Arula

She wasn't doing too well... Neph frowned and asked hesitantly, "In that case, she probably can't make Mystical Items anymore, can she?"

"I don't know," Narani said anxiously. "I'm very worried about Arula..."

Concern filled her face, so Neph could only pat her shoulder and reassure her. "She'll be all right. The Lord will bless her."

"I hope so." Narani gave a strained smile and raised her hand to trace a cross over her chest.

So He really did make the sign of the cross a prayer gesture... Neph committed the gesture to memory, then asked, "In that case, could you take me to see your High Priest, Nim?"

"Of course." Narani nodded. "Please follow me..."

She led the way, with Neph following behind. The route proved surprisingly familiar. When Narani stopped in front of the Black Tower, Neph felt that her suspicions had been confirmed. Narani turned back and told her:

"Take the stairs all the way to the top. That's where Moon City handles its important affairs.

"When he has no other business to attend to, the High Priest stays there.

"I won't be going up with you."

Neph nodded and went upstairs alone.

After following the spiral staircase to the top of the Black Tower, Neph knocked on the door. A voice sounded from inside:

"Come in."

It was High Priest Nim's voice. Neph entered. The room was small, even cramped, with a long table. Nim sat at the table, and when he saw Neph, he stood to greet her:

"Your Excellency Neph? Is there something you need?"

Neph didn't answer immediately. First, she glanced behind Nim, where a large clock hung. She immediately recalled the clock Nim had mentioned, the one bestowed by the Angel of Time. Yet there seemed to be nothing special about it. It was just an utterly ordinary clock.

...Perhaps Amon really was a benevolent god while his father was still alive?

Neph looked up to study the clock. Noticing this, Nim explained:

"This is the clock bestowed by the Angel of Time. For thousands of years, it has kept time precisely, without a single error."

Without a single error... Neph firmly suppressed the urge to make a snide comment, turned to Nim as quickly as she could, and changed the subject:

"I'd like to meet Moon City's Artisan. Narani told me her name was Arula."

"Arula?" Nim froze briefly, then frowned as well. "I'm afraid Arula has recently... She isn't doing well."

Neph frowned too and asked, "Is there no way to treat her?"

A trace of worry crossed Nim's eyes. He looked toward the window and answered:

"Moon City has a well-established procedure for dealing with the early signs of losing control, but Arula... Her condition is very serious. I'm worried..."

He sighed and said no more. Neph pressed her lips together. She realized that the Artisan named Arula might not survive this time. Then how did Moon City deal with Beyonders on the verge of losing control?

Neph thought back. Unlike the residents of the City of Silver, who were afflicted with the curse of being killed by their own kin, when the people of Moon City approached the point of losing control, they would voluntarily leave the city and wait for death alone somewhere far away.

Just like cats.

As that thought crossed her mind, Neph remembered the cat her mother had once kept. It had watched her grow up, then left on its own one night when no one was around. Only after she grew older did she learn that this was a cat's instinct.

But in that case, what happens to their Beyonder characteristics?

Neph was puzzled again, but before she could voice this rather insensitive question, Nim asked, "May I ask what you need Arula for?"

There was nothing she couldn't answer about that. Neph considered it, then said, "I'd like to have something made... Oh, wait."

Neph suddenly remembered the crux of the problem. She frowned. "This Arula-she's only an Artisan, correct?"

"Yes." Nim nodded. "Although the Oracle at the time intended to ensure we had a full range of Beyonder pathways before we set out, Moon City has endured catastrophe after catastrophe over all these years. The Beyonder characteristics and potion formulas of many pathways have been lost. The Artisan pathway is one of them."

I see... Neph nodded, then asked for confirmation. "She probably can't make demigod-level Mystical Items, can she?"

Although Neph hadn't actually checked which Sequence could purge the corruption, that had to be a power available only at the demigod level, at the very least.

Nim nodded without hesitation:

"Of course. Becoming a demigod is a threshold for Beyonders. An Artisan who hasn't crossed that threshold cannot use Beyonder characteristics at the demigod level or above to make Mystical Items. Even if they succeed through sheer luck, the item will have many side effects. Besides..."

Nim paused, then continued:

"It would be one thing if Arula were still in good condition. In her current state, I'm afraid she won't be able to finish making this item at all."

...Looks like I can give up on finding someone here in Moon City. Still, even in the outside world, an Artisan at the demigod level or above would probably be hard to find... Am I supposed to ask Klein to contact Bernadette? Oh, I might as well ask him to contact Mr. Azik. Who knows, he might have a dead demigod-level Artisan there...

All sorts of thoughts flashed through Neph's mind, but she ultimately made no decision. After all, she would probably have to stay in Moon City for a while longer. She couldn't simply step into the darkness outside and walk toward the other end of the Forsaken Land of the Gods, could she?

Provided the food problem could be solved, Neph preferred to stay in Moon City. There was a library here, as well as classes on mysticism. Even though she had read the whole of Lord of the Mysteries, her knowledge of mysticism lacked any systematic foundation. She felt she could easily attend classes for a few days. If nothing else, she could learn Jotun first.

As for an explanation, Neph wasn't worried at all. She just had to make one up. If she really couldn't, she could do what she had done with Davy: smile without answering. No one could pin her down and force her to answer questions, anyway. Her status as an Oracle was genuine, after all.

Amid her jumbled thoughts, Nim spoke again. "Does the item you wish to make have anything to do with the item in your arms?"

"Why do you ask?" Neph was momentarily taken aback. She looked down at the Blank Canvas, her gaze puzzled.

Nim explained:

"I noticed that you've been holding it all this time.

"Before you woke up, we examined this item. It's quite extraordinary... Apart from a select few, all the children at the middle-low Sequences overlooked its existence.

"Davy, I, and Luther, whom you haven't met-

"After using a Sealed Artifact, we finally noticed what was unusual about it. Within the field of vision provided by that investigative Sealed Artifact, it vanished completely!

"Even the color you displayed was very faint, almost invisible..."