"Something has shattered," Columbina said calmly.
"Don't scare me like that!" Coppelia almost sprang up from the ground in an instant. She looked down at Columbina's body, her gaze sweeping quickly. No wounds, no abnormalities, and the other's expression looked quite calm. "What shattered?"
"It seems to be my..." Columbina frowned slightly, seeming to search for the right vocabulary, finally choosing a more direct description. "The power I use seems to come entirely from it."
Her "Moon Marrow"? No, the remains of the Moon Sisters should be called "Moon Marrow." This should be called... Coppelia quickly eliminated inaccurate options in her mind.
"That should be your 'Power Core' then," she said.
Confirming there was no sudden danger on the other party, the tension in Coppelia's shoulders relaxed. "Once we find all the fragments of power, it should be restored to wholeness."
"You seem to have a core too," Columbina looked up at her. "I saw it just now."
"Yes." Coppelia nodded. "Many existences have similar cores. Archons like the God of Gales have them, and Oceanids should have them too."
"Then Moon Spirits definitely have them too." There was a trace of certainty added to Columbina's voice.
The topic returned to Moon Spirits, and she remembered the matter of "understanding life." She suddenly floated off the ground, hovering in the air, facing Coppelia. Pointing one hand at the shimmering great lake, she said eagerly:
"Let's go observe animals right now."
...
It was still early, with a long time before nightfall.
Coppelia and Columbina's figures sometimes submerged into the clear underwater of the great lake, and sometimes wandered slowly at a low altitude close to the treetops and grass. Relying on Columbina's high-speed flight ability, they toured almost all the accessible lands in the southern region of the High Sea of Fontaine.
Their subjects of observation ranged from Blubberbeasts, Otters, Seahorses, Jellyfish, Octopuses, and Sea Hares; to Forest Boars, Squirrels, Frogs, and Lizards; then to Pigeons, Sparrows, and Seagulls... things that swam in the water, ran on the ground, and flew in the sky—not a single common animal was left out.
She patiently "invited" each animal to her side for a brief moment, performing a meticulous perception and probe.
The physiological structures of the animals were vastly different, their internal organs strange and varied. The massive amount of complex information gave Columbina a headache several times.
However, with the assistance of Coppelia's guesses and reasoning, Columbina gradually figured out the functions undertaken by those seemingly chaotic structures, and how they worked in coordination to support the complex phenomenon of "life."
...
That night, the air was stagnant, without a trace of wind flow. Heavy clouds covered the night sky tightly, letting not a bit of light from the moon or stars filter through.
Worried that it might rain during the night, which would make building a fire and cooking inconvenient, Coppelia specifically sought out a dry cave on higher ground to serve as a temporary camp.
While laying out the bedding, she repeated the conclusions drawn from observing various animals during the day—regarding the functions of different organs and the collaboration of systems—to Columbina once more.
Subsequently, Columbina sat down on the spread-out blanket and put theory into practice. She cupped her hands loosely, and a ball of soft energy light emerged in her palm. She began to manipulate the Lunar Force to shape it within, attempting to construct those complex structures observed and studied during the day—heart, skin, skeleton, blood vessels, muscles, nerves—using Lunar Force.
Coppelia pointed to the pot and small stove set aside: "You haven't cried hunger all day today. What about now? Are you hungry?"
Columbina appeared to be in a state of highly focused excitement and didn't even turn her head: "Not hungry."
"You didn't eat in the morning, and you traveled to so many places during the day," Coppelia reminded her. "Are you truly not hungry, or do you just not feel it?"
"Truly not hungry."
"...Alright."
Coppelia walked back to the stove and did not pack away the cooking utensils. She estimated that Columbina was just too excited and had ignored the sensation of hunger.
She added some clear water to the pot and set it on the stove to boil, then washed a few wild vegetables and edible mushrooms she had picked along the way during the day, setting them aside for later use.
She watched the dancing flames in the stove, glancing in Columbina's direction from time to time, waiting for when the other would break away from that immersive state and call out that she was hungry. But as time ticked by, the water on the stove went from simmering to calm, and she waited in vain.
It was truly strange. Coppelia grew a bit weary of waiting. She added a little more water to the pot, adjusted the stove fire to a weak state, then stood up and walked to Columbina's side.
Columbina was hugging that sphere of light with both hands, manipulating the internal Lunar Force with full concentration, adjusting the form and connection of those simulated structures. Her expression was calm, occasionally frowning slightly, as if she had fallen into a difficult problem.
"It's not too late to eat something before continuing," Coppelia said softly.
Columbina just shook her head quickly. She didn't look tired, still immersed in "creation," but was obviously stuck at a key point.
Coppelia walked to the entrance of the cave and looked out, wanting to judge the time by the sky. But it was pitch black outside; thick clouds blocked all skylight, showing no intention of dispersing.
"I'm going to sleep," she said to Columbina after walking back into the cave. "Don't work too late. If you get hungry, or feel anything wrong, wake me up immediately. I'll be sleeping right behind you."
Columbina nodded quickly, her attention never leaving the sphere of light in her hands.
Coppelia didn't disturb her anymore. She extinguished the stove fire with gentle movements, covered the pot, then lay down on another spread-out blanket behind Columbina, closed her eyes, and allowed herself to enter a sleep state.
...
In front of Columbina, Coppelia was organizing the spread-out bedding while narrating theories called "biology." These were all conclusions summarized after they observed various animals during the day.
Columbina listened very intently, committing every key point to heart. As soon as the blanket was smoothed out, she immediately sat on it, somewhat impatient to unfold her "experiment."
She had wanted to start directly with the complex "Moon Spirit," but that seemed too difficult. Coppelia suggested she start with a more basic, simpler "cell."
Columbina cupped her hands loosely, and liquid Lunar Force gathered in her palm, forming a round sphere that glowed with a soft white light and possessed a clear, transparent texture.
This was the "cell."
First, the core. Every animal has a heart; gods have them, Coppelia has one, and I have one... Thinking this, she inserted a small piece of Lunar Force, condensed to a near-solid state, into the interior of the light sphere to serve as the "heart."