Moon City.
Many humans emerged from the buildings, which bore many signs of age but were remarkably sturdy. Some of them were clearly deformed, while others had undergone a degree of alienation.
The humans exchanged glances, each noticing a certain degree of confusion on the other's face:
Why did the High Priest summon everyone to the plaza when the Sun Festival was still two or three months away?
Had something terrible happened? The residents of Moon City, filled with worry, fear, and confusion, entered the only square from the streets.
At this moment, the platform was empty; it seemed the summoner had not yet arrived.
The residents of Moon City gathered in an orderly fashion according to their assigned areas, and began to discuss in hushed tones:
Why hasn't the High Priest arrived yet?
"Doesn't he like waiting and dislike being waited for?"
"What exactly happened? Why were all the residents of the city, except for the guards, suddenly summoned?"
Amidst the sounds, atop a tall tower near the plaza, behind a crystal-clear window, High Priest Nim leaned against the wall, gazing at the plaza with Distortion expression, trying to suppress something.
His gray hair stood on end, tufts of short black hair grew on his face, and the flesh between his ribs and waist writhed, forming lumps.
These abnormal changes would sometimes disappear and sometimes appear, as if Nim was having another episode, making him both eerie and terrifying.
A little over a minute later, Nim finally calmed down, let out a long breath, and raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
He was just fighting against the madness that was building up inside him.
In fact, regardless of the Beyonder Pathway, the higher the Sequence, the more severe the tendency towards madness and inhumanity becomes. This gradually surpasses one's own humanity, and external anchors are needed to maintain sufficient balance.
Normally, this situation is not so obvious at Sequence 4 and Sequence 3, but at the Angel level, even with enough anchors to "fix" them, they will occasionally fall into a dark, negative, and mutated state, and must endure and fight it alone while waiting for it to subside.
It's like a sacred and solemn being, seemingly without any problems, able to answer your prayers, chat with you normally, and even crack a few jokes. But at times, it can only hide in a dark room, concealed in the shadows, tearing off its outer skin to reveal its sinister side and displaying all sorts of crazy signs.
Nim, on the other hand, suffered similar pain at Sequence 4 because he had accumulated a lot of toxins, pollution, and madness from frequently consuming Monster flesh and blood.
Of course, this also applies to those who don't understand the Acting Method and rely on time or luck to improve their Sequence 4 or Sequence 3.
After regaining his composure, Nim turned and left the room, appearing directly on a high platform in the center of the square through an illusory door.
All the discussion subsided, and the residents of Moon City turned their doubtful and uneasy gazes toward the high priest.
Nim looked around and said directly:
" Adal's hunting party encountered an outsider."
Outsiders! The residents of Moon City's eyes widened suddenly, as if lightning from the sky had struck directly into the city.
For the first time in over two thousand years, Moon City has encountered outsiders! Of course, this refers to humans with rational intelligence and communication, not Monster.
Nim took a silent breath and continued:
"He claimed to be a missionary spreading divine light. He caused a noticeable change in the grayish-white mist, cleansing the pollution and toxins accumulated in Adal and the others' bodies, and healing their physical abnormalities."
As he spoke, Nim nodded to the side of the platform. Adal and Sin, who were hiding in the shadows, immediately passed through the torches and walked to his side, using their own condition to prove what he had just said.
"Hiss..."
"God!"
"Are these Adal and Sin?"
"They really, really..."
Exclamations of surprise escaped their lips, a mixture of astonishment and bewilderment that felt almost tangible.
Adal and Sin exchanged a glance, stepped forward, and recounted their hunting team's ordeal in detail.
Hearing the flickering light in the darkness, the cross radiating a clear glow, the staff that could heal mutations and diseases, the gray-white mist parting to form a gate, and the hunting party members' joyful descriptions of their good condition, the residents of Moon City gradually fell silent.
Some of them had already shed tears without realizing it, because in their utter exhaustion and extreme depression, they had finally seen a ray of light.
The tears, slightly warm and salty, streamed down my face, slid past the corners of my mouth, and dripped to the ground.
In addition, those who remained rational and clear-headed raised their arms to express their opinions:
"Could that missionary be a special Monster from the depths of darkness?"
"Have Adal and Sin been controlled or influenced, which is why they are behaving this way?"
Once the wave of questions subsided, Nim spoke in a low but clear voice:
"I've checked them, and I've also checked them with the Sealed Artifact, but I haven't found anything unusual so far."
"I will have them remain in the Black Tower for at least fifteen days of observation."
After making the promise, Nim paused for a moment and said:
"The missionary named Gehrman Sparrow will be practicing asceticism near the gray fog for a period of time. He allows us to go there to feel the radiance of the god he believes in and listen to his teachings. He will also perform Purification and healing once a day when the lightning is most frequent."
"Anyone may choose to go, but must report in advance, follow instructions, and not act on their own, lest they affect the defense of the city-state. Those who go there will be quarantined for fifteen days upon their return, just like Adal and Sin."
The residents of Moon City all fell silent, looking at each other, unable to make up their minds.
At this moment, Ruth, who had returned to the city to inform the High Priest but failed to receive Purification and healing, and another member of the hunting party stepped forward:
"High Priest, I want to go!"
"Okay, I'll lead this team tomorrow..." Nim nodded slightly in agreement.
He had intended to give this team a name, but couldn't think of a good description, so he stammered and skipped it.
In his heart, there was actually a name, but he dared not say it aloud; it was:
Saint.
With Ruth and her group taking the lead, several Moon City residents stepped forward, expressing their willingness to take the risk.
As the frequency of lightning increased, a new day dawned. A group of seven or eight people from Moon City, carrying animal-skin lanterns, began their trek through the darkness towards the edge of the gray-white mist.
After countless alternations between darkness and light, a glimmer of fire suddenly appeared in the eyes of Ruth and the others.
It was a slowly burning campfire, Gehrman Sparrow, sat on the other side, holding a long, black iron skewer and roasting something.
Around the campfire lay the corpses of Monster, covered with all sorts of bizarre creatures. Some were pure white and plump, seemingly ready to spurt liquid at the slightest touch; others were black with blood-red threads and fat patterns; still others were covered in golden spots, their tops caps the size of a palm...
These things, densely packed, covered different parts of the Monster's corpse, possessing an eerie yet alluring beauty.
After taking a few steps forward, High Priest Nim discovered that Gehrman Sparrow was roasting one of those strange things; drops of oil sizzled in the fire, making the light even brighter and releasing an enticing aroma.
Gulp, the Moon City residents in the group instinctively swallowed, feeling a strong, uncontrollable urge to eat.
Every cell in their bodies was screaming wildly:
I want to eat it!
I want to eat!
Give it to me!
Klein, who was sitting on a rock, raised his head, pointed to the brightly colored things growing on the Monster corpses around him, and said in a low voice:
"These are called mushrooms, and there are different kinds. You can pick and eat them if you wish, but you must not touch the completely black ones, and they must be fully ripe before you can eat them, otherwise you will suffer a terrible curse."
High Priest Nim of Moon City thought for a moment and answered on behalf of the others:
"We want to hear the teachings of your Lord first and feel His glory."
Klein nodded slightly, turning the long barbecue skewer he had summoned from the Historical Void as he spoke:
You may sit down and listen.
Once the seven or eight residents of Moon City were seated opposite the campfire, he solemnly said:
"I come from the ' Giant King's Court '."
This was a familiar term to the residents of Moon City, and their spirits immediately lifted as they shifted their attention from the things roasting over the campfire to Gehrman Sparrow.
Next, Klein described the state of City of Silver and the situation outside the Forsaken Land of the Gods as before, and talked about the city-state ruins he had seen along the way.
The residents of Moon City listened with a mixture of emotions: sometimes sighing, sometimes yearning, sometimes incredulous, and sometimes deeply empathetic, overwhelmed with grief.
Halfway through his speech, Klein suddenly stopped, withdrew the long, black iron skewer from his hand, brought it to his mouth, and bit off a mushroom.
The rich, scalding meat juices then seeped out, their slightly hot texture washing over his mouth.
After spending more than half a year in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, Klein had overcome his aversion to mushrooms. After all, Danitz often had to do things for him and couldn't prepare food sacrifices carefully, so mushrooms were the only way to fill the gaps.
Klein closed his eyes contentedly, handed over the long, dark iron skewer, and said with a smile:
"You can give it a try."
While High Priest Nim was still hesitating, Ruth reached out, thanked him, and picked up a mushroom, then put it in his mouth.
He ate so fast that he burned his mouth, but his expression Distortion for a moment before suddenly freezing.
Then, his expression gradually relaxed, revealing a feeling of intoxication, enjoyment, and longing.
Finally, tears streamed down Ruth's face, and he said in a low, choked voice:
"This is... this is the most wonderful, the most wonderful food I've ever eaten..."
Even though their taste for food has changed over generations, humans still can't adapt to the toxins and the cravings for sugar and fat.
At that moment, all the residents of Moon City could hear the emotion in Ruth's voice.