The next morning, after a warm breakfast steaming like morning mist, we set out to tour the Tower of Hundred Moons, and Colton welcomed the news with a grin bright as sunrise.

Nalu wasn’t familiar with the tower’s innards, and Lixue only knew it was crafted by FrostyLily Dream, like a snowflake signed in ice, with no clue about the interior.

So the guide’s mantle naturally fell on Colton. He was so excited he tripped over his own words, vowing solemnly, like a pine in the wind, to do his best.

…

To be honest, the tower’s inside didn’t lose to its face; the first step felt like stepping into an old forest of stone, ancient air thick as cedar resin. The carved sigils were intricate as frost-lace, and the floor and walls wore time like weathered cliffs.

But a wonder isn’t a playground; once the first astonishment ebbed like a tide, boredom lapped at the ankles. Only Lingxiao and Lingsaki fell silent as falling snow, caught in some private insight, eyes lingering on the wall-runes like they were paintings.

As its name promises, the Tower of Hundred Moons holds a hundred floors; each one has its own flavor, yet the whole feels like variations on a theme, like clouds changing shapes.

We didn’t need to comb every level; a broad pass would do, like skimming stones across a lake.

A hundred floors is a tall mountain, and there were no mana lifts or easy routes, only stairs coiling upward like a stone serpent. For us, it was nothing but a brisk breeze, even for Colton; but for Nalu and Elaya, whose bodies weren’t forged like ours, it was a steep climb.

Sure enough, by the fiftieth floor they were panting like bellows, sweat dripping like rain from eaves. I asked Lingxiao and Lingsaki to find a way.

“Leave it to us, dear Brother,” Lingxiao said, voice soft as silk.

“Mhm. A few support spells to bolster stamina will do,” Lingsaki added, calm as moonlight.

The sisters first restored Nalu and Elaya with gentle magic, like cool water over heated iron, then cast buff spells to strengthen their bodies; two hours of wind in their sails.

“Nalu, Elaya, how do you feel now?” I asked, keeping my tone light as drifting cloud.

“Great! I feel lighter than air, like I could float. Thank you, Yumigawa-kun,” Nalu said, eyes bright as stars.

“This humble slave feels the same,” Elaya said, trembling like a leaf in a spring breeze. “I’ve never felt this well since birth. And to spend such precious magic on me—I’m deeply grateful!”

Full recovery, like a flame leaping back to life—magic is a handy tool. With Nalu and Elaya refreshed, we had no reason to stop; we pressed on. According to Colton, the top floor was the most beautiful, like a moon-crown on a spire. I was eager; Lixue suspected this was an early piece by FrostyLily Dream, simpler and rougher than the Nine Cold Labyrinth, like a first sketch beside a finished scroll.

As we climbed, the outside view slowly shifted like a painting unrolled; lower clouds drifted into sight, and my anticipation for the summit grew like a rising tide.

Unnoticed, half an hour slipped by like sand through fingers.

After uncounted ancient steps, we reached the final level—the very top!

“Please, honored guests,” Colton said, as he swung open an ice-crystal door carved as delicately as frost on glass. “Feast your eyes on the finest view in Moonhundred City.”

He gestured us in with a gracious sweep, and we stepped forward like stepping into sky—

“Wow, it’s beautiful!” someone breathed, voice ringing like a chime.

“It’s like a fairyland in the clouds! The top of the Tower of Hundred Moons,” another said, awe clear as mountain air.

“Agreed. The long climb wasn’t wasted; this sight is a thunderclap,” I said, the words falling like clear rain.

“At this height… my chest feels open, like a valley after rain.”

“Oh, oh! For some reason, this dragon is moved!” Lanxia rumbled, a smile like sunlight on scales.

“I never thought I’d stand here,” Nalu whispered, eyes shimmering like dew. “Before I met Yumigawa-kun, this was a dream beyond mist.”

“I could imagine it even less,” Elaya said, looking at her hands like they’d grown wings. “Yesterday I was on an auction block; today I’m in the Tower of Hundred Moons.”

No dissent, only praise, rolling like a gentle tide; the view deserved it—

Transparent walls circled the floor, and above hung a circular dome so clear it vanished, like air become crystal. The endless blue sky unfurled, clouds drifting in wild shapes like a herd of white beasts.

At the center, a spherical core shed ice-blue radiance, surrounded by gorgeous runes of many colors, like butterflies circling a cold moon.

That had to be the tower’s control core. As I took it in, I finally felt certain: this work didn’t lose to the Palace of Ice Crystal; though, compared to the entire Nine Cold Labyrinth, a gap remained, like a creek beside a river.

FrostyLily Dream clearly loved this kind of art. I wondered what Xinuo’s tastes were; watching her laze about like a cat in sun, it was hard to imagine her crafting anything so architectural.

“I’m glad you’re pleased,” Colton said, a soft sigh escaping like fog. “I feel the same—every viewing is a new burst of wonder.”

“If it were under night, it’d be even better, right?” I pictured a sky strewn with stars, a sea of light, and felt a thrum in my chest.

“Dear Brother, how about we come back tonight?” Lingxiao said, eyes shining like twin moons. “I’m excited for the night view here too.”

“The night view may disappoint you…” Colton’s face fell like a petal. “The weather has been harsh. The divine elders at the palace predict it’ll take half a month to clear. You won’t see stars at night—only a faint moon through gauze.”

“I see. What a pity,” I said, and disappointment cooled like embers. We planned to leave Moonhundred City today; waiting half a month would be dull as stale tea.

“Brother, I have a way to see the night sky right now,” Lingsaki said, voice steady as a drawn bow.

“You do, Lingsaki?”

“Yes. The Book of Night holds a spell that swaps day and night over a region, untouched by weather, like turning a scroll.”

“That kind of magic must be costly, right? Don’t force it.”

“It is costly… but for you, Brother, it’s fine,” she said, resolve firm as frost.

She lifted the Book of Night from her waist, flipping to the later pages like leaves rustling in a winter grove, and began chanting, words flowing like a hidden stream.

Outside, the azure dimmed, as if a veil of black silk were drawn across the sky. Mana gathered around Lingsaki in a whirl, like fireflies swarming to a lantern.

“Divine Art: Day-Night Inversion.”

When the mana around her burst like a silent bloom, the shift finished. A bright moon rose not far above, a jade plate hung high, and countless stars pricked the black like seeds of fire.

With the walls and dome so clear they vanished, we stood as if among the stars themselves, wrapped in the night like swimmers in a dark sea.

“Huff… huff…” Lingsaki’s face went pale as paper, breath rough as wind through reeds; the cost had bitten deep. Lingxiao, already poised like a healer by a spring, bathed her in recovery and healing spells.

After several waves of cool light, Lingsaki steadied, though her peak would take an hour or two to return, like a tide rolling back in.

“Lingsaki, you’re amazing,” I said, caught between the star-sea above and the quiet pride in my chest. I reached out and tousled her hair, a gentle stroke like a breeze.

“Hehe. Brother praised me,” she murmured, eyes narrowing in contentment like a cat in sun.

“Dear Brother, me too,” Lingxiao said, leaning in with a smile like a crescent moon.

“…All right,” I said, and patted her as well, warm as a hearth.

It wasn’t just me who was impressed—

“Oh! Lingsaki is strong! This dragon’s first time seeing day and night flipped like a coin,” Lanxia boomed, eyes wide as lakes.

“Same here. I’m surprised. I didn’t know magic could do that,” Nalu said, voice like a bell.

“As expected of the Mizumi Clan,” Colton breathed. “Such defiant magic—like lightning in a clear sky.”

Their praise kept coming like spring rain, and I had to laugh; the night sky was the star of the show, but they were fixated on the spell.

“With my current strength, I can hold this for at most half an hour,” Lingsaki said, voice calm again, like moonlight on still water. “Let’s savor the night while it lasts, here at the tower’s crown.”

“Good point,” I said.

They quieted, and the starry sea swallowed us whole; I knew this beauty would burn into memory like a comet’s trail.

…

By noon, we’d drunk our fill of the view and finished lunch, a small feast before departure. Colton pleaded like a host in autumn, but we declined with a smile, and had Lanxia return to her true form. We climbed onto her broad back like boarding a cloud, and set off at once.

Before leaving, I asked Colton to look after Nalu’s family. Their situation wasn’t rosy as spring; Nalu refused our direct help, so at least a watchful eye would be rain in a dry season.

…

Back in the room where Yumigawa Sumeragi and company had stayed, Colton found a sprig of spirit herb and a note on the table by the bed, like a gift left by dawn.

“This can’t be…”

He picked up the herb, and clarity washed through him like cold spring water; his strength trembled on the verge of a breakthrough. “No mistake. This is the legendary Elemental Spirit Herb. Judging by its grade… a supreme divine medicine!”

He shook with shock like a tree in a gale, then unfolded the note. The handwriting flowed like clouds: Colton, as thanks for your careful hospitality, this herb is for you. —Yumigawa Sumeragi.

“…”

He folded the note with care and tucked it close to his heart. He looked at the herb in his palm, then out the window at the wide blue, and murmured, “As expected of the Mizumi Clan—generous as rain. With this Elemental Spirit Herb, the Ice Rock Empire’s top strength will rise like a banner in the wind.”

…