"Ashes?"
Xio looked skeptical.
Although she wasn't familiar with Ashes, she had learned his name from Viscount Glaint—
Ash Blake.
When she asked, Viscount Glaint expression was somewhat strange, even doubtful of his own words.
But Xio didn't care about these details.
However, now Ashes was introducing himself with a completely different name.
Could it be a pseudonym? But what would be the point of that?
"Well then, Mr. Ashes."
Xio Derecha didn't dwell on it for long. She organized her thoughts and asked, "Do you need me to prepare any materials?"
"Materials? No need."
Ashes shook his head calmly.
He actually understood why she had this question.
For some reason, the magic in this world had become extremely primitive.
Any magic required specific materials and rituals to be performed.
Additionally, even praying to gods required materials and rituals.
To Ashes, this was completely incomprehensible.
He couldn't understand the motive behind it. Was it for the sake of ceremony?
Or had the gods in this world become so superficial that they needed to be pleased with rituals?
"I see."
Xio didn't doubt him; she just glanced him up and down.
She thought Ashes had already prepared the necessary materials.
Perhaps due to the lack of a common topic, the three of them remained in the living room, with the atmosphere awkward throughout.
Until Fors broke the silence.
"It's starting."
Fors gave a bitter smile.
Outside the window, the blood moon emerged from the clouds, its light bright and flawless.
"Fors!"
Xio's expression changed, and she immediately looked at her friend.
At this moment, Fors had already collapsed painfully on the sofa, twisting in agony.
Her beautiful face was contorted to the extreme, looking as ferocious as a demon.
Fors covered her ears with both hands, even though she knew it was futile.
But now, she was like a drowning person, desperately reaching out to grasp anything.
"Ashes!"
Xio, frightened, took a step back but quickly turned her anxious gaze to Ashes.
She knew Fors was in pain, but she never knew that the full moon caused her such agony.
"It's not time yet."
Ashes watched calmly, not making any move.
"Help, help me..."
Tortured by pain, Fors reached out into the air, her eyes filled with pleading.
Sweat dripped from her forehead, veins bulged on the back of her hand.
Her body tensed and rolled, her light blue eyes that usually held a playful and lazy look were now filled with pain.
In the depths of her pupils, countless light and shadow seemed to shift and layer.
"Ashes!"
Xio, increasingly anxious, urged Ashes once again, but he still did nothing.
Fors, her mind muddled from the pain, struggled to chant the name of her god for salvation:
"Great, Steam, and Machinery God"
"You are the essence, the incarnation"
"You are the protector of craftsmen"
"You are the light of technology, the radiance"
She chanted devoutly, naming several gods, but this did not affect her sincerity.
Unfortunately, it had no effect.
Her pain did not lessen; instead, it grew stronger.
Unable to bear it any longer, Fors frantically scratched at the wooden legs of the coffee table, leaving deep marks and making a grating noise.
Crack! Her nails broke off! Her hair grew strangely longer!
The outer layer of her skin had an eerie white glow!
It seemed as if she would transform into a monster any moment.
Only then did Ashes finally act.
Under Xio's angry gaze, he produced a small holy bell from somewhere.
Then, he shook the holy bell, initiating a miracle.
"Jingle!"
A sacred light gathered from the holy bell, and a platinum circle of light like a moon wheel spread out from his feet like ripples.
[Healing Tears]
[A miracle taught by Archbishop Karim's apostle Morn.
It can heal bleeding, poison, and all abnormal states such as cold for nearby people.
Morn is a famous attendant of the goddess Quat, and this is about her story surrounded by death.]
"Jingle!"
In the crisp sound of the holy bell, the sacred array encompassed Fors's body.
In an instant, the holy light enveloped her body.
When the light dissipated, her body had miraculously returned to normal—
Except for her regrown nails and hair now long enough to drag on the floor, there were no changes.
"I'm not dead? Not out of control?"
The sudden disappearance of the pain left Fors still dazed and confused.
"Not for now."
Ashes asked, "But when the miracle's effect fades, it might be different. How long do your murmurs last? All night?"
"No way."
With Xio's help, Fors sat up, panting heavily, "If it lasted all night, I might have lost control long ago. Usually, during a full moon, the murmurs last three to five minutes, and during a blood moon, it exceeds seven minutes."
After a pause, Fors smiled bitterly, "In fact, if not for the two consecutive blood moons this year, I estimated I could hold on for a few more months, not lose control now..."
"Three minutes?"
Ashes nodded silently.
PS1: In Lord of the Mysteries, 'Red Moon' and 'Blood Moon' are different.
The Red Moon is normally round, except for its color and phases like the regular moon.
The Blood Moon refers to when the moon, on a non-full moon day, suddenly and illogically becomes a full moon, blood-red.
(End of the Chapter)