Seeing that the silver-haired woman was unwilling to reveal her identity, Barbara didn't mind. She leaned down, looking at her with a contemptuous expression.
"I can guess it even if you don't speak. It seems that wisp of divinity doesn't belong to the one currently controlling the Silver Moon—it belongs to you!"
"Yet, it undeniably carries the scent of the Moon. You have clearly lost your divine status, leaving behind only a specter clinging to a few divine characteristics. From these clues, it’s obvious: you are a pathetic loser, stripped of authority and cast down from the heavens by the Goddess of the Silver Moon!"
"I simply didn't expect that there were actually two deities vying for the authority of the Silver Moon!"
Hearing Barbara’s mocking tone, the silver-haired woman sneered. "You mock me as a failure? Then what about your Master? Is She not a failure just the same?"
As Barbara’s face grew cold, the woman sneered again. "Furthermore, you guessed wrong. Since the beginning of the Third Era, the authority of the Silver Moon has been controlled by me from start to finish."
At this, Barbara forgot her anger, looking at the woman in shock. "You are the Goddess of the Silver Moon?"
If the person before them was the Goddess of the Silver Moon, then who was the one currently occupying the Silver Moon?
The woman did not answer, her silence acting as a default confirmation. Beside them, Eros blinked. So, this silver-haired "Big Sister" is the very Goddess that Natalia and the others worship? Does that mean I just committed sacrilege against the deity of Natalia's faith? He couldn't help but feel a strange surge of excitement. Thinking this, Eros looked down at his palm; the soft sensation from moments ago seemed to linger between his fingers.
While Eros was lost in his wild thoughts, the Goddess of the Silver Moon—still tied up by the tentacle—remained silent for a while before suddenly speaking in a calm tone:
"We can cooperate. After all, we now share a common enemy!"
"What do you mean?" Barbara frowned and asked.
The Silver Moon Goddess’s expression remained unchanged. "While I do not know the specific identity of that usurper, there are only nine beings in this world capable of silently stealing my faith and subduing me the instant I fell into a state of weakness."
"You mean to say the one currently on the Silver Moon is one of those Nine Traitors?" Barbara’s expression was one of genuine surprise.
"Correct," the Goddess nodded.
Barbara pondered for a moment before speaking, "Can you describe the specific process? Perhaps I can figure out which one it is." Knowing the identity of the current "Moon" would be beneficial for the Night lineage to stay on guard.
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At the mention of this, the Goddess’s face turned sour. After a long silence, she spat out a single sentence: "There was no 'process.' By the time I sensed something was wrong, I had already been subdued."
Barbara: "..."
Barbara was speechless. What kind of God only realizes they’ve been "home-invaded" after the job is already done? However, she quickly spotted another issue and asked suspiciously:
"Since that being could subdue you instantly, how did you escape? Could it be that they let you go on purpose?"
By the end, Barbara’s face had turned grave. If the opponent was powerful enough to win instantly, why would they allow a successful escape? If it was intentional, there must be a hidden conspiracy. This realization made Barbara worry that the Goddess’s presence might bring trouble to them.
Seeing Barbara’s suspicion, the Goddess spoke decisively: "It could not have been intentional."
"After being subdued, I knew I had zero chance of winning. Therefore, I immediately lowered my own status (Level) and abandoned everything. Carrying only a portion of my soul and a wisp of divinity, I passed through a 'Gift Gate' generated by a believer's ritual and crossed the Firmament to return to the physical world."
Barbara nodded in realization. That was indeed decisive. Even a Traitor likely wouldn't expect the Goddess to abandon everything instantly just to flee.
Wait! Perhaps they didn't "fail to expect it," but simply didn't care. Thinking about how the Moon-Worshiping Cult only sent low-sequence members to retrieve the Full Moon Bracelet, it seemed the current "Moon" wasn't very concerned. It was a "nice to have back, but whatever if not" situation. A specter who had lost all authority and status wasn't a threat worth noting.
Moreover, the bracelet was only a Grade 3 Sealed Artifact. The Church wouldn't pay it much mind, and thus wouldn't discover a fallen god hiding inside.
Eros, having listened to the whole conversation, was confused. He knew about the "Gift Gate" ritual, but what was the Firmament? He turned to Barbara and asked.
Barbara organized her thoughts before answering: "Shortly after the Third Era began, a barrier rose from nowhere, isolating the entire sky, the earth, and the abyss. It excluded all Gods from the world, preventing them from returning to the physical realm. Since then, Gods no longer walk upon the earth. They can only manifest brief portions of their consciousness or power through 'Divine Descent' rituals."
This was why Barbara hadn't expected a divine soul to be hiding in a Grade 3 artifact.
The Silver Moon Goddess glanced at Barbara and said calmly, "There is currently a theory that this Firmament is a lingering arrangement left behind by THE NIGHT."
Barbara froze. She had no knowledge of her Master ever setting such a thing up. "I never knew about such a thing..." she murmured in shock.
The Goddess continued, "Only three beings would have the power to set such a barrier. The World Tree has stayed at the edge of the world since the end of the Second Era; it clearly wasn't Her handiwork. As for the one in the Deep Sea..."
She paused, looking at the tentacle tied around her. Her mouth twitched. The tentacle, sensing her gaze, rotated its giant eyeball and looked at her with a "blinky-blinky" innocence.
Eros understood immediately. With 'Tentacle Brother' acting like such a dork, He definitely doesn't seem like the type to set up a sophisticated barrier.
That left only one possibility: the Goddess of the Night—Eros’s own ancestor.
Barbara clearly understood this as well, but she couldn't remember her Master ever doing it. Was it after the Great War of the Gods? After being betrayed and ambushed, her Master had immediately thrown Barbara, Cervini, and that stupid book back into the Shadow Realm to fight alone. Could it have been done then? But She was weakened by the backlash of a failed ritual—where would She get the strength to isolate all the Gods? And what was the purpose?
Barbara bit her lip, looking at Eros with a complex expression.
At that moment, the Silver Moon Goddess spoke again: "So, do you accept the cooperation I proposed?"