Chapter 677 The True Image of the Nine Pillar Gods
The 21st ring, the end of the endless corridor, is a round hall as sacred and magnificent as a cathedral.
After entering the door, the first thing Aiwas saw was this scene——
The wooden floor was a deep red, while the ceiling was a dark red. It looked like the heart of some gigantic monster.
Thousands of white candles of varying heights burned in the room, and the room was filled with a faint, sacred scent of incense.
The nine statues of the nine gods were arranged in a fan-shaped pattern, embedded in their respective square shrines. They looked like huge paintings, but these paintings were recessed into the wall, and the nine gods in the "paintings" maintained different postures and appeared in frames of different colors.
In the left and right corners of each "frame" are placed different offerings, basically flowers, gems, and candles of different colors, arranged in varying quantities and orders.
From left to right, the nine pillars of gods are arranged according to their sacred numbers.
It is well known that the Nine Pillars have different incarnations, but the Theocracy has a unique definition of the "official image" of the Nine Pillars.
While churches in other countries may also have religious paintings, they do not have complete statues, and any unauthorized painting is not allowed. This is the "permission" and "discretion" controlled by the theocracy. Only a few temples dedicated to a single pillar deity have holy images enshrined.
Generally speaking, only here can the highest-level holy images of the nine pillars of gods be seen at the same time.
——Hengwo, on the far left, looks like a plump young girl.
She knelt on the ground, facing the lake, her hands folded on her chest or shoulders. She was wearing almost no clothing, only translucent black crystals shaped into tentacles, which tightly bound her from behind and concealed her vital parts.
She had extremely long, straight black hair, and because she lowered her head, her face couldn't be seen clearly. Her hair fell to the ground, mingling with her calves and feet. But the hair that touched the ground transformed into black snakes.
Tentacles emerged from the darkness like vines, their ends reaching the crimson vortex behind her. The tentacles near the vortex were blood red, and dark golden pupils, like those of a wolf, faintly emerged from the vortex.
To the right of me is the twin mirror.
But the image of the twin mirror is not a mirror.
He looked like a beautiful woman sitting on a chair.
Two people who looked almost identical, both with light blonde hair, were sitting back to back on chairs like high-rise cakes, looking like butterflies copied horizontally by a mirror.
They both had the same long hair and the same emerald green eyes, and they both had the same stunning appearance. However, from the slightest details in their expressions, one could tell that the one on the left was male and the one on the right was female.
The man has his left leg curled up on the chair, while his right leg is relaxed and down. His left fist is resting on his cheek, and he looks relaxed and lazy, with his head and eyes lowered.
The female twin, in contrast, curls her right leg and playfully kicks her left forward. She raises her head slightly, resting the tips of her left index and middle fingers on her chin. Both gaze sideways out of the frame, their smiles seemingly friendly yet slightly playful.
Even the offerings placed on the left and right corners of the shrine are completely symmetrical.
This was the first time Aiwas had seen the images of these two pillar gods. So he looked at them carefully and memorized them in his heart.
Moving one position to the right, we have the most common candlestick.
The candlestick is a huge red crystal stag with forked antlers on its head. Each antler burns with a white candle flame - this is no different.
Weizhe was a hunchbacked old man wearing a hooded robe, with deep sunken eye sockets. One of his eyes was pure white, while his other dark blue eye was incredibly deep, like a bottomless icy lake.
His mouth, dry and shrunken like an old man's, seemed to be sewn shut with black thread. His right hand drooped, as if concealing something within his sleeve. His raised left hand held aloft a slate, upon which ancient characters danced like lightning. From his raised left arm, one could see the muscles hidden beneath his robe.
Sand Timepiece is also an old man, but he looks much more energetic.
He was dressed in a yellow robe, had white hair and beard, and a slightly taller, thin, and elderly face that looked extremely serious. Behind him was a huge hourglass with sand constantly flowing, and his hands were folded in his sleeves in front of him.
The sixth Lord of Scales and Feathers appeared different from what Aiwas knew.
He was completely cloaked in shadow, only faint glimpses of his swaying emerald feathers and deep blue scales visible. His form seemed to shift constantly, sometimes green, sometimes blue. But due to the vast shadows, only a few visible features could be seen.
The Silver-Crowned Dragon, a white dragon, lay dormant atop an iceberg. A majestic and sacred silver crown crowned its head, and its wings were a brilliant silver-gray. A chilling, visibly cold air, like dry ice melting at room temperature, continued to flow outward from the shrine...
Aiwass quickly passed over the pillar gods he had seen before, such as the Silver Crown Dragon and the Snake Father, and looked at the last one, Amber.
Judging from the several Pillar Gods Aiwas had met, the differences shouldn't be particularly significant. The biggest difference was the Boss... but considering the Boss was also the God of Concealment and Transformation, it was only natural for him to display a unique image.
It turns out that the pillar god of the Dusk Path, "Amber", is actually a white-haired girl wrapped in dusk-colored crystals.
She had no jewelry or clothes on her body, and looked like she was sealed and buried here.
She curled up like a fetus, as if trying to embrace something. Her long, snow-white hair curved naturally, as if forming a cocoon, vaguely enveloping her. Yet, this crystal didn't seem to be a crystal at all, for the hair within it actually floated slightly, as if floating in amniotic fluid.
Aiwass also noticed with his sharp eyes that a pair of small, pure white wings had extended from where Amber's ears should be. Two large, pure white wings extended from her back, folding forward and covering her body, which was barely covered by her long hair. And on either side of her feet, where her wings couldn't cover her, there was another pair of wings about the same size as her ears.
The girl's body was so white it was practically transparent...or perhaps the sculptor intended to convey this kind of elusive "transparency." Compared to her body, her three pairs of pure white wings were the most eye-catching.
"...So this is what Amber is like?"
Aiwass murmured: "Amber turned out to be a harpy..."
This was Aiwas's first encounter with Amber—there were no images or paintings dedicated to her within Avalon's Candlelight Cathedral. He didn't even know if she was male or female, or what her race was… Considering she had become a Pillar God during the "Cicada Shedding" incident, she must have a gender.
Aiwass didn't know the lifespan of harpies, nor did he know whether they appeared young or old.
But looking at Amber's facial features, she still seemed to have a sense of childishness. From a human perspective, she looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old.
This made Aiwass feel a little hesitant.
Amber... As the "God of the Pinnacle, the God of Perfection and Eternity", how come he looks so young?
He also remembered that ever since the cicada shelling incident, Amber had always been the strongest pillar god.
The image of the Pillar God should be similar to that of their ascendancy—of course, there's no evidence for this; it's simply a conclusion Aiwass infers from experience and intuition. But if that's the case, then Amber is too young...
In front of these nine statues, there is a long table that is longer than usual.
At this moment, the Pure White Saint did not kneel before the Nine Pillars of God as usual, but sat in the middle of the long table, facing Aiwas and his group who were walking towards the statue.
She was humming a melodious hymn, her eyes slightly closed. It was music so cleansing that simply listening to it could heal one—and that wasn't an exaggeration. Someone suffering from an illness might actually be cured simply by hearing this song.
The saint sits in front of the sand clock, in the middle of the entire circular room.
There were only three seats on the other side of the long table. The seat to the Saint's right was empty.
The person on the left of the saint was Master Janice, who looked at Isabel in surprise.
"...Why are you here?"
Yanis whispered.
Isabel raised the corner of her mouth, put a finger to her lips, and silently replied with her mouth: "It's a secret."
Although she was responding to Janice, Isabel's gaze was almost uncontrollably drawn to the Pure White Saint.
To be precise, he was attracted by the chest of the Pure White Saint placed on the table.
At this moment, the White Saint's index, middle, and ring fingers pressed together, forming a pyramid on the table. But this wasn't a hollow pyramid... rather, she was resting her arms on her chest.
Isabel: ???
So, so big...
The young half-elf queen opened her eyes wide and exclaimed silently.
——Is it really reasonable to be so big?
She puffed out her cheeks and silently questioned nature.
She quietly turned her head to look at Aiwass, and found that Aiwass was not staring at the Pure White Saint, but was looking at the Pillar God Amber from the side. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
After seeing Aiwass, the White Saint nodded slightly to her left, signaling Aiwass to walk over here: "In front of the Lord of Scales and Feathers."
"Understood, Your Highness."
Aiwass said, pulling Isabel to the side.
Soon, Aiwas found his position right in front of the Lord of Scales and Feathers.
On the back of the huge chair, which looked like the one used in the promotion ceremony, was written "Aivas" in elven cursive. There was also a small chair on each side.
After Aiwas and the other two sat down, several little elf girls who were also wearing nun uniforms came over and served them drinks.
It was a liquid as crystal clear as a ruby.
Aiwass sniffed.
——This is Holy Tree No. 1.
He could tell the taste of the wine just by the aroma.
After the little girl with long gray hair poured three glasses of wine attentively, Aiwass smiled and whispered to her, "Thank you."
The girl was slightly startled, then looked at Aiwass, who was smiling. Only then did she finally see the young cardinal's face clearly.
“…Humans?”
The girl's expressionless, doll-like face now subconsciously showed a hint of surprise and joy. Her eyes revealed a strong desire to touch him. But she subconsciously glanced at the photographer at the door and finally suppressed her desire.
"You're so cute."
The girl whispered, "Cardinal."
The girl then bowed slightly and left with a faint smile on her face.
After the girl left, Isabel whispered, "Who is she? The Pope's maid?"
"No," Aiwass said softly, "If it weren't for us... she would be the candidate for the Saint of this generation."
"...such a young child?"
"Don't look at her age. Even if she's not over a hundred yet, she should be close."
Aiwass said casually, then raised his head and looked around.
From here, you can hear Her Highness the Saint singing up close. And the drink is the finest wine in the world, Holy Tree No. 1, brewed with the blood of the apostles... It's truly delicious.
He arrived early, so there weren't many people around Aiwass yet. Only the area around Hengwo and Shuangshengjing was crowded, and he was the first wave to arrive there.
Suddenly, Aiwass felt someone gently push his shoulder from behind.
He turned his head to the right and saw that Lily had turned her head and was looking at him.
The young man behind was smiling and waving to Aiwass.
He had changed into a pure white robe, so much so that Aiwass didn't recognize him at first. Then, seeing his brilliant smile, he realized it was the Cardinal Siegfried, codenamed "Toppa."
He was accompanied by a woman with long silver hair and a strong man with brown hair. Both were pure-blooded elves.
"My wife, Kriemhild."
Siegfried said with a smile, putting his arm around the man's shoulders, "This is my brother. Which one is your wife?"
"this."
Aiwass chuckled and pulled Isabel's hand: "Her name is Isabel."
"Half-elf..."
Siegfried looked at Isabel thoughtfully, "She looks familiar to me."
Humans have the same cuteness bonus as cats and dogs to elves - however, if they are half-elves, they will immediately lose this special appeal.
While humans might even consider half-elves more lovable than pure-blooded elves, possessing the noble and delicate features of elves and the rounded cheeks of humans, in elven aesthetics... half-elves are roughly equivalent to a kind of Fury. For extreme elven types, they might even be considered strange and disgusting.
Only a few elves are particularly fond of half-elves, and Siegfried is clearly not one of them.
This is actually why it is difficult for half-elves to gain a high status in the Theocracy - even elves also like to look at appearances. It's just that their aesthetic tastes are different.
"So everyone brings their wives?"
Aihua suddenly felt confident.
Originally, when he brought Isabel here, he was worried that this would break the rules.
"Not necessarily. For example, Cardinal Valrhona..."
Siegfried whispered.
And just then, Cardinal Fafner came over.
Update completed! Two-in-one today!
My body can't take it anymore, I plan to take a day off the day after tomorrow——
The day after tomorrow is Grain Rain, so it is reasonable to take a day off for Grain Rain on May 20th (chest up)
(End of this chapter)
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