An Appetizer Before Blood Moon Season

An Appetizer Before the Blood Moon Season

Deep in the Eternal Night, a secluded, massive domed fortress stood within the ash-red moonlight.

Oddly enough, in this land illuminated by the blood moon, not a trace of rotting blood could be smelled inside the fortress. A very faint fragrance drifted about instead, somewhat resembling lingering incense from a noble banquet hall.

Beneath the fortress dome, a giant web woven from countless extremely fine red threads hung suspended. The red threads spread out densely into a sheet, extending from the center before finally vanishing into the fog shrouded by the blood moon, pointing straight at that distant Eternal Night Wall.

Suddenly, with the lightest sound of a crack, a red thread snapped.

Behind the huge desk below, the figure's movements paused.

The moonlight fell upon the desk, illuminating that pair of hands as well.

That was a pair of pale, slender hands devoid of color. One hand was slowly toying with a holy silver coin, the coin flipping between the fingers. The other hand, originally pressed upon an open, ancient classic text of the Church, was about to turn a page backward.

Upon hearing the sound, that book-turning hand stopped.

He raised his eyes, the moonlight happening to illuminate that face out of the shadows bit by bit.

Too perfect, perfect to the point of possessing an unreal feeling, like an artifact painstakingly sculpted by someone.

He glanced at the snapped fine thread, the corners of his lips moving slightly. Ah, I still underestimated them.

I originally expected to wait until the great collapse of the blood moon season to discover the little gift I painstakingly arranged.

He lowered his eyes to look at the open sacred canon, his fingers slowly tracing across a certain page, as if picking a suitable prayer.