"Click, click", regular footsteps, on the empty hallway.

The long corridor, the wooden walls are old and old, covered with the mottled traces of time, and the brass oil lamps are embedded in the walls, glowing with a turquoise sheen in the dim light of the lamps, and the oil lamps are arranged one by one, extending backwards along the corridor until the darkness at the end of the sight.

The wooden floor is as old as the walls, and the paint has lost its luster with the wear of time, but the surface is still spotlessly polished, and the creaking sound of gently stepping on it, echoing in the windowless corridor, only sets off the silence all around.

Shul was walking down this corridor, always maintaining an even frequency, taking the same distance with each step, and from beginning to end, he maintained an unwavering calmness.

"Click, squeak. ”

The long corridor finally came to an end, and Shul pushed open the black wooden door at the end of the corridor without pause.

Behind the door is an extremely spacious square hall, large enough to accommodate hundreds of people dancing inside. One side of the hall is not a wooden wall, but a whole floor-to-ceiling window, dozens of meters wide, so that the scenery outside the window can be seen.

Outside the window was the night, the endless night sky, and in the middle of the night sky in front of the window, a huge dark red moon hung high, dyeing everything in the hall with a faint layer of scarlet.

"In this world, presumably only here, mortals can see the true face of the dark moon, of course, mortals don't have much chance to come. Looking up at the dark moon in the sky, Shul seemed to be fascinated by the scarlet moonlight, "No matter how many times you look at it, the dark moon that was originally lightless will always be so beautiful when it shines." ”

Shure wasn't talking to himself, of course, there was another person in the hall besides him, at least, in the form of a human.

The huge hall was empty, with almost no furnishings, except for a delicate white tea table and two opposite chairs in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

On one side of the tea table, there sat a woman, dressed in a black dress to set off her slender figure, her delicate feet were bare, as white as ivory, and her long black hair was like a waterfall, dragging down to the clean ground, her hair was black and thick, as smooth as silk.

I couldn't see her face clearly, because she was looking up at the sky with her back to Shur, and seemed so fascinated that she remained motionless, like a delicate doll.

"Shouldn't I be honored to witness such amazing beauty again?" Shul gentlemanly poured black tea for the lady, ambiguously describing it, I don't know if it meant the sky or the existence in front of me, "However, I remember that I must have been pestered by your agent until midnight, and it was only with great difficulty that I managed to fall asleep, right, as a god on a high level, are you so bored that you like to pull believers into your own kingdom in your dreams, great lady Darkmoon, Lord Luna?"

The woman didn't answer, as if she hadn't heard him at all, and kept staring at the dark moon in the sky.

"Well, thank you anyway, Lord Darkmoon. After closing his eyes and tasting the black tea, Xiuer sighed softly and said in a low voice, "The architectural style that can only be found in that world, the best black tea processed by the unique technology of my hometown, including this familiar floor-to-ceiling window, I accept this kindness that I want to bring my hometown feeling." ”

"Thank you. Lady Darkmoon spoke for the first time, her voice as cold as the moonlight in the night sky.

"Oh, I thought the second time I was brought in to scold me, thank me for what?" Shul paused with his teacup in his hand, "Thank you for forming an alliance with the Temple of Water for Lisa?" or thank me for expanding the prestige of the Darkmoon Church without violating your teachings?"

"Thank you for taking care of that child, although I favored her, but if it wasn't for your care, she would probably ......" Humane shook her head, and the cold goddess said softly, "There is also the matter of Anika, I should thank you, but you have to be careful of Anika, the thing she asked you to do is more difficult than you think, for thousands of years, even the gods can't do anything, but she wants to give it to a mortal, she is a little too much this time." ”

"So you know about it. Shuer's eyes shrank, he had not planned to report this to the goddess now, "It seems that your news is more informed than I thought." ”

"The gods know everything. Luna sighed, "This isn't just an empty phrase. ”

"Heh, is that so?" Shull smiled gently, but his words were far less gentle, "Then why don't we discuss why the Otherworldly Projection and the Great Rift have appeared more and more frequently in recent years, or why the Temple of the Gods was suddenly established, what are you worried about?"

Luna didn't answer Shule's poignant question, but just turned around, picked up Shule's black tea, and took a sip like he did.

Although he had turned back, he still couldn't see her face clearly, and his vision was only blurred. Mortals can never look directly at the glory of God, even those who are favored by the gods.

"Heh, sorry, I lost my temper. Xiuer bowed slightly, and said apologetically, "Actually, you don't need to thank me, I said it the last time we met, my life was given by you, and it is natural to work for you, even if I give you my life back, it's nothing, not to mention it's just this little thing." If you had thanked me for this little thing, you wouldn't have needed to save me in the first place, would you?"

"You really should apologize. Luna stood up and walked slowly to the window, looking up at the dark moon in the sky again, "Not because you lost your temper, but because you never really believed me." ”

"Huh?" Shul raised an eyebrow at the goddess's back, "You mean ......"

"You never believed that I didn't have any strings attached to saving you in the first place. Luna said slowly, "To save is to save, there is nothing needed or not." ”

"No?" The smile on his face froze, Shuer frowned, and his tone rose slightly, "You mean, when you saved me, you didn't actually ask me to do anything, and you didn't want me to do anything?"

"Yes and no. The goddess never turned back, and replied affirmatively, "To be exact, I have only one request, which is to take care of the child, but I don't need to mention this request for a long time, it is impossible for you to let go of the bond with that child, you don't need me to ask, you will also let her grow up healthy and happy, and arrange her future life." So, I don't have any requirements for you anymore, you can do whatever you want. ”

"Heh, heh, heh, that's a funny thing. In the face of the gods, Shuer finally couldn't maintain his usual calmness, his face was slightly gloomy, and he said in a low voice, "Let's estimate your current situation, calculate how long you can last before you fall asleep? Ten years, twenty years? In the past few years, your situation has been up and down, and you can hide this from Lisa, but you can't hide it from me." Hehe, you have reached the edge of sleep, no, not only sleep, after you sleep, it will not be many years, when the last person who remembers your name disappears, you will even be erased, and your real name will dissipate in the temple of gods from now on. ”

"But what did you do? Four years ago, you used a lot of your most precious divine power to pull me out of the projection world, and this is against the space barrier, this act is enough to hasten your slumber. ”

"In the face of this situation, do you want to convince me that you did those things four years ago without a purpose, and you have no requirements for me? You tell me that you can do whatever I want? Do you really think that mortals can be deceived at will?"

"Pouring out your anger on the gods, this is a very dangerous act, are you sure you are prepared to bear the price?" The goddess's voice was faint, not only was not at all frightened by Shu'er's sudden outburst, but brought a trace of warmth.

"Whew, I'm sorry, my world is materialistic. The cold voice made Shuer's sudden anger dissipate most of it, and he sighed helplessly, "We are full of respect for the gods that only exist in legends, but keep our distance. ”

"So in your world, the way to show respect is to scold and threaten your face?" Luna, who kept staring at the red moon outside the window, "It's really a unique habit." ”

"Ahem, you know, the customs are always a little different, and occasionally they show respect in this way. ”

"Hehe, you know, every time that child prays to me, he is saying how kind my brother is, how much he cares about her, how reliable he is, that is, whenever he expresses his feelings, he has to cover it up with nonsense. Luna said leisurely, "Can I think that your sudden outburst of anger is because you are worried about me, angry that I don't care about my own existence, and that your harsh words that go against your nature are just to hide your worries?"

"Ahem, I'm not that idle. Shuer blocked his vision with a teacup without a trace, let out a series of dry coughs, and after deliberately drinking half a cup of black tea with slow movements, he regained his original elegance and calmness, and said calmly, "In all fairness, you are very good to me." You were the one who protected my soul from being torn apart by the repulsion of the plane. And through Lisa's hands, I have repaired my body and soul, which is a serious drain on the little divine power you have left. And in the past few years, you have used the form of trading to allow me to use your divine power and become your priesthood in the form of a transaction when I can't fully believe in you, so to speak, you have done enough for me. ”

"I appreciate you, when it doesn't mean I believe everything you say, at least what you just said, I don't believe it at all. You paid the price to save me, but you didn't need me to do anything? If you were me, would you believe it?"

"I will. One sentence blocked all the follow-up words of Xiu'er, and the speechless Xiu'er made the cold goddess actually let out a low chuckle, "Let me give you a test, my priest, my core doctrine, my characteristics, you should remember, this is the basic knowledge of believers." ”

"Oh, wordless giving, silent devotion, unknown love. "So I can't really believe in you, because I really don't believe in such unwarranted giving." ”

"You can't trust me, are you sure? You think that the gods can just break the rules and let mortals borrow their divine powers like a bargain? Pavadiga has never done such a thing, because there are some rules that even the gods have to follow. Luna sat back down and watched as Shul filled her cup of tea like a gentleman, her cold voice softer, "If you really don't think you can accept my teachings deep down, I want you to answer a question." ”

"When you saved that kid four years ago, were you sure you could beat those people? Are you sure you won't die? If you can't be sure, it's good to think you didn't see it, why rush to save people? And in the end, you're scarred and dying of weakness, and the kid is not hurt at all, why is that?"

Shul once again blocked his view with his teacup, and kept his mouth shut without saying a word.

"At that time, if you treated yourself immediately, although the chance of survival was not 100%, there was a good chance of survival, you can't deny that. However, even though the child's narrative is a garbled narrative and you don't even understand the situation, you still reluctantly come to the conclusion that her life would be in danger if she continued to stay there. Then you used a special method to forcibly stop the bleeding from the wound, yes, it was the same method you used a month ago, dragging the stump of the body for nearly 200 kilometers overnight, and brought her to the exit position in time, so that your injury worsened, and there was no hope of healing, you can help me explain, what do you want her to meet your requirements?"

"Good tea. Xiuer grimaced, as if immersed in the mellow aroma of black tea, "This cup of black tea tastes really good." ”

"In the final separation process, you held the child, and the soul was already affected by the repulsive force, but you didn't know that the child, as a resident of this plane, would not be rejected, so you were worried that she wouldn't be able to cope with it by herself, so you held her all the way forward, and the soul began to break and didn't stop, what do you want to ask for at this time?"

"I've slept long enough. Shul stood up suddenly, and said solemnly, "I think it's time for me to get up, goodbye." ”

"Oh, it's okay, you really should go back. Luna sat down in her chair dignifiedly, holding her steaming teaglass, "I'm coming to you this time, in addition to thanking you, mainly to tell you that I didn't mean to interfere with your behavior this afternoon. ”

"I can guess. Just like the person who was arguing with the gods just now was not him at all, Shuer said casually, "She just wanted to get that water heart too much, so she came to you directly, and she should have made an oath." ”

"Hmm. The goddess's hazy shadow nodded, "Wendy can be trusted, and you can judge for yourself whether her followers can be trusted." Anika is not to be trusted, she is not evil, and she never lies, but her mind is unpredictable, and you must be careful when you contact her. ”

"Can I see this as the concern of the gods for mortals?"

"No, the gods are just worried that if something happens to the mortal, no one will do what she asks. "No one could have imagined that Ms. Dark Moon, who has always been cold, occasionally has Yaxing who is joking.

"Good, I woke up. Convinced that he would not be able to take advantage of the battle on his lips, Xiuer turned his head and left, never dragging mud and water, but just opened the door, suddenly stopped, and stood against the wooden door for a long time before hanging his head and asking, "You gods, are they all so cunning?"

"Huh?" Luna's blurry image tilted her head.

"You said that you had no purpose in saving me, and you didn't need me to do anything, and I almost believed it. But...... I don't know why I got into the world of projection, but I don't think I'll be the first. In the past 10 million years, there will always be a few unlucky fellows who have been projected into the otherworldly projection of Parvadiga like me. ”

"You are involved just because at the moment when the projection space in your hometown is formed, you just step into the boundary of the projection space, and the projection space fails to form a moment earlier, and the projection space is formed a moment later, and you can't get in. Luna nodded, "The conditions are tough, but you're not the first. ”

"That's good. Shuer smiled bitterly and said, "So, have all these people been rescued? Will the gods not hesitate to expend their own divine power to rescue them? Not to mention the other gods, have you ever done this?"

This time, Luna didn't say a word.

"You really don't have anything to ask of me, and this time I finally believe it. Shul sighed, "From my behavior towards Lisa, you have calculated that I will take the initiative to do what you want, and you don't need to ask for anything at all." Wordless giving, hehe, this is the other side of the doctrine. ”

"Good tea. Luna repeats exactly what Shul had done.

"The point is, even if I've thought about it, I'm going to keep doing it, and willingly. Shuer pushed open the door, and finally left a self-deprecating sentence, "The gap between mortals and gods is really insurmountable, at least in terms of foresight." ”

"Heh, actually, you're still wrong. Alone in the empty hall, Luna sipped her tea like a human, and after a long time, she muttered to herself, "I admit that I actually have requirements for you, but not at all the things you are doing now, no, to be exact, what I ask of you is to do what you want to do, not for me, but for ...... All of them. Silent love never has another side. You just look at it from the perspective of the individual, so you can't feel it, but you ignore it, I didn't say that my love is only for the individual and the race. ”

Standing up, and with Luna's movements, the hall began at the far edge, and was swallowed up by the void little by little, and the tables, chairs, and teacups gradually disappeared. With a gentle stride, Luna walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, this time not looking up at her Dark Moon, but looking down at her.

Below the floor-to-ceiling windows is not the real world, but a deep void, in the void, an aqua blue planet is quietly suspended, representing the countless planets of the kingdom of God, is silently rotating around it.

Staring at the blue planet, Luna exudes a deep tenderness.