely knew that all gods had flawed humanity, so her specific focus on Viktor’s humanity meant that even by divine standards, Viktor’s original nature was extremely precarious and extreme.

Well, he couldn’t deny that. He knew well that if one were to recount what he had done in Parsifal, even most gods would be horrified. However, if asked whether he felt guilty about it… he could say he did not.

Life is killing until one is killed. Aren’t plants that wither and animals that are hunted also life? What about microorganisms digested through life activities, and harmful pests and various insects exterminated for a comfortable life? Just as humanity feels no guilt in killing them, neither did Viktor.

And Viktor had no qualms about placing human lives on the same level as mere beasts and insignificant creatures. At least to him, human life was that ephemeral.

Such thoughts were transmitted to his wife without any filter. As her divine status had grown stronger, the feedback she received from her husband had also intensified.

Raisha could not feel warmth despite being in his embrace. It wasn’t because she realized that Viktor didn’t love her or show her compassion. It was because the vague impressions of his past—the terrible massacres and exterminations he had carried out in Parsifal—pierced her soul.

But what truly frightened her was not that he had committed such acts. What truly frightened her was that despite causing so many deaths, his expression showed no sign of disturbance.

When tearing apart wise nobles, when burning women who had insulted him, he was neither smiling nor crying. He simply acted because he thought it was right and that was how things should end.

A mind like a machine, impossible to call human. She could finally understand why the elves had always been irritated with Viktor.

Accepting him was too easy. Just kiss, intertwine tongues, surrender the body, and it’s done. But understanding him was an entirely different matter, and at least beyond her capabilities.

Clearly her husband loved her. But why? Her husband would surely save humanity and make the world a better place. But why? She would never be able to answer these most fundamental and essential questions.

Was it innate or acquired? Was he truly born from beneath a woman’s legs with a cut umbilical cord? Or was he synthesized in a bubbling test solution through all sorts of eerie sorcery? She would never know.

He loves humanity. But he doesn’t trust it. He believes every person has value. But he doesn’t think everyone will reveal that value.

He too has fears and terrors. But he doesn’t succumb to them. He too has likes and dislikes. But he isn’t bound by them. He too can be wounded and suffer pain. But that cannot stop him.

What a terrible contradiction, what a frightening being. Raisha remained tightly nestled in her husband’s arms, not trying to escape.

If she were to leave his embrace and face him directly, she wouldn’t have the courage to look at Viktor’s face and say she loved him.

Perhaps the issue of divinity was nothing.

Compared to the madness harbored by the man she chose to embrace.

“My lord. The replacement of the main system parts has been completed.”

“Is that so? Can we fly?”

“Yes. We can achieve 100% speed. Shall we take off?”

At his subordinate’s report, Viktor nodded while embracing his wife and stroking her back.

“Begin takeoff procedures. We’re leaving this Euphemia continent now.”

“Understood, my lord. I will initiate takeoff procedures.”

And so, with a woman full of terror and fear in his arms, the Sky Warden slowly retracted its massive landing gear and took off.

The disciples remaining on the ground prayed endlessly until the Sky Warden completely disappeared from sight, and once it was gone, they began to strengthen their faith again by making shaved ice desserts with the floating ice from the lake.

They had endured 100,000 years without a god, so they could endure the next 100,000 years without one too. And to endure the next 100,000 years, they first needed to fill their stomachs.

“This is ice created by the Moon Goddess. Don’t leave a single grain behind.”

“Yes!”

And so, those who had been ice statues just moments ago inhaled shaved ice desserts while chanting for the Moon Goddess even if they might freeze to death, and the next day, the disciples began collecting photos of the Moon Goddess captured on CCTV to create photo albums and merchandise.

In religious life, the most important thing was always the funding source.