CHAPTER 545: DIVINE DOMAIN

On the ancient and singular moon surface, there surged endless chaos.

It was as if heaven and earth had yet to separate; the Sea of Magic Elements roared ceaselessly, raising magic power tsunamis capable of drowning cities, destroying fortresses.

This was the purest power of nature, bearing no good or evil, only pure destruction and ruin; this catastrophe stemmed from the planet’s own fury and madness, seemingly destined never to cease.

But was it an inevitability of extremes reversing, or a mere happenstance of chance?

On this moon surface that seemed not to allow any life to exist, miraculously, the light of life flickered thanks to a miracle.

These were the very first Moon People.

The Hero silently watched that ancient scene.

The ancestors of the Moon People, the ancient Moon People, even if described with praises, couldn’t be called beautiful or handsome.

They were ordinary, primitive, even described as ugly and clumsy, their hair color murky, their pupils dull. Compared to the flawless Moon People of present-day Moon City, they could almost be considered two different species, the gap as vast as that between Lizardman and humankind.

"How did our ancestors appear in this sea of chaos?"

The voice of the Moon Priest came from beside, carrying a certain timeless and blank expanse.

"Even the oldest documents in Moon City have left no records about the origin."

She, the Hero, and the ancestors all gazed at the surging chaos sea as she softly began to explain:

"Were they Earth People swept away by the turbulence of space, drifting to this moon surface? Or, deep within this chaos sea, was there once a stretch of pure land capable of nurturing life? And that vanished pure land is our true origin?"

"We do not know the answer, perhaps we will never know.

"But, just as I said before—the answer doesn’t matter.

"What matters is, they came to this chaos, and decided to carry on here."

The priest slightly swayed the staff, and the scene before them changed accordingly.

The three landed on the chaos-pervasive moon surface, watching the history of the ancient Moon People.

The ancestors of the Moon People lived difficult lives within the chaos, living day by day uncertain if tomorrow would come.

They had to constantly watch the tides of chaos, warning before the tsunami submerged their homes, then, like moles, burrow underground, waiting for the magic power storm’s cessation.

In such an environment, they were utterly incapable of farming, and the space for survival was extremely limited.

However, the surface of the Chaos Moon wasn’t completely devoid of vitality, which was why the priest guessed that a pure land once existed on the moon surface.

The dense magic elements were an excellent breeding ground for Magic Creatures, and under the residual magic power influence following the chaos surges, even barren wastelands might spawn various strange Magic Creatures.

The Hero even saw humanoid Magic Creatures resembling Goblins inside, despite having flesh and blood, not even the resource-scarce Moon People were willing to hunt these things.

Scenes of the Moon People struggling to survive on the Chaos Moon flashed by one after another.

Though the ancient Moon People were by far less elegant and noble in every aspect compared to the Moon People in the ancestors’ memories of the glorious Moon City. Yet in one area, they stood distinctly apart from later Moon People—

That was their gaze.

Their eyes always burned with a fervent light.

It was persistence for survival, determination to continue, a life flame that chaos couldn’t devour, nor could desperation extinguish.

Though the pupils of the ancient Moon People were terribly cloudy, the light in their eyes was something the ancestors had never seen in the Moon People of Moon City.

And such gaze, the Hero had not seen it for the first time.

In the memories of the Ancient Hero and that priest, when facing the Corrupted Phoenix, the people of the ancient village, and the Magic Creatures brave enough to resist, they all bore such gaze.

—That was the light of courage that would never extinguish, no matter the despair faced.

This light seemed to pierce through time and space, as if igniting a certain emotion within the Hero’s chest, making her chest slightly warm.

However, no matter how strong the will, it could not overthrow the cruel reality.

The harsh environment continued to claim the lives of the Moon People, as one fell after another into the corrosion of chaos, their numbers dwindling, on the brink of extinction.

Until one day, a Moon Person, on the verge of death due to hunger and disease, unwilling to be a burden to the tribe, stumbled toward the depths of chaos.

"She was our first queen." The voice of the Moon Priest resonated in the void with a hint of reverence and profundity.

Under the Hero’s gaze, this queen tormented by hunger, unable to go far, collapsed in the chaos, nearly lifeless.

Her breathing weakened gradually, seemingly unable to rise again.

But in that instant, a fierce light abruptly kindled in her hollow eyes.

As if to denounce this heartless world, she struggled to her feet, stretched her trembling hands, grasped the filth and chaos-laden substance on the ground, and fiercely shoved it into her mouth.

Then, in this boundless chaos and darkness, a pure white light shone for the first time.

[Awakening]

1.Transformation

2.Light and Darkness Integration

3.Dark-Eating White Emperor

4.Queen of Dominance

5.Betrayal Totem

6.Twin Unity

7.1

8.2

9.Primordial Moon Princess

10.Critical Success/Extreme Failure

D10=d10(8)=8

♛: Light and Darkness Integration

→☆→☆→☆→✧←★←★←★←

Just like when primitive people first successfully created "fire", the awakening of the first Queen became the opportunity for the Moon People’s rise.

Under her leadership, the Moon People’s civilization started to develop at a rapid pace.

Those with talents imitated the Queen’s feat, swallowing filth and awakening purification abilities; the wise began to analyze the essence of this pure power, developing various astonishing uses.

Under the Queen’s reign, warriors fought against the Magic Creatures born from chaos, farmers cultivated lands, craftsmen built cities, and priests ensured the cities were dyed in pure white, enabling them to stand firm amid the chaos.

Thus, the Moon City was established, and as the pages of history turned, high buildings and sanctuaries rose up, making this unsullied city a star in the darkness of chaos.

Through generations of inheritance and elimination, every adult Moon Person mastered the skill of swallowing filth and purifying it. This ability flowed in their lineage, allowing newborns to grow healthily and naturally possess strong power as they matured.

"Using your Earth People’s terminology, this is the stage when the magic species known as the ’People of the White Moon’ were born."

However, the good times did not last long. When the Moon City reached a certain scale, its expansion slowed down due to various restrictions.

Besides their innate abilities and the strength gained through natural growth, the magic species had a distinct trait — their low birth rate.

"The more formidable the being, the rarer it is, whether in the ocean or land, or even on the moon. This is the way of natural laws."

Without enough population, the city’s expansion could not continue, making it unsustainable.

"You may wonder, since we as the Moon People can swallow filth and produce purity, wouldn’t we eventually be able to purify all chaos in due course?

"The early Moon People probably had this thought, but history proved that we are ultimately humans, beings with limits."

Although all Moon People had the ability to swallow and purify, these powers varied in strength, and only the strongest Queen could not only swallow but also influence and manipulate chaos itself.

Aside from the Queen, only a few outstanding priests were able to awaken such abilities.

Most of the other Moon People faced their own limits before the vast filth and could potentially be polluted in long-term battles, mutating like the Ancient Moon People and becoming demons, dying painfully after becoming monsters.

Seemingly endless chaos, fewer and fewer new generations, and increasingly straining areas under the counterattack of chaos...

Facing an endless struggle, the Moon People gradually began to lose their courage to pioneer, the sparkle in their eyes dimming, worn down by the endless years and unchanging suffering.

The Moon People began to perceive that their efforts seemed like a drop in the bucket. Despite building a grand city, their current state was no different from the Ancient Moon People, only replacing the dark Earth Holes with seemingly clean cities.

One day, they would no longer be able to support the towering Moon City.

"Thus, the Queen of that generation, the strongest and also the last Queen, made a decision.

"She convened the Moon Council, gathering all the priests, and after expending much wisdom and a long time, created a spell."

At this moment, before the Hero’s eyes was a dark void, with only a few scattered meteors floating by.

Their view rose from just now, reaching far into the high sky, even making the moon beneath their feet seem small enough to hold in their palm.

And in front of them was a female Moon Person with ankle-length white hair, wearing a crown, of unmatched elegance.

——The Moon Queen.

The Queen stood silently in the void, her silver-white hair slightly swaying in the absence of gravity.

She held a staff, gazing down at the chaos moon below.

And around the Queen, there were hundreds of Moon People dressed as priests. Although it was just a simulated illusion, the magic power emanating from them startled the Hero, as if the void itself was being distorted.

Suddenly, the Queen raised her head, meeting the Hero’s gaze. Clearly just an illusion, yet it made the Hero slightly startled,

She seemed to show a somewhat regretful, yet somewhat nostalgic smile, then lifted her staff.

All the priests raised their staffs at the same time.

In the silent void, a grand chanting began to echo, overlapping arrays as numerous as stars, illuminating the entire void.

Then, on the chaos moon below, the chaos tide that was never supposed to stop stood still for a moment.

In the next moment, that boundless chaos surged up, flowing against the void, rushing towards the Queen’s location.

The Hero opened their mouth wide, watching as the entire sea seemed about to topple over, almost unable to resist closing their eyes.

The illusion shattered under this unimaginable tide, and when the scene before them cleared again, the moon surface once covered in filth had transformed into the familiar pale appearance of the Pure White Moon, as seen by the Ancestors.

At the same time, in the darkness of the void, a Grey Moon loomed faintly.

This was entirely different from the forbidden curse, Grey Moon Stained Sky, that the Hero remembered.

"The spell she left in my imprint was just an encryption disguised disguise, a degraded version.

"What you just witnessed is the pinnacle of the magic path, the greatest work human wisdom can create."

The Ancestor looked up, speaking with emotion.

The priest lowered their eyelids, speaking with respect.

"This is, Divine Domain Magic — Ember Moon Creation of Void Sky."

[Moon Awakening: Critical Success, Hero obtained the Key of Myth, Fire spark +1]

[Awakening Roll: Light (Critical Success +50)]

D100+24+20+50=d100(60)+94=154

[Awakening Roll: Dark]

D83+81=d83(28)+81=109

Note: Hero 100, Curse Dark Side 83, White Moon Status 24, Grey Moon Status 81, Priest Level Met, Ancestor & Priest +20

Note 2: When Light is greater than Dark by 20+, the awakening mode is Twin Avatars; when Dark is greater than Light by 20+, the awakening mode is Heterochromia, Curse +30, basic abilities increase; when the difference is within 20, a fight determines initiative and bonus.