Chapter 1221: The Non-existing Bloody Moon

As far as Roland knew, Dispersion Star was a man of honor and method — not brilliant, but reliable. He had not made any extraordinary contributions to astronomical research, yet he had founded the Arithmetic Academy, trained a generation of students, and lent his expertise to the statistical work of the Administrative Office. In a sense, he had extended the Astrology Association’s reach and grown it from a dusty ceremonial body into something that could stand beside the Society of Alchemists.

The old Chief Astrologer had come to apologize more than once for failing to predict the Bloody Moon’s early arrival. Roland had dismissed him each time, too occupied with the aftermath of the disasters. Nobody had predicted this. Roland had never expected the Astrology Association to catch it. He had kept them because they could do arithmetic.

The word “must” stopped him cold.

Dispersion Star would never have used that word — almost impertinent in a man of his station — had this not been something he could not contain. Roland set down the phone and went straight to the Arithmetic Academy in the south of the city.

The observatory was only an attic. The astrologers used it as a temporary post while they waited for the Miracle Building’s top floor, whose construction had run long over schedule. Roland had fitted it with a large telescope and a revolving dome to keep them working through the delays.

Dispersion Star and his colleagues were already waiting. They dropped to one knee as Roland entered. “Your Majesty.”

“Rise.” Roland waved them up. “What did you find?”

“Please follow me, Your Majesty.” Dispersion Star’s voice was low, solemn, and Roland followed him up to the attic.

Drafts covered every inch of the floor — calculations, orbit tracings, star charts filled with small precise numbers. Roland knew enough astronomy to recognize hard work. These men had, over two years of grinding study, quietly surpassed him.

Dispersion Star closed the door, leaving the other astrologers outside. When Roland turned to face him, the old scholar’s expression was one Roland associated with deathbed confessions.

“Roland,” Nightingale murmured, pulling his sleeve.

Roland nodded. He understood her concern. He was curious too.

A long silence passed before Dispersion Star spoke.

“Your Majesty, we have been observing the Bloody Moon since its appearance — its motion, its position, the change in its face. Because we failed to predict its arrival, we wished to make amends by calculating its size and locating its star district. That is our duty.” A pause. “The discovery horrified us.”

Horrified. Roland’s brows drew together. “Get to the point.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The old man’s voice dropped further, and then, strangely, gathered conviction. “The Star of Extinction may be a fabrication. The Bloody Moon — does not exist.”

Roland turned to the window without thinking. The crimson sphere hung there in the darkening sky, sullen and enormous.

“That thing,” he said. “Doesn’t exist.”

“I could not believe it myself when I first reached the conclusion. I found it almost amusing, Your Majesty. Then, gradually, we did not.” Dispersion Star straightened. “According to the materials handed down to us and from your own books, we are certain: that object exerts no gravitational influence on anything around it.”

“When we drew the star chart and calculated the orbits of every star in the district where the Bloody Moon sits, not a single one deviated from its course. It does not affect those stars. It does not affect us.”

“Furthermore, its own movement makes no sense. Before, the Bloody Moon was stationary in the sky — moving at the same rate as the earth below, which is at least conceivable. But now it is still stationary, even though it is so close.” His hands opened. “That is impossible.”

Roland understood immediately. “If we removed it from the sky entirely — ”

“Everything else would look normal,” Dispersion Star said, nodding. “Whatever the Bloody Moon is, wherever it sits, it makes no difference to the physical world around it.”

Roland said nothing.

He could see exactly why the old man had hesitated. The legend of the Bloody Moon and its bond to the Battle of Divine Will came entirely from Taquila witch hearsay — no independent record, no physical evidence. Dispersion Star, as headmaster of the Arithmetic Academy, knew that. If the witches had misled everyone — or worse, fabricated it — this discovery could fracture the alliance that Neverwinter’s whole future depended on.

But Roland trusted the witches. He had worked beside Celine for years. He had brought the God’s Punishment Witches into the Dream World. Even if someone had lied somewhere along the chain, it did not alter what he felt.

And besides — the demons were real.

“Are you certain?”

“I was not, Your Majesty — not until this morning, when I received a letter from a colleague in the old king’s city.” Dispersion Star produced a folded sheet from his pocket and spread it open. A drawing of the Bloody Moon, seen from a different latitude, filled most of the page. “He used to be a noble. Interested in astronomy. I asked him to calculate the star district from his location, expecting a slight offset. His figures are not slightly different from ours, Your Majesty. They are completely different — as though the Bloody Moon occupies a different position in the sky for him.”

Roland’s pulse quickened.

“Which means it is not stationary relative to this region,” Dispersion Star said, slowly. “It is stationary relative to the entire continent.”

A pause. Then: “Your Majesty, no physical object can remain stationary in relation to every point on a sphere simultaneously.”

The red speck in the Dream World surfaced in Roland’s memory. The way it never shifted no matter where he stood, no matter how he turned his head.

In the Dream World, it had a different name.

Erosion.

Chapter 1221 - The Non-existing

Bloody Moon Translator: Transn Editor: Transn As far as Roland knew, the Chief Astrologer was a man of honor and responsibility. Although he had not made any particularly extraordinary contributions to the astronomical research, he had founded the Arithmetic Academy and trained many students. He also assisted with the statistical analysis. In a sense, he extended the influence of the Astrology Association and expanded this old organization into one that could rival the Society of Alchemists. Dispersion Star had come to apologize multiple times for his negligence and failure to predict the premature appearance of the Bloody Moon. However, as Roland had been too busy with various events lately, he had dismissed him. Nobody ever anticipated that the Bloody Moon would appear so early, and Roland had never intended to rely on the Astrology Association to predict the Bloody Moon. He used their service simply because these scholars knew arithmetics. The word “must” alarmed Roland. Disperson Star would have never used such an almost impertinent word had this not been an emergency. Therefore, Roland immediately headed to the Arithmetic Academy in the south of the city after he hung up. The so-called observatory was only an attic of the Arithmetic Academy. The astrologers used this little attic as their temporary observatory before they moved to the top floor of the Miracle Building. Since the construction of the Miracle Building had taken longer than planned, Roland had made them a large telescope and transformed the attic into a revolving observatory so that they could continue with their astrological work. Dispersion Star and the other astrologers had been waiting for Roland for a while. They soon went to their knee as they saw Roland come in. “Your Majesty,” they chorused. “Please rise,” Roland said as he waved his hand casually. “Let’s jump into the business. What did you find?” “Your Majesty, please follow me,” Dispersion Star said solemny as he led Roland to the attic at the top. Roland immediately saw that the floor was littered with drafts and drawings. He believed they were the calculations of the orbits of various stars. In fact, Roland only knew very little about astronomy. After having obtained basic knowledge of physics and mathematics through two years of studying, these astrologers had now surpassed him. Dispersion Star followed Roland into the attic, leaving the other astrologers outside. The moment the door was shut, Roland noticed that the old Chief Astrologer was wearing an extremely grave expression as if he were about to make his last will. “Roland…” Nightingale muttered as she tugged his sleeve. Roland nodded in comprehension. He knew Nightingale would protect him if he was in danger, but he was curious as to why the discovery alerted the astrologers so much. “Your Majesty, we’ve been observing the movement of the Bloody Moon these days, as well as its change,” Dispersion Star finally spoke after a moment of silence. “Since we failed to predict its appearance, we would like to make amends for our previous faults. We wanted to calculate its size and where its star district is. That’s the duty of the Astrologers Association. However, the discovery horrified us.” Horrified? Roland’s brows contracted. This was not the word he expected to hear. “What do you mean? Get to the point.” “Yes, Your Majesty,” Dispersion Star obeyed in a low voice. “The Star of Extinction is probably a hoax. The Bloody Moon… doesn’t exist.” Roland was stunned. He turned around and looked through the window involuntarily. The crimson sphere was still aloft in the air, as sinister as ever. “Are you saying that the thing over there… doesn’t exist?” “I couldn’t believe it either when I made the conclusion. On the contrary, I found it quite amusing. However, gradually, we started to take it seriously,” Dispersion Star said after a sigh, and his voice became more confident. “Yes, Your Majesty, it doesn’t exist. According to the materials passed down to us and your books, we’re positive that the giant star over there doesn’t affect other stars.” “When we drew the star chart and calculated the orbits of the other stars in the star district where the Bloody Moon is situated, we found not a single star deviate from its course, which means that the Bloody Moon doesn’t affect those stars at all, nor does it affect us.” “In addition, there’s no change in its own movement either. Before, the Bloody Moon was stationary in the sky, which indicates that it was moving at the same rate as us. But now, it’s still stationary, despite that it’s so close. That doesn’t make sense.” Roland immediately understood what the old scholar meant. “If we remove it from the sky…” “Then it’ll explain everything,” Dispersion Star replied while nodding. “Only when it isn’t there will everything on the earth looks normal. In other words, wherever the Bloody Moon is, it won’t make a difference to our world.” Roland fell silent. Now, he understood why the Chief Astrologer had been hesitant. The legend of the Bloody Moon and its relationship with the Battle of Divine Will were solely hearsay stories from the ancient Taquila witches without any solid proof. As the headmaster of the Arithmetic Academy, Dispersion Star had also heard about those witches. If it turned out that the witches were all lying, the discovery would probably jeopardize the healthy relationship between the witches and the king. But Roland completely trusted the witches. He enjoyed helping Celine conduct research and taking the God’s Punishment Witches to the Dream World. Even if they lied, Roland would still like to be with them. At least, the demons did exist. “Are you positive?” “Your Majesty, I wasn’t until I received a letter from one of my friends in the old king’s city this morning,” Dispersion Star said as he produced a piece of paper from his pocket and spread it open. There was a drawing of the Bloody Moon. “As he observed the moon from a different location, the calculation might be a little different. My friend used to be a noble, but he’s very interested in astronomy. Therefore, I asked him to calculate the star district from another location. His calculation is very different from ours. It isn’t even a minor error. That means that the Bloody Moon is stationary everywhere. It’s not only stationary in relation to this area but to the whole continent!” Roland’s heart skipped a beat. “Your Majesty, it isn’t possible that a physical object remains stationary in relation to everything!” Dispersion Star proclaimed slowly. Roland suddenly remembered the red speck in the Dream World. It was always the same no matter how he viewed it. In the Dream World, it had a different name. Erosion.