Missia, the god of the moon, was one of the gods with a very low sense of existence. In contrast, the sun god rules the world of day, but the guardian of the night is the goddess of the night, Nerien, and the Missitia is in a sense like her subordinate. Elves love the stars more than the moon, and humans give the moon many beautiful meanings, but most of them are related to unpredictable love, and obviously don't think it is very important, and the dwarves ...... The burning furnaces in their pits attract their attention more than the moon.

The temple of the moon god is always hidden in the depths of the city, and Ed has never seen it in the city anyway...... No, he hadn't seen it at all, as if the cold and detached goddess didn't care how many believers she had. But Ed remembers how Celebrion cast spells...... He remembered how the moonlight filled the Silver Tooth Mine that had been knocked out of a large hole, instantly healing all the injured dwarves. He also remembered the flirtatious and irreverent tone in which the half-elf occasionally spoke of "my goddess"—did his power really come from his faith......? Is it a pastor?

The doubts that passed through his mind did not affect his movements. He stretched out his right hand, and a white glimmer bloomed in his palm, brightening up little by little, like a pure white rose spreading out layer by layer of fine petals. The light and its serene and holy aura are most familiar to the priesthood—it is the Light.

However, in Ed's left hand, which was also spread out, another light faintly lit up. It was also white, but with a little cold blue, and because of that bit of blue, it looked cold and pale, and it spread leisurely in the night wind, like a piece of moonlight falling on the palm of his hand.

"We are not just God's creatures...... and believers," he said, "we are also the beings born of this world." Food and water, light and wind, fire and snowflakes...... When we are in its bosom, grown up by its gifts, its power flows in our blood—in everyone's blood, more or less, but always there. I was able to control this power because my friends taught me how to do it. Maybe not everyone can do it, but you ...... You can also. ”

He eventually returned to the same path, the path that Isis had opposed. But the magic moon has risen, and the power it awakens flows in the air, like a sudden wind howling, like the waves of the sea, who can not be aware?

"Ask them," said the crow's low voice, with the pleasure of getting what he wanted, "and ask them if they heard the call of their hearts...... The one who is pressed in the soul by the name of the gods, their own call. ”

He didn't ask. What he wants is not for these priests to doubt themselves, but for them to accept such changes more calmly, and to understand that there is not only one way to light a flame, and that there is no absolute right or wrong as long as it brings warmth and light.

For a few moments no one spoke, and all eyes fell on him. He could feel the doubt, the rejection, the fear...... You can also feel the uneasy, but eager to try.

He raised his hand and let the two flames of light rise into the sky. They fluttered, circling and dancing around each other, and then approached little by little, gradually blending into a brighter, but more gentle mass, and then silently dispersed, like a firework, after completely disappearing, there were also faint traces reflected in everyone's eyes.

“...... You think that's good. An old voice trembled through the crowd. Ed followed the sound and saw an old priest with a white beard pointing to the full moon, his dry fingers trembling slightly, "You think that's a ...... A gift, a harmless source of magic, an opportunity to be cherished. However, the child ...... It didn't come back at the right time. ”

Ed didn't know the old priest. He never appeared above the Council at Lockburg, but the insignia on his chest belonged to the Temple of the Dawn.

"That's Master Nihil Tango. York whispered to him, "Yes...... The oldest priest in the temple. ”

The eldest—Ed silently savored the rustic prefix. That means that the pastor is not of high status and has no other outstanding features...... But "old" sometimes represents many precious things.

"I really don't know much about it – not even my friends. It's been gone for so long that we don't know why it popped up. "What I'm saying is just what I feel." If you know anything ......"

However, the old man just shook his head. He is not thin, perhaps because he rarely sees the day, and he still looks unusually white, but the skin on his face has been loosened and sagging, as bloated and wrinkled as the white robe on his body, and it is difficult for people to respect him.

"Am I missing something?"

The silence was broken by footsteps from far and near, and the hurried mage sniffled in disgust—the stench of the phantoms in the air had not yet completely dissipated.

“...... I definitely missed something. Skelle Mond cautiously stopped approaching the wary gaze of Qi Brush, raised a hand slightly, and made a reassuring gesture, "What am I missing?"

"You may have to prove that you are...... You. York looked him up and down. The mage's outfit, and even his momentum, were exactly the same as "that" just now.

“...... I see. Mondstadt accepted it, not annoyed by the humiliation, "What do you want me to prove?"

York subconsciously looked at Is. He remembered that they had determined that Laval wasn't really Laval because Iss could tell the smell of demons in his blood.

However, Iss gave him a roll of his eyes - now it was full of stench, his nose was so smoked that he felt that even he stinked, what else could he smell of?

York reacted and made a quick decision after a brief moment of embarrassment. He looked at the crowd, and a middle-aged priest nodded slightly to him.

"I don't think there are too many people left here," York immediately invited, "and we can find a more comfortable place to wait for dawn—our temple is nearby." ”

Ed unconsciously glanced eastward. In fact, the closest temple to here is the temple of Nesses...... The abandoned building is now just a blur in the shadow of the three-storied tower.

No one turned down York's invitation. As they headed southwest, back to the city, Ed looked at his own shadow on the ground, and couldn't help but look up, the magic moon was pressed down, and the crescent moon shrunk in the corner of the sky was even more inconspicuous, as fake and ridiculous as a papier-mâché toy.

But for thousands of years, its tranquil light has soothed countless souls and guided people forward in the darkness.

It may not have been the original moon, but its existence really doesn't make sense...... Is it really just a weak and useless shadow?