Heaven, Earth, Me

"Welcome to the Trial of the Lost Moon Palace."

The mellow and gentle female voice startled all of them, and they turned to look toward the source of the sound. There, a woman with enough beauty to eclipse the Sun was sitting on a throne. Her gorgeous long hair was as dark as the night, while her healthy white skin glowed like the gentle full moon. Her pair of clear and moist charming eyes stared at them with such coldness that one couldn't help but step back. 

Yasenia looked around and saw the Spirit Beast slowly ambling toward the woman and, once there, lowering its head. The woman caressed the head of the eight-legged and ten-eyed white horse with a gentle touch. 

This surprised them even more. 

"The Lost Moon Palace?" Yasenia asked, her eyes looking straight at the woman. "What is this place, Senior? We have been guided by that Spirit Beast since it needed help with something."

The woman faintly gazed at Yasenia, her face unchanging even in the presence of the dragoness's beauty. "Help… What you are doing is not considered 'to help.' It's a trade."

Those words, which sounded somewhat resentful, made Yasenia understand that the relation between this spirit and the woman was not small. She decided to agree with her. "Indeed, Senior. It is a trade, but both sides have something to gain." 

The woman placed her arms on the armrests and spoke. "And something to lose. In the case of my [Moon Traversing Mist Spirit], it is its eternal freedom."

Hearing her words, Soluna's eyebrows gently came together, and she answered. "Hey, it's not eternal freedom that we lose. It just lasts until our contractor or us, the spirit, dies! There are many benefits as well."

The woman with the beauty of the Moon glanced once at Soluna before looking back at Yasenia. "Either way, you are here to help it, right? Then, this is what it asks." 

Soluna pouted. 'She ignored me!'

The woman spoke. "What you need to do are three things. The first one is to break the formation that is sealing this mountain's energy. The second is to kill the beast guarding the [Descent Of Luna Nova]. Finally, you need to break the chains that are tying my soul to this place." 

After uttering those words, the woman continued. "Once you do this, your deal with the [Moon Traversing Mist Spirit] will be completed."

The dragoness raised her eyebrow after listening to her words. While each of those tasks probably had their difficulties, they didn't seem very extraordinary. Moreover, if you take them as they were, the tasks seemed all focused on liberating this woman, who had probably been sealed for many years. 

Suddenly, her mind connected a few dots, and her eyes shone with a realization she shared with the rest. 'Was the Spirit Beast not killing people and instead carrying them here to try this trial forcefully?'

Hearing Yasenia's thoughts, the rest of the group became thoughtful. The woman saw that no one was answering and asked coldly. "Are you going to accept, yes or no?"

The dragoness smiled. "There are a few things to discuss, don't you think, Senior?"

"What's there to discuss?" The woman stated. "This is an opportunity many would beg to have. Yet, you are there, hesitating. Do young people nowadays lack the exploration spirit of the past?" 

Yasenia's smile became a bit cold, her eyes gently squinting. "Senior, why are you trying to rush us? Can't we talk to each other first?"

"Talk?" The woman snorted and waved her hand, creating a powerful pressure wave. "Since you want to talk, do it outside. Come back inside only when you've completed the tasks I've given you."

An incredibly powerful gale blasted all of them backward and through massive doors. They all landed on their feet, sliding backward on the snow. However, they were not on the outskirts of the altar they saw when they arrived. Instead, they were in a large passage of a castle. It was clear that while all that remained was the main hall back where they arrived, the entire structure was still intact in this space. 

Angel pouted. "What's her problem? So rude…"

Evelyn laughed, patting Yasenia's back. "There, there. Some people are just like that."

Speechless, the dragoness looked at Evelyn and asked. "You don't really think that I am offended, right?"

"Of course not!" Evelyn exclaimed. Then, she laughed. "But faking so is much funnier~."

Yasenia sighed with a smile and looked around. "Is everyone here?"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Andrea frowned. "Yasenia… Cecile is missing."

"Huh?" The dragoness frowned, feeling Cecile's presence nearby. However, when she looked around with her eyes, Cecile was indeed not there. "How? I can feel her right by my side." Extending her hand toward where Cecile appeared to be, Yasenia was startled when she felt nothing. "Are there any formations around us? What's going on?"

The maids, Tatyana, Mirrory, and Valeria, looked around with a scrutinizing gaze, trying to make sense of what was happening. Mirrory commented to Tatyana. "This is not due to formations…"

Tatyana nodded. "It's not. I think it is space shenanigans. There is space layering here… That's a very high-level skill to create different instances of the same place at the same time…"

Hearing the two seniors, the rest gasped in shock. Yasenia asked, confused. "So, does that mean that Cecile is right where we are but in another spatial dimension?"

Tatyana nodded seriously. "That seems to be the case. I personally can't do anything about it. If I force it and there are any kind of spells, the other layer might collapse and kill Cecile in the process." Tatyana shook her head with a sigh. "Little Treasure, our hands are tied this time around."

Yasenia's face crumpled, and she glared toward the throne room. However, she didn't blame the woman; instead, she reflected on her actions. 'Was I too arrogant? Or was that senior too narrow-minded, and I failed to determine it quickly enough? Ugh! What could I have done differently…?'

Looking around, Yasenia noticed Cecile's presence moving away from the doors and toward the outside. She shook her head and looked ahead. 'I don't have time to reflect. Let's do that later.' Then, she spoke to the rest. "Cecile is moving. Let's follow her steps." 

Meanwhile, on the other side, Cecile was looking around with a calm face. "Hm… Where did everyone else go?" 

Similar to Yasenia, she could feel Yasenia's presence and mood. However, communicating with her was impossible. This worried Cecile a little. "I can't communicate or feel the rest of them… I hope everyone is alright. Now…" Cecile observed the surroundings and hummed. "I wonder, can Yasenia feel me as I do with her?"

To test it, Cecile walked ahead of the passageways, and soon, she felt Yasenia's presence following her. When Cecile stopped, Yasenia's presence stopped as well. "Great." Cecile smiled faintly. "At least I can communicate with Yasenia."

Then, the Moon Phoenix woman crossed her arms and muttered. "That woman on the throne told us that we need to do a few tasks, right? If I complete them, I should be able to tell her to carry me toward the rest, right?"

Before she moved, she heard the sound of horse hooves behind her, and turning around, she saw the Spirit Beast right behind. Cecile waved her hand. "Fluffy! Have you come to check on me?"

"I have not."

A graceful and profound female voice reached Cecile, startling her. "Huh?" Cecile asked, her eyes widening slightly. "You can talk?"

The eight-legged and ten-eyed white horse lifted its head proudly. "Here, I can. You are in the [Lost Moon Palace Trial]. A spiritual space created many millions of years ago by the Moon Goddess."

Cecile's eyes flashed with surprise. "The Moon Goddess? Do you know her name?"

"I do not." The Spirit Beast answered. "What I know about this place has been passed down in the past, and not much knowledge is left. The woman you saw on the throne is a soul wisp of the Moon Goddess of the past."

"Huh?" Cecile frowned, remembering that woman. 'Compared to Change'er, the Moon Goddess, she is not that similar in appearance… Well.' Cecile remembered the woman she saw during Yasenia's tribulations, and she could see some resemblance. 'Was this created when she was younger?'

Cecile asked, confused. "So, why have we been separated?"

The Spirit Beast shook its head, her voice sounding confused as well. "That was not supposed to happen. It seems that you have a deep connection with the Moon Goddess, as you are the only one who had this happening. The others are together."

"Oh." Cecile reacted as she always did, with indifference. 

The Spirit Beast looked at Cecile with an interested expression. "When you touched me, at first, I didn't understand why I felt comfortable. However, if you have a deeper connection with the Moon Goddess, then it is clear why. Can you tell me what your relationship with her is?"

Cecile crossed her arms and asked. "How can I trust you, Fluffy?"

"Fluffy…" The Spirit Beast smiled wryly, making quite a human-like expression with its beastly face. "Will you really call me by that name?"

Cecile blinked. "Do you have another name?"

"I…" The Spirit Beast answered, hesitating. "... Do not."

Cecile nodded twice. "That's great. Now you have one. Isn't that something to celebrate?"

The Spirit Beast sighed. "It is not…" 

Cecile snorted. "You also tried to eat me not once, not twice, THREE times!" Cecile placed her arms akimbo and asked. "Why did you do that? Do you know how close to dying you were?"

The Spirit Beast averted its ten eyes. "You looked… tasty. Sorry."

Cecile was speechless. "You thought I was tasty and decided that eating me was a good action to take? Is your intelligence challenged?"

"Hey." Fluffy rebuffed and tapped the ground. "My intelligence is perfectly intact!"

Cecile hummed. "I see… Can I ask more questions?"

Fluffy sighed. "Later. Don't you need to do something?"

"The trials that the Moon Goddess told us to do…?"

Fluffy nodded. "I want you to complete them so that we can liberate the Moon Goddess soul strand. She has been trapped here for millions of years already since no one was able to complete the trials."

Cecile blinked. "Millions… Are you that old as well?"

Fluffy looked upward and pondered. "I don't know… I've lived enough years to gain sapience as a Spirit… However, I am seemingly not allowed to advance into the Sixth Realm before the trial is completed, so I've been stuck at the peak for a very… very… long time."

Cecile sighed and approached, caressing the Spirit Beast's neck softly. "I see." She felt some sympathy toward this beast's plight. If it were her, she wouldn't know what she would do if she were not allowed to advance for so many years. She smiled and said. "Okay. Then, once I do this trial and you make a contract with me, you'll be able to break through!"

Fluffy blinked with all her eyes, looking quite adorable. Then, it nodded. "I'll accompany you and guide you. However, remember, I can't help you, or it will be considered a failure. I can only guide you."

Cecile nodded seriously. "Understood."