From the mottled yet unusually sturdy buildings, quite a few people emerged. Some were visibly deformed, others had already undergone a degree of mutation.
These people exchanged glances and saw a certain confusion on each other's faces:
The Sun Festival was still two to three months away. Why had the High Priest summoned everyone to the square?
Had something major happened? With worry, fear, and confusion, the residents of Moon City flowed from the streets into the only square.
At that moment, the high platform was empty, as if the summoner had not yet arrived.
The residents of Moon City gathered orderly according to their districts, whispering to each other:
"Why hasn't the High Priest arrived yet?"
"Doesn't he hate being kept waiting?"
"What exactly happened? Why summon all the residents besides the guards?"
…
Amidst the voices, at the top of a high tower near the square, behind a crystal glass window, High Priest
His gray hair rose, and patches of black short fur grew on his face. The flesh between his ribs and at his waist squirmed, forming lumps.
These abnormal changes would disappear and then reappear, as if Nim was having repeated episodes, making him look both sinister and terrifying.
After more than a minute, Nim finally calmed down, let out a long sigh, and raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
He had just been resisting the madness accumulated within his body.
In truth, no matter which Beyonder pathway, the higher the Sequence, the more serious the tendency towards madness and inhumanity. This gradually surpassed one's own humanity and required external anchors to maintain sufficient balance.
Normally, at Sequence 4 and Sequence 3, this situation wasn't so prominent. But at the Angel level, even with enough anchors to "fix" oneself, one would still periodically fall into dark, negative, and twisted states. One had to endure and fight it alone, waiting for it to settle.
It was like a sacred, dignified existence that seemed perfectly fine normally, responding to your prayers, chatting with you normally, and even cracking a joke. But at certain times, it could only hide in a dark room, hide in the shadows, tear off its own skin, revealing its dark side and displaying various signs of madness.
Nim, on the other hand, suffered similar pain at Sequence 4 because he frequently consumed monster flesh, accumulating a lot of toxins, corruption, and madness.
Of course, those Sequence 4 and Sequence 3 Beyonders who didn't understand the Acting Method and relied on time or luck to advance would also be like this.
Adjusting his state, Nim turned and left the room, using an illusory door to appear directly on the high platform in the center of the square.
All discussion instantly ceased. The residents of Moon City cast their confused and uneasy gazes toward the High Priest.
Nim scanned the crowd and said directly:
"Adal's hunting team encountered an outsider."
Outsider! The eyes of the Moon City residents suddenly widened, as if a thunderbolt from the sky had struck directly within the city.
In over two thousand years, the City of the Moon had encountered an outsider for the first time! Of course, this referred to a human being who was rational and could communicate, not a monster.
Nim took a silent breath and continued:
"He claimed to be a missionary spreading the radiance of the gods. He caused the grayish-white fog to undergo a noticeable change. He cleansed the pollution and toxins accumulated inside Adal and the others, and healed their physical mutations."
As he spoke, Nim nodded to the side of the high platform. Adal and Xin, who had been hiding in the shadows, walked through the torches and stood beside him, using their own state to prove the truth of his words.
"Hiss..."
"God!"
"Is that Adal and Xin?"
"They are truly... truly..."
Exclamations of shock erupted, interweaving with emotions of surprise and wonder.
Adal and Xin exchanged a glance, stepped forward, and recounted the experiences of their hunting team in detail.
As they spoke of the spark of fire appearing in the darkness, the cross emitting a bright, clean light, the staff that could heal mutations and illnesses, the grayish-white fog parting to the sides to form a door, and the joyful descriptions of their own good state... the residents of Moon City gradually fell silent.
Among them, some had unknowingly teared up. It was the sight of a light in the midst of immense exhaustion and extreme oppression.
The tears, with a slightly warm and salty feeling, streamed down their faces, across their lips, and dripped to the ground.
Besides those in tears, those who still maintained their rationality and sanity raised their arms to express their opinions:
"Could that missionary be a special monster from the depths of the darkness?"
"Have Adal and Xin been controlled or influenced, leading to such behavior?"
After the wave of questions subsided, Nim spoke lowly but clearly:
"I have examined them, and have used sealed artifacts to examine them. For now, I have found no abnormalities."
"I will have them stay in the Black Tower to be observed for at least fifteen days."