Chapter 265 is also a kind of gin stick technique

Aiwass sprinkled a large amount of black pearl powder as if it were free, and chanted loudly:

“I worship the Constant One, the God whose holy number is One, the God who gives birth after death, the God who sees the long-awaited and the ignorant!

“—O constant me, as the moon! Watch over the sun that has not yet risen but has already set!

"I pray that you will reveal the starry sky of four thousand years ago here—"

The next moment, moonlight flowed like mercury into the basement which had no windows and no light leaks.

This is the place that is isolated from my gaze.

And now, at Aiwas's call, the power of the Path of Love surged in. The excess power of the Path overflowed in the now harmonious air, and stars lit up one after another around the twelve runes.

Looking up, you can see the bright moon hanging high in the sky and the stars all over the sky.

The dim basement suddenly became like the night sky. The sealed stone walls seemed to become transparent.

Even looking directly at the sky from outside, the stars weren't that bright. Perhaps the stars in a small place like Muwan County would be very bright, but the nights on Glass Island were much more bustling, and the stars in the sky also became dim.

The dark shadows wrapped Sherlock like a cocoon, while the bright moonlight shrouded Aiwass.

His whole body was shining with silver-white light, like the moon walking on the ground.

Aiwass pulled out an ordinary dagger, walked up the steps next to him, and rode on the back of the black bull.

This should have frightened the bull, or at least caused it to stamp its hooves nervously.

But at this moment, a dark golden majestic glow flowed in its pupils, as if something was residing there.

Aiwass sang with solemnity: "I am the Father of the Sun, I am the Shadow of the Sun.

"I am the king of the stars, the end of Mithra and the birth of Mithra. I command the death of the bull."

As he spoke, he used a dagger to cut open the palm of his left hand and drew the symbol for Aries, which looked like a "V" with slightly curled sides.

Aiwass raised his left hand and let his blood drip onto the bull's brow.

The blood was like a blazing fire, and when it dripped onto the bull's head, it ignited a bloody flame.

"I am the Aries that marches forward courageously, I am the sun that has passed away and passed away again, I am the son of the moon, I am the elder brother of all the stars!"

Aiwass's second aria: "I execute the death of the bull——"

The ceremony that was supposed to be completed by a second person was completed by Aiwass alone.

After he said this, he fiercely thrust the iron in his hand into the bull's forehead.

This is not the bull's weak point, but rather its hardest spot.

The blood-red flames spread upward along the iron dagger, and golden sparks continued to burst out violently. It was as if the dagger was not piercing the bull's head, but rather like electric welding.

After the dagger pierced the bull, it let out a terrifying mooing sound.

It struggled violently, stomping madly on the spot, but it couldn't break out no matter what, as if there was an invisible wall blocking it.

"Son of Mogara, hold your head high like a young crow!"

Aiwass rode on the struggling bull and chanted: "Drink the blood of this bull, as the dry earth drinks the blood of plenty—the blood of the sun!

"The old day has died, the new day has come, and I command all grains to be born!"

As the bull struggled, its blood splattered everywhere.

The blood, emitting golden sparks and steaming with heat, fell to the ground, and clusters of grains and flowers grew out at a speed visible to the naked eye.

But at this moment, Aiwass was suddenly stunned.

Because at this moment, a strange illusion appeared before his eyes——

It was as if he had only read half of the previous tantra, and now it had released some kind of seal.

——The illusion that had come to an abrupt end suddenly continued at this moment.

He saw the three-legged crow rushing towards him, with the golden sun passing through its body.

Aiwass was on fire.

He subconsciously looked back and saw that the golden light burning on the three-legged crow had completely dissipated.

It was like burnt firewood, completely black as charcoal.

The three-legged crow flew away into the distance, but the sky did not darken.

It was only then that Aiwass realized—

It turns out that I am the sun!

——The three-legged crow passed the fire of the sun to himself!

That was the sacred flame of Xi Tiansi, and at this moment he just happened to fit in with the ritual and transformed into the new sun that killed the old sun.

He saw the golden words on the bull's body spread along the flames and the dagger towards him. The words swam on Aiwass's body like living things, shining with golden light.

They wandered around, and then faded away inexplicably one by one. In the end, only the Horus characters that Aiwas could not understand remained.

They remained on Aiwass's chest, forming a sun-like ring. Then they gradually dissipated again. But they left a vague mark.

Before Aiwas could investigate what had happened to him, he only felt that the wound on the palm of his left hand had suddenly healed.

At this time, the sun outside had already risen.

The bull died at sunrise—it died standing up. The places where the words had been written were broken, as if they were not words but wounds.

The deep knife wound in the shape of the characters caused heavy bleeding, and the blood dripped onto the black cocoon shell and seeped into it drop by drop.

Aiwass quickly completed the last part of the ceremony:

"The bull is dead, the pact is made—reverse the heavens, new Mithra!"

As the black cocoon shell slowly shattered, the many stars in the ceremony venue began to slowly rotate in synchronization.

When the cocoon shell was completely broken, the celestial phenomena had already changed.

The Sun officially moved from Taurus to Aries. The Bull died, and Mithra was born—the new Aries Sun God.

Then, the stars gradually dimmed.

Aiwass climbed down from the bull, turned slightly, and then bowed. This was the simplest dance, a respectful farewell to Hengwo, who loved dance as a form of sacrifice.

The moonlight faded bit by bit, like a lunar eclipse. Only when the moonlight was completely swallowed by the shadow did Aiwass breathe a sigh of relief.

He pushed over the motionless, stiff carcass of the bull and reached out to pull Shylock out of the pit.

Looking at Sherlock who completed the ceremony and wanted to get his clothes back immediately, Aiwass couldn't help laughing.

——It was exactly as he expected.

"...What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Sherlock looked at Aiwass with some suspicion.

He originally wanted to look in the mirror...but as soon as he opened his mouth, he realized something was wrong.

Sherlock's voice became childish, as if it hadn't changed yet.

He was startled and looked down to confirm, only to find that his hands had become much smaller.

"Thirteen-year-old boy, this is the rising sun. Going back to the age when you were just starting middle school...it's like a rejuvenation."

Aiwass said with a smile: "Such a good thing, aren't you happy?"

“…Isn’t it fake?”

Sherlock quickly calmed down.

He clenched his fist and replied, "I don't think my physical strength has diminished—that's why I didn't notice it right away."

"Yes, it's just a change in appearance."

Seeing that Sherlock was not fooled, Aiwass clicked his tongue.

He then explained: "You are currently a new member, so your appearance will change back to that of a teenager, which symbolizes vitality and courage.

"When you gain wisdom and become a worshipper of Mithra, you will return to your youth of about twenty years old. This is the fourth level. If you are recognized for your devotion, you will become a messenger of Mithra, and age a little older, becoming a strong man of thirty. This is the fifth level. If you are lucky enough to acquire the characteristics of authority, you will become the father of Mithra, in your forties, and become a middle-aged man... This is the sixth level."

……Um?

Sherlock was stunned for a moment.

He vaguely felt from Aiwass's tone that this road seemed to have not yet come to an end.

However, the sixth energy level is currently out of reach. The only one who can reach the sixth energy level is the Eternal Pope.

But……

If, as Aiwass had said before, Mithraism possessed five powers: balance, wisdom, strength, devotion, and adaptation, and if his youthful form represented balance or adaptation, then logically there should be an older form corresponding to the other.

Furthermore, the sun is something that has passed away and will pass away again, and has been born and will be reborn. Sherlock vaguely feels that it would be reasonable for it to return to its original state after old age...

...But how is that possible?

How could there be a path above the sixth energy level...

Sherlock was a little confused, but he just kept this matter in mind.

Looking at the clothes on the ground that were much larger than before, young Sherlock pondered for a while, wondering whether he should ask Aiwass to help him get some clothes for young people, but finally gave up.

He put his baggy clothes back on and decided to help Aiwass clean up the ceremony venue first.

At least they shouldn't make things difficult for the bishop who lent them the venue.

"fox."

"Um?"

"Before I leave tomorrow, please buy me some new clothes. Thank you."

Sherlock said in a childish but steady voice: "I'm not fit to go out like this."

"no problem."

Aiwass said with a smile, "I'll buy you some cute clothes."

"...Don't do anything extra, fox. Just something ordinary. We're going to the countryside—ideally something easy to move in."

Sherlock couldn't hold it in any longer and added hastily.

"OK."

Aiwass answered casually.

He was just joking.

After all, it was too dark in here, so he couldn't actually see what Sherlock looked like as a teenager. Aiwass just wanted to be mean out of habit - after all, he had just done Sherlock a big favor, so even if he did something mean at this moment, he couldn't get angry.

Then this bitch must be committed!

"That's right, stinky fox."

"What?"

"Thank you."

Without turning around, Sherlock said softly, "I mean, my headache is gone... so, thanks."

The corners of Aiwass's mouth curled up slightly. "It's okay, buddy—so you really don't need something cute? I think Ligeia would be interested."

"Forget it, I take back what I just said."

"Just kidding, bro."

"It's better not to open it. It won't be long before I advance and return to my original appearance, so don't tell them about this... You are so quiet, what kind of trouble are you trying to make?"

"I wonder if Isabel has a camera."

"Don't tell His Highness or Master Janice about this!"

The two of them were painting the walls of the crypt of Saint-Guinevere Chapel early in the morning, and they didn't know how long it would take.

Update completed!

I have to take the high-speed train tomorrow, and it will be a bumpy ride for the whole day, so I might have to take a day off, so I’m letting you know in advance!

I'll try to write some drafts tonight. If I can finish them, I'll update them as usual tomorrow. If not, I'll send a leave note tomorrow morning.

(End of this chapter)