Into the Creations 2214

Chapter 2214 – 2214. Dark Moon

As afternoon approached, people began to gather at the hunting grounds. Princess Elsa, along with nobles and businesspeople who followed her, and invited reporters. Including the maids and butlers who escorted and attended to them, and the hired mercenaries, there were over 300 people in total.

Yuria and Rita hid in the forest, watching the hunting grounds. Soon, the sun set, and a black moon rose into the sky. A moon darker than the night sky. The Dark Moon.

“There are no suspicious individuals. Let’s carry out the mission. Follow me.”

Yuria quietly followed Rita.

They arrived at a place with rocky cliffs about 4km away from the hunting grounds. Below, a dense forest stretched out.

Kieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

A loud, eerie cry greeted them. Rita looked down and clicked her tongue.

“Not good. It’s been directly affected by the Dark Moon. The ghosts below are swarming.”

“Even with the Dark Moon, is it this stimulated?”

“That’s unlikely. Someone is cleverly using the power of the Dark Moon. There must be a moonstone down there.”

Moonstone. A stone that fell from the moon. On days when the Dark Moon rises, this moonstone also turns black, causing a negative influence on its surroundings.

Naturally, moonstones are under special management worldwide. International law also stipulates that moonstones must be recovered and sealed. It was impossible to destroy a moonstone with force.

“Shouldn’t national agencies be involved in recovering the moonstone?”

“The council doesn’t get involved in matters outside of Neo London. Although Her Highness the Princess is nearby… because the Dark Moon is up, support can’t come. It’s a matter of the Princess’s reputation, so we can’t avoid it. But we can’t leave a dangerous element alone. The worst could happen.”

“Even if we find the moonstone, can we seal it?”

Rita took out a small cord from her pocket.

“It’s a magical tool with a sealing formula. This should be able to seal the moonstone. Now, let’s go.”

Rita secured a rope to the cliff and handed it to Yuria. They descended as if running, relying on a single rope.

Rita fearlessly advanced through the forest where specters appeared. Specters? When her silenced pistol spat fire, the specters vanished.

“How’s the taste of these holy bullets, forged and blessed with holy water by the baguettes!”

Rita, who was eliminating the dead, paused.

Suddenly, Yuria’s presence disappeared. She pursed her lips and spread her senses. No sign of her could be felt.

‘She disappeared in an instant without any warning? Is it the work of ghosts? Or the culprit? Could it be that they’re targeting Yuria Grace instead of Her Highness the Princess?’

Rita’s pace quickened.

• • •

The wind doesn’t blow.

The sound of insects has disappeared.

The clouds in the night sky don’t even move.

Yuria, who had some understanding of space-time, realized that time had stopped.

It probably wasn’t that the world’s time had stopped. Because Rita, who should have been in front of her, was gone. She carefully touched a nearby leaf. She could feel the texture of the leaf. Even if she pulled the leaf with force, it wouldn’t come off. The leaf would crumple, but when she took her finger off, it would return to its original state as if nothing had happened.

‘It seems like I’m trapped in the gap between time and time.’

Yuria raised her head and looked at the sky.

An ominous black moon looked down at her. Was it just her imagination? In this stopped time, that ominous black moon seemed to be the only thing that hadn’t stopped.

‘Is the enemy coming?’

The enemy who had trapped her in the gap between time and time. If their goal was to kill her, would they have gone through such a troublesome process? There must be another purpose.

‘Is their goal to break my sanity?’

• • •

On the cliff overlooking the forest, a black man in a butler’s uniform sat cross-legged at the edge. Kashing, with his hands clasped together, stared straight ahead. In his eyes, he saw something other than the forest.

“Did it succeed?”

Behind Kashing, a woman with short, purple twintail hair, Becky, asked. Her maid uniform had scars that looked like knife cuts on her left arm.

“It succeeded. She’s trapped in the gap between time and time. Thanks to the specters stalling for time.”

“Then, it’s practically over. Because the flow of time is different, one second here is like a million seconds there, right?”

“Yes. One second is 11 days. 30 seconds have passed, so a year has already passed in that space.”

Since time was stopped, there was no chance of starving to death inside. Suicide was also impossible. Because the body wouldn’t change. She wouldn’t starve to death. She wouldn’t feel any physical desires, including the need for sleep.

Kashing was confident that even a superhuman of level 7 or higher couldn’t last long in that space.

“What is that woman doing? The head of security went west. Let’s take her out and brainwash her soon. Her mind isn’t completely broken, is it?”

“She’s training with a dagger. …Now she’s meditating. Is she glaring at the ground?”

“What are you talking about.”

“It’s hard to grasp because the flow of time is overwhelmingly different. Her mind doesn’t seem to be broken yet. We’ll have to wait a little longer.”

Becky looked at Kashing’s head. Short black hair. Among them, white hairs were sparsely appearing.

He and she were demon contractors. They could use the power of demons through contracts. But they couldn’t use it recklessly. There was a price to pay. In Kashing’s case, he aged rapidly the more he used his power.

“Are you okay?”

“No problem. Today is the day the Dark Moon rises. My power and yours will be stronger than usual.”

Five minutes passed.

The 20-year-old Kashing had aged into his 50s.

• • •

Yuria wasn’t sitting idly. Although the time of her body had stopped, the time of her mind hadn’t. In a way, it was a stroke of luck that she could train. She happened to have a dagger with her.

After swinging the dagger around, she soon shook her head.

‘As expected, physical training won’t be very meaningful. It’s only at the level of maintaining my senses.’

No matter how much she trained, her body wouldn’t change.

Yuria realized she could use mana. She could swing and launch sword energy. The problem was that it was meaningless. Even if she used mana to launch sword energy, she couldn’t cut a single leaf. Because time was stopped, there was no change. Even if she consumed mana, it would return to its original amount the next moment.

There was no change.

This stopped world was simply forcing Yuria to surrender mentally. The enemy wanted her to go insane.

But Yuria didn’t go insane. She couldn’t go insane. The absolute spirit she had received from her master wouldn’t allow it. Even if eons of time passed, her spirit wouldn’t be worn down even a little.

‘There is a way to escape.’

She touched her brooch.

She could escape this place with the power of concept severance, the power of the brooch she had received from Eugene. She already recognized the concept of space-time, so it was entirely possible.

But she didn’t.

For her, this was an opportunity to become stronger quickly.

‘Because I found something that hasn’t stopped, except for me.’

Her gaze turned downwards.

Shadow.

Only the shadow reacted whenever she moved.

‘The black moon hasn’t stopped. It’s a moon that’s darker than the night sky, yet it emits light. Even if it’s black, a moon is still a moon.’

Thanks to that, the environment for training was set up.

Yuria sat down, crossed her legs, and focused her mind. What she was thinking about was the Yeongcheon Style’s Yeongcheon Spirit Technique (影天氣功).

‘The foundation of the Yeongcheon Style is the Tai Chi. The Yeongcheon Style’s Lightning Flash represents Yang energy, and the Yeongcheon Style’s Dark Shadow represents Yin energy.’

That was also the reason why Eugene couldn’t handle Dark Shadow. Eugene had the energy of extreme Yang. His endless stamina might also be affected by that. Or, conversely, it might be that his stamina was so high because his Yang energy was so immense.

‘The Grand Master who created the Yeongcheon Style must have used Tai Chi out of necessity. Looking at the techniques of the Yeongcheon Style, most of them are compatible with Dark Shadow.’

Too much is as bad as too little.

If Yin energy was too strong, or Yang energy was too strong, there would be problems. The Yeongcheon Style balanced it with Tai Chi. What was derived from that was Lightning Flash. But Lightning Flash was a bonus power. The name of the Yeongcheon Style itself was the Shadow’s Sky.

‘My master is an exception. My master’s Lightning Heaven Style can no longer be called the Yeongcheon Style.’

Eugene’s Lightning Heaven Style was mixed with not only the Yeongcheon Style but also many other things. And it would continue to mix in the future.

‘That doesn’t mean the Yeongcheon Style is weak. There is potential in the Yeongcheon Style. The potential of Tai Chi. The Grand Master increased the difficulty of Dark Shadow by adding the mysteries of Tai Chi to balance the Yang and Yin energies, but he gave the Yeongcheon Style even more potential. The beginning of all things. That is, infinite potential.’

Crack.

Black lightning rose from Yuria’s shadow. She frowned. The black lightning disappeared as it was.

What Yuria wanted wasn’t black lightning with the power of destruction. It was the power to control shadows. Since she couldn’t use magic due to the restrictions, she tried to awaken shadow abilities using the Yeongcheon Style. But it wasn’t working as well as she thought.

Several days passed. Yuria failed repeatedly.

‘My power is lacking. I’ll have to dismantle the mysteries of Tai Chi and limit it.’

She didn’t mind dissecting and modifying the Yeongcheon Style. Normally, it would be a crazy thing to do. Because her body wouldn’t be able to withstand it. But this was a space within stopped time. Even if she wanted to die, she couldn’t. It was the perfect place to experiment.

It was around 247 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes, and 50 seconds after she was trapped in the gap of time.

Will was transmitted from her brooch.

-I can’t stand it. Why aren’t you leaving even though you can?

Yuria looked at the brooch. Since it was made from a demon’s horn, was it the whisper of a demon?

“…It’s strangely familiar. Are you perhaps a cherry blossom tree?”

-That’s right. You took care of me. You were so meticulous that I felt good. On the other hand, that guy is too rough. He doesn’t have any meticulous consideration. But well, his touch feels good and he provides good quality electricity, so I’ll let it slide.

“He is your master. Please show some respect.”

-That’s absurd. Do you know you’re in a dangerous situation right now?

“Dangerous situation? I’m fine. I’m not hurt anywhere. I can’t even get hurt here.”

Yuria didn’t push herself unless it was related to Eugene. Because her body belonged to Eugene. Managing her body was her duty.

-I’m talking about your mind. You’re not just trapped, you’re constantly being exposed to the light of the Dark Moon. Even I’m affected, so wouldn’t you be affected too?

“…I’m fine. My mind is protected by my master’s grace. So, you can talk to me… it was the influence of the Dark Moon.”

-That’s right. It was originally a very small piece of consciousness, but it grew due to the influence of the Dark Moon. And I’m also blocking the demonic power writhing inside this brooch.

“Are you connected to the main body?”

-No. I’ll be connected to the main body when I leave this space, right? Well, I’m like a clone, so my ego will disappear. Or rather, should I say I’ll return? Are you disappointed?

“I’m relieved. Because I don’t have to worry my master with something trivial. I’ll report today’s events separately.”

-…How many years do you plan to stay here?

“I want to stay until I complete my goal. I was prepared for hundreds of years, but with the brooch, it should be a few decades. Since the brooch’s power severs concepts… couldn’t I break down concepts and create new ones?”

-What kind of crazy idea are you having?

“The power to control shadows. I’m thinking of creating an ability.

-Abilities are not in the realm of humans. They are in the realm of God, which even transcendent beings haven’t grasped…

“I know. But if it’s about shadows… it might be possible. Originally, I was going to slowly awaken my power while being careful about safety… but luckily, the environment is set up. I can save time.”

-You. Do you have no desire to go outside at all? Don’t you want to see your precious master?

“I want to see him desperately. But I can endure it. Because I’m repeatedly recalling memories with my master in my mind. I can endure it because I know this isn’t the end.”

-You crazy bitch.

“Hehe.”

-Why are you laughing all of a sudden?

“Just now, my master and I got married.”

-You guys have never been married. Now you’re not just recalling memories, you’re having delusions. You’re not really going crazy, are you?