The young ladies' understanding was not wrong. That was why Vanessa hoped to study some of the materials left behind by the [Saint Alliance], allowing those young ladies with Moon Marks to better wield that power from the gods the next time Shade performed "God Summoning."
"Why doesn't everyone receive a blessing when Shade summons a god?"
Wei Ge, who had not participated in the War of Fate, was puzzled. But seeing the guarded expressions of the others and the same confusion on Claire's face, the clever Miss Astley immediately understood why:
"Right. Only those who have truly 'offered' everything to a god and been tainted with the god's scent can do so."
She thought silently to herself, then glanced at Shade again, her mind occupied with her own thoughts.
Shade, meanwhile, thought of something else and asked in his heart:
"Since possessing a Moon Mark lets one become stronger when I burn divinity, then if I cast a Moon Mark on myself, would I also be able to become stronger when I burn divinity?"
[You would not.]
"She" denied Shade's sudden idea with a laugh. It seemed Shade had failed to find a way to strengthen himself through self-iteration.
Aside from the gains obtained from the Bloodkin family and the [Saint Alliance], those who had taken part in the operation—especially the young ladies who had reached the "Sea of Origin"—had all gained something in terms of increased power.
That sea was the birthplace of life in this world, the place where Ancient Gods had created life. Even merely "arriving" there held an immensely powerful symbolic meaning in mysticism.
Thus, not only had Shade further comprehended the conversion between "Life-Red Moon," but the gifted young ladies had also gained much in the fields of "creation," "life," and so on. Wei