Light-years away from Orber I, a form that appears to be a burning meteor is hurtling toward Orber I at an unbelievable speed, seemingly intent on colliding with Eldoria. But something stops it.
A large hand prevents it from approaching Eldoria, grabs it, absorbs its energies, and takes it back to the same dark room. All of this is the work of Kakos.
"What is this, Kakos? Is a mere asteroid what you are speaking of?" Aequees snickers, confusion evident on his face.
"You know nothing, Aequees. This mere asteroid is secretly a life-form that was rejected by the Gods of another universe. Had we not intervened, they would have gone berserk," Kakosresponds and places the asteroid on the large table between them.
"Rejected, you say? How do you have contact with those Gods you mentioned?" Aretia frowns, while the others listen in silence.
"I have my own methods," Kakos answers, a laugh escaping him that is more like an evil cackle.
Outskirt of the village.
"Is this the Moonlight Village?" Orion asks, frowning as he observes the entrance. The moonlight shines so brightly, illuminating the village itself. With small houses, huts, and blacksmiths as numerous as those in a medium city, this is indeed the Moonlight Village.
"Well, this has changed more than I remember," Kaji sighs as he takes in the sight. "When we first arrived here, it was thirty years ago. Back then, the Moonlight Village was just a small hamlet."
"Chris, transform me into someone." Kaji grabs Chris's hand and shakes it.
"Why, man?" Chris turns to look at him, suspicion in his eyes, seemingly concerned about the sudden request.
"You know why. Quick," Kaji groans and yanks Chris's hand harshly.
A sigh escapes Chris's mouth. He claps his hands together and slams them on the ground, which makes a cloud of dust cover Kaji, rendering him invisible.
After a few moments, the dust disappears, revealing a stranger who is holding Kaji's sword and has scars similar to his.
"Look at this, a random man I saw at the Department of Health and Care. He's handsome and perfect for a disguise!" Chris says in a prideful tone, praising himself.
"Yeah, yeah. My handsomeness and the unfamiliarity with this man... a perfect combination," Kaji laughs and turns to the village.
Everyone follows Kaji into the village. The entrance is calm and lonely, a stark contrast to the brightness of the Moon, the celebration of the Moonlight Village, and the chattering of the crew.
"I visited here four years ago, before I died," Chris says as he takes a deep breath of the fresh air. "This place changed so much in four years. The scent of the air, for example, feels fresher, calmer, and almost godly."
"Is the Status of the Moon still present?" Orion asks as he walks to stand beside Chris and Kaji.
"Yes, it was four years ago. But I don't know if they've moved it or built a new one," Chris answers. They all enter the village, which now looks more like a small city.
"Hello, strangers! How can we help you?" an elderly woman greets them with a smile.
They follow the elderly woman to the village's festival area, where everyone is having fun. Not a single negative energy radiates from them.
"Food's there, guys! Let's go!" Orion exclaims in excitement, running toward the food with Ferruccio following with the same enthusiasm. Far too much excitement for grown men.
"Kids in adult bodies," Chris comments and laughs, overwhelmed by the sheer joy of the place.
They celebrated the Moonlight Festival together that night, though Kaji didn't meet a particular person.
The next day.
Kaji wakes up slowly in a strange room, exhausted from last night's celebration. The walls are painted with many strange rituals, including a god-like being that looks like a person with a centaur's body, a goat skull, and eight eyes.
"Where am I..." Kaji murmurs and sits up, studying the room and its paintings.
"This is... No, it can't be," Kaji mutters. He recognizes this kind of painting from a blurred memory. He wasn't dead after getting assassinated; he was alive until a certain moment... until a thing—
"Hey, Kaji. Awake yet?" A man's voice calls out to him from outside the room. Right, it's Chris.
"Yeah..." Kaji just sighs and answers with a single word. He is sweating like hell, probably because of those faint memories. He's still in his disguised form. A moment later, Chris leaves.
After a while, Kaji walks out of the room and down the hallway. The mansion is so huge and its hallways seem endless. He's been here countless times, yet it never fails to surprise him. He then finds a staircase to go downstairs, but someone holds his shoulder with a tender touch.
"Excuse me, would you join me for dinner later and have a chat?" A reserved and mature feminine voice speaks from behind him, a voice he is familiar with...
The garden of Moonlight, Mansion of Moonlock Familia.
"So, myths say this grants immortality? I see no sense in that, given my experience as a surgeon," Chris says as he examines the flower. It's called the "Immortelle Blossom," a flower that blooms decades after being fed with the Darkness Element.
Its pale petals shimmer with a silver light, each vein faintly pulsing like the beat of a hidden heart.
"Ah, I've heard of that myth before. It was planted by a tear of Goddess Chang'e herself. But meh, the possibility is small," Orion also joins in and grabs another Immortelle Blossom.
Chris then signals Orion to feed the Immortelle Blossom the Darkness Element. Orion does as he is told: he imbues the Darkness Element into his finger and sticks it into one petal of the flower, which gradually sucks the Darkness Element from the tip of his fingertip.
After the flower is fed the Darkness Element, it starts to emit light pink colors from its petals. Its petals start to move as if they are alive, and begin to cling to Orion's fingers.
A suspicious Chris slashes the petal off Orion's finger with his sharp artificial fingernail, which strangely lets out a screeching sound before losing its color.
Suddenly, a ringtone in Chris's ear rings. Of course, Chris answers it.
"Hey, Chris! Where are you right now? It's been five days!" Microchip shouts through the call. How? They had only spent one night here, including the day they went to Point Mountain.
"What are you talking about? It's only been one day, we slept in Moonlight Village," Chris answers back with confusion in his tone and on his face, with Orion, Ferruccio, the Supervisor, the crew, and the villagers watching him.
"Damn you, Chris! I told you to just go to Point Mountain! You don't know how dangerous Moonlight Village has gotten!" Microchip yells through the phone, panic-stricken and clearly worried.
"What do you mean? Why are you so agitated, Microchip?!" Chris raises his voice a little, feeling irritated and frustrated.
"Chris, I've been here for five years! Before you died! Even from that time, their festival is unstable, and their geography is messed up—I can't even study it! Something is disturbing its soil and minerals, and that something is taking the lifeforce of someone who absorbs the most Moonlight energies in the village! Be careful with it!" Microchip explains, though it shocks Chris more than it clarifies.
Microchip hangs up the call, but the questions from everyone—and the shock from Chris—didn't. The immediate question hangs in the air: Where's Kaji?
"Ferruccio, prepare your crew for geography studies of this village. Villagers, I kindly request your assistance for further studies," Chris says as he turns to the villagers, specifically addressing the village elders.
The villagers also agree; their distant history is deeply interesting to them. Most of their folklores are only passed down from elders and are not learned properly. Adults in charge of historical records simply label them as nonsense and mythology. Their favorite mantra is: "Let past be past. There's no point in studying what has been done. Move on and try to be better for the future."
Of course, the young and the elders aren't happy about it, but they hold no power to go against them.
"We encourage this kind of research, stranger. Our Moonlight Maiden, Elaine, is also interested in our village's history, unlike most people in this village. We appreciate you for doing what we wish we could," says an elderly woman standing in front of the villagers.
"Elaine Moonlock... It's been long since I've met with her. Four years," Chris smiles, reminiscing about the first time he arrived here as a rookie doctor—how they met, how they became friends, and how they encountered Kaji. Old memories rarely die.
"You know her?" The elderly woman asks with a raised eyebrow. She only knows him as an outsider who just arrived for the first time and is spending time at the Moonlight Festival like others.
"Yes, I am. Just an old friend," Chris nods, then lets out a sigh.
The rest of the crew prepares to build a temporary site for geographic studies. Ferruccio sends half of the crew back to Point Mountain to continue searching for the national treasure, under the Supervisor's direction.
Chris, throughout the study, can't help but wonder where Kaji went, or was taken. He's been missing since this morning, since Chris left after calling Kaji in his room.
The morning is spent researching with no major discoveries, but after lunch...
"Mr. Crydan, I sense something off about Senior Kaji..." Ferruccio says, while attempting to redo Kaji's Dead Rebringer technique. It seems Kaji was revived, seemingly.
"What do you mean by that?" Chris frowns and looks over at Ferruccio.
"The Dead Rebringer technique allows me to control the will and status of the corpses I bring back—like controlling them completely, altering their memories, and even sending them back to the afterlife... but I can't seem to do that with Kaji," Ferruccio explains, then claps his hands together in the opposite way (both hands rotated 180 degrees).
"That's weird..." Chris mutters.
To everyone's surprise, Kaji walks out of the mansion in his original form. Where's his disguise?
"Sorry for making anyone worried, I was lost in corridors," Kaji says with a nervous smile.
"Where's your disguise, Kaji?" Chris asks, his eyes hardening with coldness and defensiveness.