Hobart froze for several seconds before he understood. "You mean Full Moon Lake—or rather, South Colson—can contaminate Beyonders?"
"No, only we are susceptible to contamination!" Bishop Simpson said. "Even ordinary Mother Goddess missionaries, if they stay near Full Moon Lake for too long, will find their faith becoming strange.
"For now, Beyonders of other pathways will not be contaminated as long as they do not approach the center of Full Moon Lake."
Hobart guessed, "Could there be a Sealed Artifact of the 'Cultivator' pathway in the lake?"
Bishop Simpson glanced at Hobart. "It seems you possess extensive knowledge of mysticism, which saves me the trouble of explaining certain things."
He sighed before continuing, "The Church has sensed your goodwill, but we have our own difficulties as well. The Archbishop authorized me to reveal this secret to you, in hopes that you can understand why we had no choice but to withdraw from this place."
Hobart nodded slightly and listened attentively.
Bishop Simpson gathered his thoughts. "The whole matter began fifty-eight years ago. It was a summer night, and according to the locals, the Red Moon seemed especially crimson that day.
"At around midnight, a meteorite fell from the sky and crashed into Full Moon Lake. At first, there were not many casualties; only a considerable amount of farmland was flooded.
"However, on the second day after the disaster, clergy in southern Colson County—or more precisely, the Church's Beyonders—successively suffered Loss of Control.
"An Archbishop dispatched to deal with the problem was actually contaminated as well. Even now, that Archbishop still dared not leave the Source of Life.
"If I had not caught up with you here, I would not have continued onward. We would have sent other missionaries to contact you."
Like the Abyss of Storms and the Darkened Heaven,