[Vol. 8] Chapter 168: Storms of a Troubled World
Violet didn’t rush to give orders. Just by observing Miss Shadow’s reaction, she had already figured out a lot.
Clearly, Miss Shadow hadn’t seen, or rather, hadn’t been able to see through, the true form of the full moon hidden beneath the darkness during the eclipse. And in her current state, she definitely couldn’t handle the true name of [Obscurity] either.
This was actually the world’s way of protecting the weak, by building a fence of ignorance.
Because the stronger someone is, the more likely they are to discover the hidden truth, and the greater the risk they’ll face… possibly ending up like [Surst], the God of the Azure Sea and Truth.
What [Surst] saw back then was still unclear, but from the warning [Surst] left behind—"Do not look the full moon in the eye"—it’s possible to guess that it was related to [Obscurity] and its true nature.
At that thought, Violet couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotion and deeper curiosity.
Judging from how Hen had been secretly guiding her to find the [Key of Three Moons], that guy probably already knew the truth about the full moon long ago. And the reason She tried so hard to give her the [Anchor of Time] might be because She foresaw exactly what would happen today.
In other words, this "eclipse" was fated. A major turning point that was bound to arrive.
What would’ve happened if the [Anchor of Time] hadn’t activated on its own just now?
What if she had never obtained that time-based divine artifact and hadn’t entered the [Still Flow of Time]?
Then just now, if she had seen that unspeakable being with nothing protecting her. Would there have been a battle that destroyed the world?
Or would the golden-eyed Violet have simply not appeared at all, and the name of [Obscurity] would never have been spoken?
The truth about the moon was certainly terrifying and shocking, but in the end…
It was just the tip of the iceberg. One answer only leads to more questions, just as it had in the past, and just as it still does now.
But there is one thing Violet could be sure of.
A true catastrophe. A massive, unknown change had already arrived in this world without anyone noticing.
…………………………………………
The celebration of the Chosen Hero had come to a close amidst much noise and excitement. The guests slowly left, and the crowded streets of the Holy Capital began to return to normal. Everything seemed to go back to the way it was.
But… a lot had already changed.
That night’s rare and mysterious lunar eclipse caused a huge stir. People talked about it endlessly across the capital’s streets and alleys.
But just as Violet had predicted, most living beings in this world could only see the surface of what happened. They were completely unable to witness the horrifying and indescribable truth hidden beneath the darkness.
Because of the perfect timing, some even believed it was a divine sign caused by the birth of a Chosen Hero…
A misunderstanding so ridiculous that it was almost funny.
Violet didn’t tell anyone what she had seen. It was far too absurd, too shocking. And a being like [Obscurity], at that level of existence, no matter how it was talked about, would bring a backlash no ordinary person could survive.
In a strange way, ignorance might actually be a kind of blessing. Even if something truly terrible were about to happen, at least normal people, who had no way to fight back, could be spared from meaningless fear.
That was how Violet saw it.
But she also understood one thing very clearly. The brief appearance of [Obscurity], and the strange lunar eclipse over the Origin Realm, were definitely not ordinary celestial events.
Even if most creatures didn’t understand what had really happened, they would still, in time, be dragged into the storm, with no way to escape.
As expected, it didn’t take long for the aftershocks of the "storm" to reach the Holy Capital, a sacred city that had stood for a thousand years.
An urgent message arrived from the East, breaking the peaceful atmosphere of the city, which had been calmly handling the aftermath of the Chosen Hero ceremony.
Reports of war from the borders came in one after another.
On the second day after the ceremony, both the Holy Empire and the Austre Empire suddenly deployed their main armies, launching a full-scale war around the border zone between their territories.
Both sides had prepared for this for a long time. They held nothing back. Including the forces from their allied states, the total number of regular troops on the battlefield exceeded one million.
This war, the largest ever since both empires were founded, acted like a fuse, igniting further battles. Soon after, conflicts broke out across the western and southern parts of the Human United Kingdom and the eastern coastline of the Austre Empire.
Out of the five major world powers, three were now directly involved in the chaos. The remaining two, the Snow Empire of the far north and the Azure Sky Kingdom of the far south, hadn’t sent troops yet, likely due to their geography and internal situations.
But even they were now providing military aid to their chosen sides in the war, getting involved indirectly.
A true, large-scale world war had officially begun. No matter what the outcome would be, there was no doubt that the entire power structure of the Origin Realm would face a complete shake-up.
Violet also received the news right away. But because she had already expected it, she wasn’t too surprised.
Instead, something else caught her attention. A different piece of information hidden among the chaos.
“Oh? A newly discovered ancient underground ruin of unprecedented size? In the Theo province...?”
Inside Violet’s private residence in Angel City, Miss Shadow was preparing to return to Courage City and giving her final reports. The black-haired girl, who had been reading a book, paused for a moment.
She thoughtfully inserted a bookmark, closed the book, dusted off her clothes, stood up, and walked to the window.
Looking at the sprawling city bathed in bright sunlight, her face slowly showed a look of realization.
“So... it's finally happening…”
A few nights ago, when darkness began to consume the full moon, Violet had already sensed something. A vague, invisible feeling told her that something big was about to happen. The world itself felt uneasy and unsettled.
It wasn’t the kind of feeling caused by a simple war between humans. It was a warning of something greater and far more dangerous. Something that would affect all living beings.
She had felt something similar before. Back when the Goddess of Withering used the [Doomsday Bombardment] to destroy the entire [Spryce Island] and opened a gate from the [Aibus] into the Origin Realm, Violet had felt this kind of warning once.
Now that she was older, more experienced, and wiser, she wouldn’t be so easily shaken by the invisible powers of the world. But even so… she had to admit.
In terms of scale alone, what’s coming now might make the “Abyss Disaster” seem like a child’s game in comparison.
The remains of the Serpent... Are they finally going to reappear?
If that’s true, then the long-dormant mythical beings and many foreign forces, those watching from beyond, would soon rise again. This conflict could even become much larger than the Great War from 300 years ago.
Groups like the Twilight Council and the World Sustainers would almost certainly have to get involved.
And perhaps, even now, those who are always first to act… have already started moving in the shadows.