Long Journey || ATEEZ

Bonus Chapter V : Moonlight

It was just another night. The full moon hung precariously in the air as it watched benignly the activities of the sleepy mortals below; the ships in the harbour creaked and heaved as they bobbed up out down on the waves, the quiet sound of owls hooting coming from somewhere far away.

Sohyeon was wandering across the harbour. As a goddess, she didn't need sleep, but she enjoyed imitating the lives of the mortals she now associated with. It made her feel more yuzeul, more like she fit in. It let the memories of her time in Eterna, the Gods' Realm, fade away into a hazy buzz at the back of her mind as she worked her fill just like any other good citizen of Signeria.

But tonight was a little different.

She couldn't sleep – something had kept bugging her as she tossed and turned in her bed and so she escaped to the fresh night air of Zeratik. A familiar salty scent wafted in and out of her nose as she skipped along the harbour, humming quietly to herself. There weren't as many Peace Officers about at night – so she was free to do what she wanted.

She stared up at the moon. Such an unreal, beautiful thing; basking in her own glow as she blessed those she touched with her ethereal presence, like a kindly guardian, like a benevolent god.

But Sohyeon knew what the gods were like. They weren't like that in real life. They were cruel, they were selfish. Her vision of the moon, and the goddess behind it, was naught but a mere, nonsensical fantasy.

Sohyeon had decided this was enough, to go back home, when she felt a curious shivering sensation running down her back. It was a feeling she hadn't felt in quite a while, and it unnerved her.

Because she knew what it meant.

Dreading the worst, she turned slowly to face the sea and its horizon, then almost immediately dropped into a deep bow.

Before her, sitting on the bow of some pirate-like ship, was none other than the Goddess of the Moon herself – Lunai. She had appeared in her most well-known form; tall and slim with endlessly long, flowing black hair. Her eyes were silvery, and her skin glowing in a pristine manner. She didn't need makeup to be beautiful – she was beauty itself. The only change was that she was in Signerian traditional dress – hanbok, infused with her signature colours of blue and white. A long, thin pipe was held to her lips as she blew out, rings of smoke filling the air with a sweet – but not sickly – scent.

"My Lord," Sohyeon said, fearing to look up. She trembled as she tried to recall all she had forgotten, all she had buried and tried her best to suppress. She didn't want to remember – but it was essential to her survival. "O Great Goddess Lunai, what brings you here?"

Sohyeon—Fleurion shivered. Had she said the right thing? Had she addressed the prestigious goddess properly?

She heard a chuckle, more elegant and pristine and pleasant than the softest of silks from the highest of quality factories.

"No need for such formalities, dear Sohyeon—" Sohyeon couldn't help but smile at the fact that the goddess had referred to her by her chosen name, "—I'm not here to see you snivelling and grovelling at my feet. I came to ask a favour, actually."

"A favour...ma'am?" Sohyeon asked, daring to look up.

Lunai laughed again. She was so dainty, so beautiful, just like the moon she embodied.

"I've become a patron to a certain mortal," Lunai said, looking down on her pipe. "A werewolf – I've actually helped him in the past before. I doubt he remembers, though," she said, a small sad smile tracing across her lips as she kicked her sandalled feet up and down.

"But—but that's meddling in mortal affairs!" Sohyeon exclaimed in disbelief. "It goes against Eterna's Conduct!"

"Oh, my dear child," Lunai laughed, "I'm an Ancient Goddess, remember? I'm above silly little Eterna and her silly little rules!"

Sohyeon put a hand to her mouth. It was a new feeling to see somebody throwing about the great Eterna's name around so lightly – her parents had practically worshipped the Lord of the Gods, and so she'd been brought up to see the Major Goddess as an unattainable light – a supreme being.

"Either way – I feel like the Golden Government's rule must come to an end – enough of them playing god," Lunai said, a sadistic little smirk playing on her lips. "Which calls for a little bit of meddling," Lunai grinned, spreading her arms out wide. "The tables have been set, I've done my fair share of meddling – now all that is left is for my dear little werewolf to catalyse the events to come!" she said grandly, bar a little pompously as Sohyeon stared up at her in awe. "Which brings me back to my favour," the Ancient Goddess said, leaning forward and taking another puff on her pipe.

Sohyeon swallowed, the sparkle fading from her eyes, a little. What sort of favour would the great Lunai, an Ancient God, be asking of her, a lowly Minor?

"My little werewolf will be escaping the hellhole he used to call home next moon," Lunai said, playing around with her pipe. "When that time comes – of course, I'll give you a notice in advance – could you take care of him? You know I've always held a soft spot for werewolves. All you have to do is give him a place to stay until he is fit for the rest of the world, perhaps you could nudge him in the right direction."

"What direction?"

"The direction of the Golden Government's downfall, of course," Lunai smirked. "But either way – can you promise me this?"

Sohyeon took a moment to consider.

"Of—of course," she finally said slowly, swallowing. She wondered if she had made the right choice, but there seemed to be no refusing an Ancient Goddess, of all people.

"Great!" Lunai exclaimed, clapping her hands together in glee like some toddler granted sweets. "That hellhole is not too far away from Zeratik, so it shouldn't be too hard."

Lunai stood up, her toes perfectly poised on the thin bowsprit, her figure strong and powerful against the dark of the night.

"I'm counting on you, my sweet child," she said with another puff of her pipe, and then she was gone, like a whisper in the night.