Blue Moon—what is it?
It was a man-made moon created by a terrifying demon lord from an ultra-ancient era so old that no records remain of it.
Compared to the real moon, it appeared smaller, but in reality, it was much smaller because this artificial moon was far closer to the earth—akin to being in a lower orbit, as it would be described in a world where science is developed.
Now, this once-radiant Blue Moon was dimming, and slowly falling, descending toward the world below.
Under the moonlit night sky, several winged creatures soared through the clouds—dragons.
"Why is it suddenly falling?!"
"We don't know! But we detected magical attack waves that broke the already fragile seal. It was human magic that caused this!"
"Damn it!!!"
One of the great dragons let out a furious roar, blasting away the surrounding clouds in an instant. It then led a group of dragons, speeding off toward the continent.
Soon enough, humanity's holy land appeared before them.
Upon seeing the incoming swarm of dragons, human forces—mages, holy knights, priests, even the Pope and heroes—rushed to the front lines.
"It's the Emperor of Demise!"
Once they identified one of the dragons—a massive crimson-scaled dragon with six horns, the human side grew alarmed.
This red dragon was the leader of the chaos-aligned dragons and humanity's greatest foe among the divine factions. He was as terrifying as a demon king.
"Humans... how utterly foolish you are. You destroyed Icarus's final seal!"
The dragon's voice, full of oppressive force, swept through the human forces, causing many to stagger and fall from the sheer pressure.
"What's the Emperor of Demise talking about?"
"Icarus? Isn't that the Blue Moon? What seal?"
"Don't you think Icarus is getting dimmer tonight?"
These murmurs spread among the humans—clearly, most had no idea what was going on.
However, among them, including the Pope and the Hero, no more than five individuals, their expressions changed slightly.
"Emperor of Demise, what do you mean? The seal on Icarus... is gone?"
"Still playing dumb? We dragons detected human magic on Icarus! Do you even realize what you've done? Icarus is falling to the earth!!!"
Another dragon spoke up, its voice growing louder with anger. The pressure emanating from the dragon horde made the humans grow even more tense.
"Lies! How could humans possibly reach Icarus? I get it now, you dragons are using this as an excuse to start an all-out war!"
The Pope's words were dark and heavy, making the red dragon laugh mockingly.
"How amusing, do you really think we dragons need such a foolish excuse to start a war? Die, you bugs who've made this foolish mistake!!!"
At that moment, the red dragon bared its fangs, gathering a terrifying concentration of magical power. The other dragons followed suit, preparing to unleash their devastating breath attacks.
Dozens of blinding beams of destruction rained down—powerful enough to annihilate entire nations.
CRACK—!
That was the sound of humanity's defensive barrier shattering in less than a second. Just as the dragon breath was about to incinerate everything—
A brilliant holy light descended from the sky, forming a radiant wall that blocked the dragons' attack.
Then, above the sacred human city, hundreds of glowing figures appeared—some with pure white wings, all radiating divine light. Among them was a particularly massive figure, practically a giant.
"Emperor of Demise, what is the meaning of this betrayal? We agreed just yesterday to a ceasefire, and now you attack the Holy City?"
The giant figure's voice thundered with divine authority.
"Why we broke the agreement? Aren't you gods supposed to be omniscient?" the Emperor of Demise sneered.
The divine figure fell silent for a moment, then suddenly looked up into the sky as if trying to pierce through the clouds.
"Icarus is... falling? What is this?!"
"You're still asking that? Then ask whoever in your human-aligned factions did something foolish. Only a handful of people even know the truth about Icarus. And now the final seal is broken. Supposedly, humans shouldn't even be able to reach Icarus—shouldn't be able to..."
This time, it was another massive dragon that had arrived unnoticed near the holy city, with its own group in tow.
"That look in your eyes, are you suggesting we gods helped the humans? Absurd! Of all beings, we gods least desire the awakening of Icarus!"
"Emperor of Demise, this must all be your doing—a deception of your own making!"
"That monster, Ignatius Woods—he was once aligned with your dragon race! His undead appeared in the Forbidden Divine Lands just yesterday. And wasn't your daughter present too? You're plotting something, aren't you?!"
"You damn bird-brain! You're the ones behind this whole mess! There are divine sources of power from the ancient gods sealed inside Icarus, aren't there? You've been lusting after them for ages. This whole incident was your scheme to destroy the seals!"
"Exactly! You despicable gods are the ones behind this! Don't act innocent!"
"You filthy lizard, you—!"
In an instant, both sides erupted into a storm of accusations, insults flying as tension thickened in the air.
Down below, in the holy city, the atmosphere was suffocating—everyone was on edge.
And among them, one particular mage stood silently, a wicked smile curving on his lips.
Had anyone gotten close enough, they might have heard him whisper:
"Let it all burn. Let it all end. Let the world fall into ruin. Gods, dragons, humans—die, all of you."
"Everyone, calm down!"
A sudden voice cut through the chaos. It came from a long, slender dragon with a single horn on its head and a tail like a fish's. Behind it were people of all races—gods, magical beasts, and others.
This was the Mediator Faction—a neutral group striving to mediate between the Divine and Chaotic Factions.
All around, more figures began to appear—independent forces and curious observers alike.
"Why are you all so eager for war? What does Icarus have to do with this? What's going on?!"
"Oh? Priestess of the Sacred Sea, as a core member of the Harmony Faction, don't you know what Icarus truly is?"
"Right, Elma wasn't even in egg form back then. That era ended a long time ago. Besides the Emperor of Demise and a few others, no one really remembers."
"You two... if you've got a problem with me, just say it! Don't use that infuriating tone!"
The dragon called Elma snapped, clearly frustrated. She had, in fact, been hibernating after overeating two days ago and had only just awoken due to the overwhelming magic in the air. She was still completely confused.
"Oh dear, Priestess of the Sacred Sea—"
The mocking tone was cut short.
CLANG—!!
A sound rang out from the sky, like shattering glass.
All eyes turned toward the Blue Moon near the horizon. Like a fragile pane of blue glass, it cracked and fragmented. The shards turned into particles of light—magic essence from the shattered seal—drifting into the night sky and vanishing.
At that moment, the Blue Moon disappeared.
In its place was a Black Moon—one radiating a sinister aura, its dark glow overwhelming the light of the other full moon and casting the world in shadow.
This wasn't a Black Moon.
It was a Black Sun.