The pitch-black canopy of the Moon Feather Princess shrouded the earth, dragging the entire world into the eternal night of the Blood Moon. This global anomaly naturally drew the attention of every living being on the planet. Before this great upheaval of heaven and earth, mortals could only tremble in panic, while those majestic beings residing in the Celestial Realm could no longer sit idly by.
In the Japanese Archipelago, South Ise, at the Ise Grand Shrine, a massive rift tore through the pitch-black canopy. Giant cracks spread across the firmament like a spiderweb, extending toward the horizon. From the central breach of these rifts, dazzling sunlight beamed down, piercing through the dark ceiling and spilling light onto the earth once more. Within that sunlight, the silhouette of a mature woman flickered in and out of view. The shinkan and Miko within the shrine prostrated themselves on the ground, chanting the name of their deity.
At the northern edge of the South Asian subcontinent, south of the Himalayas in Lumbini, bursts of Divine Chants echoed through the towering mountains. Sutra scrolls constructed of profound symbols hung between heaven and earth. The dark canopy naturally dissolved amidst the Buddhist voices that bridged the sky and the ground. The brilliance of day once again graced the snow-capped peaks. A towering, majestic silhouette sat cross-legged between heaven and earth, hands pressed together in prayer, chanting in unison with monks spread across the world.
In Western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean in Jerusalem, a soft white light completely dissolved and dispelled the Blood Moon and the darkness. The desert and the city were once again bathed in light. Holy hymns echoed melodiously as sacred white light shone upon the earth from a portal situated high in the heavens. Pilgrims fell to their knees in worship, praying for forgiveness and blessings toward the gate that seemed to lead to paradise.
In Northern Europe, above the vast icy seas, the false pitch-black canopy was pierced by the phantom of a super-giant spear. The dark firmament was violently punctured, leaving a massive hole. Rolling thunder let out a world-shaking roar, continuously expanding the breach. Light returned to the land, and the Vikings upon their longships let out impassioned roars.
At the western border of the Central Plains, atop the peaks of the Kunlun Mountains, a faint white light flickered amidst the dark world beneath the Blood Moon. Subsequently, an old man dressed in a white Daoist robe appeared in the air. His hair and beard were entirely white, and he held a whisk in his hand. His entire body shimmered with a faint light; he possessed the air of a transcendent immortal, as elegant and fluid as the wind. The old man silently raised his head to look at the pitch-black canopy, a look of worry surfacing between his brows. He then swung his whisk, and a clear breeze blew between heaven and earth. The false dark canopy was blown away like scattered clouds, and the sky above the Kunlun Mountains returned to normal, light reappearing.
Though he had dispelled the dark canopy over the Kunlun Mountains, the worry in the old man's eyes did not vanish. He shifted his gaze toward the northern horizon, looking at the distant, desolate wilderness of the far north, and the concern in his eyes deepened.
...
The false canopy of the Moon Feather Princess had alarmed many high-level beings in the Celestial Realm across the globe. They took action one after another, projecting their power into the mortal world to shatter and dispel the dark canopy in various regions. Looking down from outer space, the dark shell that had originally enveloped the entire Earth was now pockmarked with rifts. The cracks caused by these breaches spread everywhere, making the entire false canopy look like a giant black egg covered in fractures, seemingly on the verge of shattering at any moment.
In the wilderness of East Siberia, Princess Kaguya looked up at the countless cracks extending from the distant horizon, her mouth hanging open slightly in surprise. She spoke in a bewildered tone.
"Chang'e's canopy... it's cracking. Is someone destroying it?"
"Heh, it's the Modern Gods! The Chief Gods of the various pantheons in this world!" Suwako, who had stood up weakly nearby, spoke while looking at the cracks in the sky with a smile.
"Those fellows in the Celestial Realm couldn't possibly be unaware of the danger Chang'e poses to this world. Their intervention was inevitable. Right now, they are destroying the canopies over their respective territories. Next, they should gather together to face Chang'e collectively. Chang'e hasn't reached her peak form yet; all those Chief Modern Gods combined should be able to handle Her!"
Suwako said with a smile. If the Chief Modern Gods acted collectively, then they had a chance of victory. Their stalling tactics up to this point had not been in vain. Now, they just had to wait for all the Chief Gods to assemble.
On the wasteland, the Moon Feather Princess, floating at a low altitude, gazed at the crack-filled firmament. With a vision that spanned the globe, She was already aware of the changes occurring worldwide. She understood that the forces obstructing Her had suddenly intensified.
Realizing the current situation, the Moon Feather Princess immediately took action. She spread Her arms and began to sing, starting to retract the power spread across the globe back toward Herself as the center.
"Don't even think about it!" Seeing the Moon Feather Princess's actions, Miketsu immediately thought to interrupt. She swung her massive demonic blade, sending a super-giant demonic energy tornado toward the Moon Feather Princess. However, after taking the hit from a tornado capable of shredding a Yokai Lord head-on, the Moon Feather Princess remained completely unscathed. She hovered in mid-air without budging an inch, continuing the reclamation of Her power.
In an instant, the dark canopy—originally as large as the entire Earth—began to shrink rapidly, concentrating toward Siberia. The vast majority of the world's regions were liberated from the eternal night at that moment, returning to their normal state.
As the canopy contracted, the cracks upon it healed at high speed. At this very moment, above Siberia, a spacecraft was plummeting from orbit at full throttle.
"Just... a little faster!"
Eirin manually piloted the ship at full speed, finally bursting through the canopy just a moment before a rift sealed shut.
Finally, the false canopy that had once enveloped the globe had shrunk until it covered only a small portion of Siberia. The false canopy now resembled a giant black bowl inverted over the North Asian continent, shrouding nearly a quarter of the land in East Siberia. Now, only this area remained under the eternal night of the Blood Moon; every other place in the world had returned to normal.
Countless lights of varying divine powers were now flying at high speed from all over the world toward Siberia. The gods were about to gather, but what they faced was a false canopy that had been strengthened ten-million-fold.
"This is bad..."
Looking at the rapidly healing cracks in the sky, Suwako, who had participated in the ancient wars, immediately realized what the Moon Feather Princess had done and Her purpose for doing so.
"Sister Suwako... the cracks in the sky... why did they disappear again?" Princess Kaguya asked Suwako with a confused tone.
Suwako replied with a grave expression, "That fellow retracted the canopy spread across the world and infused it with most of Her power to repair and strengthen it. She has turned the canopy into a defensive barrier to repel the Chief Gods, intending to isolate them from interfering while trapping us inside..."
As Suwako spoke, she looked solemnly at Kaguya and Princess Kaguya.
"Then, She will take the opportunity to seize your bodies and revive into Her complete form. Once She becomes a complete being, it won't matter how many of those Chief Gods there are!"
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