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The Moon's Radiance

Back in her dim room, a small cloud of snow dispersed in front of the royal bed. 

And out from it came Luna, forming back into form as she let herself fall onto it.

Letting the soft cushion calm down its gentle waves, she took a sigh of relief. 

Talk about a hassle, Luna stretched her arms wide as she gazed at her white canopies. Seriously, who doesn’t know that Lunar Province consists only of paradigms?

After a lingering yawn, she rubbed her eyes and sat straight up, already missing the comfort of her ginormous bed.

But how did they get through my storm? Luna moved her hands to her side, halting her swaying body. No human can survive such temperatures without help from a paradigm. No matter, I have bigger worries like telling Neoma about the Crimson Blood and Kijomi. 

With a push, she lifted herself onto her feet, her hand grabbing onto one of the bed’s supports for a brief moment. 

She strolled over to the counter by the door, looking into the mirror, her exhausted gaze shifting to her dry lips.

The face staring back hasn’t changed ever since that day.

Opening one of the drawers, her hand grabbed a circular container and opened the small lid.

With two fingers, Luna curved up some of the lip ointment and traced it across her lips. Glancing at her fine, curved eyelashes, she moved onto her hair but stopped herself. 

“Wait, what am I doing?” She whispered in confusion, letting go of the brush. “How strange, I haven’t used any of these in years.”

A sudden knock came from the door, gentle yet urgent. 

“Your majesty, are you here?” Neoma asked with a concerned tone, the shadows of her shoes slipping through under the door.

Luna stood still for a second, looking into the mirror as she played with a strand of hair, before answering.

“Come in, dear Sister.” She replied, putting back the ointment and brush in the drawer. 

Neoma opened the door cautiously, returning her hand to the other in a knot, and bowed before her with utmost care.

“Greetings,” She raised her head, taking a glance around her room. “It appears you’re back sooner than expected.” 

“Some outsiders managed to slip through like rats.” She stepped away from the counter, approaching her. “So, dealing with them made me more bored than I thought.”

Luna yawned, her eyes blinking like flickering lights.

“Raiders, I would assume?” Neoma crossed her hands, tilting her head.

“But this time,” She continued, leaning towards the side. “They had a ray made by the Crimson Blood.”

“Why would they work with humans?” She lowered her head as if staring at the floor, hand resting under her chin. “Aren’t they all paradigms, powerful ones at that?”

“That’s the thing.” Remaining still, she only swayed her glance to the side. “Why send humans when one of them is equivalent to a hundred of them?”

Neoma shifted her gaze back to her, her short silver hair bouncing in alert.

“This is most definitely worth noting down,” Her tone grew sharper, more aligned with worry. “But if I may, your majesty, I have an important report.”

“Is it about the imports and exports through air trade?” 

The question stiffened both their shoulders with tangy shivers, both of them smiling nervously.

“No, auntie’s still got that under control.” Neoma reluctantly answered as if even mentioning her was going to bring forth loud chaos. 

Luna cleared her throat, taking a deep breath before continuing. 

“Then, what could be more important than the Crimson Blood?” She extended her open palm as if requesting a perfect score. “We’ve been trying to track them for so long, and with the tracker I placed, we can finally find them using the raiders.”

Neoma didn’t reply for a moment, clenching her fists as the silence slithered around.

“About that,” She steadied her breath, jolting her head up in a serious manner. “The three raiders from earlier were found dead.”

“How can that be?” Her foot stepped backwards, her eyes widening. “Did the cold get to them?”

“No, their corpses were found in the remains of an explosion.” Her attention ran towards the dark brick wall as if avoiding her gaze, her hand reaching for her back. “All that was found was this letter.”

She froze still, eyes remaining still for a moment.

How did such a thing happen? Luna swallowed her worries, hoping to shove them down. There are too many unknown variables to know for certain unless this letter is the answer. 

Her hands reached for the letter, reluctantly grabbing a hold of it.

“I see,” Her silver hair returned to hiding one side of her. “But such a message must be read in private.”

“Of course,” She rested her hand on her chest. “But I wanted to inform you that the bodies are being withdrawn to this castle as we speak.”

Luna rested the letter, showcasing a crimson sigil stamped on the centre, on the counter.

“By our dear Sisters, right?” 

“Yes,” She bowed ever so slightly, her other hand behind her back. “Your clones were tasked with finding any more evidence before giving them a proper burial, your majesty.”

“Good, is there anything else?”

“Just one more thing.”

As the distant staircase whispered Neoma’s name, she took out a notepad from between her skirt’s belt, flipping to the middle pages.

“I went to investigate more about the Kijomi across Aquarine,” She brought it closer to her face, skimming through the writing. “And I must say, it was rather the abundance of information.”

“How interesting,” She intertwined her hands, cracking her wrists. “Please enlighten me.”

Shutting the notepad with her hand, Neoma returned to resting her hands in front.

“Alongside the guns, the ray, and the radiers’ equipment, this aforementioned last Kijomi also comes from Remrin city, closer to the outskirts, from what I remember.” She informed with efficiency, her blue and golden outfit complementing her confidence. “He works in a squad that deals with illegal gangs and low-ranked missions. In the meantime, he often offers recipes and some of his stolen loot to fellow paradigms.”

Luna’s eyes began to glimmer, subtly breaking their shells.

“Is that all? What about his name or skills? Could it possibly be him?” Her closed fists raised by her shoulders in curiosity.

Neoma shook her head, resting her hands by her side, frowning shamefully.

“I’m afraid I don’t have more information on him, nor can I confirm an answer.”

“No worries,” Withdrawing from her gesture, she returned to a formal stance. “I’m satisfied.”

“I understand.” She lifted the sides of her skirt in response, lowering her head once more. “If I may, I’ll take my leave now.”

A worry spawned on her expression, almost motherly, as she fidgeted with her fingers.

“One more thing, how are my precious capsules doing?”

“They’re alright,” Her brows lifted for a moment before accompanying the calm of her eyes. “Our precious Sisters are being nurtured by the newborns.”

The answer soothed Luna, allowing her to sigh in relief. 

“Okay, that’s all now.”

“I wish you and your Moonlight Husk get better.” Neoma raised her open hands, together in unison, and chuckled lightly. “Farewell, your majesty.”

As she twirled around, hopping towards the staircase in jolly measure, Luna only reached for the doorknob.

Click! The door shut gently, the hallway turning silent like a steady serpent.