Chapter 170- Passing Time Until Noon

[Luna POV]

As the sun was coming up, me and Tamamo decided to part ways for the moment.

{It’s been fun tonight, Luna.}

“I agree.  I’ll see you again soon.”

She then disappeared in a flash of light and I dissolved the domain.  I stood up and stretched.

“Hey Tamamo, next time I see you, can I ask for a shoulder massage?”

{Sure thing.}

“Thanks, they’ve been rather stiff lately.  I’ll do the same for you.”

{I completely understand and am looking forward to it.}

After stretching a bit more, I sat back down on the bed and opened up a Gate.  I pulled out my chains and inspected them.

“Now that I think of it, where did Grey even get these?”

{I don’t know.  I didn’t even know he owned those, but I can tell that they are divine artifacts.  Actually, why are you wondering that after so long?}

“Don’t know, I guess I just wanted to have something to talk about to pass the time.”

{Well, you could probably ask him the next time you see him, right?}

“That’s true, but I’ll only ask if I remember.  It’s not like it’s that important after all.”

{That’s true.}

I put the chains back into the Gate and stood up again.  I left the room and walked around for a bit.  I had never really explored around the temple much since we’ve been here.  As I went around, I found myself in a long hallway that was made of the same black granite-like stone as the rest of the building, but this hallway seemed different.  The floor and walls were polished so much that you could see your reflection in them with as much clarity as a mirror.  There were also barely any forms of light in the hallway and a lack of windows, so it looked like it was perpetually night.

‘I wonder why this hallway is so different from the rest?’

{Hmmm.  Oh, that’s because it leads to the deepest part of the temple.}

‘Do you think they would mind if I explored this place?’

{Who care what they think?  You can do whatever you want in any of my temples, so just go for it.}

‘Alright then.  I wonder if I’ll find anything interesting here.’

{Even I don’t know.  It’s been a long time since I ever looked here due to a certain nuisance.}

I started making my way down the hallway.  The further I went, the darker it got, not that it mattered that much.  When I reached the end of the hallway, I found myself in front of two massive doors.  When I placed my hands on them to push them open, I felt a chill.

‘Interesting.  That actually made me feel cold.’

I pushed the doors open and walked inside the room.  It was pitch black inside and I could barely see anything even with my night vision.  I looked around for a minute before seeing two grooves on the ground on either side of me.  I produced two balls of fox fire and made them go into the grooves, but nothing happened.

‘Hmmm.’

{Oh, try using the blue version.}

I did as Tamamo instructed and made two balls of purifying fox fire.  The second they entered into the groves, the fox fire started to spread along lines in the floor.  This caused the room to light up with an otherworldly light that gave off a mystic feeling.

{Ufufufu.  I remember that this was from a time when I liked showy things.}

‘It is indeed very interesting, though you would need someone like me here at all times to be able to do that.’

{Not necessarily.  Anyone that can use purifying flames can do that.}

‘Oh.’

When the fire stopped spreading along the lines and the room was lit up enough for me to see, I was a bit shocked.

{…}

‘Tamamo, I won’t judge you, but was there a point in your life that you liked really big statues of yourself?’

{No.}

At the very back of the room were two giant statues of Tamamo in her fox form and one even bigger statue in the middle that showed her in a very provocative state.

‘Is there any way I can go and torture his soul?’

{I can go and ask the God of Death.}

‘Will they ask you for anything in return?’

{Probably.}

‘Then we’ll just leave it at that.  I will now get rid of these.’

I walked up to the statues and froze them.  When they were completely frozen, I shattered them into dust.

‘Well, now my mood is ruined.”

{Same.  How does that mongrel manage to get on my nerves even after he’s been dealt with?}

‘I feel the same way.’

As I exited the room, the doors closed themselves and I walked back the way I came.  When I got back to a part of the temple that I was familiar with, I made my way towards the big garden-like area and found Ophidia there.

“Hello Ophidia.” (Luna)

“Hello master.  Where have you been?” (Ophidia)

“Exploring.” (Luna)

“And how was it?” (Ophidia)

“Good up until the end.  Then I found something that annoyed me and it ruined the mood.” (Luna)

“I’m sorry to hear that.  But at least you’ll cheer up once you fight today.” (Ophidia)

“That’s true.” (Luna)

I looked up to the sky and saw that we still had a while before noon.  I sat down next to Ophidia and looked at what she was doing.

“Still practicing at woodcarving I see.” (Luna)

“Yep.  I think I’m getting better as well.” (Ophidia)

She then showed me what she was working on.  It was a small carved statue of a coiled snake.

“I thought I should start out with something I can easily imagine, and what is easier to imagine than yourself doing an action that you’ve done countless times?” (Ophidia)

“You’re doing great.” (Luna)

“Thank you, master.” (Ophidia)

I patted her on the head which she seemed to enjoy.

{Ufufu.  It seems that you have gotten into the habit of doing that.}

‘You’re right.  I can’t stop myself from doing it when I see any of my close people happy like that.’

{What can I say, you give really good headpats.  Even I enjoy them.}

‘Then I’ll give you some when we see each other again.’

{Alright, that can be my reward for the massage.}

‘Oh.  I was thinking of something different, but if that’s what you want, I can do that instead.’

{Now hold on Luna, what were you originally going to do?}

‘Fufufu.  Your favorite things, but if all you want are headpats…’

{I think I like your original idea better.}

‘Alright.’

“Hahaha.  How did a conversation between you and Ophidia turn into you flirting with Tamamo?”

“Skadi!” (Ophidia)

“Hello Ophidia, it’s good to see you again.” (Skadi)

Ophidia jumped up, ran over to Skadi, and hugged her.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be here, Skadi.” (Luna)

“I learned that you were fighting Leonhardt today and I didn’t want to miss it.” (Skadi)

“How?” (Luna)

“Ophidia told me in a letter.  As for how I got here…How did I get here?” (Skadi)

“Was it Tonya?” (Luna)

“Maybe?  I don’t remember seeing her recently, but then again, she’s like that, so it could have been her.” (Skadi)

“That’s true.” (Luna)

With Skadi’s arrival, we passed time until it was close to noon.  Over that time, everyone else showed up and we started to make our way back to the castle.

Chaos Realm:

Grey: This should be interesting.

I agree.

Grey: By the way, have you seen Atmos recently?

No, last I saw her, she and Tonya went somewhere and I haven't heard back since.

Grey: Hmmm.  Oh well, I hope whatever they're up to won't cause us any trouble.

Wait and hope.

Grey: Why are you quoting Count of Monte Cristo?

Is it not fitting for the situation where the Goddess of Fate, Mischief, and Baking and the Goddess of Insanity, Void, and Sleep are together?

Grey: Wait and hope indeed.