Moonlight Demon

Keiko

"Do let me know if you feel sick, at any point," Yumi told her. 

"Yes, yes," Keiko nodded. "I will." 

"Then, let's start." 

Without Ash around, the day played out in the Manor in a fairly boring way. However, when Keiko decided that if she sat around any longer she was going to go crazy, she approached Yumi and the two decided to resume that makeshift training that the other Zayama had been providing her with. It made for what Keiko could consider the most fun she could have nowadays, when Ash wasn't nearby, anyway. 

"Good, good," Yumi told her as Keiko swung her sword. "I'm surprised your attacks are still so precise, Keiko, good job." 

At that, Keiko chuckled, a little embarrassed. 

"Thank you." 

The two of them went at it for a while, as Satsuhiro began muttering something to himself nearby. 

"... They should have gotten back to me already," Satsuhiro stated, and Keiko briefly paused. Yumi saw her and got out of her fighting stance as well, as Keiko walked over to Satsuhiro. 

"Is something wrong?" She asked. 

"Maybe," Satsuhiro replied. "The Royal Council still hasn't responded to my letter." 

"We are pretty far away from Jade," Keiko argued. "Is it not normal to take this long?" 

"Not at all. Remember, mages don't send letters like regular people do," Satsuhiro smirked a little. "I would say, they should have gotten back to me almost immediately after I sent my letter out." 

"Could they simply be ignoring you?" Yumi asked as she stood by Keiko's side. "I do not know how these things work." 

"Eh, it's unlikely," Satsuhiro said. "I don't like the Council and I'm pretty sure they only view me as a glorified employee, but they've never been late to respond to simple questions from me." 

"What should we do, then?" Keiko asked. 

"I guess I'll send them another one tonight. If they don't respond to that one either, then, something probably went wrong." 

Hearing that, Yumi gently placed a hand on Keiko's shoulder and said:

"Do you want to keep going?" 

"Uh, no, maybe it would be good to take a break." 

"Understood," Yumi nodded. 

"Thank you, though, again, for keeping me moving and all." 

"It is my pleasure." 

---

Ash

Okay, so, this place should be right around... There. 

In the distance, southwest of Amber, Ash saw her next Site of Power that needed activating. Given how many of these there are around here, how much stronger is Lumina getting?  Ash wondered. Seeing her target so close, Ash's pace picked up a little as she walked toward it. 

Originally, she had considered going to check out Gurron's body again, but midway through, she decided against it. Mainly, because she was fairly certain she hadn't seen anything that looked like what Tyl had described. 

So, now her plan was simple. She was going to activate this church, then, as she learned her next spell, she'd prepare for the Mist Realm trip, and, hopefully, the next day, she'd head over there and get that flower. Then, she could start worrying about the dragon's eye that she needed. 

She walked into the church, which was the same as all the others. Run-down, in ruins, and smelling of stagnation. Ash ignored all of that, however, and walked to the back of the building where she found a white altar, covered in a thin layer of dust. 

[Alright,] she clapped her hands, [let's get this done, go back, and get onto the next...] 

As she placed her hands on the altar, however, her eyes began to close on their own. And, before she even realized it, she passed out. 

When her eyes opened again, she was in a dark room, that changed into a field of grass so quickly that it was jarring for the half-demon. Ahead of her, she saw a woman with short hair, missing one arm, sitting at a wooden table. Ash approached her, feeling a deep sense of serenity invade her spirit. 

"You've been doing well, Champion," Lumina stated. She had an agreeable smile on her face that Ash felt was familiar somehow. "You are making progress far quicker than I had expected. I thank you for your efforts." 

"It's not you that I'm doing any of this for. No offense," Ash muttered as a chair manifested in front of her, and she sat down. 

"Of course. I am sure Kaori will also be very thankful when we recover her soul." 

Hearing that was an easy reminder of what Ash's goal actually was. Not that she needed it, but it did fill her heart with some amount of determination to hear that. 

"Yeah, about that, how much longer will it take?"

"You tell me," Lumina tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at Ash a little. "Do you feel prepared to take Niven's strongest forces, all at once, by yourself?" 

"..." 

"Thought so," Lumina smiled. "Continue your work. Believe me, Champion, we both want Kaori back, but patience prevents mistakes more often than not." 

"... Right. Wait, what do you mean, 'all by yourself'? Aren't you going to help me?" 

"I cannot interfere directly. When the time comes, I will assist you through minor buffs, and, when we visit the location where these trials will be held, I will be there to offer some guidance," she answered. "More than that, however, I will not be able to do. Niven, however, will also not be able to do any more than that for his own forces. Ultimately, it will be up to you to defeat his demons, and if you do, we win, if you do not, we lose."

"Okay, what are those trials going to be, then?" 

"As I said before, his forces and mine, which, unfortunately, just means you, will face each other. Whoever wins gets to keep Kaori's soul. However," Lumina said. "It seems there's one step you've forgotten about." 

When she heard that, Ash was even more confused. She'd repeated the general steps in this process to herself many times, almost every night, as she continued to work toward this. Level up, activate Sites of Power for Lumina and improve her skills. What could I be missing? 

"I will tell you," Lumina said, reading Ash's thoughts. "You have to close some of Niven's own Sites of Power, remember?" 

At that, Ash's eyes widened. 

Shit, right!  She recalled what she'd been told a few times now. Niven's portals acted as Sites of Power for him. Even if Ash increased Lumina's own power through these old churches, Niven's power remained just as high as it had been before, if not higher, if he's been opening more portals around the world. 

She sighed, hunching over, as she realized she had even more to do than she originally thought. 

"Calm yourself," Lumina said. "I am merely reminding you. There is no need to panic." 

"But... How much longer do we have? Is there a straight-up number you can give me?" 

"After consulting with the Higher Powers, a deadline has been agreed on. This is why I have brought you here, actually," Lumina said, taking a deep breath. 

"Okay, what is it?" 

"One month," Lumina announced. "In one month, from today, you will be taken out of this realm and brought to fight for Kaori's soul. That is how long you have to prepare before action must be taken." 

Hearing that, Ash was conflicted. Her first reaction was that a month was a long time, maybe enough to make real progress, but at the same time, she had already spent a couple of weeks here at Amber, and now, leveling was starting to get harder. Between that, the traveling she'd have to do to close Niven's portals, and, of course, the searching for the dragon eye that she was going to do for Keiko's sake, she wondered if 30 days were going to be enough. 

"I have faith in you," Lumina told her. "You have been nothing short of capable, so far." 

Ash rubbed her temples for a second, trying to listen to her. She stopped, however, when something else came to her mind. 

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ash said, "look, you can see the world from here, right?" She asked. 

"Yes?" Lumina asked, but the look on her face made it seem like she had some clue of what Ash was going to ask. 

"... Okay, listen. I need to find a dragon. Can you tell me where any are?" 

"Certainly," Lumina answered and a genuine grin came to Ash's face. 

Yes, yes, holy fuck! 

"Please, refrain from saying such a thing in front of me," Lumina muttered as she waved a hand, and a screen appeared behind her. 

Ash looked up at it and found a black dragon circling a mountain. In the distance, she could see what looked like a city.

"I believe this is the nearest dragon. You can find it southeast of Amber. However, there is something you may be interested in knowing." 

"Okay, what is it?" 

But, what Lumina showed her next made Ash's brows narrow. Sinneah, appeared on the screen, alone, in the room she and Yumi shared.

"Hm? I don't get it, wait, are you suggesting I take her eyes out or something?" 

"No. Keep looking," Lumina said. 

And, as Ash did, she saw exactly what Lumina was referring to. Sinneah reached into one of the drawers and pulled out what looked like a small stone. She looked at it with a bit of sadness, before putting it back in the drawer and closing it.