The shining starlight was confined only within this room, as if at this moment the stars favored her alone.
---------------------------
Has a miracle descended?
Fors stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly up at the starry sky above her.
Among the little occult knowledge she possessed, there was one particularly useful rule for survival:
Never pray to, nor seek help from, any mysterious existence outside the Seven Orthodox Gods.
Once one recited their full honorific name, one could easily attract the gaze of those entities, and in most cases, what followed would be a tragedy beyond imagination.
Because most of those mysterious beings were actually evil gods in disguise. When they responded to your prayer, they would also take the opportunity to snatch away your soul and your life.
When you make a deal with an evil god, death is only the beginning.
At that moment, under her gaze, a magnificent and mysterious palace appeared amidst the stars overhead.
Inside that palace sat a vague figure whose face could not be clearly seen.
It seemed to be formed of countless stars, emanating no malice, no corruption, but only holiness and warmth.
Fors opened her mouth, but for a long while, no words came.
She wanted to bow in reverence, to show her devotion, but soon realized her entire body was frozen in place, even her breathing was faint and broken.
She was afraid, thrilled, and elated all at once.
"Respected… Sovereign of the Stars… good evening."
After remaining dazed for a long time, Fors finally regained her senses. But the moment the words left her mouth, she felt such shame she wanted to smash her head against the wall.
Good evening?
That was an ancient existence! And her first words were that kind of greeting?
"Do not be nervous. The stars do not blame any sincere believer."
Inside the Hall of Stars, Hastur restrained a chuckle and spoke as calmly as possible, maintaining his image as a mysterious and omnipotent being.
Fors' nervousness eased slightly.
She bent down and said with a trembling voice, "I must confess, before tonight, I was not truly a believer of the stars. I only recited your full name because I wished to seek your help. I hope you can grant me a blessing to resist the Full Moon's Murmur."
"You are honest, and honesty is a rare virtue. Now, are you willing to become a follower of the stars?"
Fors lowered her head. "I am willing."
As Emperor Roselle once said, There is no free bread in this world.
Since she sought this being's protection, offering her faith was the least she could do.
"Under the light of the stars, even the full moon must fade. Whenever it rises, you may recite my name to receive the stars' protection."
"Thank you for the stars' blessing!" The gratitude in her voice was utterly sincere.
No matter what kind of being it truly was, as long as it could save her life, it was worthy of her thanks.
Hastur said nothing further.
After a moment's thought, he invoked the power of the Hall of Stars, guiding starlight into Fors' body, hoping to heal her severe injuries.
He wasn't sure it would work; this was only a trial. It could also be considered a baptism of the stars.
Fors first gasped in surprise, then hurriedly expressed her thanks for the divine grace.
Her once-pale face gradually regained color, and her injured body seemed bathed in warm water, gently nourished by the light.
When the starlight faded, she felt as if her frail, sickly body had been reborn. Even her weak spirit no longer felt any pain.
"The stars shall always watch over you." Hastur finished speaking, then immediately severed the connection between them.
The Hall of Stars dissolved along with the glittering sky, leaving the ceiling above dim once more.
Fors remained silent for a long time, then clenched her fists with joy. "Xio! I've received the blessing of the stars!"
Xio, who had been anxiously waiting outside, heard the excitement in Fors' voice. She hurriedly pushed the door open and rushed to her side.
After checking her up and down, Xio finally sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. Everything's still intact, no missing arms or legs."
"Don't worry, I know my own body. I feel completely fine now, healthy again."
Xio blinked. "It's that effective?"
"I really do feel good, no more shortness of breath, no more weakness." Fors carefully examined herself and indeed felt nothing wrong.
Xio reached out and touched her face, then exclaimed, "Fors! Did your skin get fairer?"
"Really?" Fors' eyes lit up, about to touch her own cheek, when Xio grabbed her hand.
"I was joking. Did you really think your skin got fairer?"
"Ugh, you made me happy for nothing!"
After a round of laughter and mock complaints, Xio sighed and asked, "So… you really talked with that mysterious being?"
"Yes, let me tell you everything that happened…"
…
The next morning, after finishing breakfast, Hastur opened the window in his study to let in some air. That was when he noticed Will's message written on the paper crane.
He thought for a moment, then wrote back: Guess.
"Even Will in Backlund couldn't detect me. I suppose I don't have to worry about the High-Dimensional Overseer's all-seeing eyes anymore."
Hastur instinctively looked up at the sky. Yesterday's heavy rain had lasted until dawn.
Today, Backlund's air was fresher than usual, the quality noticeably improved.
If only the Church of Storms could summon a cleansing tempest every day, the city's air would surely be several grades better.
That, he thought, would truly be a service to all of Backlund.
After about half an hour, new words appeared on the paper crane, a furious emoji wielding knife and fork.
Hastur chuckled, took the crane in hand, and returned to his bedroom. He had barely fallen asleep when Will appeared in his dream.
Will looked him over and sighed. "If I didn't know you were fine, I'd have thought you'd been utterly crushed, no trace left at all."
"Just learned a little trick for concealing my presence."
Will scoffed. "A little trick? That's a secret tied to the Authority of Concealment."
"You seem quite wary of that authority."
"Of course! Complete concealment, no fear of being divined or spied upon, that's something everyone fears and envies."
Will gave him a look but didn't pursue it further.
Instead, he said, "I came last night to warn you, Bernadette might advance to Sequence 2 after this incident. If she's still in Backlund and you meet her again, she'll likely notice something unusual about you."
"If I'd known you already had precautions in place, I wouldn't have bothered."
"The Authority of Concealment really is something."
Will's tone held both awe and desire.
If he could hold the Wheel of Fortune in one hand and the Authority of Concealment in the other, he could glimpse the secrets of every god.
Hastur thought for a moment. "I'll send you double the ice cream as thanks for the warning."
"Now that's the right attitude for a young man." Will narrowed his eyes, clearly satisfied.
"So, the High-Dimensional Overseer's issue, is it settled?"
"More or less."
Will paced a few steps, resting his chin on one hand. "Given Their level, the power THey showed yesterday was oddly limited. It felt like… a bluff."
Hastur agreed. The descent of the High-Dimensional Overseer had been far too swift. Even the Supernova Dominator had needed the help of the Mother Tree of Desire.
"Bluffing?"
"Likely tied to its authority."
From what Will had observed in battle, he'd gleaned some understanding of the High-Dimensional Overseer's nature.
He continued, "Higher dimensions, space-time, projection… It exists above us, the way we exist above the figures in a painting. We're probably no more than a faint dot in that canvas.
"When dimensional space fluctuates, it can manipulate time itself. It didn't do so yesterday, perhaps because the cost is too great."
"When a person stands under sunlight, they cast a shadow. Perhaps the lower dimension is the higher dimension's shadow. So by using that authority, it can project a trace of itself, a shadow incarnation, down from the depths of the stars."
Hastur listened intently, connecting this to the thread beneath the cocoon of light.
If a single thread represented one projection, then judging from the cocoon's size, the High-Dimensional Overseer could cast thousands of shadow incarnations at once.
Wouldn't that make it a supercharged version of Amon?
Hastur shuddered at the thought, picturing what might happen if Amon ever met the High-Dimensional Overseer.
Would they compete to see who could produce more clones?
On one side, countless Amons; on the other, an army of High-Dimensional Overseers.
All those monocles… and all those platinum eyes…
Hastur stopped himself from imagining further. "So you're saying, the High-Dimensional Overseer can project multiple incarnations at once?"
"Of course. For a being of Their level, it's not difficult."
Will chuckled slyly. "But if that's true, you don't have to worry too much. Power unites when gathered, but weakens when split.
"If it really sent down dozens or hundreds of avatars, each would only have the strength of a Sequence 2 at most. After all, this isn't the starry void."
"Heh, that'd be perfect. Just enough to pit against that annoying Amon. I'd love to watch that scene."
"…" Hastur fell silent. Clearly, Will enjoyed watching chaos even more than he did.