Falling, endless falling. Miketsu's clone plummeted through the darkness, hearing nothing but the whistling wind. The pure blackness before her eyes lacked even a glimmer of light, and an infinite sense of emptiness flooded her heart.
In this silent environment, Miketsu advanced toward the depths of the Abyss of the Lunar Core, the place where Chang'e was sealed.
'Has that woman stayed in this environment for hundreds of millions of years?' Miketsu thought as she observed her surroundings. Soon, she felt her descent come to an end as the local gravity balanced out. Miketsu's figure began to float quietly in the vast, deathly silent darkness. Staring into the void, she spoke aloud.
"Show yourself..."
As soon as Miketsu finished speaking, a flash of silver light cut through the dark. A beam of light pierced Miketsu's chest, leaving a hollow hole resembling torn paper. Around her, silver points of light began to ignite one after another—countless focal points of silver light were gathering energy.
Faced with this, Miketsu remained unhurried and calm. She continued to speak steadily to the surrounding void.
"I am not here to fight you. I am here to negotiate. I have no hostility." Miketsu spread her hands as she spoke. The focused silver lights stopped flickering at that moment, though they did not disappear.
Seeing this, Miketsu smiled slightly and continued.
"Don't you... desire freedom?"
As Miketsu's words fell, the pitch-black space went silent. After a moment, the countless sharp silver points of light around her gradually faded. Then, not far in front of Miketsu, a soft silver halo began to manifest. Amidst unstable ripples, it slowly converged, eventually forming a blurry, indistinct humanoid figure.
Witnessing this and sensing the extreme instability of the gathered energy, Miketsu couldn't help but recall what Eirin had told her. Based on the radiation of Chang'e's power, she was currently very weak. Miketsu knew this was the result of her incomplete form on Earth forcibly erupting with power that could only be wielded by her complete self. This had severely damaged her origin. It was also the primary reason Miketsu, in her divine soul state, had been able to seal Chang'e so easily afterward.
'With her origin damaged... the time needed for recovery might be immeasurable. Even if Chang'e can provide assistance, it will be limited. On the other hand, a weaker Chang'e is safer. The risk of negotiating with her might be lower than expected,' Miketsu thought silently.
The silver-white halo gradually condensed into an unstable, blurry humanoid shape, looking as if a gust of wind could scatter it. From within the halo came a fluctuating, ethereal, and light alien language.
"The... price... of freedom..." Looking at the enemy who had defeated her twice in succession, Chang'e spoke. She used the language of this world, which she had previously read from Reisen's mind.
Hearing Chang'e speak, Miketsu felt a slight sense of relief. Having confirmed that Chang'e was capable of communication and negotiation, she continued.
"I need you to use your power to assist me against other powerful existences on Earth—the ones you saw hundreds of millions of years ago, the ones that ravaged the land."
Miketsu spoke slowly. After hearing her words, Chang'e fell into a temporary silence. A long while later, she replied in that illusory and awkward voice.
"On... the third planet of Astar... among the abnormal life phenomena... there should be nothing... that can threaten you..."
"Well, that might have been true before, but I am not at my peak right now either. I still encounter troubles I can't handle alone, so I've come to ask for your help." Miketsu smiled and spread her hands, intentionally appearing somewhat helpless.
Chang'e remained silent. Miketsu did not rush to say more. After a long time, Chang'e spoke again.
"The... limits... of freedom..."
Chang'e understood that Miketsu would not grant her unrestrained freedom.
"I can release you from this seal and provide you with a suitable body. You may live and move elsewhere on the moon, provided you do not destroy or contaminate the Lunar Capital and its residents. Or, you can simply leave this star system and roam the universe again, searching for another home that suits you in the depths of space. If you are willing to seal your own power and contain the alien contamination, you may even go to Earth."
Miketsu stated her conditions plainly. To be honest, these terms were exceptionally generous for Chang'e. She was essentially being granted complete freedom. Aside from severe restrictions on going to Earth and partial restrictions on the moon, she could return to the universe. The vast, boundless cosmos would be hers to explore. If she chose another planet to make her home, Miketsu would not interfere.
After Miketsu finished speaking, she floated quietly in place, waiting for Chang'e's response. This process took a very long time, but Miketsu had sufficient patience.
Miketsu knew that for a Chang'e as weak as she was now, this chance for freedom was likely the only one. If she missed it, there was no telling when the next opportunity would come—it might be another few hundred million years.
Finally, after a long silence, Chang'e spoke once more.
"Does... trust... exist... between us?"
"That is a profound question. Trust is something that can only be known once it has been tested. For the sake of those rabbits, let us try it once." Miketsu replied with a calm smile. She finally brought up the moon rabbits; they were likely the only common interest both sides cared about.
"You care about those rabbits, don't you? Rather than silently observing and listening to them from this dark abyss, it would be better to go out and be with them. They still regard you as a god."
Finally, when Miketsu mentioned the moon rabbits, the halo condensed into a blurry humanoid figure suddenly trembled. The ripples became more intense before finally smoothing out. Chang'e spoke directly.
"I... accept..."
Upon hearing Chang'e's reply, Miketsu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She continued to look at Chang'e with a smile and said sincerely,
"Then, let us hope we can trust one another..."
Miketsu extended her right hand, raising her eyebrows slightly as she looked at the illusory halo. Chang'e hesitated for a moment, then extended a blurry silver arm like a winding tentril, touching her tip to Miketsu's fingertip.
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