Chapter 35 Another Possibility of History
After Erini made the sound, the dark and lightless space immediately took on shape and color.
That was a scene that Aiwass was extremely familiar with—
This was the place called Legal Square, where Lloyd's and White Queen met. It was where he passed on his way to the Pelican.
The setting sun was slanting in the sky, and the clouds were thick. The dim light cast a damp omen on the gloomy streets, a kind of damp foreboding of a coming storm.
But Aiwass soon realized something was wrong.
This is considered a busy city, but there is no one on the street. There is a deathly silence.
This is not an illusion.
Because at this moment, time is still stagnant.
The nine of them sat in the middle of the road, surrounding the glowing hourglass.
Aiwass observed that only the old man and Sherlock showed no reaction at all. Everyone else, including himself, was more or less surprised.
In the face of an emergency, everyone maintained a cautious attitude. The moment everyone chose to remain silent, the atmosphere became silent.
"Apostles...are they the legendary angels?"
Only a second or two passed before Cheese broke the silence first.
She murmured softly, her voice filled with childlike anticipation and longing: "Is it Angel Sister who is helping us advance?"
“—I’m sorry.”
Sherlock calmly interrupted the girl's beautiful imagination and gave a calm explanation: "The essence of apostles is actually phantom demons. It's just that they are willing to obey the Nine Pillars and are responsible for assisting the Nine Pillars in responding to various rituals."
"...I am a servant who helps the Nine Pillar Gods with small tasks."
Coco, who was standing by, explained softly, "Don't be afraid... They are only responsible for leading us in the ceremony, and are not responsible for judging or deciding the content of the ceremony.
"The original name of the advancement ritual is 'The Rite of the Nine Gods,' and it's a ritual that calls upon the Nine Gods to descend. Theoretically, all of them should be summoned. However, there are simply too many low-level transcendents like us, and the Nine Gods don't have the time to visit us... That's why they send their apostles.
"The nine pillar gods must send at least one apostle. We are too weak now and can only attract one apostle... The ceremony can only be completed when the apostle arrives."
"Don't worry too much about the apostles."
Sherlock suddenly spoke up, "Lady Erini is an Apostle of the Path of Balance, and is very particular about fairness. However, not every advancement will coincide with an Apostle of the Hourglass. If an Apostle of the Path of Love, the Path of Wisdom, the Path of Authority, or the Path of Transcendence were to preside over the ceremony, there's a good chance they would maliciously favor or deceive the participants."
"But the biggest influence is actually the preferences and inclinations of the compiler of this ritual... that is, the Pillar God."
The hourglass is another name for the sand clock, a pillar of balance. It is also the symbol printed on Avalon's copper coins.
Each country has its own path to restrictions. Generally speaking, these are primarily related to opposing mainstream thought, and secondarily to political reasons.
For example, the Star Antimony Kingdom promotes the Path of Transcendence, the Path of Dusk, and the Path of Balance, while the Iris Kingdom's main ideologies are the Path of Beauty and the Path of Love. They are adjacent to Avalon, and their relationship with each other is not very good.
Considering issues such as cultural invasion and espionage infiltration, the paths of these three countries are mutually opposed.
——But even so, under the premise that the Star Antimony Kingdom was founded on alchemy, Avalon and Iris still did not prohibit the Path of Balance.
On the one hand, technology and alchemy cannot be abandoned; on the other hand, the path of balance is based on fairness, neutrality, and the absence of national boundaries. This consistent "fairness" is top-down.
"Generally speaking," Sherlock glanced at the old man who had remained silent, paused, and spoke again, "The host also has his likes and dislikes - after all, without a clear will, personality, and memory, it cannot be called a true phantom demon.
"Because of this, the host will choose to be slightly inclined to help the extraordinary people of their own path, or to cause trouble for the path they dislike."
The glowing hourglass finally uttered a sound after hearing this:
Don't worry too much, everyone.
[After all, this is theoretically a ceremony that all nine pillars of the gods are concerned about, so it won't be too excessive.]
We are not examiners or question setters, merely invigilators. We are merely witnesses to this ceremony, ensuring no one cheats. Flattery is useless. Even verbal attacks are fine—of course, I don't mind them, but this enthusiastic 'detective' is right. I also don't recommend attacking apostles of other paths.
Eriny's voice was gentle, and she didn't even interrupt Sherlock or offer any rebuttals. She was clearly the type with a good temper.
[Well, everyone, according to tradition, I will explain this to you during the first promotion ceremony.]
[This time, three advanced practitioners possess multiple paths, but please note: During the advancement ceremony, you are only allowed to use the abilities of the advanced path and the extraordinary items that you have personally crafted that correspond to your path.]
Everything you encounter in the dream world is related to the real history of the material world, but it is different.
Perhaps a ritual to summon a higher being, an assassination of an important figure, or a local war could change the world. Or perhaps the world has already been changed, but no one can remember the original history.
[And during the advancement ceremony, you will see the 'other possibility of history' deduced by the Nine Pillars]
[The dream you use each time you advance will only be used once. The content is all fictional and different from the development in reality.]
Therefore, you must solve puzzles, search for items, defeat enemies, or survive under the watchful eyes of the Nine Pillars to prove your ability.
[This ceremony is limited to four hours, with a one-to-one ratio to the real thing]
You will play a role in the venue and complete your own tasks. You will receive corresponding points for each corresponding goal you complete.
[Because this ceremony is a full moon ceremony, cooperation is allowed and cooperation points are calculated: the collaborator will receive additional points of 10%-50% of the points earned by the person being helped, depending on the effort and benefits.]
[However, you cannot cooperate with the opposing path you chose in this ceremony, otherwise you will deduct 50%-100% of the points earned by the person you helped.]
[Note: Helping someone without knowing their identity will still result in a point deduction; however, if you do not recognize and directly state the correct identity of the cooperating path, you will not receive any points for helping. After the ceremony is completed, the three people with the lowest points will be eliminated.]
[In this ritual, all sentient beings other than those participating in the ritual lack complete intelligence and souls. They are all fabricated by 'Amber'. Therefore, killing, healing, and sacrificing will not trigger oaths, taboos, agreements, or curses.]
[The difficulty of this ritual is "safe". Any injuries or deaths during the ritual will not affect the health of the physical body, and failure to advance will not cause weakness or damage to the soul.]
[Separate statement: The dreamscape for this ceremony was created by Amber. The assignments and roles, as well as the details of bonuses and deductions, were handled by the Lord of Scales and Feathers. This has nothing to do with the witness of the ceremony—this person.]
After speaking without pausing for a moment, Erini finally paused after issuing the disclaimer.
[Is there anything else I don't understand? The next time you advance, the new host won't explain so much to you.]
No one made a sound, like the atmosphere in a classroom when the teacher asks, "Is there anyone else who doesn't understand?" It was completely silent.
And Erini was not surprised by this.
She added kindly:
This ceremony is simple and short, so don't be nervous and don't necessarily look for your teammates. If you have any questions, you can ask your guide after you wake up.
[Remember, everything you see during this ceremony is fictional. Do not regard everything you see here as real history—]
When she said this, the sand in the hourglass had just run out.
As the hourglass slowly turned over, Apostle Eileen uttered her final words:
In 1884, a horrific series of murders occurred in the capital of the Kingdom of Avalon...
When the hourglass turned completely over, Aiwass suddenly felt a strong dizziness.
The world in front of his eyes remained motionless, but the nine people sitting on the chairs disappeared like ripples on the water.
(End of this chapter)
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