Chapter 121 New Moon Ceremony
Time flies, and now it is Sunday.
The attack that Lloyd's had arranged in advance should take place next week. The Noble Red Society had suddenly ceased operations. There was still no news of old Professor Moriarty's death. The Minister of Trade was motionless, and Miss Assassin's superior had not yet shown up.
It has been an unusually quiet, very peaceful week.
It was so quiet that Lily felt a little restless.
But everyone was enjoying themselves, and probably the only one who felt uncomfortable was Sherlock.
He was a restless person. He usually needed to find something to do to keep his restless mind occupied. Now, he'd forced himself a break, and couldn't cause any trouble—according to Haena, he'd spent the weekend studying magic at the bishop's house.
He also asked Haena to bring back a lengthy reply to Aiwass. It densely enumerated various problems Aiwass might encounter at Lloyd's and how to deal with them. It also proposed seven hypotheses that could only be verified with Lloyd's credentials, and urged Aiwass to verify them when he had time.
From the number of words in the letter, one can see how much he cares about Aiwass and how much he is bored.
And Aiwass certainly didn't have time.
He had a rare opportunity to do nothing, so he quietly attended classes for a week. He systematically studied occult knowledge in the school library. He naturally reached level nine without even having to use much experience.
Aiwass was like a sponge, constantly absorbing knowledge. After reviewing his studies and finishing the two books he had planned to borrow, he began to learn Elvish in his spare time. This was because his prayer instructor, Ms. Meiya, planned to lend him a tantra on the path of devotion, which had been translated into Elvish.
In order to understand this tantric book, Aiwass has already started preparing in advance.
The only thing that surprised Aiwas was that... Lily actually reached the peak of the first energy level in just one week.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't even a week. On Thursday, she had already touched the second energy wall, three days earlier than Aiwass had expected.
This also meant that they could indeed advance together with Lily during this New Moon Ceremony - after all, they were all in Avalon, and both those on the Adaptation Path and the Transcendence Path were extremely rare, which meant that they would almost certainly be together tonight.
And considering that Isabel has the key to the house at 14 Ronin Street...
Although the possibility was not high, considering the possibility that she would come to play with Aiwas on Sunday night, Aiwas still asked his mentor for a day off on Monday in advance and took Lily home to prepare for the promotion ceremony and to seal the Flame Butterfly.
When they got home, Aiwass found out that... the "Golden Dawn" that Master Janice had promised had been delivered and installed.
When Aiwass arrived home on Sunday morning, he found the living room so bright.
It was as if it wasn't a wall, but a huge window that spanned time and space—
A pure golden light, mingled with the crimson of the rising sun, rose from the center of the sacred golden structure. Directly below, the Nephthys Guardians of the Horus Empire worshiped the sun. Their figures were small, indistinct, yet felt incredibly real. The light pierced through the surrounding crystal and gold structures, refracting and shimmering in a hazy halo. Even though it was only a silent painting, one could faintly hear solemn praises.
This window creates a wonderful optical illusion - it looks like you are looking out from inside the window, but at the same time it gives the impression of both "looking from a level angle" and "looking down from the sky".
As Aiwass entered from the door and walked forward, as the angle and distance from the painting he looked at changed, the angle of the light in the painting, as well as the perspective relationship of the surrounding buildings and the angle at which they reflected light also changed.
The surrounding buildings are realistic and detailed, even a protruding brick or a flaking piece of gold paint appears remarkably clear. However, if one looks directly at the entire painting, one can almost see a golden eagle soaring in the blue sky, reflected by the light from these sacred buildings and the layered textures they create.
This was the first time Aiwass had seen the Golden Dawn in real life. It was so sacred and magnificent that Aiwass felt his mind become clear and peaceful just by looking at it.
Even someone completely unfamiliar with art could understand the timeless beauty contained within this painting. This was truly the pinnacle of Janice's magical paintings, in terms of pure artistry.
"Master Edward was extremely surprised when this painting was delivered."
The old butler, Oswald, followed Aiwass like a ghost, his hands behind his back, whispering, "He repeatedly confirmed that this was a gift from Master Janice to Master Aiwass, but he kept saying things like 'unbelievable' and 'how could this be?' It took a long time to make phone calls in the middle of the night before we finally figured out what was going on."
His dry and wrinkled face was full of wrinkled smile, and his wolf-green pupils were slightly narrowed in pleasure.
"Does Master Aiwass like it?"
"Of course I do."
Aiwass smiled and said, "It's not just this painting..."
As he spoke, he looked at the portrait hanging on the other wall.
That was the picture Isabel had drawn of him.
In that painting, Isabel didn't depict the wheelchair behind Aiwass, and naturally, there was no Lily standing behind him. The background wasn't a classroom... but a sky covered in morning glow.
Whether intentional or coincidental, the background of the painting resembled a watered-down version of The Golden Dawn. It was as if the two paintings existed in the same time and space, but Aiwass was slightly further away, looking down at them from a higher altitude.
When these two paintings are placed together, it is clear that Isabelle's technique is still not mature enough.
The Aiwass in the painting swayed and breathed slightly, blinked slowly, and his hair swayed in the wind, looking like L2D, a character from a mobile game. It was pretty, but only pretty. Even the movements weren't natural... The outstretched hand didn't seem like a greeting or a lecture, but more like a helping hand.
But even so, Aiwass still prefers it.
"Because the Temple of Horus does not belong to me, and the brilliant sun does not belong to me. But it is completely mine."
Aiwass looked at the painting and said seriously.
After she finished the painting, Isabel felt that her painting was not good enough. She told Aiwass that she would paint another picture for him after she advanced further.
But according to Aiwass, she will never stop there. When her skills are further improved, she will create another better painting.
Eventually, Aiwass could put these drawings together. It would become his photo album, his memories.
Behind him, Lily pursed her lips silently without saying a word.
Although she didn't think she should be painted in this picture...but she felt that Her Royal Highness the Princess had even omitted Master Aiwass's wheelchair from the painting. Wasn't this a bit unrealistic?
But at this moment, Lily felt an inexplicable joy in her heart.
Although Princess Isabel and Aiwass's relationship grows closer, she is the only one who knows Aiwass's hidden identity as a demonologist. Now, she is the only one who can participate in this most dangerous New Moon Ritual with Aiwass.
Even Aiwass walked directly out of the wheelchair and personally arranged the ceremony with her in Aiwass's room.
The rituals of the new moon ceremony are completely different from those of the full moon ceremony.
Since there is no such thing as teammates, there is naturally no need to give up.
Compared to the full moon ceremony, the new moon ceremony is darker and therefore requires more cruel and dangerous rituals.
Under Aiwass's command, Lily fed the poison to a pair of roosters and hens. While they were still alive, she stabbed them to death with a knife, spilled their blood on the ground, and then soaked two ritual circles carved with a knife with the chicken's blood.
After the blood dried, the excess outside the ritual circle was scraped off with a scraper, leaving only a complete, dark red circle. The originally carved ritual circle would turn black due to the increased blood.
Then Aiwass anointed the silver ritual knife with essential oil, burned it repeatedly over the candle until the blade turned slightly black, and then set it aside for later use.
He then used a stick of black sage to roast the silver hammer, blackening its exterior before burning the remaining sage into ash and smearing it on the rope.
He smeared the thick iron nails with rooster blood. These were the kind thicker and longer than a human finger. He made six of them. He also made two sets of the other ritual items. He didn't leave this delicate work to Lily, to ensure accuracy.
He taped red, light-transmitting paper to the windows and, just in case, to the lampshade. He also temporarily blocked the window from Aiwass's bedroom into the house with a board.
Aiwass also prepared two sets of ritual materials.
Each ritual consists of a live petrel, the heart of a deer that died today, a miniature wax figure of a philosopher, a snake, a handful of black salt, a horse's penis, a fed rat, an oyster, and a mirror.
Among them, only the petrel was there, and Aiwass couldn't find another one for a while, so he found a passing pigeon.
The materials for the New Moon Ritual are harder to find than those for the Full Moon Ritual, but fortunately, it only requires symbolism, so many similar materials can be found.
The only problem is that these materials can't be purchased from the same place. And a lot of them are time-sensitive...
Aiwass placed them in order at the nine corners of the ritual formation - it was a nine-pointed star drawn with one stroke, but it was not a nine-pointed star with nine equal corners. On the contrary, the nine corners were all of completely different sizes.
In order from smallest to largest angles, Aiwass placed the seabird, mirror, deer heart, wax figure, black salt, mouse, horsewhip, snake, and oyster in the nine corners of the ritual circle.
The two of them waited quietly until nightfall, when Aiwass and Lily agreed on a code to identify themselves when they met. Then they changed into clothes—Aiwass found a red and white robe at home and dyed it completely red with leftover chicken blood; while Lily wore a loose-fitting gray hoodie that was wide enough to cover her face and body.
After the sun had completely set and the crescent moon had risen, Aiwass watched the red light outside penetrate into the house and turned on the gas lamp with a red lampshade.
As the red light filled the entire room, the promotion ceremony officially began.
"—All nine are present."
Aiwass intoned, "I am in it."
Lily imitated Aiwass's chanting and followed his movements.
He picked up the rope and strangled the bird; he picked up the hammer and smashed the mirror; he picked up the nail and used it with the hammer to nail the deer's heart.
He touched the wax figure with a candle to melt it slightly; he cut his own finger and soaked the black salt with his blood; he stabbed a mouse to death with a black ritual knife; he pierced the horse's penis from the tip with a nail; he pried open an oyster and dripped his blood into it.
Aiwass left the snake alone, and Lily left the mouse alone—she nailed the frozen snake to the ground and skinned it with a ceremonial knife.
But Aiwass's snake did not move, just curled up quietly in the same place; and Lily's mouse also raised its head, and its eyes flashed with a lively light like a human.
"Except me, all eight will die."
The two said in unison.
The next moment, eight balls of black and red flames blazed brightly. The ritual formation was lit, gleaming with a red glow.
——The ceremony was successful.
I accidentally got up late... This is 3,600 words. I'm taking half a day off today to rest. I won't take any leave after the copy is finished!
The cat who wrote nearly 4,000 words even after taking a leave of absence is really amazing (hands on hips)
By the way, let’s organize the details of tomorrow’s plan!
Although cats know that you like to fatten them, please don’t kill them! Remember to open a custom order when fattening them (sad and bitter)
(End of this chapter)
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