Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: Sun and Moon - 4
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I was following behind Floretta and Luna, climbing a spiraling staircase of absurd length that rose above the Cathedral of the Moon.
Fitting for a cathedral larger than most high-rise apartments, the spire's height was staggering. It had looked enormous from the outside, but now, gazing down from within, it exceeded all imagination.
'The game didn't even render the spire.'
Of course, you couldn't go up in the game.
Even after the Pope boss fight, players could only access the central worship hall on the first floor and some additional areas on the second. Unlike the imperial palace, treated as a single field with every nook and cranny meticulously detailed, this place wasn't blocked by the system—it simply wasn't implemented. Even hacking through the map with cheats left the interior a hollow shell.
'What a strange feeling.'
Yet here I was, trailing the Popes with the Heresy Judge and Heresy Examiner in tow, stepping into a space the game hadn't modeled. My body tingled for some reason.
"You seem utterly fascinated by this place, honored guest."
Floretta glanced back at me with a bright smile. Unlike Luna, who led the way at the front—befitting the Cathedral of the Moon—Floretta trailed slightly behind, allowing her the chance.
I nodded politely. The type of fascination she imagined differed slightly from mine, but the end result was similar enough.
"Yeah."
I replied casually in plain speech. The Popes had said they disliked my formality and pointed it out, leaving me no choice.
Stella and Selene had long since picked up on my relationship with the Popes, and they seemed to take it for granted that I should address them informally.
On top of that, they'd even insisted I drop the formalities with them too. Using plain speech with the Popes while being polite to the Heresy Judge and Examiner would look odder, they'd said.
They weren't wrong.
"What has impressed you so deeply? If it's splendor, the imperial palace rivals this place. Above all, the central worship hall of the cathedral outshines any tower interior."
Her emerald eyes brimmed with genuine curiosity.
The one asked, me, scrambled for an answer. I couldn't exactly say, "I can enter a space that wasn't in the game."
After racking my brain, I settled on something suitable.
"The structure of this tower itself. The palace is grand, but not as tall as the cathedral. Oh, and including the blessing hung here."
The spires at the hearts of the Cathedrals of the Sun and Moon felt taller than mid-range high-rises—maybe forty or fifty stories, though I couldn't say for sure.
In the outside world, fifty stories made a skyscraper, yet here it stood in a medieval-tech world, impossible to ignore.
'And the blessing on it too.'
They said a blessing affected the spiraling stairs to the spire's peak. Without it, climbing would feel like scaling a fifty-story apartment by stairs alone.
One step supposedly equaled more than twenty, likely some spatial distortion effect.
'Why not just install an elevator?'
With air conditioners, fans, fluorescent lights, refrigerators, showers, shampoo, and body wash, surely elevators weren't out of the question.
"For our esteemed guest, so omnipotent, to find wonder in our mere tall tower."
Floretta covered her mouth with her vestment sleeve and chuckled at my response.
"Well, I'm hardly omnipotent."
If I'd possessed with cheats or trainers, maybe.
But whoever dumped me here chose neither the newbie easy mode nor the blatant cheat mod. Why?
From behind came a barrage of praise from Stella and Selene, centered on my boundless humility. I gritted my teeth and tuned them out. I'd heard enough adulation in the Holy Kingdom.
"We've arrived, honored guest."
It didn't take long to reach the spire's topmost floor.
A narrower section rose higher, but too tight for humans, making this the practical summit.
'It's so bare.'
Unlike the first floor's central hall—adorned with marble, dark gemstones, and pure silver—this space was starkly humble.
Plain stone walls, wooden floors. Light from a few candles, no chandelier. Not a single piece of furniture.
Hard to believe this was inside the Cathedral of the Moon, epitome of opulence.
Considering its symbolism, they probably designed it this way on purpose.
I peeked down through a small window in the wall. The height made my head spin. Truly forty to fifty stories. I quickly stepped back.
"What now?"
This space didn't exist in the game, nor did whatever came next. Total unknown for me.
"We shall offer prayers to the Moon."
Luna said only that, then walked calmly to the room's center. There, etched into the floor, was a pattern like a magic circle but serene in silver.
Kneeling at its heart, she clasped her hands before her chest.
"Merciful Moon. Your lamb dares approach Your presence."
Prayers flowed from her rosebud lips.
"……?"
Suddenly, darkness began to fall.
Bleak shadows blanketed everything. The room turned midnight-black in an instant. Moonlight streamed through the window, bathing Luna.
I glanced outside. The sun still shone in a clear sky. The darkness and moonlight seemed confined to this spire's interior.
'……Like the phase 1 gimmick.'
When the Pope's HP dropped below 50% in phase 1, sunlight or moonlight would follow them like this. Similar vibe.
It vanished in phase 2, but phase 2 Pope might as well be a different boss.
"This lamb dares seek one answer from You."
Luna's voice rose slightly. The moonlight intensified.
"Merciful Moon. Have You bestowed Your blessing? Upon the benefactor who mocked divine authority, shrouded the moonlight, devoured souls, and purified the monster—have You blessed them?"
She finished and waited silently. Selene tensed visibly; Stella too. Only Floretta kept her usual smile.
"……Huh?"
The moonlight vanished.
Luna's hollow voice echoed as the gloom lifted. Sunlight crept back through the windows, reminding us it was morning.
"Th-this…… what……?"
Cracks spiderwebbed her face. They widened massively; her usual stoic chill shattered into bewilderment.
Floretta, Stella, and Selene beside me were just as stunned. Floretta's shock had wiped her smile clean.
"What happened, Luna?"
Luna, hands clasped again, prayed desperately. When no moonlight came, she slumped and rose slowly.
"The Moon…… has refused to answer."
"What? That's possible?"
"……I…… I don't know either, honored guest…… This has never…… never happened before……."
Gone was her composure; she looked on the verge of tears. Floretta paced anxiously. Stella and Selene stared blankly.
"……For now."
Floretta recovered first. Her emerald eyes turned to me, resolute.
"For now, I shall inquire of the Sun myself."
In the end, Floretta received no answer either.
"How…… how can this……."
She clung to me tightly, barely standing. Luna did the same. Without my support, they'd have collapsed.
Stella's perpetual grin vanished. Selene, usually expressionless and now paler, seemed least changed.
Floretta burrowed deeper into my embrace, body trembling. Luna followed suit.
"I'm sorry. So sorry, honored guest…… I never imagined the Sun would refuse……."
"Floretta, you've done nothing wrong—why apologize?"
The Sun and Moon refused. No fault of the Popes. I tightened my arms around them.
'Guess I have to investigate myself…… Wait.'
As I wondered if their rejection meant I should just test it myself, an idea sparked. I shifted my arms forward.
Now facing me directly, Floretta and Luna looked up.
"Floretta, Luna."
"……Yes, honored guest."
"……What is it?"
"Could I try talking directly?"
I didn't specify who, but context made it obvious. Their eyes, already glistening, widened.
"You directly……?"
"Yeah. You never know."
Honestly, I had no clue if it would work.
All this was beyond my knowledge; the game never let players converse with Sun or Moon.
Faith and divinity stats boosted abilities proportionally, suggesting they existed, but with no meeting method, I held low hopes.
No harm in trying. As if they'd smite me for attempting chat—with the Popes right here.
"……We've never tried either. Reaching the divine comes through faith alone. In the Holy Kingdom's history, only Popes were permitted……."
"But if we assist you…… and if it's you, honored guest…… you might reach Them directly."
After a moment's thought, Floretta and Luna gave surprisingly positive replies. I nodded.
"Got it. How?"
"We'll guide you, honored guest."
Each took one of my hands, leading me to where Floretta had knelt—the pattern's exact center. The cathedral's precise heart.
I knelt on the pattern. Floretta and Luna approached.
'……?'
They pressed my hands between their breasts. Their ample size swallowed my hands whole, conveying warm, soft sensation.
I flinched instinctively. Not from personal desire, clearly. The Popes weren't the type to blur lines.
Especially not here, attempting divine communion. No room for ulterior motives.
"We'll recite the prayer. You, honored guest, simply hold the desire to meet the divine."
Pressing their breasts with upper arms to secure my hands, clasping their own, they began.
"Merciful Moon……."
"Benevolent Sun……."
With the prayers, sunlight and moonlight bathed them. Darkness bloomed around Luna; light around Floretta. Stella and Selene's faces brightened at the sight.
For reference, the light on me split precisely half-and-half.
Left hand, buried in Luna's cleavage: moonlight.
Right hand, in Floretta's: sunlight.
I stared blankly at the beam bisecting my body, felt the warm softness in my hands, and closed my eyes.
'Sun…… Moon……? Whatever. Answer me, someone.'
I formed the question mentally. A bit rude, but if divine, They'd read intent beyond words.
If not, what good were gods?
'Did you impose the seal on Nyx? And lend me that…… blessing, I guess? That power?'
No reply. Failure? I cracked an eye.
But with sunlight and moonlight still shining—brighter now—I waited silently.
'…….'
How long? As light persisted without answer despite repeated questions, I gave up to open my eyes.
—It is so.
A voice echoed in my mind.
"Eh?!"
I jolted up. Floretta and Luna, mid-prayer, startled and rose too.
The breasts my hands had occupied jiggled fiercely.
"Honored guest, could it be…… you heard the divine voice?"
Luna asked, trembling. Four emerald eyes, four amethyst ones fixed on me.
"Uh…… probably? Wasn't you two?"
"Absolutely not."
Divine one, Floretta murmured softly. Loud enough for me.
"Truly, you, honored guest……."
Luna next. Dazed eyes, dazed voice. Nothing like her usual self.
"……This is no time to dawdle, honored guest."
"You must commune again."
Urged by the Popes, I knelt once more. They slotted my hands back between their breasts. No idea the symbolism, but it worked.
Eyes closed, feeling the cleavage's softness, I asked inwardly as before.
But changed the content.
'Why the seal? What are you hiding? Nyx's true nature? Why grant me that power?'
If Sun or Moon had truly answered before, I needed max info now.
As I kept questioning mentally.
—It is not yet time.
The voice returned.
"Honored guest?"
"Honored guest?"
Consciousness faded.