Chang'e

Chang'e...

Hearing Eirin's words, Miketsu couldn't help but feel a secret jolt of surprise. While the name Chang'e alone brought to mind the myths of her former home, Huaxia, Eirin's description made this Chang'e sound nothing like a wild god or an orthodox god. She seemed far closer to the sealed Ancient Gods. Based on Suwako's previous descriptions of an Ancient God's power, the moon could easily fall entirely within such a being's sphere of influence.

"So... the true identity of that mysterious power beneath the ruins is the deity known as Chang'e?" Sitting beside Miketsu, Kaguya-hime murmured in deep thought.

"You could say that. Although, strictly speaking, Her existence is difficult to define by our cognitive concept of a deity, we shall call her a god for now..." Eirin began to recount her research while looking at Kaguya-hime.

"It is clear that before Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto arrived on the moon, a civilization already existed there. For reasons unknown, this civilization perished, leaving behind the moon rabbits as its legacy. The moon rabbits preserved the faith of that pre-lunar civilization, and the god they worshiped still exists in some state beneath the lunar surface, continuing to influence everything on the moon. It was precisely because Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto explored Her too deeply that he suffered such a severe backlash."

"To think She could cause such a backlash against one of the Mihashira-no-uzunomiko... just what kind of existence is this Chang'e?" Kaguya-hime spoke with a sigh of wonder. On the other side, Miketsu became even more certain that Chang'e was likely an Ancient God.

"Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto was weakened by Chang'e's erosion and then exiled to the earth by the lunarians. You must have been right there when all of this happened. Why didn't you stop it?" Miketsu questioned Eirin. As Omoikane-no-Mikoto, Eirin should have been in perfect condition when Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto met his downfall. Why did she simply stand by and watch?

Hearing Miketsu's interrogation, Eirin's expression stiffened slightly. After a long pause, she finally spoke.

"I indeed did not stop the lunarians' rebellion against Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto. This was because I, too, did not wish to evacuate the moon. That strange power capable of severely wounding Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto had piqued my intense interest at the time. I desired to study it above all else, feeling no fear even after witnessing Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto's fate..." Eirin said with a trace of a bitter smile. Hearing this, Miketsu felt a sense of realization.

"Is this the divine virtue of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom?"

"Yes. Because of my divine virtue, I opposed Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto's proposal to abandon the moon. I watched with open eyes as he was exiled. Subsequently, I became the de facto leader of the Lunar Capital. Under my guidance, the Lunar Capital continued to develop while simultaneously beginning in-depth research into the Lunar Ruins and Chang'e..."

...

Learning from Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto's mistake, Eirin's research was not reckless. Instead, she conducted archaeological studies on the ruins and moon rabbit culture while slowly exploring downward. Her cautious attitude allowed them to avoid many risks. As their exploration and research deepened, many facilities and technologies from the pre-lunar civilization were unearthed. After Eirin restored them, many were integrated into the construction of the Lunar Capital.

Under the leadership of a God of Wisdom like Eirin, the Lunar Capital formed a tradition of exploration and research that persisted. Their excavations of the Lunar Ruins contributed significantly to the capital's development. Among these findings, the most important was the discovery of the source of that mysterious power. It was a vertical abyss located at the very bottom of the ruins, several kilometers in diameter, seemingly leading straight to the moon's core. The power emanated from that unobservable deep hole. According to Eirin's hypothesis, the entity known as Chang'e likely resided at the bottom.

For some reason, Chang'e's power had a very obvious erosive effect on the divine power of orthodox gods. Consequently, Eirin's exploration stopped at the edge of the abyss. She commanded the lunarians to build countless facilities around the rim to capture the energy leaking from the hole and transmit it to the surface. This became the primary energy source for the Lunar Capital's development. Relying on the energy derived from Chang'e, the Lunar Capital's progress entered the fast track, and a civilization far surpassing the world below was born.

With the help of Eirin, the Lunar Ruins, and the power of Chang'e, the Lunar Capital changed with each passing day. However, they were not satisfied. As the capital's scale expanded, the meager energy leaking from Chang'e became insufficient. An in-depth archaeological excavation of the Lunar Ruins became the key to solving this problem. This time, the lunarians found a special mausoleum. Inside the tomb, they discovered the body of a noble woman. According to the deciphered Ancient Lunar Script, this woman was the Priestess of Chang'e. Murals within the tomb depicted her channeling Chang'e's power.

Upon obtaining the body of the Priestess of Chang'e, Eirin immediately had a new idea. She extracted the biological information from the corpse and used the Lunar Capital's technology to replicate and recreate that ancient priestess based on that data. Thus, across an unknown span of ages, the Priestess of Chang'e reappeared in the world. And that was Kaguya.

...

"What! Kaguya is a clone of the ancient Priestess of Chang'e?" Miketsu exclaimed in surprise. Eirin responded with a slight furrow of her brow.

"Clone?"

"Um... just think of it as that technology you used to replicate and recreate the ancient priestess," Miketsu added. She truly hadn't expected Eirin to develop cloning technology in the Lunar Capital, even if it was likely a fantasy version involving divine power and Jutsu-shiki.

"I see... Yes, Kaguya is a replica of the ancient Priestess of Chang'e, and a finished product where even the soul was replicated. Kaguya's appearance allowed the Lunar Capital to further tap into Chang'e's power, opening up even more space for the city. Due to her importance and the fact that I created her with my own hands, Kaguya became the princess of the Lunar Capital."

Eirin spoke slowly. As she did, Miketsu glanced at the two Kaguyas. The Kaguya beside Eirin was calmly sipping tea, while the little Kaguya beside her was covering her small mouth in shock.

"Phew... Alright, I mostly understand the previous questions now. But there's one last thing. You were doing perfectly fine up there; why did you suddenly defect from the Lunar Capital with Kaguya?" Miketsu asked finally. Eirin took a sip of tea and answered calmly.

"For the same reason as Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, naturally..."

Although Eirin had always been cautious, she eventually succumbed to temptation under the constant influence of her divine virtue. Her research into Chang'e became increasingly bold. Finally, during a reckless experiment with Chang'e's power, an accident occurred. A severe backlash caused her godhead to shatter and her divine power to vanish. However, this also freed her from the influence of her divine virtue, allowing her to realize the gravity of the situation.

Through her long-term research, Eirin discovered that Chang'e's power was becoming increasingly active due to the Lunar Capital's constant exploitation. She could clearly sense that Chang'e's consciousness within the moon was gradually awakening because of the capital's activities.

Understanding the terrifying nature of Chang'e's power, Eirin knew they could not continue to develop or study it. Otherwise, it would fulfill Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto's prophecy and invite a cataclysmic disaster. From the moment she fell from divinity to the status of a mortal, Eirin decided to stop it all.

However, having seen Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto's end, Eirin knew that as a mortal, she could not stop the Lunar Capital, which had already lost its way in the pursuit of development. Thus, she adopted a roundabout strategy.

Eirin first found an opportunity to send Kaguya—the key to the Lunar Capital's use of Chang'e's power—down to the earth. She then used the excuse of searching for Kaguya to come to the earth herself. After using her wits to deal with her companions, she went into seclusion with Kaguya. Before leaving, she destroyed a large portion of the research data regarding Chang'e, including the cloning technology. She hoped this would trap the Lunar Capital in a technological stalemate, preventing them from advancing and thus stopping Chang'e's further awakening.

However, she seemed to have underestimated her own prized disciples. Hundreds of years after Eirin's defection, the Lunar Capital created a second Moon Princess.