Chapter 471: Moon God
I knew they would make such a request, as I had no other value. However, I still dared not refuse directly. Shaien was not a benevolent being. If I had no use, she might turn on me immediately.
“Queen of the Insects, I genuinely wish to cooperate with you, but you must know that my prophecies rely entirely on visions of the future I see in my dreams, and they are all about myself. I cannot help you all with your predictions, and I am deeply sorry.”
After speaking, I waited for the Queen of the Insects’ reaction, hoping she wouldn’t fly into a rage and attack me directly. Surely not?
“Precognitive dreams, that’s not an issue. We already know. Shaien possesses powerful mental talents. When you’re asleep, she can confuse your dream’s prophetic target and transfer it to us. You can rest assured about this,” the Queen of the Insects said.
But I felt no reassurance at all. Although she said it so casually, her words implied tampering with my brain or spirit.
How vital and intricate are the brain and spirit? Even the slightest misstep could leave me an idiot. Furthermore, I absolutely did not trust these insectoids. If they interfered midway, I would definitely become a vegetable.
“Everyone, you may not know this, but all my precognitive dreams are visions of disaster, without exception. This means that even if I predict something, it will only be bad things. You don’t want to encounter disaster, do you?” I offered another reason.
“Disaster? Heh, that’s perfect. We are precisely anticipating disaster. Please, help us this once. We will reward you handsomely upon completion. Name your price for Dreamstones,” a priest behind the Queen of the Insects said ecstatically.
To think there were people who craved disaster. As expected of the Shaien Demon Insects, my understanding of their madness deepened. I now had no reason to refuse them any longer, and I couldn’t help but frown.
“Heh, I know that inviting you here suddenly might be troublesome and uncomfortable for you, but if you want to save Amelia, you might indeed need to cooperate with us,” the Queen of the Insects said with a slight chuckle, covering her mouth.
“What do you mean?” I was taken aback. It seemed she could also provide clues I didn’t know before.
“Can you see the Blood Moon in the sky? Have you noticed it has never moved?” the Queen of the Insects asked with a smile.
“Yes, when will it finally set? Doesn’t a day cycle take a very long time here?” I guessed it was because time was slowed down here, making the day and night cycle exceptionally long.
Considering one day here is equivalent to one month outside, each sunrise and sunset should take about fifteen days in reality.
“Heh, that Blood Moon will never set. The Black Forest region is forever under eternal night; the sun will never rise,” one of the Shaien Demon Insects said with a laugh.
“What?” I was surprised. My previous guess was wrong. “Will it never be light here?”
“That’s right. Why do you think we settled in Robin Town? Those Blood Kins and wild dogs also settled here for the same reason,” another Shaien high-level official added, his tone filled with disdain.
The Blood Kins he mentioned naturally referred to the Vampire Banshees, and the wild dogs were likely Jackalmen. It was said that the high-levels were Vampires and Werewolves, the two most famous night races who were nocturnal.
Vampires, in particular, cannot tolerate sunlight and dare only move in the dark, while Werewolves can only unleash their greatest strength on nights of the full moon. Considering the crimson moon hanging in the sky, this place was practically their ideal home.
Then, from the knowledge I had just gained, I learned that Shaien also preferred to operate at night, meaning eternal night was beneficial to all three races. The only reason the Merfolk settled in Robin Town was not this.
However, I had actually asked around the Kou Tao Merfolk playing in the street earlier. Their settlement was actually in the bay near Robin Town, by the sea. On the other side of town lay an ocean called the Dark Sea, with deep black seawater.
No one dared venture far from the coast, including the Kou Tao Merfolk. They said there were Unspeakable terrors in the deep sea, and any ships that sailed into the endless depths never returned. The Kou Tao Merfolk couldn’t explain what lay beyond the sea either.
Therefore, the Kou Tao Merfolk settled in Robin Town simply because it was a coastal settlement. They usually lived on the shallow beaches and rarely came ashore except for trading.
No wonder Amelia couldn’t say exactly how many days she had spent here. She only said it was about two months because the Blood Moon always hung in the same spot, and without a clock, she couldn’t tell the time.
“Okay, so it’s always night here, but what does that have to do with the people here being unable to wake up?” I asked.
“Because this place is enveloped by the power of a false god, which is why it remains in darkness. Not long ago, it used its own power to seal this place, severing the connection between reality and dreams. That’s why they cannot escape. That Blood Moon is His mark,” another Shaien said.
So that’s how it is. The Blood Moon is the mark of a god. Because the god’s power envelops this place, it remains perpetually dark, and it is precisely because of the god’s blockade that people cannot awaken.
This aligns with what Amelia said. It seems that those who know something here have reached a consensus: being trapped in dreams is due to a god’s blockade. The Queen of the Insects provided more specific details: the god’s power, and its mark is this Blood Moon.
Speaking of which, Shaien used a term earlier that caught my attention. He said this god was a “false god.” I don’t know if he was stating a fact, meaning the instigator of this Blood Moon was indeed a false god.
Or perhaps it was Shaien’s personal opinion, as within the Beelzebub Church, all other gods are called false gods; only Beelzebub is the true god.
I suspected the latter and thus asked, “The god you mentioned, who used his power to seal this area, who is it?”
All the Shaien’s expressions turned serious and solemn, and for a moment, no one answered my question. After careful consideration, the Queen of the Insects replied, “We generally refer to Him as the Moon God.”
“Moon God? Artemis?” I asked. They all looked grave and kept glancing around, as if checking if any gods were watching them.
Finally, they seemed to confirm that there were no immediate issues. The Queen of the Insects continued, “Not that gentle goddess. He is a monster. Although insignificant before Our Lord, let’s not discuss this matter in detail.”
I noticed she deliberately changed her pronoun, switching from “it” (referring to the god) to “he,” seemingly to avoid certain words. The Shaien did not utter the name of that god at all, always using a pronoun, showing how afraid they were of being noticed by that Moon God.
