Chapter 571: Aiwass’s Previous Life Name
After saying hello, Chunbai left.
Because the following ceremony was not suitable for her to observe, but she also said before leaving that this was the most powerful and oldest cardinal in the Theocracy, and Aiwass could trust him completely.
Cardinal Cyril sat in the center of the ritual circle without moving at all.
But he controlled the materialized wind and water, removed all of Aiwass's clothes, and piled them in the corner of the room.
Under his control, the ritual array in the room rapidly changed. Like a sophisticated machine, the gears within spun, driving the system... The painted ritual arrays moved freely on the ground, and about a quarter of them formed a brand new ritual array, embedded in the previous system.
Seeing Aiwass staring intently, Cardinal Cyril laughed and said, "Want to learn?
"Unfortunately, I can't teach you—because this isn't divine art, nor is it a high-level divine art. It's a mysterious technique that a friend from Taichu taught me during my travels. It's called the Wind Queen Tantra, a tantra of the three paths of wisdom, transcendence, and adaptation, passed down from the legendary ritualist Feng Hou of Taichu. Even if you understand the Taichu language, you don't have the appropriate adaptability."
Cardinal Cyril was very friendly towards Aiwass.
Obviously, his level of transcendence was much higher than Aiwass's. He could see Aiwass's level of transcendence, so he knew Aiwass was also a ritualist.
But Aiwass soon realized that Cardinal Cyril's kindness to him far exceeded the level that should be shown to a stranger who had met him once or twice.
"…Is this divination?"
"Part of it."
Cardinal Cyril nodded cheerfully and said, "I see that you will resolve the difficulties facing the Theocracy. Another reason is that I see that although you are a demonologist, you have not yet borne the sin of the Heavenly Wrath—a grave sin that would befall you if you used members of your own race as ritual materials.
"Not all ritualists, like me, learn the higher arts before beginning the ritual. It is precisely because I learned the higher arts that I know the secret of the Sin of Heavenly Wrath and am therefore able to circumvent this trap set by the Fallen Angels.
"Yet you clearly didn't know this, and you've been facing crises and oppression, yet you've defied 'interests' and chosen 'morality', embarking on the right path."
Cardinal Cyril praised him, "As a Transcendent, you must be determined to defy fate at all costs. Yet, even in this situation, you were able to control yourself and not cross the line. This proves that you are a natural-born hero, a saint sent from heaven. Morality that has been tested yet remains as new as ever is naturally superior to morality that has been protected as flawless."
But Aiwass felt a little embarrassed instead.
How should I put it... Actually, he also knew about the sin of heaven, so he certainly didn't praise it as much as Cardinal Cyril praised.
But he couldn't explain it, so he could only nod in agreement.
"It may take a long time to complete the advanced divine arts alone. However, this year's advanced divine arts training has not yet begun, so I have more time... I will complete your first ceremony for you."
As Cardinal Cyril spoke, the wind in the air gently pressed Aiwass, who had taken off his clothes, to the ground.
The black runes that formed the ritual array moved onto Aiwass's body like living creatures. With a faint pain like an ant's bite, Aiwass himself was assimilated into the array.
They moved to form characters, spelling out prayer after prayer, linking to the ring on Aiwass's chest, forming nine long rune chains. Then, within the ring on Aiwass's chest, Elvish runes began to emerge rapidly and weave into words.
It looked like a black sun, or a kaleidoscope splitting open from the center of the chest.
Nine chants echoed simultaneously in the air—a whisper composed of the wind, which rustled through some of the wall decorations, creating sharp, indistinct sounds that were reshaped into words.
——And throughout the entire process, Cardinal Cyril did not use any ritual materials.
No need to draw formations, no need to chant, no need to wait, no need for materials... To be able to do this, it must be some kind of golden-level path characteristic. Or maybe even multiple.
It turns out that the Theocracy is hiding such a great ritualist!
He looked as if he would die at any moment—the traces of tree-like transformation and amber had already spread across his face. His entire body was split in two, yet he maintained a strange balance. As long as this balance continued, he would never die.
Aiwass's vision gradually became dark.
Suddenly, a rapid ringing of the cell phone woke him up.
That was the Digimon evolution song from his childhood—he would wake up to this exciting music every day, if he knew how to set an alarm.
But usually he doesn't set an alarm.
But today was a special day, so he set ten alarms, each going off one minute apart.
If ten alarm clocks didn't wake him up, his roommate would wake him up violently.
...Wait, what alarm clock?
Aiwass suddenly opened his eyes.
In an instant, I felt a strange and absurd feeling.
The soft bed, his phone with its alarm ringing next to his pillow, his keyboard and mouse, his laptop not plugged in, and his Bluetooth noise-canceling headphones beside the bed.
Leftover fried chicken from last night and half a glass of milk tea.
He reached out to grab his hair, but only felt a short strand that he could barely hold. The slight pain made his brain shut down for a moment.
While he was stunned, the evolution song had already ended.
And one minute later, the passionate evolution song sounded again.
But Aiwass stared at the phone and for a moment forgot how to turn it off.
When the alarm rang for the third time, an angry voice suddenly came from outside:
"Ai Shiping, are you sick? You want to evolve into the Ultimate form in one go, right?"
...Who is that?
Aiwass stared outside and felt a strange sense of familiarity.
...Who is Ai Shiping?
At this moment, the alarm clock ringing suddenly began to become extremely slow and distorted.
Time seemed to slow down and freeze infinitely, and the whole world was stained with a dim filter. It looked like an old photo.
"—You can't remember, right?"
Another voice slowly emerged.
At this time, the gaming chair beside Aiwass's bed slowly turned back.
At some point, a faceless man in a black suit sat down on it.
Where the head should be, there is only a silver-black sphere shining with iridescent light.
He was sitting with his legs crossed, his hands, equally brilliant and dark, resting on his knees with their fingers crossed.
“I say long time no see because we have met before;
“I say first meeting because it was indeed the first time we met;
"I said I've heard a lot about you... because I've known about you for a long time."
It was a low and quite magnetic voice.
Although he couldn't see the other person's expression, Aiwass felt that the other person seemed to be smiling.
His brain was so stiff in the dream that it was difficult to function, so Aiwass just stared blankly at the other person talking.
...is the Lord of Scales and Feathers.
Aiwass suddenly remembered the other party's identity.
At this time, the Lord of Scales and Feathers was still narrating slowly: "You come from another world, right... This is your biggest secret.
"You haven't told anyone this secret. Not Isabel, not Yulia. Because in your memory, this world is just a game... and you are not 'Evans Moriarty'.
"—But is that really the case?"
The Lord of Scales and Feathers slowly stood up and stepped on the ground.
When His black leather shoes touched the ground, the dreams around Him suddenly melted and shattered.
The narrow apartment melted away in an instant, transforming into a pitch-black river. Beneath him lay a massive scale... the scale of Kunpeng.
The sky in the distance was an incredible purple-red spiderweb crack.
Each crack revealed a completely different sky. There were several suns and moons orbiting simultaneously in the sky—at least seven or eight suns and five or six moons.
It's like a TV playing different pictures, or like surveillance footage at different times.
Each fragment reflects the sky at a completely different time.
"An assassin lurking in the shadows, a hunter accustomed to the jungle, a physician capable of concocting medicines and poisons, an astrologer and prophet who can foresee the future... What do these professions have in common?"
The Lord of Scales and Feathers turned around and raised his hands high as if embracing the sky.
He said word by word: "This is one of the nine source rivers of the dream world, the River of Survival.
"It's not shameful for people to make changes in order to survive. The weak must adapt to the environment, to nature, to the strong, to fate... And if you are strong, you can naturally change the environment, transform nature, control the weak, and reverse your fate. Therefore, I call it the path of adaptation. Adapt yourself, or let others adapt."
As he spoke, the Lord of Scales and Feathers turned around.
He stretched out his hand and pulled up Aiwass who had fallen to the ground.
"Let me tell you more about you, Aiwass. I only have one thing to say...
"—Do you still remember the names of your parents in your previous life? Do you still remember the name of your screenwriter roommate?
"Why do you only remember memories of the Ouroboros Ring? Why are even your memories of the Ouroboros Ring so vague and fragmentary?
"And most importantly... before today, do you still remember what your name was in your 'previous life'?"
The last sentence suddenly sounded like thunder in Aiwas' heart.
His pupils suddenly contracted and then dilated.
At that moment, Aiwass reacted.
But before he could answer, the Lord of Scales and Feathers took the initiative to speak:
"You're an outcast, Aiwass.
"You're not Ai Shiping, nor are you that time traveler... Your last name isn't Ai, and you're not from Earth. You've been a person of this world from the very beginning. You're the old self abandoned by Him, the memories of a past life severed by Him. But in a sense, you're more like that original person than he is... my old friend."
"You are what they call a 'divine entity'... and you are indeed a fragment of the Celestial Master.
"—You are the wreckage of Samsara."
Update completed!
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(End of this chapter)
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