Chapter 296: Goddess Of Moon

Daniel cautiously frowned as he stared at the unbelievably beautiful woman who had appeared before him.

If he had to describe her, he’d have to admit that words weren’t enough — divine, and maybe even beyond that.

Every single feature on her face was so flawless and beautiful it felt as if the heavens themselves had personally crafted her.

Was it even possible for such a perfect and stunning being to exist? And even if it was, neither of the two worlds deserved to witness her or exist in her presence.

However, those very thoughts were the reason behind his frown. Daniel could sense it — even though this being looked flawless, there was something wrong with her aura.

Her aura didn’t carry the divine presence it should. Instead, it felt... mortal.

"It’s been thousands of years since this temple was built, and finally, someone worthy has appeared." The eyes of the Moon Goddess’s manifestation landed on Daniel.

Her voice was soothing, the most beautiful sound he had ever heard — so calming and gentle that for a moment, he felt as though he was hearing his mother’s voice.

"So you’re the Moon Goddess?" Daniel spoke with a frown, raising his guard to the highest level, ready for any kind of attack.

"There’s no need to be concerned, mortal," the goddess spoke again, and strangely, he felt a fleeting sense of peace wash over him.

But he bit his tongue, forcing the creeping fear away. He could tell — this calmness he was feeling from her voice was definitely some sort of mental attack or something similar.

"From what I understand, you’re trying to take my body. Exactly how am I not supposed to be worried?" Daniel growled.

"Isn’t it obvious? You’re going to give your body to a goddess. That’s the greatest honor any mortal could ever hope to achieve." This time her voice turned sweet, and a smile appeared on her impossibly beautiful face.

For a brief moment, Daniel almost felt like maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea... maybe serving this goddess really was his one and only purpose.

After all, what goal could possibly be higher than serving a goddess? Humans existed to serve the divine... and by giving his body to this goddess, maybe he could finally fulfill his reason for existence.

But suddenly, for reasons he couldn’t explain, an image flashed in his mind — the figure of a noble, cold woman, just as beautiful as the Moon Goddess, her face partially covered by a veil that reached her nose.

That image snapped his thoughts back to reality.

"Oh? It seems your mind is stronger than I thought." For a moment, a trace of surprise appeared on the Moon Goddess’s face.

"Didn’t expect that? Cheap tricks like these won’t make me submit."

"We’ll see about that." She laughed, as if she had heard those exact words many times before.

"By the way, aren’t you a woman? Why do you want a man’s body? Don’t tell me you’re one of those?" Suddenly, fear and worry flashed across Daniel’s face — though, of course, he was only acting.

"Hmph! You lowly human, what do you take me for? I am a god! I can easily reshape your body however I please." The goddess growled, sounding insulted.

Daniel frowned for a second, imagining himself as a woman — and instantly shivered at the thought.

"I’d rather blow my own body up than let you do whatever you want with it."

"Enough! If you won’t hand it over willingly, I’ll take it by force!"

"Yeah, but even if you take my body, what are you planning to do about the ones outside? I doubt you can handle all of them." Daniel asked curiously.

From the very first moment this so-called goddess appeared, he had noticed a lot of strange details. First of all, sure, she looked like a goddess...

But her aura? Her aura felt more like a mortal’s. To be precise, it was even weaker than that of an S-rank Awakened.

More importantly, she didn’t give him any sense of divinity at all. Meanwhile, the woman he had met in the Broken Valley and even the Prophet of the Eternity Faith — both only demigods — had given him an indescribable divine presence.

And they were only demigods. So one could imagine just how overwhelming and awe-inspiring the true presence of a god or goddess should be.

But this thing standing in front of him? She didn’t give him anything like that.

"Hahaha." Suddenly, the Moon Goddess let out a loud laugh — one that sounded both sinister and genuine, like it came from deep within her, laced with mockery and scorn.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Why don’t you take a look at your soul?" She didn’t answer his question, instead speaking with a mocking tone.

Daniel frowned and glanced inward, looking at his soul. Strange, eerie marks were scattered across it, and his frown deepened.

"What the hell are these?" A grim feeling began to creep into his heart.

"I built this temple. Did you really think its only purpose was to teach the Law of the Moon or find me a body? Every challenger who faced the trials here was marked by me. The more of these marks etched into your soul, the greater my control over the bearer becomes."

"In other words, over all these years, I’ve been building myself an army of slaves. Hahaha." The goddess explained, laughing as she spoke.

"Oh no! Please forgive me! I’ll do whatever you want!" Daniel suddenly put on a terrified expression, begging desperately.

"Haha, now you finally understand why you should fear me? Good. Hand over your body, and I’ll strip away your will without causing you pain — the only mercy I can offer you." She smirked.

"You actually thought I’d act like this? Are you an idiot?" Daniel’s fake fear vanished, replaced by a cold, emotionless expression.

"Hah? Human! Don’t tell me you still don’t understand your place!" The goddess shouted in anger.

"On the contrary, I think you don’t understand what situation you’re in."