The Last "Artisan"

Neph had not actually seen Nim for several days.

Narani lived just two houses away. After discovering this, Neph would visit her whenever she needed something, choosing times when Narani was home. The rest of the time, she holed up in the library.

Nim seemed a little surprised to see Neph now. While Neph was still wondering whether she should say something, he turned to Narani, his expression growing somber.

"You're here, Narani."

"Arula...?" Narani looked anxiously at Nim. "Has... has something happened to her?"

Her voice trembled, as though she were afraid. Neph had the sense to keep her mouth shut, and Nim gave a heavy sigh.

"She killed herself."

Suicide?

Neph frowned at once. Narani's face went white, and she asked in a trembling voice:

"Suicide? How could that be? Why would she do that? Wasn't she receiving treatment?"

Neph looked at Narani, then at the silent Nim. Suddenly recalling her earlier question, she ventured:

"Did she... do it to preserve her Beyonder Characteristic?"

"Impossible!" Narani immediately denied it. "Moon City isn't short of Beyonder Characteristics! We have plenty of them! We..."

"That was probably why," Nim said with a long sigh, his voice sorrowful. "Narani, the one Arula had was our last 'Artisan' characteristic..."

Narani clenched her fists. Neph said nothing more. The air around her suddenly felt stifling, grief flowing slowly through the stillness. After a long silence, Narani spoke.

"...Can I see her? I mean, her body."

"That's why I called you here." Nim sighed. "Go and see her... It's a shame that boy Bartel is still in quarantine. I'm afraid he won't get to see his sister..."

Bartel... Neph stirred. The name sounded familiar, and she asked:

"Bartel... Is he the Bartel from the team that brought me back?"

"He is." Nim nodded.

Narani said nothing. She walked farther inside in silence, apparently needing no one to show her the way.

Nim watched her disappear from sight, sighed, then turned to Neph and asked:

"What brought you here?"

"I happened to be at Narani's house..." Neph explained. "Then I came along."

Understanding dawned on Nim. He nodded, then sighed. "Narani and Arula grew up together. They were very close friends, and cared deeply for each other."

"I could tell," Neph replied.

She paused, then asked, "You mentioned that Bartel is still in quarantine... It shouldn't be difficult to preserve the body until he gets out, should it?"

"It wouldn't be difficult, but it would be very dangerous." Nim shook his head. "Arula's body was exposed to an unknown corruption. We don't know whether it might undergo a corpse mutation..."

"But you're a 'Nightwatcher,'" Neph interrupted. "You can perform Requiem, can't you?"

"Yes, of course." Nim sighed. "That was what we always did, until one day, a corpse that had undergone Requiem mutated."

Neph's expression froze. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Nim looked at her sorrowfully and said softly:

"After that, every body had to be burned immediately after Requiem. Their friends and family could take a little of the ashes as a keepsake."

Cremation? Hmm, that's actually perfectly normal, but for them, it must be terribly sad...

Nim continued, "Still, bodies are rarely seen in Moon City. Most people either leave on their own before losing control, or die during an expedition. In the latter case, we usually find it difficult to bring their bodies back."

"..." Neph pressed her lips together and lowered her head.

Nim was still watching her. In the deep silence, Neph heard him ask:

"Your Excellency Neph, did the Lord send you here because He saw what was happening to us?"

Neph went still for a moment. She raised her head to look at Nim. His eyes were gentle and serene, lending him a reassuring air, yet for no reason she wanted to step back, to run away.

Her fear and guilty unease did not escape Nim. His gaze shifted steadily away from her, once again trapping the words she wanted to say in her throat.

Silence spread once more. Even when Narani emerged, wiping away her tears, no one spoke. Nim took a step, apparently intending to approach her. At last, Neph could no longer hold back and called out to him:

"High Priest!"

"What is it, Your Excellency Neph?" Nim turned back, his expression still gentle.

After a moment of silence, Neph said softly:

"The Lord gave me new life, and that is why I follow Him. But I don't know much about that past, either... I never witnessed that history myself. Everything I know is only a myth.

"Perhaps you would like to hear that myth?"

Narani seemed to sense keenly that something was wrong with the atmosphere. She hesitated before asking, "High Priest, do you and Your Excellency Neph need to talk first?"

Nim turned to Neph and was just about to speak when Narani added:

"I know every step of the process... Let me see Arula through her final journey."

With that, she turned and left before anyone could stop her. Neph, who had instinctively opened her mouth, could only look at Nim and ask hesitantly:

"Then... shall we go?"

"Please follow me." Nim nodded.

They returned to the room at the top of the Black Tower. Nim invited Neph to sit, then looked at her and said:

"Your Excellency Neph, before you begin, may I ask you a question?"

"What is it?" Neph asked, puzzled.

"Before you left..." Nim looked at Neph and spoke slowly. "Was there anyone besides you at the Lord's side?"

Neph looked briefly stunned. Then she answered hoarsely:

"...Yes."

"It isn't what you think... The Lord truly is in a poor state, but it isn't... He just... As He is now, He probably cannot hear your prayers."

Neph had come across the City of Silver's prayer. It addressed the omniscient and omnipotent one, the God of Gods, the Lord of the Astral World. If the True Creator had lost control of the Chaos Sea, He would inevitably be unable to hear that prayer.

As for Adam... Adam, who only dared to face the True Creator with the first Blasphemy Slate to rely on, could only have

even less control over the Chaos Sea.

Besides, even if He could hear their prayers, there was little the True Creator could do. Amon lurked in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, eyeing his prey. He would steal the light from any city that converted to the True Creator, leaving it to perish in darkness.

Neph sighed softly. Nim looked dazed, and his voice was faint as he asked:

"What exactly happened to the Lord?"