These two simple sentences contained enormous implications within them. First, there was the Moon’s goal or the goal of the being living on its surface - for Red, they might as well be interchangeable. It wanted to recover the part of itself hidden beneath the surface. However, it was incapable of doing it. This was because of the barrier Viran referred to.

Red wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by that. If he had to guess, the barrier was referring to the underground, but the boy didn’t know what it was that made it special. Magic? A curse? Perhaps he could find out eventually, but Red didn’t have any intentions of going back to check.

What mattered to him wasn’t so much that, but the second sentence. Viran noted that whoever enters the underground is marked by a cursed energy and the lunar being would target them if they left the underground. Red assumed that said energy was the same Moonstone Energy he used to cultivate. Of course, the phrasing was vague, and he might have been referring to something else. But with context, the boy didn’t think he was wrong.

If he was to assume the Moonstone Energy was the source of this curse, though, that raised another concern. Wasn’t he cultivating with that energy? Instead of panicking, Red tried to think this through more carefully. From Viran’s wording, it didn’t seem to matter whether one stored the energy in their body, the curse would mark them regardless. The same would apply for the boy. In fact, Red imagined that if he hadn’t practiced Viran’s technique, then the results from the lunar draining might have been significantly worse.

‘Viran found a way to counter it.’

This was his conclusion. The primary aim of his special acupoints was to counter said curse. Red didn’t know the specifics behind the technique. He assumed it was an exchange. The boy provided the lunar being with the energy in his acupoints and, in exchange, the otherworldly existence did not kill him. The reason Viran had insisted for him to open three full veins before leaving was probably because he knew just three special acupoints were not enough to satisfy the being.

‘There’s a problem with that idea, though.’

The problem was recharging his acupoints. According to this theory, the lunar being had an interest in Red's energy because it was one way for it to reunite with its underground part. Red’s acupoints, however, had now been refilled by the Full Moon itsel. He had recouped his losses, and the Moon apparently gained nothing from it, when it was all said and done.

That made little sense. Even if the creature absorbed the energy again during the New Moon, it would presumably just give away the same amount during the Full Moon.

‘I have to be missing something.’

Red looked over the diary page again. There were just a few undeciphered passages remaining, and the boy didn’t even know if they referred to his technique. He couldn’t help but regret losing the rest of the pages in the underground. Now, he could only figure it out himself.

‘There are still those guards.’

It was his only option if Red hoped to understand this curse. The irony wasn’t lost on him, though, since a few weeks ago, the boy wanted nothing more than to hide from those men. He knew that searching for those guards was going to be a dangerous and difficult task, though.

For one, they wanted to kill anyone who left the underground. Then there was the fact Red had yet to find any traces of their existence. The boy knew they must be out there, though. The slaves exchanged many ores with them daily, and according to Viran, they had a heavily guarded camp at the mine exit. They had to have left traces behind, even if those were hard to find.

‘I can’t rush it. I need to be stronger.’

In a hurry to lift his curse, Red would rather not die from recklessness. Putting the matter aside for now, the boy got ready to go to bed. However, he heard a knock at the door.

Red frowned in annoyance. He chose not to answer. The knocking came again, though.

A child’s voice sounded from behind the door. “Psst, it’s me.”

Red ignored it.

Allen, however, insisted. “I know you’re awake. I can see your lights are still on!”

No response.

“… Look, I brought that weapon I promised to show you!”

Red’s interest was finally piqued. He walked over to the door and opened it for his guest. Allen was standing in front of his room with a smile on his face. The young master was carrying a bundle of cloth in his hands.

“Quick, let me in!”

Red stepped aside. Allen rushed into the room and closed the door behind himself, turning around to look at the boy. “Turn off the lights now, and be quiet.”

Red frowned. It was immediately clear this wasn’t a good idea. Still, he was unlikely to be the one punished for Allen’s transgressions. “Why do you want me to turn off the lights?”

“Just do it. You’ll see what I mean.”

The boy just agreed to Allen’s request. He turned off the light and looked back at the young master in the dim room. The child had sat down and was fumbling around with the bundle in his hands. With eagerness, he finally untied the object, and pulled the cover aside in one go.

A gentle, dark blue glow slowly spread through the room. Red stepped back almost by reflex, but he froze in shock once he examined the source of the light. Allen was holding onto a thin, polished sword. The double-edged dark-blue blade was about a meter long and, rather than a metal weapon, it resembled fine jewelry. Upon closer examination, the boy could also see a myriad of small symbols decorating the length of the sword. The cross-guard, although simple in composition, was also just as elegant. A fine piece of black leather covered the handle, which tapered off into a round pommel encrusted with a strange symbol.

The thing that stood out the most to him, though, was the light emitted by the weapon. It seemed to surge from every part of the item, giving it a mesmerizing and otherworldly appearance. This was the most beautiful piece of art Red had laid his eyes upon, and for a while he could only stare at it in wonder.

Allen lifted the sword up in the air and stared at him with a smug grin. “So, do you like it?”

The boy recovered from his trance. “What is that?”

The young master continued to smile. “It’s a Spiritual Artifact. It’s my Spiritual Artifact. We call it the Deep Sea Sword.”

Red had heard the Artifact term before. These were the special items cultivators who had opened their Spiritual Sea used to fight, and they all were capable of wondrous feats. “How strong is it?”

Allen scoffed. “How strong? Let me just say this: this is a top-grade Spiritual Artifact. It’s stronger than most artifacts out there!”

The boy didn’t have a frame of reference to contextualize his words, so he remained confused. “I mean… What can it do?”

“Uh… I don’t know exactly. Hector says that only when I open my Spiritual Sea will I be able to use a fraction of its power. Even without being able to use its full strength, though, I can tell you this sword is sharper and more durable than any common weapon out there.”

“Did Hector really just give you such a powerful weapon?” Red frowned.

“He didn’t give me anything! It was already mine. Well, it belonged to my parents, but…” Allen trailed off.

“I understand.” he didn’t press the question. “But why did you bring it to me?”

“Didn’t we make a deal? I let you see my weapon and you let me see yours.”

Red didn’t remember making such a deal, but he didn’t protest. He wandered over to a corner of his room before taking out the dark and damaged cleaver.

Even after being cleaned, it was like trash compared to the blue sword. Allen, however, didn’t seem to mind. “That is so cool! Did you fight anyone with that?”

“A few monsters.” Red nodded, somewhat taken aback by the young master’s enthusiasm.

“That’s incredible! I didn’t even get to try my sword in combat yet…” Allen stared at the cleaver in wonder. “Can I hold it?”

He hesitated.

“I’ll let you hold my sword too!”

That was all the convincing Red needed. He handed the cleaver over and grabbed the artifact from Allen’s hand. The reaction from his skin was almost immediate.

‘Spiritual Energy.’

Indeed, the sword was teeming with it. It was so strong that Red almost dropped it by reflex. However, what impressed the boy was that he couldn’t feel a trace of this overwhelming power until his hands had closed around the handle. The weapon was light to hold, and upon closer examination, Red noticed its edges were not as sharp as he had been expecting. Still, the power he felt emanating from it told the youth not to underestimate the strength of this sword.

“Why is your weapon damaged?” Allen asked while examining the cleaver himself.

“I don’t know exactly. I think it was some corrosive liquid.” Red was being honest. He barely remembered his confrontation with the spiders from back then.

“That’s a shame! It still looks really dangerous, though.” the young master turned around to look at him. “So, what do you think about my sword? It feels amazing to hold, right?”

Red nodded. He had actually never felt so powerful before. It was as if he could cut anything apart with this sword, and the feeling was almost intoxicating. This also reminded him, though, that he was holding a very dangerous weapon.

“You should put it back where you took it from.” Red said, handing the weapon back to Allen.

Allen looked surprised that Red had figured out he hadn't gotten permission for this. "How did you know?"

‘There’s no way Hector would let you walk around with this.’

“Just a guess.” Red shook his head.

“Hmph, even if Hector found out, he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. The sword is mine, after all!”

Allen put on a front of defiance, but still took the weapon back. Red picked up his cleaver and put it back in the room's corner, too.

“I know you’re training with Goulth, too. Maybe one day you’ll be able to make an artifact yourself!” Allen said.

“Hopefully.”

This was one of his wishes, much more so after seeing this Deep Sea Sword. However, the boy knew accomplishing such a task was nothing but a dream right now.

Allen smiled. “One day, we’ll each have an ultimate weapon and fight side by side against the Empire! Allen, the Water Dragon Sect Master, and Red, his assistant! Can you imagine how awesome that will be?”

In fact, Red couldn’t even begin to imagine it.

“Anyway, I better go before Hector-”

A loud roar came from outside in the direction of the main building. “WHERE’S THE FUCKING SWORD?!”

Allen’s face suddenly fell. “I should go.”

Red nodded. “You should. But I don’t think you can outrun him.”