Aram loved studying. She loved it so much. Knowledge was necessary when eating, when listening to music, even when simply walking down the street. And the more you knew, the clearer the world became.

In the end, a lowly beggar with nothing to her name was lucky enough to become a priest.

["Will you come with me?"]

["Am I allowed to?"]

["Yes. I see potential in you."]

["Then... I will."]

She took the offered hand.

She had been warned beforehand of the dangers of joining the Moon Cult. But she did not care. It was not merely escaping her status as a lowly beggar that pleased her. It was the prospect of enjoying more knowledge than she could ever deserve.

["How does the Moon grant us wisdom?"]

["When the priests join their efforts in prayer for an average of one month, they can obtain information from our teacher. An easier method, of course, is to communicate directly with the god through a saint."]

["But our current saint looked as though he might pass away soon. Even now, he's bedridden and can't exchange questions and answers with our teacher."]

["Then another saint need only emerge. That is what we have gathered here for, isn't it?"]

["Oh..."]

Perhaps Aram's fate had been decided then. For the moment she heard the words of the bishop, her adoptive mother, she had formed the vague ambition to fulfill that role herself.

But she had not been determined to make it happen. Aram loved studying. Learning delighted her. She welcomed the growing clarity of her understanding of the world. She wanted to become a more perfect being.

'If I keep changing myself day by day like this, I'll be able to accomplish more. I'll become a better person, and that will let me live out my days in happiness. I can do it.'

And Aram became a saintess.

["...?"]

On the day she heard the Moon's voice.

["... You heard our teacher's voice."]

["Yes. Our teacher told me exactly what I wanted to know."]

["If what you say is true, we must verify it. I will make the preparations."]

["I'll be waiting."]

She knew what it meant to become a saint of the Moon Cult. Aram was still glad. Whether she died a human like the previous saint or became a fragment of a Divinity, she was content.

This was the perfect home for her. She had family she loved and could depend upon. She wanted to repay the kindness she had received, and to become a more perfect person for her own sake as well. There was nothing to fear.

["When I become a saintess, I'll ask our teacher about the things you want to know, Bishop. I can put extra effort into asking about your questions in particular."]

["... That is very kind of you."]

["I'm all right."]

["..."]

The bishop did not answer.

The test was held. Profound, wide-ranging questions whose answers she could not have known came pouring in. Following the Moon's voice, Aram answered without pause. The priests marveled, and a new saint was born.

["Aren't you glad you have me?"]

["Of course, Saintess."]

["... Am I not your daughter anymore?"]

["..."]

Once again, the bishop did not answer.

["... I'm not quite all right with that..."]

["I apologize."]

["I hate it even more when you apologize."]

["I'm sorry, Saintess."]

["..."]

This time, Aram fell silent. She understood.

'It wasn't that she wouldn't answer. She couldn't.'

Nothing she said would change anything. She did not know what the right answer was. Even if words came to mind, she feared saying them would only deepen the hurt. That was why the bishop had never answered her.

But this, too, was a path Aram had chosen.

["..."]

["It's all right."]

She still loved learning.

["I can make this world better. Even the Association's research institute consults our Moon Cult more than anyone else, doesn't it? If I can become a Divinity someday and make the Moon warmer, that will be enough for me."]

So.

["... So please don't look at me like that."]

["Forgive my discourtesy."]

How chilling that crisply formal tone had felt.

["..."]

She had no regrets.

'I chose this.'

She was walking this path because she wanted to.

She was still young, with much to learn. Her family was indifferent, but dependable. No one had even discovered the limits of mystery's depths. There was still so much joy ahead.

Even so, the loneliness that sometimes struck her filled Aram with fear.

["... Will it be this frightening inside the Moon, too?"]

["It will be cold and dark. That is why we must make the Moon warmer."]

["Even though the Moon is part of the natural order, it still frightens people."]

["That is foolish talk. Being part of the natural order hardly means it cannot kill an insignificant creature."]

["I still have much to learn, Bishop."]

Earth was in turmoil. The Moon was filled with wisdom otherwise beyond their reach, however much they wished to learn it. The Moon Cult was working for the good of the world. Aram respected and loved it for that.

She felt proud to be a part of it.

["I will draw closer to perfection."]

["Excellent."]

And so her fear could never take first place.

Aram did her utmost to study and learn. Her vessel had only barely expanded with the Moon Cult's support, and she could die at any moment. It was not large or strong enough to hold the Moon in its entirety.

'If I'm destined for a short life, I'll enjoy all the more while I can.'

And she would leave more behind in this world.

'Knowledge endures in lasting form, spreading to all kinds of beings.'

Knowledge was an immortal concept. If she could remain in the world as part of that knowledge, it would be enough. Aram studied with all her might, and when the time came, she finally collapsed. Her consciousness grew distant, as though the Moon were coming to take her away.

Then she met a man named Seo Jio.

"Today, we have French toast."

"French toast...?"

"I didn't think this would be your first time trying it. Is something wrong?"

"I was wondering if it was supposed to be this thick."

"Thicker tastes better."

"That's true."

He often brought Aram delicious snacks.

'... Delicious, as always.'

Softness like a cloud dissolving on her tongue. A pillowy texture spreading through her mouth. Rich beaten egg soaked into the bread without a hint of unpleasant egginess. And the taste of butter and milk. Honey and cinnamon.

'I can taste it.'

Even with her imperfect vessel, she must not have been entirely without aptitude, for she had felt mystery accumulating in her body over time. Aram had been drifting away from humanity. Eating no longer felt like eating. She could taste the food, but somehow the sensation had been growing dull.

It was all because she was becoming a Divinity. A Divinity could hardly be satisfied by the food of mere insignificant creatures. Aram had found satisfaction through her five senses less and less often. Only knowledge had brought her joy, until she had finally burrowed into the Moon's embrace...

"What is this? I've never tried it before. It's delicious."

"Merely the liquid from a fruit found in a dungeon, steeped in sugar and left to ferment."

"That's a very long way to say fruit syrup..."

"I thought I'd try to sound impressive."

"You're silly."

Before she knew it, she was enjoying fine food.

'... Oh, I see.'

She had forgotten how to eat.

'Forgetting what you've learned is so foolish that even the Moon Cult's prospective priests don't do it.'

She remembered how she had felt when the bishop first taught her table manners. She had taught Aram how to hold a spoon and chopsticks. How to savor food. How to get the greatest pleasure out of eating.

"... I'm going to remember everything."

"What do you mean?"

"The taste of this toast you made, Teacher. Its texture, its color... And not just this. All the food you've made for me before, too. I won't forget anymore."

"Is there a reason?"

"That way, I'll remember it even after I become the Moon."

She could not forget that a meal prepared by a mere insignificant creature could taste this good. She must not. A saint was a small heated stone that warmed the Moon, making it kinder. She wanted to fulfill that role faithfully.

Hunter Seo Jio asked,

"Is that what you want?"

"Of course."

It was her choice, her pride.

"One day, I'll become the Moon and make the world more perfect. It hasn't been long since the Great Catastrophe ended, so everyone is struggling and confused. But once more knowledge becomes available and people grow wiser, the world will be a much better place."

More perfect.

"That's why I won't forget."

"I hope you won't forget your mother, either."

"..."

Emotion welled up in her again.

"... I don't want to cry. Why do you keep making me...?"

"If you want to make the Moon warmer and more perfect, you must remember sadness, too."

"... You're right, Teacher."

"Now, you see? I'm not going to turn you into a strange child."

Her teacher was a very kind man.

"You must live a life you won't regret."

"I've never regretted anything, not once..."

"So grown-up."

He even gave a theatrical sigh.

"You really did grow up far too soon."

"That's because I'm special."

"Then remember the feelings you can find in ordinary things, too."

"I will."

"You can be anything."

"... Teacher..."

She began to wonder.

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"... Don't you want to remain human?"

"Hmm. My father doesn't absorb me, though."

"But I can feel it."

It was instinctive. She had never felt anything similar before, yet she simply knew. The man before her was indeed a saint. And perhaps he had already gone beyond being human.

"You, too... Already, the mystery..."

"I'm full of it, aren't I?"

"..."

"What makes me special is that I'm still an ordinary person despite it."

"That doesn't sound possible..."

"I've always been a person."

"Is that the path you chose?"

"The path isn't what matters to me."

That was an unfamiliar notion to Aram, who had spent her whole life choosing a single path.

"But don't mysteries like us become calamities if we don't choose a path?"

"Not all calamities are the same. What matters is not crossing the line, Aram."

Her teacher placed no expectations on her and showed no disappointment in her. He simply looked at her with gentle eyes. If something was wrong, he corrected it; if something could be improved, he told her.

To Aram, that felt wonderfully sweet. A comfortable sense of security she had not felt in so long. As though her feet had finally touched the ground.

"I really do wish you would stay here, Teacher. I wish you'd talk to me every single day, and always make me delicious food like this."

Someone equal to her. Someone who simply stayed beside her, neither pitying her nor expecting anything of her.

"But that would be difficult, wouldn't it?"

"You won't be selfish, even now."

"... Then I'll try being selfish, just this once."

"What would you like?"

"May I become your disciple?"

"..."

For the first time, he did not answer.

He could not answer.

"... Have I put you in a difficult position?"

"... No, you haven't."

He looked sad, too.

"I simply never imagined I would have the chance to take a disciple."

"I... want to learn how to live from you, Teacher, just as I learned from the bishop."

"No, Aram. What you will learn from me is how to lean on someone and let go."

"... But wouldn't letting go be such a waste?"

"You must learn even that."

Her teacher smiled.

"If you want to be perfect."

"... I will."

"I look forward to seeing you smile like a child who is nothing in particular."

"Will I be able to do that?"

"Of course. You're a child of many talents, aren't you?"

His encouragement was so warm.

"You can do anything."

It dispelled her fear, and made her want to cry a little.

She was frightened... that at this rate, one day she might come to regret her choice.

* * *

"The saintess seems much more at ease."

The bishop still felt conflicted.

She wanted the saintess to take the path to divinity and set a new milestone for the Moon Cult. But she also wanted the child she cherished like a daughter to lead a comfortable, happy life.

"Ultimately, though, the choice is hers."

"She'll be able to choose the path she wants."

Jio smiled.

"She can do anything."

It was time for the wicked Demon King to make his entrance.

(To be continued)