On that day, Nanthos wept. Her consort since time immemorial was killed by the Antigod. Holding the consort’s body in her hands, she broke her into forty-eight different pieces and scattered them across the world.
“Find the Shards,” she said. “you who collect them all will be graced with the title of my new consort.”
And so the hunt began. To this day, thirty-two Shards have been officially recorded. Fifteen are speculated to have already been discovered.
The remaining Shard—Aspect of Moonlight and Speed has not been found anywhere. Historians and Scholars have not even agreed on a consistent form for the Aspect. Some say it’s a sword, others a spear.
Until the One chosen by the Moonlight appears, we simply cannot know.
But one thing is for sure. The Bells of the Truthful Basicilla will chime once all forty-eight Shards have found their owners, and the War for the Shards shall begin.
May this world be not doused by the flames of war for eons to come,
And may you stay safe.
-Hugh Mann, “The state the Holy Shards in the 17th century.”
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From the silver sword, the image of a beautiful woman with silver hair and eyes was projected. And her white dress which swayed in the wind seemed… ethereal. Is it weird to be turned on by a sword? I guess it isn’t.
[I know that you are confused right now, but—]
“Are you a Shard?”
Myr took the sword’s silence as a “yes.” Come on, talking sword, something about my new destiny, and this!. It’s a Shard!
“O-Oh Nanthos, thank you! I’m blessed with a Shard!”
During Myr’s fanatical ramblings, the sword stayed silent. It was only after a few minutes had passed that she spoke again.
[Nanthos? Why are you worshipping a dead Goddess?]
“W-What?” Myr stared at the sword in disbelief. “How can that be? She’s the one who scattered the Shards!”
[That is false. Nanthos died and turned into the forty-eight Shards. It was Vanthea that scattered us.]
“Huh, cool. So the priests got it backward. Nanthos’ consort scattered the Shards, not her.” Myr chuckled and dug her hand into the Wolf’s chest, trying her luck at finding a Monster Core.
[...That is your only reaction?]
“Yeah. I don’t really care about the specifics. What matters is that you’re a Shard, and you chose me.”
[But you worship Nanthos.]
“Who said that? If you’re referring to what I said before, it’s just an expression. Besides, not worshiping Nanthos in my place is like receiving a death sentence. I’ll get stoned to death before I could die of starvation.”
Myr removed her hand from the corpse and looked at the spherical Core shining in the Moonlight. Carefully stuffing it in her pocket, she tried to hug the woman, but she just passed right through her. She scratched her cheek in embarrassment and hugged the sword instead. “My first Monster Core! You know, I’m starting to think that we’re going to be best friends!”
[And I think I chose the wrong person.] The sword grumbled. [With your greed, you are better suited for Myser.]
“The earrings?” Myr’s eyes shone. “Can you tell it to leave its owner and come to me? I could really use its ability to turn everything into gold!”
[Mortal, do not command me. Even if I were to obey you by some divine intervention, someone like you will not be able to use Myser to the best of her capabilities.]
“Aww, that sucks.” Myr sighed, not really taking it to heart since she knew it wouldn’t work. It was still worth a shot, though. “Anyways, the name’s Myrellion L’adovec. What’s your name? Unless you want me to call you ‘sword’ for an eternity.”
The woman crossed her arms and spoke with a tone that Myr thought could best be described as “holier-than-thou.” Ohhh, she’s gonna be a real pain in the rear. The price of power, I guess.
[Nanthos and Vanthea have blessed me with the name “Lunae Lumen.” Mortal, I shall give you permission to address me by my name.]
“Cool. I’ll call you Luna.”
[...Excuse me?] Luna suddenly broke character and glared at the Wyvern girl, who was trying her best to suppress her laughter.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Sensing that Luna was getting a bit angry (and bitchy), Myr quickly came up with an excuse. “Convenience! I-It’s a bit annoying to call you by your full name, so I think that it’d be better if, you know, I shortened it. Surely, someone as great as you can understand.”
The corners of Luna’s lips curled up into a smirk. [How practical. You’re better than I thought. Very well, you shall call me ‘Luna’ from now on.] Her figure then slowly became more transparent as her body merged with the sword. [I have graced you with my true form for long enough. If you continue to drool for the rest of tonight, I am afraid that you will turn into a dried-up corpse. Neither of us wants that to happen.]
Myr quickly wiped the drool from her mouth and accidentally blurted, “Are you sure you’re not just running out of strength?”
Although Luna’s face was as condescending as ever, Myr could see that the tips of her ears were turning a little bit red. [Nonsense. I know your ploy, mortal, and I shall not give in to it. But I am generous and merciful, so I will overlook it this time. With any luck, you shall be blessed with my presence once more within a Moon Cycle.]
Luna’s projection was gone. Myr picked up the sword and asked, “So, will you still speak with me?”
[...I have to make sure you will not be flailing me around like a vulgar stick. Now, leave this dilapidated place, Myr L’adovec—Blade Vicar of Moonlight. I have stayed here for too long.]
Myr nodded. She wasn’t too keen on staying the night here anyway. Besides, with Luna in her hands, she felt invincible! But still, Vicar? I’m appointed a Vicar without even receiving any bit of training? This is the best day of my life!
But before she returned to town, she had to get some Icean herbs. Luckily for her, her basket was still where she left it (and it wasn’t torn to shreds.) She also tried to look for Monster Cores in the corpses of the other two Wolves, but she was out of luck.
Harvesting the herbs was easier now that Luna was in her possession.
[Mortal, I am not a weed cutter. Cease this blasphemous action immediately.]
Do I have to come up with an excuse for everything? Seems like I do. “I’m just doing what’s best for you. There’s a trend among Blacksmiths nowadays to douse their creations in coldness. It supposedly sharpens the blade.”
[You are not my creator. And you cannot improve perfection.]
“But Luna, I heard that coldness is great for the luster of one’s blade. I bet you’ll get even shinier after this!”
Luna stayed silent for a few seconds as if contemplating something. With a huge sigh, she said, [Very well. How can I refuse my faithful servant looking after me?]
Is every Shard like this? If so, Myr wanted to offer her sympathies for all the top Hunters out there, especially those with multiple Shards.
Since she’d succeeded in tricking Luna, her foraging was over in a flash. Patting her basket in satisfaction, Myr headed back toward town. It was lucky that there weren’t any more creatures hungry for her flesh when she was on her way back.
I don’t want to deal with the guards. Not with Luna. They would definitely inspect Luna at the very least, and who knows how the Aspect of Moonlight would react when some strangers put their hands on her? So, Myr traveled through the hole in the town walls that smugglers often used.
And Myr also used it because the hole was right next to the Hunter Association’s branch building. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, some smugglers would say while laughing mockingly at the supposed oblivious Hunters. Yeah, no, the Hunters know. They just don’t care.
The building wanted to scream “modern” at its visitors’ faces, judging by the fact that the reception area was all the way on the third floor, and that the only way to get there was through an elevator. Still, however modern it was, it couldn’t hide the pipes full of steam and gases powering it.
Myr stepped into the elevator, carefully distanced herself from the steaming hot pipes, and ascended to the third floor. Empty. Of course it’s empty. That whole scuffle with the Wolves probably took me a few hours.
She marched through the barren lounge and went to a counter, where a lanky receptionist resided.
He was slumping down on the counter, very obviously sleeping through his shift.
Myr knew the pain of being woken up by someone else, but she simply didn’t want to waste any more time. She slammed both of her hands on the counter and stifled a chuckle when she saw the receptionist falling off his chair in surprise.
“What? Who!? Oh, it’s you, Myr.” He readjusted his glasses and took a closer look at her. “...Are you okay?”
Myr looked down at her clothes. Unfortunately, [Clean] wasn’t a Cantrip, so she was stuck with these bloodied clothes until she could wash them. “I don’t want to talk about it right now. Just give me my money. I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
She then threw her basket full of Icean herbs onto the counter. Oops, almost forgot. Would be bad if she didn’t present the Wolf Core right now.
Now, the receptionist was really confused. But he knew better than to annoy Myr in her current mood and simply rang up the total. “Your quest money is 300N, like always. And the Wolf Core is worth 500N.”
“Come on, do better than that! I almost lost my life out there!”
“...Tell me everything tomorrow and buy me a drink. I’ll make it 600.”
“You have a deal.” Myr gleefully shook the receptionist’s hand and left the Association with a stack of fresh Nuren notes in her hand.
Let’s see, if I detract the hospital cost, taxes, and living costs, I’ll have 100N left. Myr smiled. Another 100 in her private fund for power armo—
Wait, do I really need to save up for a suit of Power Armor now?
After all, she now had Luna—meaning, she could grow stronger without depending on Manatech.
B-But the armors are so cool… She could vividly remember the sight of an Inquisitor of Sunlight flying through the sky with his suit of Power Amor, bashing some criminals’ heads in. And said Inquisitor was only Normal-ranked like Myr herself!
But Mother… Yeah, no cool Armor for me. Myr sighed and decided to use the 15,000N she had in savings to pay for her mother’s hospital fees in advance. It should last her a year. Hopefully, I’ll be strong enough to earn more money at that time.
With her spendings now all figured out, Myr returned home with Luna.