Chapter 45: A Ritual Without “Response”

Chapter 45: A Ritual Without “Response”

After ending the private conversation, Klein turned The World, Gehrman Sparrow, toward The Hermit Cattleya.

“Please pass a message to the Mystery Queen. I hope to meet her sometime soon and discuss certain matters. She may decide the specific time and place.”

The “Mystery Queen”? So Madam Hermit represents one of the sovereigns above the Five Seas… Star Leonard was first startled, then quickly understood somewhat.

What matter? The Hermit Cattleya frowned slightly, feeling a little wary.

“I will pass it on for you, but I cannot guarantee whether she will agree.”

“Mm.” The World, Gehrman Sparrow, gave a simple nod, indicating that there was no problem.

At this moment, Sun Derrick finally found an opportunity to speak.

“Everyone…”

After glancing separately at Mr. Hanged Man and Mr. World, he continued,

“My ritual for advancing to Priest of Light requires me to be in pure darkness, with my entire body buried in ice that normally would not melt. Mm, in the City of Silver, similar ice is not difficult to obtain. But how should I create darkness that is both pure and safe?”

So that is the advancement ritual for Priest of Light. Little Sun really is honest and simple… Justice Audrey lacked the experience and knowledge needed to offer effective advice. She could only turn her gaze toward the person she believed could solve the problem:

Mr. World, Gehrman Sparrow.

At this very moment, The World was raising a hand and pinching the corner of his forehead. Meanwhile, The Fool, Klein, rapidly considered solutions in his mind.

Sigh. If this were outside, pure darkness would be very easy to obtain. The ice that normally would not melt would be the troublesome part. Yet in the City of Silver, it is exactly the opposite… The darkness there is too dangerous. Anyone inside it either vanishes into thin air or encounters attacks from strange monsters…

I could have Leonard provide a few charms from the Evernight domain, mobilize the power of the mysterious space above the gray fog, and use Little Sun’s prayer to create a patch of artificial darkness for him. The problem is that there is no way to confirm in advance whether this will similarly bring about the dangers common in the City of Silver. Divination cannot solve this. When the matter does not involve myself, I can only judge whether something is dangerous and what time period would be best. But in that kind of environment, too many factors are mixed together, and there are too many sources of danger…

Mm. I’ll summon the Magic Mirror Arrodes later and ask it…

Klein had previously considered the issue of Little Sun’s advancement ritual, but had never been able to find an answer.

Seeing The World remain silent, Leonard, who had originally wanted to say, “pure darkness is very easy to create,” quietly closed his mouth. He reconsidered what The Sun had just said and caught a word he had previously overlooked:

Safe!

In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, in the City of Silver, darkness equals danger? Star Leonard grasped the key point roughly, but because he did not understand enough, he could not provide an opinion.

Finally, The Hanged Man, Alger, spoke.

He looked at Sun Derrick and said,

“I will help you gather information and search for methods. But during that process, you may need to cooperate in order to verify whether they are feasible.”

“No problem!” Derrick answered without hesitation.

Immediately afterward, he added,

“There is no need for you to be too anxious. I still need more than a month to digest the Notary potion.”

The Hanged Man, Alger, nodded lightly, indicating that no reminder was necessary.

At this moment, The Hermit Cattleya deliberated briefly, looked at Sun Derrick, and said,

“Perhaps this problem can be approached from another angle. Your advancement ritual will not last too long. You can solve this by increasing the time you can survive in pure darkness.

“I remember you once mentioned that after entering lightless darkness, you encounter two types of danger. First, attacks from strange monsters that appear from nowhere. Second, inexplicable disappearance, as if evaporating.

“The first kind should not be difficult to resolve. You can apply to your Chief for certain Sealed Artifacts, or directly ask him to guard you. As for the second kind, I do not understand enough about it. Try asking your Chief.”

…Sun Derrick thought carefully for a moment and suddenly felt that this was indeed a possible approach, and one with no small chance of success.

He immediately responded in pleasant surprise.

“Thank you, Madam Hermit.”

The exchange and learning continued. Little by little, the gathering approached its conclusion. Seeing that the time was about right, The Fool, Klein, lightly tapped the edge of the table.

“That will be all for today.”

“Your will is our will!” Justice Audrey and the others stood at the same time and bowed respectfully.

After their figures vanished from above the gray fog, Klein also left that place and returned to the real world.

He first took out his wallet, found the paper crane folded by Will Auceptin, and unfolded it on the desk. Then he picked up a pencil and wrote a few simple, forceful words:

“Something has come up!”

After refolding the paper crane and stuffing it beneath his pillow, Klein lay down on the large bed and truly began his afternoon nap.

In the hazy dream, he once again saw that barren, pitch-black plain and the towering spire.

Crossing the wilderness and passing through one wooden door after another, Klein arrived at that familiar corner.

A black stroller rolled out from the dense shadows. Will Auceptin, wrapped in silver silk, sucked his right thumb and accused him in a displeased tone:

“You are becoming more and more impolite!”

Klein laughed dryly.

“Given our relationship, there’s no need to be so formal, right?”

Will Auceptin snorted.

“Speak. What is it?”

“It is like this. I recently encountered Amon’s avatar,” Klein said directly.

The baby’s mouth slowly widened, as though he was about to burst into tears on the spot. With great difficulty, he finally controlled himself and said,

“I haven’t even been born for a full month yet!”

“…I don’t need you to do anything. I only want to ask a question,” Klein hurriedly added.

Will Auceptin raised his chubby arm and waved it several times.

“What question?”

Klein immediately smiled and said,

“Amon’s avatar can steal another person’s fate and appear by replacing their identity. I want to know how such a terrifying thing can be seen through.”

Will Auceptin gave a heh, raised his index finger, and pointed toward the sky.

“Pray for help.”

Looks like using the power of the gray fog really can discover the grafting of fate… Klein breathed out in relief, growing much more certain inwardly.

The so-called usage would be for him to have a marionette pray to The Fool, while he entered above the gray fog and examined the surrounding streets through the light dot representing that believer, searching for abnormalities. In a certain sense, this was equivalent to The Fool’s gaze, with “true vision” attached.

But the problem is that I cannot stay above the gray fog observing forever. Perhaps during the gap between two observations, Amon will enter Böklund Street and do something… Klein thought for a moment, then asked after deliberation,

“Do you have anything else to remind me of?”

Will Auceptin turned his head away from him and mumbled,

“You must visit me—my parents—once this week, during afternoon tea…”

“No problem!” Klein agreed without the slightest hesitation.

Only then did the baby turn his head back and say with a giggle,

“Next week, around Wednesday or Thursday, your fate will have some fluctuations.”

So that is how it is… Klein nodded thoughtfully and watched as the black stroller slowly retreated into the shadows.

After waking from the dream, he tidied up his belongings and immediately began setting up an altar.

This time, the one to whom he prayed was directly the Evernight Goddess, not the artificial Death. This was to guard against Amon spying through changes in fate, finding the source of the disturbance, and discovering something wrong.

How could a favored one of Evernight pray to the artificial Death?

After completing the preliminary preparations, Klein raised a hand and wiped his face, turning into the cold-featured Gehrman Sparrow. His height also unknowingly shortened by several centimeters.

After lighting the two candles at the front, Klein made the ordinary candle representing “me” flare with yellowish flame as well. Of the two candles at the front, one was made from night vanilla and slumber flowers, symbolizing “Evernight.” The other was made from white chestnut flowers, wild roses, and other ingredients, symbolizing “Concealment.”

Immediately afterward, he created a wall of spirituality, dripped full-moon essential oil, burned the powdered herbs that pleased the deity, and completed the ritual step by step.

At the end, Klein took two steps back, activated his Spirit Vision, and recited in a low voice:

“I pray for the power of Evernight;

“I pray for the power of Concealment;

“I pray for the Goddess’s favor;

“…I have encountered an avatar of the Blasphemer Amon in Backlund. He is gathering demigod-level characteristics of the Marauder pathway…

“…I pray to receive the protection of Concealment, so that I may complete the mission of clearing away the Blasphemer’s avatars…

“Night vanilla, herb belonging to the red moon, please pass my prayer to the Goddess!

“Moon flower, herb belonging to the red moon, please pass my prayer to the Goddess!”

After finishing the recitation, Klein patiently waited for a while. Yet nothing happened. There was not even the slightest response.

This… Is the Goddess at the critical stage of mastering the Uniqueness of the Death pathway and unable to give a response beyond normal limits? Should I try praying to the artificial Death? In any case, if there is the protection of Concealment, Amon will see nothing. If there is none, the source of the disturbance in fate will not be here either… Klein’s brows furrowed little by little. He ended the ritual and began putting away the altar.

He felt that he had to search for another method.

After finishing the arrangements around the desk, he turned around and prepared to walk toward the easy chair.