Trojan Moose

Dawn's glow crept over the mountains, bathing the Alexandrian stone buildings in warm hues. Sherry sat at a cafeteria table, luxuriating in the sheer bliss of her breakfast. Each bite of syrup-drenched pancake felt like an earned victory for her successful stealth operation the night before. Reveling in the hospitality of her unsuspecting enemy, her satisfaction was both intense and faintly perverse.

While savoring her pancake, her gaze would occasionally flit to the cafeteria entrance. The doors swung open and closed, offering momentary glimpses of the Shadow statue beyond. The early morning had already brought a small congregation of women to worship the statue, their numbers swelling as breakfast drew to a close.

Each one was blissfully unaware of the doom they were hastening towards. Sherry's mind began to entertain visions of their empire falling apart and herself standing proud as the architect of their downfall. All she had to do now was play the waiting game. An impish smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Hehehe," she chuckled quietly.

"Enjoying your syrup soup, 720?" came the teasing voice of 719. The twins, 718 and 719, rounded the corner, breakfast trays in hand, and took their seats opposite Sherry.

"Eh? Oh, I- I was just..." Sherry suddenly felt bold, "...reminiscing about a story I've read recently."

"Oh, really? What story?" 718 asked.

"The Trojan Moose by Natsume?" Sherry replied, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

719 shook her head. She then gave a quizzical glance to 718, who nodded. "I've read it. It's a good tale." 718 confirmed, then turned to 719 to explain, "It's about a group who breached a city's defenses by hiding inside a colossal wooden moose."

"Exactly!" Sherry's face brightened, excited that at least 718 has read the story. "The Trojans were so oblivious to the danger that they welcomed the moose into their city. They even celebrated it with a feast!"

"Haha," 719 chuckled. "Just the idea of people celebrating a giant moose is pretty funny."

"Right?" Sherry agreed. "And the best part is that the people of Troy were so oblivious that they ended up getting slaughtered in their sleep!"

"Ouch," 719 winced. "That got a bit dark."

"Well, I mean-" Sherry tried to explain, thinking maybe she was the only one to appreciate that part. However, 718 interjected.

"It's a sound strategy," 718 approved. She then addressed 719. "Do you think the Cult deserves any less? If anything, killing them in their sleep is a mercy."

"I guess..." 719 replied. "You've killed before, right, sis?"

"Yes, I have," 718 replied bluntly. She then addressed Sherry as if to explain, "As part of my leadership training I shadowed a few missions. Once I saw what the Cult did to the people they captured... I didn't hesitate."

Sherry arched an eyebrow. "What did they do?" She had assumed the Cult was a fabrication of Shadow Garden, serving as a vehicle for tricking their members to do their bidding, and a weak attempt to justify their actions to the public.

"They tortured them...," 718 replied, swallowing. 718 pushed her plate away. "Sorry, I lost my appetite."

"Sorry..." Sherry instinctively replied. 718's reaction was unexpected, and Sherry wasn't sure what to make of it. As 719 rubbed 718's back in comfort, Sherry caught another glimpse of the statue; about a dozen members seemed to be worshipping it now. Sherry bit her lip, trying to hold back her excitement.

"It's not your fault," 718 replied. "Sadly, you'll probably see such horrors yourself soon enough."

Sherry shook her head subconsciously. Sherry wasn't so sure about that. For one, she still didn't believe in the Cult – Shadow Garden was adept at playing mind games, so 718 likely saw whatever Shadow Garden wanted her to see. And two, Sherry wasn't planning on sticking around that long.

"Anyway, I heard the original draft of the story included references to the 'letters' that make up Seven Shadows' names," 718 continued. "That was until Alpha told Beta to remove them."

"Alpha? Beta?" Sherry asked, feigning ignorance. She had heard the names come up often in her research. Alpha should be the leader of Shadow Garden, answering only to the Shadow himself. She also had a suspicion about Beta, but she wasn't sure if it was right.

"Alpha leads Shadow Garden, and Beta is Natsume," 719 chimed in, evidently pleased to impart this knowledge to Sherry.

"Beta is Natsume?!" Sherry exclaimed, despite having suspected as much. Her assumption was confirmed, yet it was still a surprise. The situation echoed Silon being Epsilon.

"Heh, that's a typical fan reaction," 718 smiled.

If Sherry was being honest, Sherry held a certain envy for Natsume's cultural comprehension. Each story is substantially different from the last, especially in terms of world-building. Usually, narratives, even fictional ones, drew heavily from their author's societal context – the sublimation of the author's situation into the text was nigh unavoidable.

This principle largely fueled Sherry's fascination with ancient civilizations. She had an uncanny ability to decode a culture's customs using their stories as a guide. This reverse-engineering process, moving from the story to its cultural roots, had earned her much acclaim.

But Natsume's stories were a breed apart, almost suspiciously so. They were influenced by nonexistent cultures, as if Natsume had intricately woven a dual narrative: the overt story and the subtler meta-narrative of an author from an alien world, imbuing their unique life experiences into the text. Astonishingly, all these tales were claimed to be the work of one individual: Natsume.

This level of creative depth could only be achieved by someone with a profound comprehension of how cultures evolve. It was as if a fresh culture was constructed from scratch to be the underlying influence of each book. Furthermore, the prolific output was nothing short of astonishing.

719 smirked, "What's more incredible is that all of her stories came from Shadow. Beta is just retelling them, maybe changing a name here and there."

"How is that possible?!" Sherry asked, unable to hold back her surprise. She had mockingly brought up 'The Trojan Moose' mostly to be wry about her plans, but it just served to confirm her fears. It's bad enough if Natsume really was Beta, but it sounded like Beta may just be a proxy. In effect, that made Shadow the true owner behind the pen name Natsume, whom Sherry just internally praised.

"Two words: Shadow Wisdom," 719 answered with a sage nod. "Haven't I mentioned this before? Everything becomes possible with Shadow Wisdom."

This repeatedly touted 'Shadow Wisdom' sounded like a scam she couldn't refute outright. Sherry wanted to believe that it must've all been pilfered from a multitude of places and credited to a single man – Sherry was sure of it. No one person could be that wise nor author countless varied stories just like that. Yet, how could so much knowledge and culture exist in secret before Shadow came about to hoard it for himself? It should've been impossible to hide the vast amount of history Sherry perceived.

Sherry could devise a myriad of theories to undermine and challenge Shadow's accomplishments, but even if the means were illicit, her internal ramblings always reached the same conclusion: Shadow is a frightening opponent, and he becomes more terrifying with each new revelation. She frankly hoped he'd let her blow up Shadow Garden in peace before she meets him – she would be content if she could inflict at least some sort of wound.

–––

After finishing their breakfast, the trio ventured out of the cafeteria. Outside, the number of statue worshippers had ballooned to around two dozen. Sherry was taken aback. Wasn't that a bit too many? A murmur of conversation laced the air as she approached.

"Do you feel it too?" "I can't explain it, but something draws me to this statue."

Eavesdropping on fragments of chatter, anxiety coiled in Sherry's gut. She had hidden the Eye in the statue, nestled behind the crimson gem that served as one of its pupils, and had carefully adjusted its absorption rate to be virtually imperceptible. But the crowd's remarks suggested her calculations may have been off. The possibility of the Eye being discovered filled her with an unnerving dread.

"Hey, 720, are you starting to understand Shadow's greatness?" 719 asked. The twins decided to follow Sherry to the statue. "I also like to come visit the statue in the morning. It's a good way to start the day."

"Uh, yeah," Sherry replied, her mind still preoccupied with the Eye. "I'm starting to see the light or something."

"Hmm, doesn't the statue look different today?" 719 pondered, squinting at the statue.

"Uh, I don't know," Sherry replied, trying to sound nonchalant. She didn't deform the statue as far as she's aware. "I'm still new here, so I don't know what it looked like before," Sherry subtly admitted.

"Ah, that's true," 719 replied, her eyes still fixed on the statue. "I think Shadow got more attractive."

"What?!" Sherry exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise. "I mean, I'm still new here, but surely, he's always been... attractive." Sherry couldn't believe she was defending Shadow's attractiveness.

Sherry programmed her magic signature into the Eye of Avarice so she would be the only one unaffected by it. Even so, it had no power to make statues more attractive, let alone Shadow, so what the world was 719 talking about? Sherry saw other women whisper among themselves, their fingers tracing the Shadow statue's contours as if appreciating the design.

"I'm not certain if it's his attractiveness," 718 reflected. "But I do feel a deeper sense of devotion to him today."

"Devotion?" Sherry asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Yes, you're on point, 720," 719 agreed. "I also sense the Shadow Devotion."

"But I didn't–"

"Should we kiss his feet?" An unknown voice proposed amidst the crowd. Sherry wasn't sure who had made the peculiar comment, but she was silently relieved it wasn't 719 or 718. Seizing the opportunity, she discreetly withdrew from the statue to observe the proceedings from a distance.

After overhearing a few more conversations, it became evident that no one had recognized the magic absorption for what it was, but instead inexplicably attributed it to Shadow's greatness and/or attractiveness. Shadow Devotion was the new trending topic, and Sherry was both relieved and confused.

The crowd didn't significantly expand, suggesting that not everyone was equally affected. As Sherry observed, she realized it was primarily the higher-numbered members gathering around the statue. Was it because they had a slower magic recovery rate? She wasn't aware that such a thing could be improved with training.

Nonetheless, this turn of events seemed more favorable than she initially expected. Her earlier fear that the Eye would be detected was seemingly unfounded; instead, the members appeared to be voluntarily surrendering their magic to the statue.

"Let's see where that devotion leads you to." Sherry couldn't help but feel a hint of smug satisfaction at her unexpected success.