CHAPTER 066
Flash
A white light burst through the coniferous forest, illuminating the dark night sky from the shores of Lake Innis, before disappearing. It happened in the blink of an eye, in the middle of the night, before dawn had yet to break.
Few witnessed the fan-shaped white light that flashed like fireworks and quickly vanished in the palace or the capital. As the white light faded, the white moon, which had disappeared earlier tonight, faintly reappeared.
Two pairs of eyes hiding on the opposite side of the coniferous forest, by the shores of Lake Glaces, widened in disbelief.
"The white moon has reappeared...!"
"This is impossible. The black moon has retreated from the white moon."
The man asked the woman anxiously.
"What happens now? Does Lord Caligo know about this?"
Caligo, their spiritual leader remaining on the volcanic island of Baosu, had predicted that the emperor's curse would amplify starting tonight.
"The curse hasn't been lifted yet, so there's no need to panic."
The woman, frowning in thought, replied, but both their shoulders tensed as they sensed movement in the distance.
Clattering, clattering, the sound of hoofbeats echoed along the path connecting the imperial guard training ground to the shores of Lake Glaces, growing closer rapidly.
The man and woman, cloaked, quickly hid behind a large rock.
Soon, under the white moonlight, three knights dismounted and hastily surveyed their surroundings.
"See, I told you. There's nothing here, ha, ha."
Commander Jacob of the Emperor's First Guard laughed awkwardly, and Deputy Commander Peter nodded in agreement.
"It seems the Count mistook a lightning strike in the sky. Didn't we see lightning flash in a clear sky during training in the provinces?"
At Jacob's and Peter's words, Count Corald shook his head.
"It was no ordinary light. And as soon as the white light burst, the white moon that had been obscured by the black moon reappeared."
As Count Corald approached the coniferous forest without hesitation, Jacob remarked,
"Perhaps the white moon wasn't obscured by the black moon but by passing clouds? There are many dark clouds tonight. Look, look over there, they're gathering in clusters."
Peter sighed softly, noticing Jacob's poorly concealed lie. How could there be dark clouds on a clear autumn night? Jacob and Peter had witnessed the white light that illuminated the night sky by Lake Innis while staying in the palace for the knights' special training until late at night.
Count Corald, a monster hunter of the continent, insisted it was no ordinary light and hurriedly headed for Lake Glaces. The two knights followed, trying to convince the Count that it was nothing, but they were deeply disturbed by the strange white light that had flashed by Lake Innis.
They were already worried about the emperor's condition after the sudden disappearance of the white moon, and now they had seen the strange white light by Lake Innis.
They could not disobey the emperor's order to stay away from Lake Innis, where he transformed into a beast and hid. Moreover, with Count Corald present, they couldn't even properly investigate.
The two knights exchanged glances, but Count Corald's quiet voice broke the silence.
"The white light definitely rose from beyond the coniferous forest. The place where Lake Innis is."
Count Corald was one of the few who knew about the existence of Lake Innis's hot springs. As he stepped into the coniferous forest, Jacob moved to block his path.
With a solemn expression, the commander of the First Guard warned slowly,
"Lake Innis is where His Majesty contemplates alone. No one is allowed to enter except for His Majesty. As the commander of the guards protecting His Majesty, I forbid you from going any further."
"His Majesty might be in danger."
Unyielding, Count Corald faced Peter, who approached and kindly said with a wink,
"In truth... His Majesty is currently at Lake Innis alone with Lady Arabelle. They wouldn't want to be disturbed. We can investigate with His Majesty's permission tomorrow."
Under the torchlight, the small gondola moored at the dock and the footprints and hoofprints leading to the coniferous forest, belonging to the Emperor and Arabelle, were visible.
He had no intention of disturbing the Emperor's date. If his son Timothy were here, he would have insisted on entering the coniferous forest regardless.
With a resigned sigh, Count Corald turned away from the forest, his eyes suddenly gleaming sharply.
Besides the Emperor's and Arabelle's footprints... there were traces of others. One, two. Two strangers were here.
As he gestured to mount his horse, Count Corald swiftly turned back, drew his sword, and charged forward.
"Count Corald...!"
Before the startled Jacob and Peter could finish their words, Count Corald aimed his drawn sword at the large rock, coldly demanding,
"Who are you? Reveal yourselves!"
***
Baosu Volcanic Island
Opaque glassy eyes stared at the glass globe clutched in a dry hand.
On the night when the white moon, appearing for the first time in three hundred years, was eclipsed by the twin black moons, the globe filled with red smoke as the black moons began to consume the white moon. The eyes gazing into the globe finally showed emotion for the first time.
Cruel ecstasy. It felt as though the human suffering transmitted to the fingertips clutching the globe. The boy's shoulders trembled with excitement.
Not much time remained. The moment of obtaining the strongest human body and being freed from this detestable form.
But then, as the globe filled with red smoke, a white light began to rise, swiftly dispelling the red smoke.
The globe, filled with a brilliant light like the white moon, started to crack in the boy's hand.
Shatter! The glass globe shattered into pieces, and a glowing white liquid spilled into his palm.
"Aaaah!"
The boy, who felt no pain even when his hand was in boiling flames, screamed in agony.
His opaque eyes, now black with shock and anger, stared at the white liquid pooling in his hand, and he hissed through clenched teeth,
"Lumen Savior...!"
Impossible. The Lumen Saviors, the saviors of light, no longer existed in the human world. They had been driven to extinction by human greed, their ability to converse with beasts, and their healing powers coveted by all.
The inherently kind and pure Lumen Saviors trusted the promises of protection from the three great kings of the continent and granted their requests, only to be met with brutal betrayal.
A thousand years ago, the blood of the massacred Lumen Saviors, who had formed an alliance with the three great nations, turned the mountains white with their snowy blood.
The three kingdoms, which had expanded their territories by winning wars using the Lumen Saviors' powers, mercilessly exterminated them to prevent other kingdoms from seizing them.
One of those kingdoms was the Heltred Empire, which later became the Heltred Kingdom.
"The saviors of light."
The Lumen Saviors had faded from human memory, their story omitted even from myths and legends, as the three great nations had agreed to hide their heinous acts.
"The last survivor of the Lumen Saviors died nine years ago. There hasn't been any white light seen anywhere since."
Muttering in disbelief, Caligo restored the shattered glass globe to its original state with a wave of his hand.
But now... there was one by the monster. And... tonight, they protected him. Just as the Lumen Savior princess had protected the Heltred king a thousand years ago. Though she had been met with his utter betrayal.
As Caligo closed his eyes, all the lights in the cave extinguished simultaneously.
***
Lake Innis
The first light of dawn began to break in the dark sky. A warm and peaceful atmosphere enveloped the shores of Lake Innis. The lake shimmered serenely in the morning light as if to say that last night's events were just a nightmare.
Blink, the ruby-red eyes opened.
No longer the bloodshot, maddened eyes of a beast in agony, but the alluring eyes of a human gazed at the small head resting on his shoulder.
He raised his arm, not the foreleg of a black panther covered in black fur, but his sun-tanned arm.
The girl who had returned to him during his torturous transformation when the white moon suddenly disappeared from the sky was now asleep in his arms. He stared unblinkingly at her peaceful, sleeping face, afraid to miss even a moment.
As Arabelle shifted slightly in her sleep, the ruby eyes darkened as if pierced by something sharp.
Under the torn dress, numerous wounds were visible, overlapping with the image of Arabelle desperately clinging to him, trying to take away his pain as he raged against becoming a beast.
As he tried to examine the wounds more closely...
"...I'm here. You feel me, don't you? I'm holding you like this. I won't ever leave. So please, stop hurting and rest..."
Even in her sleep, Arabelle's thin arms clung to the emperor's broad back with all their strength, comforting him with her cracked voice.
And she continued to murmur the words she had whispered to his fraying mind all night.
"Your Majesty, I love you. I love you."
A thick tear fell on her small, wounded cheek.
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