— — — — — —
"Who are you?"
"Tsukuyomi."
"Do you know why you're here?"
"...I exiled Kaguya Houraisan to Earth. There, she encountered soone far too powerful for the Lunar Capital to deal with—you."
"After you stripped away my 'Moon' concept and divine rank, I lost consciousness. Judging by this place, it's Eirin's ho. Looks like she brought back here after I collapsed."
"And do you understand what kind of god you are now?"
"A reflection of Kaguya's 'Moon'... a 'Dark Moon' limited by the scope of her lunar power."
"Show ."
"Yes."
Tsukuyomi pressed her hands together. A cold, dark moon materialized in front of her.
Seeing it, the observer—Veyron—nodded in satisfaction. He glanced over at Eirin Yagokoro.
"Looks like everything's back to normal. Though... I'm not entirely sure if this is your Tsukuyomi."
"It's her," Eirin confird without hesitation.
She leaned in and lifted Tsukuyomi's chin, making their eyes et. After a few seconds of silent observation, Eirin nodded again, confident.
"Well then, I'll leave you two to catch up."
Veyron hadn't crossed the lines—he hadn't taken Tsukuyomi through every possible hole. Eirin, in the end, stripped and did everything herself, but his fresh load was shoved into Tsukuyomi's throat. Still, with everything else they had done, standing here in front of a now-awake Tsukuyomi left him feeling just a little awkward.
So, he quietly excused himself.
The space portal he opened shimred briefly, then vanished as it closed behind him.
— — —
Inside the room.
Tsukuyomi quietly locked eyes with Eirin, who returned the gaze calmly. The two sat in total silence, a quiet standoff that lasted several long monts.
Eventually, Tsukuyomi broke the silence. "...Let ask you sothing first. During the ti I was being devoured by the 'Moon', you were studying dicine again, weren't you? You failed to heal ?"
She paused before adding with a hint of sarcasm, "Or has your legendary pharmacology—the one that once surpassed even the gods of healing and dicine—completely gone to waste by now?"
"Of course not," Eirin replied with a small nod. "Hourai Elixir is a living proof of that, aren't they?"
"...Then you must have known I was still conscious, even though I couldn't move, right?"
Tsukuyomi absentmindedly touched her neck. Her throat still felt sore, like sothing very hard was down there.
"Naturally," Eirin answered, crossing her legs. Her pale, delicate feet moved slightly. "So when he decided to apply the dicine topically instead of having you swallow it... wasn't I considerate enough to shove 'it' in gently, so you could swallow it and suffer less?"
"You know that's not what I ant!"
Tsukuyomi's expression darkened.
"And like I said before," Eirin responded evenly, "this was your punishnt—for pulling all that reckless nonsense without telling anyone, and leaving us to clean up your ss."
Unshaken by Tsukuyomi's glare, Eirin remained as composed as ever.
"…"
Tsukuyomi bit back the words she wanted to say—that if Kaguya hadn't taken the Hourai Elixir, she probably could've overco the 'Moon's' influence and regained her sense of self.
But... that version of her wasn't the divine Tsukuyomi anymore. Even if she didn't have much affection for the "daughter" she created as nothing more than a tool—a vessel to carry her essence—it was clear that saying sothing like that would only widen the rift between her and Eirin.
So instead, she shifted the topic.
"Eirin... you know . I've always tried to be kind at heart. Sure, my reasons for creating them weren't exactly noble, but they're still my successors. Thinking back on it... Kaguya, Toyohi, Yorihi... I really wronged them all…"
She wiped the corner of her eye and continued softly, "Good thing, they never knew the truth, I… I feel a little better after all this. Just a little."
"I know I'm lying to myself, but... for old tis' sake, do you think you could ask Veyron to drop by every now and then so I can swallow... uh receive his punishnt."
"Every now and then?" Eirin rolled her eyes. "Why don't I just have him sleep with you daily whenever he has free ti?"
"I see... so my cris require such punishnt."
Tsukuyomi bit her lip, wearing that noble, tragic expression like she was willing to endure anything for the sake of redemption.
Oh, get over yourself.
Eirin didn't even need to guess what she was thinking. It was obvious Tsukuyomi had gotten a taste of the "Almighty Serum," and now she was addicted. Eirin really wanted to smack that smug little idea right off her face.
"…If this is really about redemption, then fine. I'll just do the sa as I did this ti."
Pretending not to notice Tsukuyomi's barely-contained smirk, Eirin laid out her offer.
"…Deal!"
Eyes flashing, Tsukuyomi forced out a single word through gritted teeth.
"Then it's settled." Eirin smiled sweetly. "Don't worry—I've inherited an ability like Kaguya's Five-Colored Radiance thanks to his help. I'll make sure not even a speck of 'filth' gets on you. You can stay nice and pure as the Moon Goddess you are… or should I say, the Goddess of the Dark Moon? Anyway, I won't let his stuff touch you."
"…Do you have to be this spiteful?" Tsukuyomi asked with a pitiful look.
"You started it," Eirin replied with a snort. "Co on, we've known each other for how long? You think I don't know you by now?"
"…Fine, it's my fault. I admit it. I just… wanted another taste…"
Tsukuyomi gave in instantly. She knew she didn't have the upper hand here anyway.
At this mont, she showed how similar she was to Kaguya.
...
A few minutes later.
Veyron, now mingling at the yokai banquet, disconnected the ntal link with Eirin, his expression sowhere between baffled and exhausted.
Ever since Tsukuyomi's "Moon" concept and divine authority were stripped away, even though Veyron had helped her form a substitute "Dark Moon," her condition still wasn't fully stable. She now needed regular doses of that almighty serum to stay balanced.
The bright side? Eirin had agreed to so of his… conditions and gas. Maybe soone else would join in too—after all, doing is better than watching.
Still, it was kind of weird. Tsukuyomi was Eirin's best friend… and Kaguya's mother.
Veyron just brushed those thoughts aside. He wanted to finish the moon business so he could focus on the chat group again. A big shift was coming—maybe even new mbers?
Gwen had already asked the group for help. The Marvel world was proving tough for her to change on her own.
With so much about to go down, Veyron simply sipped his sake in silence.
.
.
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