"You stood there with your eyes closed for over half an hour. It'll be zero hour in a few minutes. How do you feel now?"
The firelight in the Withered Forest had already dimmed considerably, but gray snow still drifted through the night sky. Supported by Doctor Schneider, Shade sat down on the other half of the millstone buried deep in the snow, then lowered his head to look at his hand.
"The demon wanted to see what I looked like, then turn into me to deal with me."
He rested his right arm on his right knee, leaned forward slightly, and looked at the Doctor before him.
"So, I saw what I looked like."
"No, no, that wasn't what you looked like. That was your shadow."
The Doctor corrected him.
"I understand Gothe's power. What you saw was merely the self you normally cannot see. Seemed you gained something from it?"
"Yes."
Though he had only gained another Spirit Rune and a passive Thaumaturgy, all of his powers related to Moon had been strengthened. He could not describe the feeling, so he summoned the Moonbeam Greatsword.
The Spiritual Weapon weighed almost as much as an ordinary weapon, and the weakened Shade nearly failed to hold it.
The greatsword, covered in a chain of runes, pierced the snow surface. Its nearly translucent silver blade illuminated Shade's profile and the gray snow. The Moonbeam Greatsword had become even more ornate than in the past.
"What a beautiful weapon."
The Doctor offered his praise as well, then took a glass bottle from his pocket and handed it to Shade.
"I guessed you would be in quite a sorry state. Drink this. A demon domain is unfriendly to any living thing with a soul. I know you have some special ability, but it