Chapter 148: Power of Faith (Bonus - )

Chapter 148: Power of Faith (Bonus Chapter)

But Moon was restless...

He suddenly felt a déjà vu.

In his daze, he saw Master RuYi’s face one moment, and then the next, he saw another woman with cold eyes forcibly plucking a child’s nails. That left him shivering all over.

"Wooo! M-Mother! Wuuuu!"

The little boy squirmed and yanked his hand back, but she still caught it again.

He kicked and twisted in her grasp.

His little face was wet with tears, his gray eyes wailing. His silver hair was plastered to his cheeks with tears and snot.

Moon felt another sharp pain pierce through his very soul.

"It hurts..." the boy’s voice faded.

It was replaced with the woman’s cold eyes in his vision. Those cold eyes suddenly looked at him.

Moon felt a chill run down his spine.

Then the coldness, the emptiness in those eyes, sank into his consciousness before his own mother’s face conjured in front of him.

So gentle and so kind, like the willow tree, like the Moonlight Sacred Vines he had in his yard. He saw a vine crawl up from his mother’s eyes, becoming a giant face.

The face was his own.

Gentle, yet it gave Moon goosebumps.

The vine suddenly cracked, and fire rose, burning it to ashes. In those flames, a big white wolf leaped out.

Moon cried out in his daze.

The wolf was merciless. Its claw rose high, and it started to become bigger.

Bigger.

And then it entirely shaded Moon’s body, ready to rip him apart.

Moon crawled backward.

Why?

Why?

I don’t want to go to the beast tide.

He cried out and searched for his necklace, but it was not there.

It was broken.

The broken shards flew all over the sky.

Why? he thought again.

A tear dropped from his closed eyes.

The claw became a big rhino and slammed down on him...

Suddenly, a silver light shrouded his thoughts entirely...

The silver light fell like a tide of moonlight, covering the darkness that had swallowed Moon’s consciousness.

The giant claw stopped in midair.

Moon stared at it in fear.

He wanted to run, but his legs wouldn’t move.

He wanted to shout, but his throat felt blocked.

Then the light grew brighter.

Brighter and brighter.

Moon covered his eyes with his arms.

[Moony, wake up.]

The familiar voice reached him through the darkness.

Moon’s eyelashes trembled.

The giant wolf, the fire, and the broken necklace all dispersed.

The only thing left was the silver light surrounding him, warm and gentle like moonlight falling through a window.

He opened his eyes, but saw no one. Yet he could feel someone holding him, as if he were a child in his mother’s womb.

His throat tightened.

’M-Mother?’

The word escaped his lips before he could stop it.

For a moment, the light trembled. Then a soft sigh reached his ears.

[Oh, my silly child.]

Moon’s eyes snapped open.

This time for real. His dream broke its all tie.

He looked around.

Everywhere was white. Like he was sitting on a cloud. No... not a cloud. Like he was sitting inside the glowing moon.

There was nothing but the soft, warm, silver-white light.

He stood up. Walked slowly ahead.

Soon he saw the silver platform and a dais, as a glowing pearl curved into a crown.

There, the Moon Goddess was sitting. This was the first time Moon saw her in this majestic aura.

She was sitting high up, and countless starry sparkles glittered behind her.

Moon pressed a hand against his chest and looked carefully.

He was also wearing a white moonsilk robe. His own body was almost transparent. He took a deep breath and asked with a trembling voice,

"What happened to me? Am I d—dead?"

[My silly child, you are not dead. Your soul is just exhausted.]

Moon exhaled a sigh of relief. "Then where am I?" He looked around and asked again, "Is this your domain?"

The Moon Goddess nodded. [It’s my spiritual domain. And I took your soul here to recuperate.]

She stood up and came in front of Moon. Her hand pressed on his head gently.

[I can only do this much for your soul—give you my power of faith and my blessing. But I can’t heal your soul. You have to do that with your own merit.]

Moon felt a warm glow travel through his body.

He felt light and refreshed.

The ache deep inside his soul eased a little, and his trembling gradually stopped.

Moon looked at the silver light dancing around his fingers.

"Is this your power of faith?"

[Yes.] The Moon Goddess went back and sat on the dais.

"I dreamed... a woman..." Moon muttered.

[You dreamed about Axe’s past. It’s not a dream but a memory fragment.

Some of your deepest fears, regrets, and your past. Some of Axe’s. Moon, the Moon Goddess, looked at him with a very serious face.

Moon had never seen her like that.

He stood still.

[You must control what you saw. With each bond, you will feel their emotions, their past, and memories. Today, what you are going through is just an entanglement of memories. If you can’t control them, soon you will be lost with them. You must distinguish what is yours and what is theirs.]

Moon’s face grew serious too.

He could already tell that if he couldn’t control this, he would go crazy.

"Why do I see this? Can’t I block them?"

[You just have a soul bond, a bond that can tie your life. Of course you will feel them more vividly now.]

She paused.

Looking at Moon’s complicated face, she sighed.

[The soul beast contract you are thinking of is the same. It’s just that those beasts usually are slaves or pets. Their influence is very controlled under the master. While you bonded with a beast that already had human consciousness and feelings. And it’s equal.] she explained.

[You are going to contract four more. So I must warn you to suppress and control your feelings. Or else they will crash your own memories sooner or later.]

She kept silent for a moment, then continued, [You can also choose not to make the contract.]