Moon

The following day, at precisely noon.

A panicked scream from the street pierced the calculated silence of my office. "An Evolver from the Heretical Path has appeared! Evacuate immediately!"

I left the stack of Doyle Acquisition reports and rushed to the window. In the distance, above the city skyline, something impossible was happening. Black smoke was rising, not from a factory chimney, but from the spot where the Cathedral District should have been. I was stunned.

It was perhaps three kilometers away from my current location, yet its sheer size defied all laws of perspective. The creature sat still atop the ruins of St. Saleem Cathedral's tower, like a cursed statue brought to life by a nightmare. Its dark, matted fur covered a powerful but inhuman body. Its face was flat, eyeless, with only a thick-skinned snout. On its broad chest, gaping cavities pulsed with a sickly purple light. Its stomach was slightly open, revealing a transparent sac filled with undeveloped human fetuses floating in a slowly pulsating dark fluid. It perched on a pile of bones and skulls, with a long tail coiled around the tower's rubble like a serpent.

"That's the 'Moon God'! Run! He's the one who caused the Moon Cataclysm!" People screamed frantically in the streets, scattering in every direction, plunging the city into chaos.

Moon God. That name triggered something in my memory. I had read about it in the library at the Dales office inside Fravikveidimadr headquarters. A mythological being, an Archetype 4 entity said to have destroyed the previous civilization in an event known as the Moon Cataclysm. Its appearance in the heart of Clockthon did not signify a typical crisis. This was an apocalypse.

My mind raced. This was an opportunity. Amid total chaos, there was a chance to collect invaluable data.

I returned to my private chamber and retrieved a dark cloak and the porcelain mask marked with a 'W'. I had no intention of confronting the creature like a hero. My goal was to observe and possibly collect a sample. Blood from an Archetype 4 entity. With it, I could blend a concoction strong enough to push my Order to the sixth tier.

I stepped out into the now-chaotic streets. People were fleeing in terror, no longer aware of their surroundings. Perfect camouflage. I steadied myself. I drew a deep breath and channeled Void Essence throughout my nervous system, forcing my body beyond its normal limits.

Flash.

The world blurred around me. I ran at a quarter of the speed of sound. The air felt like a solid wall crashing into my face, and my stomach churned from the sudden acceleration. Buildings streaked past like blurred lines. After 34.98 seconds, I came to a stop. I was now in the evacuation zone, right under the shadow of the colossal being.

"This creature..." I murmured behind my mask. "For some reason, I've seen it before..."

I approached cautiously. What had seemed from afar like fur was, in fact, a coarse chitinous layer, hardened like fossilized wood. I reached out and touched it. Its texture was alien.

I had to hurry. Fravikveidimadr and the royal special forces were undoubtedly on their way. I needed its blood sample.

I concentrated Void Essence into my hand. Rather than forming it into a dagger, which would be too weak, I shaped it into something stronger, drawn from my former world, inspired by their mythology. A spinning golden chakra with razor-sharp edges, a divine gear designed to cut through anything. The Bizarre Dao of the Outers allowed for this flexibility, as long as I could bear the mental burden of its complex creation.

Whoosh.

The golden chakra spun forward with a low whistling sound.

Slash.

It embedded itself into one of the creature's legs. Thick, tar-like black blood burst out. The creature did not react, remaining motionless. Before Fravikveidimadr arrived, I swiftly collected approximately 100 milliliters of the blood into a prepared crystal vial. I recalled the chakra, which dissolved into nothingness, and disappeared into the city's chaos.

I returned to a safe rooftop several blocks away, just as the first units arrived. From here, I had a perfect view of the spectacle.

...…

In the now-deserted square in front of the cathedral ruins, General Vlashmir Gurdner stood tall. His wind-blown white hair contrasted with his gleaming silver armor. Behind him, one hundred soldiers from the Griffon Legion, the royal elite Evolver unit, formed a combat formation. They were the best of the best, most of them Archetype 6 and 7.

"Status!" Vlashmir shouted, his aged voice retaining its authority.

"The target remains stationary, General. No Essence emissions detected. It's just sitting there," a captain reported.

"That's what worries me," Vlashmir muttered. "Alpha Squad, initiate a probing attack. Use long-range Essence projectiles. I want to see its reaction."

Five soldiers in the front row raised their spears. The tips glowed blue as they gathered energy. On command, they hurled the spears. The energy projectiles streaked through the air, leaving blue trails, and struck the Moon God's chest with explosions strong enough to demolish a small building.

Smoke and dust engulfed the target.

"Damage report!"

"Negative, General. No scratches. Our attack was absorbed."

As the smoke cleared, it became evident. The creature's body remained unharmed. The chest cavities that had glowed purple now shone slightly brighter. It had consumed their attacks.

"Damn it," Vlashmir cursed. "All units, switch to suppression rounds. Open fire. Don't give it a moment to think."

Gunfire erupted. Bullets coated in alchemical metal designed to disrupt Essence rained down on the Moon God. The air filled with metallic clangs, but the bullets simply bounced off its chitinous skin, hard as steel.

Amid the gunfire, the Moon God finally moved.

Slowly, very slowly, it raised one of its massive arms. Its eyeless snout turned skyward. Then, from its sealed mouth, came a sound. An utterly alien sound, unlike anything ever heard.

The sky above Clockthon, once clear, began to dim. The moon, which should not be visible during the day, began to appear. But it was not whole. It was cracked, casting an unnervingly pale light.

"What… what's happening?" a young soldier cried out, dropping his rifle.

"Stay focused!" Vlashmir barked, though he himself felt a chill crawl up his spine.

The sound continued, and from the long shadows cast by buildings, they began to emerge. Aberrations. Dozens, then hundreds. Dust-like creatures like those Welt had once encountered, shadow-hounds with glowing eyes, and other forms more grotesque, resembling moving clumps of flesh and bone.

They did not immediately attack the soldiers. Instead, they stood still, facing the Moon God, as if listening to a sermon from their deity.

"This isn't a battle," Vlashmir said to himself. "This is… unmistakably, a ritual."

Suddenly, a golden beam of light descended from the sky, striking the Aberration horde and reducing them to ash. A small airship hovered above, bearing the emblem of the Church of Grugnir. From it descended several white-robed figures, Paladins of the 'Deep Current' Channel.

From the Financial District, another group appeared. They wore sharp business suits, but their eyes glowed brightly. The Consortium had arrived, led personally by Edric and Miraille.

And from the direction of the academy headquarters, a Fravikveidimadr squad led by Gerald Vahtrein reached the scene.

In an instant, the square had become the stage for every major power in Clockthon. The Royal Griffon Legion, Church Paladins, Consortium agents, and Fravikveidimadr's special forces. All of them stood there, forming a loose encirclement around the Moon God, which continued singing its sorrowful song atop the ruins.

...…

I watched it all from my rooftop hideout. The situation had escalated far beyond my expectations. The Moon God's arrival had forced all the major players to reveal their hands.

I saw Vlashmir Gurdner, the third-strongest general in the kingdom, an Archetype 5 Evolver from the 'Chainless Law' Channel, also known as the Chancellor. I saw the Church's Paladins, whose strength came from their faith in Slid. I saw Edric and Miraille, who showed no obvious Essence abilities but were flanked by unmistakably high-level Evolver bodyguards. And I saw Gerald, my physical mentor, standing firm, ready for battle.

They were tense, of course. Clockthon was their territory, and they had to protect this vast city at all costs. The Moon God had not attacked, instead calling forth its followers. And the major factions hesitated to strike first, afraid of triggering whatever the creature had planned.

I had a plan I could enact now. With all eyes on the Moon God, the entire city was exposed. Security forces were concentrated here. This was the perfect moment for a silent operation.

I pulled out my communicator and sent a message to Milverton.

"James to Milverton. Activate Operation Nightingale. Target: Central Archives of House Droct. Retrieve all transaction records from the past five years. Do it now."

"Are you insane?" Milverton replied seconds later. "The whole city's on high alert!"

"Exactly," I responded. "No one notices a rat when a dragon is in their front yard. Do it."

I shut off the communicator. I had planned this carefully. Now, I would reap the rewards.

I continued watching the performance below. Vlashmir finally gave the order to engage, though not with a direct assault. He also ordered the construction of a containment perimeter. They would attempt to isolate the Moon God and its Aberrations.

As they began constructing energy barricades, the Moon God ceased its singing.

The sudden silence was far more terrifying than its song.

The creature lowered its eyeless head. One of the chest cavities, previously glowing purple, now shone with a blinding white light.

A beam of pure white light, needle-thin, shot from its chest.

The Moon God did not target the alliance forces. It fired the beam at the Giant Clock at the heart of Clockthon, the very symbol of the city, located some distance away.

Boom. The Giant Clock was obliterated in minutes, and moments later, as if swallowed by a void, it vanished. Such a thing had never happened before.

Absolute silence engulfed the city. Everyone, from generals to common soldiers, stared at the spot where the tower should have stood. Now there was only empty gray sky.

It was very likely that the Moon God had not come to Earth to fight. More likely, it had come to deliver a message. A message that all strength, all technology, all civilizations built by humankind meant nothing in its presence, and that it would bring another apocalypse in the future.

The creature slowly rose. For the first time, it displayed signs of hostility.

Below, I heard Vlashmir Gurdner shout, his voice filled with an urgency I had never heard before. "This is no longer a containment operation! This is a war for survival! All units, engage with full force!"

The real battle was about to begin. And I, from my hidden vantage point, would be the only spectator to witness the full scope.

I looked at the small vial of black blood in my hand. Blood from a god. This might be the key to rapidly ascending through both Order and its sublevels. The key to reaching the next level of power.