The hierarchy within the Blood Moon Sect was determined, solely by the strength of the Elder one served under.

There existed thirteen pagodas that had been constricted under the Divine ordinance of the goddess of the Blood Moon.

Each pagoda housed an elder, while the pagoda at the center belonged to the Blood Matriarch.

The land surrounding a pagoda was an elders to rule, and depending on the strength and status of said, elder, the nature of the land could differ.

As for the regular people, most of them existed between the territories of the twelve Elders. Although they were not completely abandoned, for the most part, they had to fend for themselves.

And that came in the form of providing assistance, services, labor, and even sexual relief to the members of the Blood Moon Sect.

Sitting at the very top of one of the twelve blood-red pagodas, Nebula has a strange look in his silver eyes.

His chest was bare, but the rest of his body was covered with a dark robe embroidered with crimson and silver threads at the hem and edges.

In his left hand was a jug of succulent red wine; high quality produce that could only be found in the red light district.

Without hesitating, he took a swig.

His brows furrowed.

The air behind him distorted and a figured dressed in all black appeared.

Without looking back, Nebula spoke dryly,

"What do you want, Night?"

He raised the jug to his lips again.

"The Matriarch is not dead."

Nebula’s arm froze.

He tilted his head,

"What bullshit are you saying now?"

Dressed in an all black loose-fitting robe, her face partially concealed behind a veil, Night was as her name.

Her eyes seemed to be even darker than the surrounding shadows.

"My informant in the Golden Asura has confirmed it. They plan to make use of her to negotiate. They do not want to fight us."

Nebula was silent for a moment. Then he clicked his tongue,

"How sure are you?"

Night’s eyes narrowed, "What do you mean?"

Nebula sneered. In the depths of his eye, a cold, metallic sheen glinted.

He stood up and turned around.

Standing at full height, he was over a head taller than Night, who wasn’t short in her own right.

His physique the very definition of chiseled, he took a step forward.

Night took a step back, her hand reaching behind her waist,

"I’ll cut your throat, Nebula."

Nebula chuckled darkly,

"You are cute, but you choose to hide behind all those clothes."

The shadows in the room boiled then stilled as she slowly pulled a dagger with a pitch-black blade out from behind her.

"Say one more word."

Nebula huffed.

The dark glow around him vanished. He plopped back onto the ground and picked up his jug,

"Are you sure your informant can be trusted? And for all we know, they could be aware that we have our fangs in their throat."

Swirling the wine a bit, he admired the beautiful motifs on its silver surface.

Night on the other hand, had a dark look on her face as her brows scrunched up together,

"That shouldn’t be possible."

Nebula chuckled,

"We thought the Matriach couldn’t be defeated, but here we are. Still, two things can be true at once."

He turned around and stared right into Night’s eyes,

"So? Are we the only ones that know this?"

She shook her head, 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"The rat knows as well. And if he does, chances are everyone else does too."

Nebula turned and nodded his head,

"I see. Then that means they have achieved what they want. It matters not if we know the truth. So long as they can sow a single seed, it is sure to blossom. The best we can do is make the best of a bad situation."

Night sheathed her blade without making the slightest of sounds.

"From what I understand, you seem to believe there might be foul hand at play here."

Nebula spoke again,

"Of course there are. I’ve realized a few things over this time."

His eyes narrowed and his tone became colder,

"This world... It will soon become a playground. And the king of the playground, is who can play the best hand with the least amount of losses."

The sharp light in his eyes, like a glimmer of moonlight bouncing off the edge of a bloodied blade, became more apparent.

The corners of his lips folded up,

"Of course, I will be that king."

Night hissed,

"You fool! Our goal is to bring the Matriach back alive!"

Nebula was silent for a moment.

Then he nodded,

"Of course. My loyalty has always been with Aurora. However, I am now sure, more than ever, that I need to stand by her side. To make sure a disaster like this never happens again. So I can protect her."

Night’s tense shoulders relaxed, but the look of suspicion in her gaze never left.

"Is that so..."

She let out a sigh,

"In any case, we can expect a summons for a meeting any time soon. When the time comes, I need you to be against the order for an attack. That is the only way we can save the Matriach."

Nebula took a long, deep swing from his jug.

"I see. In that case, you have my support. Then, I believe our conversation is over?"

He turned his head slightly,

"Of course, you are welcome to stay for a bit. Having a little fun every now and then is not terrible, is it?"

Night spat, "I am afraid I will have to decline your offer, BlackSteel Viper."

Nebula chuckled,

"I thought as much."

Without turning around, he knew she was gone.

Nebula sighed and raised the jugbto his lips again.

"Hm?"

He glanced down.

The jug was empty.

With a sigh, he threw it to the side. The jug hit the velvet carpet with a metallic thud before rolling to the corner of the room already littered with other drinking containers, their lips still lingering with the armor of alcohol.

A faint radiance flashed between his fingertips.

A crystal bottle filled to the brim with an amber colored liquid appeared in his grasp.

Twisting the top off, Nebula placed it to his lips and tilted his head back once again.

Feeling the burn stinging the back of his throat, he closed his eyes and left out a deep satisfied sigh.

When his eyes open, gone was the human look in them..

Replacing them, was an austere and cold, almost reptilian gaze.

"That’s more like it..."