Horace's temporary quarters.
Horace naturally knew nothing of the conversation between the two night witches behind the scenes.
After being "invited" out, he followed the direction the witch had pointed out at the end, winding through the silver labyrinth for a long while before finally spotting familiar route markers and returning safely to his quarters.
Only after closing the door did he truly relax.
He eagerly took out the Nokstella's Moon talisman.
When he put it on, he felt no specific change, nor any palpable sense of surging power.
Yet when he settled down to study sorcery, a wondrous change occurred.
His thoughts became exceptionally clear. Certain crucial points that had previously eluded him despite painstaking thought now came to him in flashes of inspiration, suddenly making perfect sense.
What this talisman offered was not a direct increase in "power," but some mysterious enhancement to his "insight"-or rather, an immense improvement in his "comprehension" and "inspiration."
Combined with the profound, tranquil essence of the "Black Moon" contained within Nokstella's Moon itself, and the unprecedented records in the library, an idea gradually took shape in Horace's mind.
Rennala's Full Moon, Rellana's Twin Moons, and Ranni's future Dark Moon were all, in essence, observations, imitations, and ultimately "mimicries" of moons that actually existed in the sky, drawing on their inherent symbolism and power.
But the "Blood Moon" he wanted to create had no counterpart in reality.
Since there was no external reference, he would seek inward!
"I can first shape a 'moon within my heart' in the depths of my consciousness, within the domain of my soul!"
Excitement shone in Horace's eyes.
His Blood Moon did not need to possess matter. Constructing it within his consciousness, then visualizing and copying it to cast its reflection into reality, was the sensible solution.
This