Walking through the corridors in the castle, the walls were covered in slight cracks. Linge tapped on them and heard an echo.
"Empty?"
To verify his hypothesis, he kicked it, and the wall shattered easily. Stepping through, he saw only a pitch-black void inside.
"The construction of high-rise buildings often consumes vast amounts of labor and wealth. Furthermore, it doesn't mean everything is fine once it's built; subsequent repairs, cleaning, and maintenance all require people to do..."
Linge surveyed the architectural structure and shook his head in concern.
"Without that, this castle is but a castle in the air, and facing the fate of collapse is only natural."
"..."
Little Red Riding Hood continued walking patiently, ignoring him.
Seeing this, Linge felt a bit distressed. Even though he racked his brains, Leike still showed no sign of interest, so he had to conclude his theory hastily. "Therefore, a so-called 'King' can only be king if they are where the people's hearts desire; one cannot simply declare themselves king because a few nobodies surround them."
"Is that how you see it too?"
The girl stopped and looked back. Her expression remained unchanged, but there was a hidden meaning in her gaze. "Then she truly is pitiful."
"What did I do now..." Facing this baseless accusation, Linge tapped his forehead to show his innocence.
"Besides, clearly the two of us are more pitiful, aren't we?"
"..."
Little Red Riding Hood fell silent again, pondering something.
"Let's go."
Hearing this, Linge stepped forward to walk side-by-side with the girl. They glanced at each other and continued forward in step.
However, a faint touch of sorrow always lingered around Leike. Though she said nothing, her emotions were still conveyed. Consequently, Linge felt very uneasy; this girl clearly had too much on her mind, yet her face remained as cold and sharp as if carved by a knife.
At this rate, what should be done... "Um... how about we talk about dreams?"
Walking on the palace's magnificent carpet, Linge suggested. He immediately added persuasiveness to his proposal, "Usually at times like this, shouting about courage, bonds, or dreams can boost morale and increase the possibility of final victory."
Of course, one must never say things like 'once this war is over, I'll do this or that.' At the crux of a decisive battle, one must not overly anticipate the beauty of the post-war period. In popular works, those who like to expound on such visions are often drowned by the creator's malice.
"Then I'll go first!"
Seeing that the girl remained uninterested, Linge took the initiative.
"As for me, I want to live a peaceful life. I'm really the type who can't handle excitement. While I'm actually on a fantasy adventure and yearn for all this, I've also realized my own cowardice and indecision. I really can only admire it from afar..."
Stopping there, Linge suddenly felt a bit of doubt.
To be honest, this reason seemed plausible and fit his style, yet he vaguely felt... it wasn't quite right.
"No, that's not it. It's that I'm so tired. This body... no, this soul is already too exhausted... I want a peaceful life, to spend a lifetime steadily with a wife and children. What I want is just that..."
After he finished speaking, his hand had been gripped tightly at some point.
Linge came back to his senses and looked at Little Red Riding Hood.
"I have no dreams."
Leike shook her head, her voice calm and firm.
"But I can protect your dream."
"..."
...Ahead was that gold-trimmed grand door. They stopped before it.
Invisible waves surged like crashing surf, constantly pressing against their souls as if they were in the deep sea.
But even in the deep sea, there are still active fish, not to mention that their current soul strength was like a lighthouse—a bright light unaffected by the wind and waves.
"They rebuilt the door already? Such high efficiency... or rather, do they care that much about appearances?"
Linge stepped forward, his pitch-black sword light flashing.
"It's just that the more one cares about appearances, the more fragile they become."
Easily, the door shattered into pieces and fell.
However, a patch of black quickly spread over, so dark he couldn't see his own hand. It was very sudden.
This wasn't ordinary darkness, but... light being devoured.
Even magical flames only had temperature but no light.
It could be called the darkest hour... "Leike..."
Linge called out somewhat helplessly, but his hand was pulled just in time.
He realized that the girl had been there all along.
"Let's go."
It was Little Red Riding Hood's voice, meaning she could see in the pitch black. Realizing something, Linge closed his eyes.
A scene appeared—not as rich as vision, but closer to the essence of things.
This was'Soul Sense', the perspective of the soul.
In the torrent like a blood-colored ocean, red and black coexisted. They continued forward with slow steps, like a fallen leaf on a lake's surface.
Linge felt a bit strange now; after all, this place wasn't this large before.
However, he already had a guess.
This is... a Domain!
They were currently enveloped by a Domain.
Continuing forward, both of them stopped.
Before them appeared an extraordinary circle of black—profound and immense.
Linge opened his eyes and found... it was actually the moon.
That full moon was silver covered with a layer of white gauze, beautiful, as if one could reach out and pull it away.
Both were illuminated by the moonlight, casting long shadows.
Then, the moon moved, rising higher and higher... even the moonlight became more distant and thin, yet it still pierced through the darkness.
The lunar phase had arrived.
And before him, Linge remembered.
His current position was no different from when he had come here for an audience before.
Except... it was empty.
Only a bright, full moon remained.
"Could it be... this is the pure white she pursues?"
Looking at the bright moon, Linge remembered the story Herluth had told, about a certain woman chasing after love.
Thinking of this, he felt it was tragic.
Even the moon in the sky is often not full, so how could perfect love exist in this world?
Thump—
Something was vibrating.
It wasn't a heartbeat, but something that vibrated the soul even more.
Linge looked at the moon, a bit of anxiety appearing in his heart.
He knew he wasn't worried about the moon itself.
Could it be... He closed his eyes and sensed it.
A much larger outline was faintly appearing behind the full moon!
And Linge could feel... the existence of that thing resonated with his soul!
"What... is that...?"
The anxiety he had hidden all along turned into the sharpest sting. What was that, and why?!
"Who am I?"
"Where did I come from?"
"Where am I going?"
Complicated, agonizing, a headache—aaah, so troublesome!
Linge gripped his forehead tightly, his fingers sinking into his scalp, as deep red blood dripped down his face.
Drip-drop, drip-drop—
Under several bouts of questioning, his soul chattered incessantly.
Quiet! Quiet! No one listened.
Someone fought, someone wanted to flee.
Yet there was neither release nor redemption, only inward crushing and constant grinding, until finally, all was pitch black... Who is it?
Who is it?
Slap!
A crisp slap echoed in the dark silence.
Little Red Riding Hood withdrew her hand and said slowly... "You are Linge."
"..."
In his panic, Linge grabbed the girl's hand, panting blankly with slumped shoulders.
Then, he looked up and blinked.
"Be gentler next time."
"..."
...The moon was already high in the sky.
This was a defiled land where too many misfortunes had occurred.
But it didn't matter anymore.
Those who died because the strong preyed on the weak, those who died because of love and hate, those who died because they were innocently involved, those who died because they committed crimes, those who died for righteousness, those who died for their faith... all were now enveloped.
Howling, resenting, grieving, sobbing... yet the crescent moon became full at this moment!
This scene was the so-called... Moment of the Full Moon.
However, if it isn't, it isn't. No matter how much the appearance is made to look like it, no matter if the disguise even deceives oneself... it is ultimately just a facade.
Right?
Mm~ mm~
Hehe... Then, from Linge and the other's perspective, their souls were like a small boat in the deep sea, facing wave after wave. When the wind and waves finally died down, they found... that the full moon was covered in cracks, and then... it shattered.