“I don’t know what kind of ‘power’ Asilis possesses. Unless she uses it or reveals it herself, it remains hidden.”
“…I see.”
“I’m sorry I can’t provide more information.”
“Oh, no, it’s okay.”
“Why was Asilis exiled from the village?” Sion suddenly asked. The Moon Clan woman turned her gaze to him and answered.
“She killed people.”
“A member of the Moon Clan?”
“No.”
The Moon Clan woman slowly shook her head in response to Laila’s question.
“She murdered fifty people in a single night—people who lived outside the Moon Clan village and had no connection to us.”
“Fifty…”
Laila thought to herself for a moment. That’s even worse than Kidon Reisic…
“Did you hear why she killed them?”
“No. Asilis never revealed the reason.”
“…”
“……After committing the crime, Asilis left the village of her own accord. Even if she were to return one day, we would never accept her again, so it’s essentially the same as being exiled.”
“But Asilis spoke as if she still belonged to a clan.”
“Asilis?”
“She said if the clan found out her identity was discovered, they would tear her apart into a thousand pieces.”
“……”
“Before he comes to the world, he rules.”
“He…”
“Do you have any idea about the clan and this person Asilis mentioned?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Is there anyone in the Moon Clan who knows about those two?”
“No one, especially not about ‘him’… The Moon Clan serves no one. Not even a god.”
When Sion didn’t ask any more questions, silence fell between them.
The Moon Clan woman let the silence hang in the air for a moment before speaking up.
“If you have no further questions about Asilis, would you like to meet the representative of the Moon Clan now?”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
The person representing the Moon Clan was an elderly man, his hair was completely white.
He introduced himself as “Iodal.”
As Laila looked at Iodal’s white hair and deeply wrinkled face, she couldn’t help but wonder about the demands placed on the leader of the Moon Clan.
‘Being the leader of a clan isn’t for just anyone, I see…’
Indeed…
“Lord Iodal, we ask for your help.”
It was Esther who explained Laila’s situation to Iodal in detail.
After listening to the full explanation, Iodal responded calmly.
“We will perform the ritual tomorrow. For tonight, please stay in the village.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Knock, knock.
A sound came from the wooden door. Iodal answered.
“Come in.”
The unlatched wooden door opened smoothly.
Iodal turned from the window to face the door. As Esther entered the room, she immediately bowed deeply.
“Thank you.”
“Raise your head.”
“…And I’m sorry. I had promised not to speak of the Moon Clan to anyone.”
“It’s fine. You can stop apologizing.”
“No, I can’t. I’ve betrayed the trust placed in me, and I will accept any punishment for it.”
“The one at fault is not you, Esther, but the negligent and idle gods.”
“Pardon?”
“Raise your head.”
Reluctantly, Esther lifted her bowed head. As she stood upright, Iodal spoke again.
“The Duchess of Axid would have met the Moon Clan regardless. Even if you hadn’t been involved.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“It means that many things that seem like coincidences are, in fact, not coincidences.”
“…I don’t quite understand.”
“Just remember this: the Moon Clan does not hold you accountable, Esther.”
“…”
“The journey here must have been difficult. Go and rest.”
“…Yes.”
As she instinctively replied and moved towards the door, Esther glanced back at Iodal just before leaving the room.
“Thank you, truly.”
The door closed.
Left alone once again, Iodal slowly turned back to the window, as he had been before.
Iodal, standing by the window, slowly closed his eyes. Moments later, as he reopened them, his eye color had surprisingly changed. The crimson-red eyes, a hallmark of the Moon Clan, had vanished. His left eye is still red, while his right eye became blue.
Using his ‘power,’ Iodal began scanning the entire village. Soon, near the largest tree, he could distinctly sense an energy—specifically, something inside Laila.
Iodal closed his eyes once more and opened them, returning to the familiar crimson hue. He muttered to himself.
“That damned god…”
A sigh followed his words. Then, with his lips firmly pressed together and his brow furrowed, Iodal thought to himself:
‘No wonder it couldn’t be found, no matter how hard we searched.’
Decades ago, the entire Moon Clan had gathered, discussing the matter at hand:
‘We must destroy the time stone.’
‘I agree! The Time Stone is not a mere rock. It’s a parasite.’
‘Since the Moon Clan created it, we must take responsibility and eliminate it from this world.’
The Time Stone—something created by someone within the Moon Clan a long time ago—possessed highly unique properties and abilities.
As its name suggested, the Time Stone normally existed in the form of a stone. However, if it entered someone’s body, it would drain all the energy from that body.
If the host’s body managed to withstand this energy drain without collapsing, the time stone would settle in the heart, holding that energy within.
Each time the heart stopped, the time stone used its power to reverse time.
One of the Moon Clan members had remarked on the nature of the Time Stone: it uses people as its ‘vessel.’ Every time the vessel breaks, it repairs it, over and over.
The problem was that the Time Stone could not endlessly repair the vessel. The more it repaired the vessel—essentially reversing time—the more quickly the energy initially absorbed from the body dwindled.
Eventually, when the energy became scarce and it was judged that it could no longer repair the vessel if it broke, the Time Stone prepared to discard it.
As Iodal saw Laila up close, he realized that Laila was the vessel the Time Stone was ready to discard.
Did Laila really “coincidentally” obtain the time stone?
Iodal shook his head. It couldn’t be.
In the past, he had searched the entire world for the Time Stone. He had used his exploration-type power so extensively that he aged rapidly.
Yet despite his efforts, he had been unable to find the time stone.
Iodal was certain.
‘The god must have hidden the time stone. And then let it flow into Laila Axid’s hands.’
Iodal clenched his fists.
My youth…
‘In exchange for sacrificing my youth, I’ve become the representative of the clan, but…’
With tears welling in his eyes, Iodal recalled the moment when he returned to the village after more than a decade as an old man.
The Moon Clan was greatly shocked but warmly welcomed him back.
‘It’s alright, Iodal! Welcome back!’
‘The time stone will eventually appear. When it does, I’ll destroy it.’
‘Iodal, the white hair suits you well!’
‘Iodal, from now on, lead the Moon Clan as its representative.’
…So he did.
Iodal stopped reminiscing and began to ponder a new question.
‘What exactly does God want?’
Laila, who had swallowed the Time Stone and was now in a position where she faced an early death, appeared in front of the moon clan, the only one who could save her.
‘Is what the god wants Laila Axid’s survival?’
If so, why?
Why would the god want ‘Laila’ to remain alive?
Iodal recalled the moment he faced Laila. She was an utterly ordinary person. If there was anything special about her, it was only that she had swallowed the Time Stone and was loved by a hero…
‘Perhaps the god wishes to keep the woman loved by the hero alive? No, that doesn’t seem likely.’
The god Iodal knew was a being as coldly impartial as it was fair.
Even a hero who saved the world would be just one among countless creations to the god.
“I can’t understand it.”
me neither