Chapter 609 Lunar Eclipse Ritual
On February 28th, the new moon rises in the sky.
Sherlock was quietly reading a secret book in the corner of Aiwass's room, while Aiwass was preparing for this unique promotion ceremony.
The reason why he came to guard Aiwas's promotion ceremony was because Lily's separation had reached the most critical moment.
The full moon will fade and wither as the moon's phases change. Just as a flower turns to fruit, its very existence nurtures new life. And that fruit is the new moon... the lightless egg.
It will eventually grow longer as time goes by, and with the sunrise and sunset, it will become the next full moon.
The Egg-Moon Tantra describes the changes in the moon phases and the techniques of self-division and self-pregnancy.
For this reason, the birth of the "new self" must be completed on the night of the new moon.
At this moment, Lily was alone on the second floor, preparing to split herself.
Then the only one who can help Aiwass guard the promotion ceremony is Sherlock.
"Is everything all right?"
Sherlock stared at the secret book intently and suddenly asked, "Do you need my help?"
“It’s just been finished.”
Aiwass sighed: "You might as well ask earlier."
"I would have really helped if I had asked earlier, my friend."
Sherlock's lips curled up slightly as he responded, "Why don't you let me gather my strength and protect you until you complete the ritual?"
"I also knew you wouldn't come to help, so I simply didn't ask you in the beginning..."
Aiwass curled his lips and said, "Anyway, keep an eye on my body. Don't let anyone get close to it."
"Don't worry."
Sherlock lowered his head to look at the book and said casually: "No one can hurt you unless I die."
It seemed as casual as a joke, but since it came from Sherlock Hermes, it might be believable.
Aiwass hummed softly and began the ceremony.
——It’s different from all the promotion ceremonies in the past.
Instead of preparing nine different symbols, Aiwass prepared only three.
White doves. Deep blue fish. Green snakes.
They symbolize the sky, the ocean and the earth respectively, but their common point is that they are all creatures with scales and feathers.
He placed each of these ingredients in a ring, connecting the three rings to form an equilateral triangle. He then prepared a bottle each of life potion, poison, and anesthetic, placing them in three smaller rings, connecting them to form an even smaller equilateral triangle. He then intersected these two triangles to form a less regular hexagram.
This time, Aiwas used a special ritual sacrifice - fasting.
Ritualists believe that, excluding the torment of illness and pain, the weaker a person's body, the stronger their soul. Therefore, a person's soul is at its strongest around the age of fifty, and this is also the age at which ritualists and wizards, such as spellcasters, are at their strongest.
If it's too late, people will start to get sick. The pain and worry brought by numerous chronic illnesses will gradually wear away the luster of the soul. Then people will age rapidly, because the weakening of the soul is reflected in the physical body... At the same time, the severe wear and tear on the brain will also affect the soul in turn.
Therefore, when performing some serious and dangerous rituals, the ritualist would usually fast for a period of time in advance to ensure that his body was weak enough so that his soul could maintain a more stable state during the ritual.
Aiwass had fasted for five days, abstained from sleep for a day, and abstained from water for a day and a half. For an ordinary person, this would be a level of weakness that would require confinement to bed. Yet Aiwass was still able to perform the ritual alone… the most he experienced was a slight blackout when he stood up.
At this moment, Aiwass could clearly feel his body sinking into a state of weakness. A "cold heat" flared beneath his skin, like a high fever. Compared to the pain of a low-grade fever, a high fever brought a sense of tranquility, like being in the ocean. Aiwass's mind became even colder and more rational, as if he were controlling this body from a higher perspective.
This was also the first time that Aiwass performed a ceremony step by step like a ritualist, following taboos and rules.
After finishing the first part of the ritual circle, he began to write the second layer with sea water, the third layer with snake bile, and the top layer with bird blood.
After finishing writing everything, Aiwass stood in the center of the ritual formation.
"I call upon the Lord of Scales and Feathers, the God whose sacred number is six.
"The god of scales and feathers, the god of a thousand garments and forms—"
Aiwas raised his hands and sang loudly: "I praise the birds and fish, and the crawling things on the earth with a thousand claws and thousands of scales!
"I praise the medicine, the poison, and that which cannot distinguish between medicine and poison!
"I praise three times and pray three times. I soak my eyes with snake bile and cover my body with bird blood. I bathe in sea water.
"In the sunless woods, I shall grow wings and scales—"
As Aiwass chanted, the gem on his chest suddenly lit up with an emerald green light.
As he chanted, a wind suddenly blew through the tightly closed room, extinguishing all the lights. Within the pitch-black space, only a single emerald green star rose slowly, emitting a sharp, cross-shaped light.
"The Eighth is not here—"
Aiwass's voice became unclear in the increasingly violent storm: "I am the only one who walks alone—"
The storm was blowing in his face and Sherlock couldn't help but close his eyes and put his hands in front of his eyes. Because he was indoors, he didn't wear a hat, and at this moment his hair was being blown and pulled into different shapes.
Breathing against the wind made it difficult to get oxygen. Sherlock gasped for air, feeling the suffocation grow stronger. The messy objects in the room trembled, toppled over, and tumbled into a tangle, but none of them approached the ritual circle beneath Aiwass. If they approached, they would be flung away by the wind.
——The next moment, Sherlock suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
It was as if someone's eyes were passing over me.
He had known this feeling before.
The last time, back in Eagle Point Village, Aiwass had begun the "Ritual: Trial of Odin" before him. The moment the thunder struck, Sherlock felt a fleeting sense of fear. His body trembled uncontrollably, his limbs quivering with weakness.
"Gaze" is powerful, just like some particularly perceptive people can even clearly perceive the gaze behind them.
And when the Pillar Gods cast their gazes, their gaze itself was like a mind-affecting spell.
——When Sherlock gradually recovered from the tingling feeling on his scalp, he saw Aiwass still standing in the middle of the ceremony venue, in a state of silent stiffness.
The wheelchair that Aiwass had prepared and pushed to the side of the ceremony venue was never used. When the storm just started, the wheelchair ran away on its own.
But he didn't faint on the ground directly.
Instead, it was fixed in mid-air by an invisible force.
He lowered his head, his feet off the ground. His knees were slightly bent, and his hands were wrapped around his abdomen. He was like a fetus, except he couldn't curl up completely.
"...Aiwass, do you really need my protection?"
Sherlock muttered.
It was the first time he had seen such a grand promotion ceremony - even the Pillar God came in person.
Forget it, let’s pack up first.
He shook his head, stood up, closed the "Foolish Songs Tantra", and patiently picked up the debris scattered on the floor, as if the room was occupied by thieves.
On the other side, Lily looked up at the Lightless Moon and said, "The time has come..."
Her eyes shone with a crimson glow, and in her hand was a glass of red wine—with a drop of Aiwass's blood in it.
She raised her head and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.
(End of this chapter)
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