บท 24: Two Moons, One Old Legend

Ren took his last medicine of the day from the cute robot Fir. He casually dragged the small chair to the 'wall'. With some tapping on the screen, the 'wall'' became a transparent glass sheet. He watched from the window as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting its final golden hues across the sky.

The two moons rose in the black night sky. The larger and more luminous dominated the heavens while its smaller companion trailed closely behind, casting a softer, ethereal glow.

Ren watched as people hurriedly went about their own things. No one looked at such a marvelous sight of two moons hanging in the sky. Sure enough, humans get used to anything and tend to ignore the natural beauty around them.

"At the beginning of time, an angry angel left heaven and descended upon a planet inhabited by humans. The mortals were captivated by the majestic being with wings and began to worship him fervently. The angel felt these humans were better than his angel brothers and sisters. Why was he the only one getting punished every time something happened? His curiosity had led him to taste the forbidden fruit, but was that reason enough to brand him a traitor?

He scoffed at the notion, convinced that his angelic brethren were simply envious of his powers. These mortals are very good. In the eyes of his human followers, he found the reverence and admiration he craved.

The angel bestowed his blessings upon his chosen humans and indulged in his desires. Not once did he think about how the one bite, he ate changed his thinking and desires, nor did he care about the result of his chaotic life.

While he lived a carefree life as a new God, the human gained new power. The angel forgot that mortals are greedy by nature. The humans under his influence seized the opportunity to exploit his blessings for their own gain. Driven by their innate greed, they corrupted the already confused angel, manipulating his powers to fulfill their desires. Treasures, land, beauties, everything was at these blessed humans' disposal.

A few years passed, and Heaven was notified of the rapidly increasing immoral acts on a dark planet. Heaven, alarmed by reports of escalating bloodshed and depravity, dispatched an informant angel to gather data. This information was then presented to their most sought-after angel for review and action.

The silver-haired angel recognized the false god as his younger brother and swiftly departed for the dark planet. Trying to escape from his punishment, the corrupted angel used his human army.

Though stronger than ever, humans still couldn't stand the powers of angels. The criminal angel panicked and used a forbidden spell. A spell that forced the already blessed humans to evolve further and dead humans to wake up again. However, the effects of the cursed fruit began to manifest, causing the resurrected army to lose control and rampage across the planet. Those who submitted were spared, while those who resisted were slaughtered. The fallen were resurrected to swell the ranks of the undead army, plunging the planet into a living nightmare.

The evolution became both the blessing and a curse.

The human clan that worshiped the deity of nature stood firm against the undead army and offered support to the angels However, how could they kill the unkillable?

The elder brother angel gazed upon the abyss that opened up, a gateway to hell itself, and watched as demons poured forth, seeking to corrupt the hearts of the angels. Once a heart was consumed by darkness, even God Himself could not intervene. At last, the elder brother begged the human clan leader to tear his heart out. The angel used his last bit of spiritual energy and pushed the faintly glowing white heart inside the fallen angel.

After coming to his senses, the criminal angel wept bitterly over the spiritless body of his elder brother as those silver hair turned dull, and those golden eyes that always looked at him with doting smiles lost their luster.

He used his remaining spiritual power and broke open the crack in the space. The human clan forced all the living dead inside this crack and shut the gate known as Dure. All the humans who evolved beyond their capabilities lost control and went mad. They were killed by the human clan leader.

To pay for his sins, the angel used his blood to nourish the dead soil and used his two hearts to weave a protection charm for the living. People say that whenever someone reaches Level S, they will lose their mind and explode as a divine punishment for their greed.

The human clan was scorned by many as they forced their own kin into hell and, hence, cursed as bringers of Death. Their leader, who was famous for having red eyes and black hair, was killed by the thousand arrows shot at his heart. He too was engulfed by the crack in which the elder brother Angel's body fell.

The celestial beings' intervention brought light to the dark planet for the first time. That's how the planet was named Prime Celistical Home, which is now known as Celestia Prime.

Every two months, the moons disappear from the sky, leaving behind a blanket of darkness. On that day, no one does any auspicious work as if afraid of divine retribution."

Ren found the story very interesting. It was as if he could hear those ruthless shouts and helpless whimpers. How strange that his body has similarities to the elder brother Angel. While his brain kept circling around the story, Ren randomly walked in the now empty corridor of the hospital. The cub didn't disturb him as it floated behind Ren and checked the new email from Merilyn.

After reading the cub couldn't resist asking a question bugging it.

"Merylin, what if my host resembles the ancient angel and the target resembles the one who killed him in the past?"

Ignorant Ren found himself at the familiar corner he evaded in the morning due to his teachers. He looked at the faint glowing sign MORGUE at the door. Ren carefully looked left and right before taking a few steps closer to the door.

"Little god, open this door," Ren whispered. The system, still busy with the mail, opened the door without even looking at it. Ren found a new way to make cub work for him. All he has to do is ask it to do things when the cub is busy.

Gloating over his new discovery, Ren stepped through the heavy, soundproof doors, where fluorescent glow spread over rows of gleaming stainless-steel tables. Ren ignored the chill seeping into his pores and gazed at the names on the refrigerated units that hummed quietly, preserving the precious remains of those who had passed away.

He didn't expect to see so many dead bodies. All of them were marked with name, age and level. Strange enough, many of these corpses were the ones who had evolved before their death. Is that why the evolution rate is so low? People hardly survive this disaster. No wonder doctors were so strict with him.

This hospital is the biggest and most well-known medical hub of Nexus City. Ren's thinking was simple. If he managed to find the corpses of the victims, he would be able to find something useful. However, Ren's luck was never on his side. After looking carefully, he found none of the victims. Sighing, he turned around to go back.

Ren's footsteps faltered as he noticed another door tucked away in the right corner of the morgue. Ren hesitated but still went in that direction.

The cub finally noticed that it was in the chilling room surrounded by dead bodies.

The system, "..." I was chatting only for a few minutes, and we ended up in the graveyard.

"Ren, what are you doing here? I thought you were afraid of ghosts?"

The shivering Ren looked at the cozy floating system with envy, "I am, but I am also curious about this morgue. It is the first time I have seen it."

Ren didn't say anything, and the cub opened the door on its own initiative. The dim light gave Ren enough vision to look at the stretchers neatly placed along the walls of the long corridor.

These stretchers must be here to transfer bodies to their family members and then take them to the burial place. The burial place is where the bodies are cremated, and then the compressed residue is buried in a small place allocated to them. The family members can visit this place if they want to, or they can leave it at that. Some people turn the residue into jewelry and wear them.

The idea of keeping the deceased close unsettled Ren. He would rather be nice to the living person than carry their ashes in guilt.

Ren followed the long corridor and appeared at the main road. The sight of vehicles floating along the electromagnetic belt thrilled Ren.

Ren was ecstatic. He has been trying to sneak out but couldn't. As he looked at the busy road, a smile graced his rosy lips.

"Say little god, should we go on hunting a killer?"

The system nodded. It is not like it has any other choice. If they go there using other means, they will be able to use the portal at will. They don't have to face the situation like last time.

"Sure, let me call a taxi for you."

Ren waited for four minutes, and a taxi stopped in front of him. After scanning the one-time scan code, Ren entered the blue cab. His destination was Eclipse Enforcer Academy. Good thing, the driver was a robot and didn't question Ren's hospital gown and slippers. Ren shuddered as his cold body was suddenly engulfed in warmth.

Ren discussed with the system and decided to start from the left wing of the academy. Anyway, they still have one more day to find the killer.