Misaxing's hands trembled, but now was not the time to speak out.
When the Red Moon descends, the world will fall into an irredeemable disaster.
He naturally knew the meaning of this prophecy.
After taking a deep breath, the Chief Astrologer carefully raised his head, fearing that his extra movement would touch the telescope and lose this hard-won star.
Even though he could find this position again with his eyes closed.
"Record it, early summer, eastern Sector Three, between the Six Paths Star and the Burning Heaven Star."
"Yes," Yun groped for his notebook and circled the corresponding location, indicating that another star had been added to the star chart. "What's its name?"
"Not yet."
"Teacher?" Yun was slightly stunned.
"Do as I say, don't record the name yet," Misaxing repeated. "Also, summon all the scholars on the observatory and have the apprentices leave... immediately!"
His last sentence was almost a low roar.
"I'll do it right away," Yun was startled, then ran towards the other astrologers.
May the gods in heaven bless us, Misaxing thought.
Soon, all the scholars gathered around the Chief Astrologer.
From his solemn expression, the others seemed to realize something - since Roland's visit to the Astrology Society, rumors of the Star of Extinction were no longer a secret among the astrologers. The young king even suggested that the chief give the golden tablets inherited from their ancestors to all the scholars to consult, firstly to increase their purpose when observing the stars, and secondly to give them a sense of responsibility and honor. Misaxing always felt that His Majesty's tone was somewhat dismissive when he mentioned the apocalypse. Maybe it was just his imagination.
"Chief, could it be that you..."
He nodded, "I found a red star."
This made everyone gasp.
"But I don't know if it's a light spot or an illusion..." Misaxing waved his hand. "This phenomenon is very common in stargazing, so..."
"So we need to double-check," Xukongxing continued.
"That's right," he nodded. "Start with you."
...
Half an hour later, all the astrologers had watched it once - in order to rule out instrument problems, they also replaced the telescope twice, and used an old-fashioned telescope once.
Except that the latter could not observe the red star, everyone clearly saw the dim starlight with either telescope.
One person may be dizzy or have an illusion, but it is impossible for everyone to be like this.
The Rose Star scholar, who had the best eyesight, even claimed that she saw the outline of the starlight.
The existence of the red star has been confirmed.
Then the observatory fell into an unusual silence.
Misaxing didn't know if this was God's blessing or punishment. Since joining the society, all their efforts had been for this day, to find this Star of Extinction that heralded misfortune and disaster. But when he really found it, a sense of fear suddenly surged in his heart.
Their efforts have been rewarded. Advance knowledge of the disaster can save the lives of tens of thousands of people. From this moment on, the Astrology Society will completely surpass the Alchemy Association. This achievement cannot even be measured by gold dragons, but their warning is, in a sense, the most vicious curse.
Predicting the end of the world will be an extremely heavy responsibility for the astrologers.
"What should we do?" Someone asked after a long time.
"In theory, we should report this to the king."
"Are you talking about Roland Wimbledon? Will he believe it?"
"Even if he doesn't believe it, the star won't disappear."
"No, I mean he might not believe the prophecy about the Star of Extinction."
"We have to try anyway. After all, he gave these instruments to the observatory. He can't just dismiss what we say."
"Who knows, he was known for being stubborn when he was in the royal capital."
"If he was really stubborn, he wouldn't have left us behind in the first place!"
"Enough," Misaxing raised his hand to interrupt the discussion. "For the time being, don't reveal the news about the red starlight. Let's observe it for a few more days."
He looked around at every scholar surrounding him. "Just knowing it exists is far from enough. I want to understand its trajectory, its speed, and how soon it might descend upon the world. The more clues we collect, the more convincing our prophecy will be, understand?"
"As you wish, Chief," everyone bowed together.
...
After a week of observation, Misaxing felt that this star was becoming more and more incredible.
It doesn't move.
All the stars are moving. Sometimes they appear on the horizon and slowly rise into the air, and some disappear after midnight. This change is regular, otherwise there would be no trajectory.
But the Star of Extinction shows no signs of movement at all.
Seven days have caused the Six Paths Star to tilt slightly - when autumn comes, its six horizontal lines will gradually change to six vertical lines, so that the red starlight is moving away from the center of the two constellations.
It was in this contrast that Misaxing realized that it had not changed at all, as if it were not a star, but a fixed background in the night sky.
Since it doesn't move, it can't get close to the Four Kingdoms.
According to the prophecy, the Star of Extinction must descend into the world - that is, anyone can directly observe it with the naked eye - before disaster will strike. If what is engraved on the golden tablet is correct, does this mean that the disaster of the end will never come?
The second point is that its light is changing.
This conclusion came from the Rose Star scholar, whose records show that the star is gradually becoming brighter.
At first, Misaxing didn't care when only she mentioned this, after all, stars are very stable things, unlike the moon, which constantly changes its shape and luster. But on the seventh day, the Sky Beam Star scholar, who had recovered from his illness, also raised the same view. In addition, they are the two astrologers with the best eyesight in the society, so he had to pay attention to it.
After a discussion with everyone that night, the female scholar's whim made everyone present shudder.
"If descending into the world means making it visible to the people of the kingdom, then is there a possibility that even if the Star of Extinction doesn't move, the increasingly bright light will eventually make it surpass the Morning Star and become a torch hanging high in the sky, so that everyone can see it?"
This sentence exploded in Misaxing's heart like a thunderclap.
The people just don't know how to identify constellations, but that doesn't mean they can't see the stars.
The brightness of some stars is almost equal to that of a crescent moon, and they can always be seen on clear nights.
What if that star has a unique and striking color?
The answer is undoubtedly yes.
"I will write a letter to His Majesty Roland now," the Chief Astrologer said, covered in cold sweat. "I hope it's not too late."