Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 598 - The Ritual Begins
Chapter 598: Chapter 598 The Ritual Begins
Chapter 598: Chapter 598 The Ritual Begins
“But Sister Delphine has already reached Eleven Rings… and there is no rule that says The Chosen One must be aware of their own power only at a High Ring. Iluna is a Low Ring, Daknis is an Inner Ring, and the third being a High Ring seems perfectly fine too.”
Shard thought about the matters of The Chosen One and then glanced at the nun with silver-gray hair. From the side, he couldn’t see the patterns on the silver ornaments, only the silver bands encircling her gray-white hair.
“Is there anything else?”
The blind nun slightly turned her head “towards” Shard, and he asked:
“I noticed you have been looking at this flame. May I ask if this bonfire is also a part of the ritual?”
He had initially thought it was just used for cooking meat.
“Yes, this fire is the beacon for your return. As long as the fire doesn’t go out, even if you don’t find Priest Augustus, you can still return safely.”
Shard nodded, somewhat concerned that the fire would go out. It wasn’t that he doubted Sister Delphine’s combat capabilities, but the stories he had read always followed this pattern.
As if “seeing” what was on Shard’s mind, for the first time, the nun’s lips revealed a smile:
“You don’t have to worry; this fire will not go out no matter what.
“Why?”
“In these mountains dwells a very powerful entity. I have received the Kindling Flame from her, and this fire does not extinguish.”
As she spoke, Sister Delphine brought her hands that were rested in front of her body together, as if cradling something, and lifted her arms towards the bonfire in front of her.
The nun’s sleeves flickered in the firelight, and Shard watched her hands in astonishment. As her clasped palms gently opened, Shard saw a cluster of tiny red flames dancing in the palm of her hand.
The Kindling Flame in her palm was almost round, with slender tails of flame swaying upwards. The nun held the flame in her hands. The fire harmed her hands, but as soon as blackened marks and cracks appeared on the pale skin, it healed slowly as if time were reversing.
[Outlander, you feel the desecration.]
“A relic? Is the flame a relic?”
Shard was surprised but even more curious about where the nun had taken the flame from as her hands had clearly been empty before.
Compared to the bonfire in front of him, the flame was not bright, but as a Circle Sorcerer, Shard could feel that this strange fire was so powerful. He even felt, inexplicably, an urge to devour the flame in one gulp.
“Damn it! Have I finally been influenced by the power of the Lord of the Blood Feast?”
Shard was somewhat frightened.
[Not at all.]
“That’s a relief… the color and the temperature of this flame, why does it feel so familiar…”
After showing the flame in her hand to Shard, Sister Delphine then put it away. Since she did not explain what it was, Shard didn’t ask, after all, it was someone else’s privacy.
The two stood silently in front of the bonfire, with Shard contemplating the situations he might encounter after delving deeper into the Interstice of Life and Death.
“Mr. John Watson, did you know there’s a Grand Witch in these parts as well?”
Sister Delphine suddenly asked, taking Shard by surprise, but he kept his composure:
“I didn’t know. The lady didn’t mention this. However, I’ve heard that the witches of the Witch Council aren’t interested in men, some even dislike men, so perhaps that’s why the lady introduced me to you all instead of the local Grand Witch.”
“The local Grand Witch is quite powerful.”
The nun stated, but this was different from the information Shard had. Miss Galina had told him that Granny Cassandra was only Ten Rings, one Ring below an Eleven Rings nun.
“Is her level very high?”
He asked as if curious.
“Lower than mine, but she has a good teacher,”
Miss Galina had also mentioned this.
“So, it means her former teacher was quite formidable.”
Shard inquired, to which Sister Delphine shook her head again:
“No, her teacher is not a witch.”
This sparked even greater curiosity in Shard. The Witch Council followed a mentorship-like tradition, and a witch whose teacher was not a witch was beyond his imagination.
But Sister Delphine did not say another word, even when Shard looked at her, as if writing “I am very curious” on his face, she did not continue speaking.
“Ask Miss Galina.”
Shard thought to himself, looking up at the three moons in the starry sky:
“If I can return safely…”
At 9:30 p.m., the ritual had already been arranged and given a final inspection. Circle Sorcerers from the Spiritual Practice Church gathered orderly from inside the mansion to the courtyard, while Sister Delphine made her last instructions to Shard by the bonfire:
“The Interstice of Life and Death teems with a multitude of souls, and there are also some evil spirits with special powers.”
Shard was still in a state where he was very vulnerable to attacks by evil spirits.
“So, the ritual will protect the living breath on your body from leaking out, therefore the possibility of you getting lost there because of evil spirits is very low.”
The nun said, and Shard breathed a sigh of relief, which meant he would only be attacked by evil spirits when he was seen at a close distance.
“In the Interstice of Life and Death, you must not cause too much commotion. The Order has always believed that that ancient place is inhabited by many extremely dangerous beings; please find the priest quickly and bring him out, and do not do anything extra.”
“I understand.”
“Also, in the ambiguous region between life and death, soul power is more important than flesh power. Physical strength is of little use in that area; it is the strength of the soul and the spirit that is truly powerful. Thus, you must control your emotions, whether positive or negative, as they could lead you to become lost.”
“The strength of the soul, huh… I understand.”
Shard nodded again.
“Lastly, that strange world does not follow the same time flow speed as the material world; there’s not even any pattern to it. You might experience a whole day, but outside it’s just the span of a dream, but it’s also possible that you just take a few steps, and dozens of minutes have already passed outside. Due to the nature of the ritual itself, you must return before dawn, so…”
“It’s alright, I have the power of time perception.”
Shard pointed to his own head:
“I can sense both the real time and my own perception of time. However, what time is dawn in the Midshire Fort area?”
He asked, and Sister Delphine immediately provided the answer:
“The next dawn will break at 6:23 AM.”
Shard made note of this time.
At ten o’clock sharp, the moon overhead reached the right position, and the Star Ocean above seemed to have solidified without a cloud in the night sky.
In the courtyard, the bonfire cracked and popped, with only 34 nuns wearing silver crowns and eye masks remaining.
Nine of them formed an even circle around the huge bonfire, donned in identical nun’s habits, hands clasped together in front of their chests, heads bowed, chanting the Spell Words to communicate with the otherworld. Firelight danced on them, and the crackling sound of burning almost drowned out their murmurs.
Centered in the courtyard, the bonfire lay along the walkway connecting to the great house’s main door. Along both sides of the path, 22 nuns either held pure silver bells, cradled white porcelain water bottles, or raised ancient runes embroidered on white banners, standing quietly and waiting.
In front of the manor house, two nuns who seemed to be twins each grasped a door handle of the grand double doors; both were High Ring Sorcerers, but Shard did not know their names.
The last nun, Sister Delphine, stood with Shard next to the bonfire, with the nine softly murmuring nuns behind her, facing the pathway and the door at its end.
In the cracking and popping of the bonfire, no one spoke until Sister Delphine took out two white strings of equal length.
She tossed the strings behind her into the bonfire, but in the next second, the strings floated back out, turned crimson red. The nun handed one of the strings to Shard, gesturing for him to wrap it around his wrist; Shard could feel the warmth of the cotton thread.
“One string for you to tie around your wrist, and one for me to hold. When you need to return, this string will guide you and make the markers visible.”
The nun said, and Shard nodded.
Then, she handed Priest Augustus’s pure silver Holy Emblem Pendant to Shard:
“This will guide you to find your friend.”
Shard nodded, hanging the Holy Emblem on his chest.
“Also, please make sure in advance that you won’t be corroded by death.”
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Shard took out the Ever-Youth Leaf from his pocket watch and held it in his mouth; the leaf itself tasted tart, but since Shard hadn’t tasted other leaves, he didn’t know if this was a common flavor for them.
“Lastly, Mr. John Watson, I wish you a successful journey.”
She inclined her head slightly towards Shard, a gesture he dared not accept, so he quickly dodged it:
“Nun, I can’t adequately express my gratitude with mere words. Once we have rescued Priest Augustus, I will…”
“Three.”
The nun began to count down, and Shard immediately stood shoulder to shoulder with her.
“Two.”
The nun with grey-white hair placed her hands in front of her chest in an uplifted gesture, and Shard saw a faint flame again between her palms. This flame, which could be defined as a “Relic,” would become Shard’s greatest assurance of safety.
“One.”
The final voice trembled slightly because as the nun brought her hands fully together, light spilled from her palms. She was not engulfed by the rapidly expanding light, but her hands showed cracks flowing with flames, somewhat similar to Shard’s state of “Divinity Overflow,” manifesting inner power on the surface.
Shard took a deep breath:
“Then, I’m off.”
The nun holding the flame bowed her head slightly:
“Good luck.”
