Yue Tianlang's frustration was plain to see. Sensing the rising tension in the room, Kaelin quickly stepped in with her usual tactic—talking her way out of awkwardness.
"Uhh… seems like those other two Guardians you mentioned earlier aren't exactly easygoing, huh?"
"Of course not," Tianlang replied with a bitter smile. "Among the Eight Guardians, they're the two extremes. One ascended through a sea of corpses in wartime, the other rose by standing toe-to-toe with the Ice Emperor. People like them don't tolerate even a single grain of sand in their world."
He let out another sigh and looked at the group.
"Anyway, you've all had a long day. Rest up. If you want to look for records, the castle library is open to you. The attendants will take you there. Just… don't wear yourselves out. Even I don't know how to fix what's happening."
—
That night, under the attendants' guidance, Mo Yan and the others arrived at the castle's grand library. The place was vast and filled with countless volumes chronicling the history of Teyvat. Some even mentioned Lightloss Syndrome, but disappointingly, none offered any clear solutions.
"Agh, this is driving me nuts!" Mo Yan groaned, flopping down on a nearby sofa. "How long have we been digging through books? And still no leads?"
"Same here," Kaelin said with a sigh. "Plenty about the Moon Festival, but not a single useful method to cure Lightloss. What if the darkness really takes everyone in three days?"
"I told you—it's beyond our ability to fix," Zixuan muttered as she flipped a page. But then something in the book caught her eye. "Though… there's a passage here that's strange:
'The Sacred Moon sacrifices purity for filth; the people abandon desire for absolution. It shall bear all sin and embrace suffering, until the Black Moon is born.'
What's that supposed to mean?"
Zhao Heng nodded solemnly. "Strange wording, indeed. The first half clearly refers to the Moon Festival. But the second part… the pronoun 'it' doesn't sound metaphorical."
"You saying the moon's alive or something?" Kaelin grumbled, half as a joke.
Just then, Mo Yan stood up and walked toward the door.
"Huh? Where're you going?" Kaelin asked.
"Just need some air. This room's too stuffy."
—
He wandered the empty halls without direction, eventually finding himself on the rooftop terrace. There, standing alone and gazing into the distance, was Yue Tianlang.
"Tianlang?" Mo Yan called out softly as he approached.
Tianlang turned and smiled. "Oh, it's you. Still not asleep?"
Mo Yan shook his head. "Hard to sleep, given… all this."
"Haha, fair enough. You're working hard—even after I told you not to overdo it. So… how are you finding the food here, at least?"
"Honestly? Dinner was great. Thanks." Mo Yan looked up at the sky. "You out here stargazing?"
"I wish. But as you can see…" Tianlang gestured upward. The sky was pitch black—no moon, no stars, only thick, motionless clouds.
"Can't see a damn thing, right? Even if I wanted to worry about the heavens… the heavens aren't looking back."
Mo Yan sighed, then smiled. "Then maybe don't stress about it. Just… talk with me for a bit."
Tianlang perked up. "Sure! Though… I'm not sure what to talk about. Ah, I know. Did I ever tell you? This place wasn't always called Xuan Yue Town. It used to be a little village called Crescent Moon Village."
"Crescent Moon… this was a village?"
"Yeah. Back when I was a child, just old enough to remember things, war reached our region. The village burned—fire consumed everything. The air was thick with the stench of burning flesh. If the Holy One hadn't appeared… I would've died with my parents."
Tianlang's gaze dimmed, voice quieter now.
"The Holy One saved me, and entrusted me to the care of the Blood Empress. Both of them… were incredibly kind to me. To me, the Holy One was everything. A savior. A hero. I swore that day: I would become a Guardian and stand beside him forever."
He smiled, but it was bittersweet.
"Unlike the others, who were chosen by fate through mysterious trials, I clawed my way up. Every trial, every step—I earned. It was hell, but I made it. And the Holy One… he taught me so much. He was like a father—patient, kind, always there when I stumbled. I'm still far from a perfect Guardian… but I'm trying."
Mo Yan couldn't help but admire him. "Your Holy One sounds… honestly amazing. Wish the teachers back home were even half that patient."
Tianlang chuckled. "Yeah. He really is like a father figure to us. Gentle but strong."
He leaned against the railing.
"I thought being a Guardian would be glorious. That with power, I could save people. But after I inherited the title of Moon Saint… I saw the truth. This world is cruel. People start wars for greed, for power, for selfish gain. And yes, I've fought in those wars. I've killed. My hands are stained with blood. I hate it—but I had to."
"The fighting eventually ended. My reward for service? A fief—my homeland, Crescent Moon Village."
He paused, lost in thought.
"I returned, filled with hope… only to find everything changed. The village had become a town. The wooden palisades replaced with tall stone walls. And only then did I learn: the very day the Holy One saved me, he and the Blood Empress began planning to rebuild my home."
"That's… a good thing, right?" Mo Yan offered with a hopeful smile.
"It is. It truly is. But…" Tianlang's voice dropped. "Things didn't stay good for long. People poured into the new town—refugees, survivors. With them came sorrow, despair, aimlessness. And at night, that negativity spread like a plague. People lost their sense of purpose… like hollow shells."
Mo Yan's eyes widened. "Wait—don't tell me… was that the first Lightloss outbreak?"
"You guessed it." Tianlang nodded. "I reported it to the Holy One. His response? Use the moonlight. Bless the people. Cleanse their darkness. And so, the Moon Festival was born."
"So… it was his idea."
"Yes. Under the light of the moon, people found hope again. They began to believe in tomorrow. And the moonlight… it took their pain upon itself. Bit by bit. That's how the Moon Festival became tradition."
Tianlang looked to the sky again.
"But now… the darkness is back. The moon hasn't returned. And without it… we Guardians are powerless. As their protector, as their faith… I've failed them."
Mo Yan stood beside him in silence, gazing at the empty sky.
It was strange. The skies had been perfectly clear during the day… but every night? Smothered in clouds. Not once in half a month had the moon shown its face.
Too strange to be a coincidence.
~~------------------------
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