Chapter 464: Clean Your Body!

Chapter 464: Cleanse Your Body!

In Mr. Hoffen’s notes, there lay this single sentence: Ever since the dawn of human civilization, the sun and the moon have endured as the two oldest and most far-reaching reference points of primitive faith.

For it is the innate disposition of mankind to look toward the heights and feel a natural reverence, a pressing urge to submit.

Strictly speaking, even the faith of light bears a connection to the 'Sun', serving perhaps as its grand derivative; yet at this stage, it has transcended the mere physical realm, evolving into a metaphor for a spiritual path.

It was much like describing a person as being like Wien’s soybean paste—it did not mean they actually resembled a literal jar of paste.

The Church of the Moon, on the other hand, had always walked the path of integrating lunar beliefs; within the mythological narrative of 'The Whisper of the Moon', numerous tales depicted the Moon Goddess, Artemis, exchanging mutual aid with other lunar deities, wrapped in the heartwarming warmth of sisterhood.

Yet this devouring lay precisely concealed beneath the tender veil of such 'deep sisterly affection.'

The faith of the Dark Moon Goddess likely originated from bloodlines or ancient, primordial worship, for before the two stone statues of handmaidens in Congers's tomb, Karen had once witnessed the Church of the Moon's 'sacrifice' of those two women—golden insects devouring them entirely, and one of them was the mother of the Dark Moon Goddess.

Having witnessed this atrocity, the Dark Moon Goddess set forth upon the path of ascension to godhood, driven by vengeance.

From this alone, her greatness was evident; in that bygone era, to face the overwhelming pressure of a god, even for a blood vendetta, required an immense, monumental courage.

It was just like that youth on the island of old who, watching the girl he loved cast into the embrace of the sea, swore an oath of vengeance against the Sea God.

Both ascended to divinity in their respective eras, but Raniedal succeeded—he slaughtered the Sea God with his own hands and fractured the orthodox Church of the Sea God into pieces;

Whereas the Dark Moon Goddess, she failed.

In truth, failure was the most natural conclusion; a main god and their orthodox church were terrifying, despair-inducing behemoths, and Kevin's singular success was an exception among exceptions.

Indeed, had the God of Order not personally stepped forward to intimidate the realm—and at the end of the last era, the God of Order stood practically as the epitome of the mightiest main god—Kevin would never have succeeded.

Following her defeat, the Dark Moon Goddess suffered grievous wounds; her godhead verged on shattering, and her divine form threatened to dissolve, yet judging by her circumstances then, she had not reached a true dead end; she should have had the chance to take a step back, preserving her own existence with relative ease.

Otherwise, one could not explain how the Dark Moon believers could continue to construct such altars and perform so many of these rituals, meaning that thereafter, the followers of the Dark Moon and the Church of the Moon had endured a long, protracted era of conflict and confrontation.

Yet, the Dark Moon Goddess chose the most unyielding, fiercest response: she willingly forfeited her own life, distributing the bones of her body to her followers—tantamount to immolating herself to keep the sparks of vengeful warfare alive.

She wove revenge and resistance into her very conviction, giving birth to the faith of the Dark Moon.

Just as Karen fell deep into these thoughts, he suddenly noticed that the 'Dark Moon Goddess' in the image, who was currently flaying her own bones, raised her head and looked directly at him.

"Hum!"

In that fleeting instant, Karen felt a terrifying surge of mental force collide violently against his 'body,' causing the chains of Order he had conjured to bind the woman to dissolve completely.

The divine bone ought to reside within the puppet—this very woman—while the spiritual imprint should rest at the bottom of the well.

This method of separation was designed to ensure to the greatest extent that the altar could operate smoothly without unexpected anomalies, for anything pertaining to a god defied conventional logic—just like that figure within the world behind the door... Lord Dall.

Even Kevin himself had no inkling that the spiritual imprint he had left behind to serve as a 'porter' all those years ago would evolve into such a monstrosity after the passage of so many years.

Yet now, this mode of 'separation' was becoming blurred.

Karen did not believe this was merely due to his failure to complete the concluding ritual according to protocol; this altar and this island had been abandoned for untold ages, long broken and dilapidated, the flaws inherent for a while. It was his arrival on the island, bringing along a member of the Church of the Moon, that had forced this decaying machine to grind into motion once more, ultimately triggering the crisis.

The puppet and the spiritual imprint, which were meant to constrain and neutralize each other, had unexpectedly formed an alliance.

Breaking free from the shackles, the woman instinctively sought to leave the well once more; seeing this, Karen could only force his consciousness to rally, mastering his body—numbed all over from the prior mental impact—and lunged forward to wrap his arms tightly around her thigh.

Simultaneously, Karen began to summon the power of Ancestor Allen, which, paired with the manifestation of the Sea God's Armor, completely sealed their surroundings in solid ice.

What he needed to do now was obstruct and delay, buying enough time for his companions to slam the lid shut on this cauldron.

...

Billows of white mist rose from the mouth of the well, exuding a chilling breath.

Purr leapt to the edge of the well, staring down at the water's surface which had already frozen into a solid block of ice; she knew that this was Karen buying time for everyone.

Yet turning her head to behold the frantic efforts of Memphis and the others, Purr also understood that she could press them no further at this moment; she could only stand silently by the well's edge, watching the situation unfold below.

Kevin trotted over as well, thrusting his canine head over the lip of the well to peer downward.

Then, suddenly realizing something, he barked out instantly:

"Woof, woof, woof!"

Purr looked at Kevin in bewilderment, for the stupid dog had genuinely just been 'woofing,' his meaning amounting to something like, "This, this, this..."

All at once,

the colors around the mouth of the well shifted; a deep crimson surged up from below, before detaching from the well-opening at breakneck speed and sinking into the earth.

"Woof, woof, woof!"

"Was that the spiritual imprint that just escaped?" Purr's eyes widened. "Good heavens, a bone and a spiritual imprint, both rebelling at once?!"

Purr immediately turned her gaze toward Eisly and shouted to her:

"Warn Filomina to be careful over there—no, tell her to fall into a deep sleep right now! She cannot remain awake, absolutely not!"

Eisly did not truly understand the extent to which matters had devolved, and lacking crucial information, she was of little help, yet she trusted Miss Purr implicitly; she promptly extended her left arm and cried out:

"Sindy, hurry and pass the word—tell Filomina to fall into a deep sleep!"

Sindy flew forth, transforming into a streak of flowing light as she vanished, with Eisly and Blanche running close behind her.

Purr stared into the well, murmuring under her breath:

"I am beginning to suspect that it wasn't by mere chance we arrived on this island; it might very well be that this island deliberately sought us out."

...

"Crack... crack... crack..."

Beneath the well, the ice surrounding the woman was fracturing, but because Karen was pinned tightly against her, she could not violently shatter the ice layers around them, for doing so would inevitably tear Karen's own body apart alongside it.

And Karen was the highest priority to be protected.

She could only shift her body inch by inch, bit by bit.

Just then, a crimson light pierced through the layers of ice; when Karen cast his gaze downward once more, the spiritual imprint that should have rested at the very bottom had vanished, gone from sight.

With the departure of that spiritual imprint, the woman's movements grew noticeably more violent; the blocks of ice around her began to fracture in massive swathes, as though she no longer cared whether her actions would bring harm to Karen.

This meant the 'restraints' binding her were gradually diminishing.

Karen watched the disintegration of the ice while silently gathering his strength; the moment the ice shattered completely would be the precise instant of a total showdown between him and this woman.

...

Memphis was consumed by anxiety; even as he drove his Rubik's cube through extreme calculations, the vivid image of his sister's death flashed relentlessly across his mind.

He had not suffered an episode in a very long time, yet for reasons unknown, the symptoms were threatening to return at this very juncture.

Faster, faster, he had to be faster still!

Sweat the size of beans beaded upon Memphis's forehead, yet he could not spare a moment to wipe it away; this sense of inner turmoil did not hinder his work, but instead drove him into a state of heightened fervor.

"Like this?"

"No, incorrect."

"Then like this?"

"Still incorrect."

"These ten possibilities... all wrong."

"Deducing backward through these fifteen possibilities... still wrong."

Memphis switched hands to continue solving the Rubik's cube, bringing out the hand that had been hidden in his sleeve. The palm had already turned red, as if it had been burned.

Soon, soon...

Memphis continued with his deductions. The greater the probability of being proven wrong, the closer he was to the correct possibility.

Nothing must happen to Cullen, nothing, absolutely nothing!!!

At this moment, trickles of fresh blood began to ooze from Memphis's palm, absorbed by the Rubik's cube, though Memphis, fully absorbed, failed to notice it at all.

Inside his sleeve, the colors of the Rubik's cube were rapidly darkening, its patterns becoming clearer and clearer.

Memphis's calculation speed suddenly leapt to a higher tier, yet he remained unaware. In this state of extreme frenzy, even if someone were to cut him with a knife, he likely wouldn't notice what had happened.

...

Philomena arrived at the seashore, accompanied by Muri, Ventura, and Bart.

"I think I should distance myself from this island first. I clearly perceive a distinct hostility directed at me. I'm certain of it, because back home, my grandmother used to look at me with that exact same gaze."

"Then get on the sea beast," Muri said. "Let it carry you out into the distance, away from the range of this island."

"No need, I'll just hold onto a piece of wood. Don't worry, drifting at sea for a few days won't do anything to me."

As she spoke, Philomena picked up a wooden plank beside her.

Just then, Sindy flew over;

Its figure dived downwards,

"Boom!"

And it completed its landing with its face.

The scene looked comical, but it wasn't. As a ceremonial bird that was active almost exclusively in sacrificial rituals, ninety-nine percent of its merits were allocated to "looking good." Its other abilities were quite useless, and many times a "Sindy" bird might not use such an ability even once in its lifetime.

For instance, it could see the red aura spreading across the ground.

This island was an altar. As a sacrificial bird, Sindy possessed a clearer vision here. At this moment, its body was entwined with an invisible shroud of red, yet it still transmitted a soulful message:

"Fall asleep quickly!"

Philomena received the message and knew it was too late to run. Without hesitation, she immediately sat down, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.

Having completed its task, Sindy looked at the red shroud tightening around its body and let out a human-like sigh:

"Sigh."

Then, Sindy exploded.

After resolving that

She forged ahead, heedless of the Blade of Alius still buried within her own flesh. Clawing at the bone with her left hand, she drove its opposite end straight into Karen’s chest.

A dull thud echoed.

Shattering cracks rang out.

Karen’s ribs instantly fractured, his chest caving inward as half the length of the bone was brutally driven deep into his torso.

Immediately following, a crimson radiance began to spill continuously from the bone, surging directly into Karen’s body. A cluster of red light coalesced within the hollow of his collapsed chest, steadily beginning to spread.

Karen lowered his head, staring at the sight in sheer disbelief:

"You actually want to... Dark Moonify me?"