Chapter 827: New Moon Ceremony for Two
The Eternal Theocracy, the 22nd ring.
Aiwass opened his eyes after a long absence and returned to the material world.
His pupils glowed with gold and red, and the divine aura made his calm face look compassionate.
"Matilda..."
Aiwass spoke softly.
At this moment, the blue-haired cardinal on the thirteenth floor immediately responded, "I am here, Your Majesty. The ceremony has been prepared for you. You just need to change your clothes and lie down on the bed.
"...But are you sure you don't need an escort? We can assign you at least three more Promoters to ensure your promotion is successful..."
"Having Aleister by my side is enough."
Aiwass's voice was gentle and calm.
His lowered gaze was filled with radiance that could not be obscured even with his eyes closed.
The Pope, dressed in a black and red robe, replied seriously, "This is the New Moon Ritual. Strictly speaking, there are no such things as 'teammates.' Even if we enter the Ascension Ceremony together, we might receive conflicting missions or be forced into a hostile situation."
"When that happens, how will I face these helpers? This is a promotion ceremony from level four to level five. Failure is fine, but death...it could very well mean real death. Can I just watch them die like this?"
"...Your Majesty," Cardinal Matilda said with a serious expression, "You must know that this is their true mission. Dedicating ourselves to something greater is our lifelong pursuit. If their death means you can ascend to a higher position, they would surely be happy to witness it.
"The papacy must not be lost, Your Majesty. No matter what, nothing can happen here, or the entire Theocracy will be in trouble—even if you consider it that way. Just treat it as a sacrifice for the entire Theocracy, and let those people dedicate themselves to its sacred mission, isn't that right?"
Dedicating others to others is itself a choice on the path of dedication.
The core of the path of devotion is to benefit others, but it does not necessarily require self-sacrifice. This is why there are so many crazy people on the path of devotion.
"If you're tampering with the New Moon Ceremony like this, you might be considered cheating."
Aiwass smiled nonchalantly. "Besides, you said it yourself. Dedicating oneself to others is what those who devote themselves to others pursue... If you send someone to advance with me, how can you be sure that I won't sacrifice myself to help him advance? I'm much more advanced in the path of dedication than he is."
Cardinal Matilda rubbed her forehead with a headache. "Why don't you just wait for next month's Full Moon Ceremony? Wouldn't that be better? Even if we include Aleister, who must win, we can still assign you four more elites. I can even go there myself..."
"Yeah, I've thought about that."
Aiwass replied: "I calculated that the chances of winning would indeed be much higher."
Cardinal Matilda suddenly perked up: "So——"
"—That's why I refuse."
Aiwass said without hesitation, "Because that would be equivalent to depriving the remaining three of the possibility of victory. That's not fair, and even more unjust."
"You are justice itself, Your Majesty."
"But what if there's someone in there who's more talented and has a brighter future than me? Even if we eliminate one, what if we encounter two? Should we just wipe out their future, or even their lives, before the ceremony even begins?
"According to the rules of dedication, I should sacrifice those close to me for the sake of others, which means letting you make way for others... But I don't want to do that, because giving up my friends would also make me heartbroken. I don't want to lose anyone."
Aiwass opened his eyes again, and two rays of light illuminated the entire space the moment he opened his eyes. "Before I separated from Aleister, I might have agreed with this idea. For the 'greatest sum of good', sacrifice is necessary. At that time, I even specially sought out some teammates just to increase my chances of winning in such a situation..."
"But now, I refuse such behavior. I ascended with Aleister because I was accompanying her, not because she was helping me. If a sacrifice is needed, it should be mine alone.
"So I will only ascend with Aleister, and we've chosen the New Moon Ritual... At least this way, we won't encounter too many people gathered in groups during the New Moon Ritual. And if we have to sacrifice one person, I can also sacrifice myself to allow Aleister to ascend to a higher level.
"—Don't worry, Matilda. At least I'll come back alive.
"In other words, even if I die... it will not affect the Theocracy. I have made all the necessary preparations..."
As Aiwass said this, he took off his papal robe and put on the red archbishop's robe.
Promotion to the fourth level... No one would believe it even if I wore a priest's robe. It would be better to just wear the archbishop's clothes, which would make people believe my honesty.
He slowly lay down on the soft bed, which was already surrounded by a ritual array. Not a trace of uncleanness could be seen from here. All rituals were performed by Cardinal Cyril below, and the ritual array here only served as a connection.
This wasn't just for courtesy, it was also to protect the Eternal Pope and the entire Eternal Theocracy—any item could potentially become part of a ritual by coincidence, and ritual items were more likely to do so. Therefore, except for those that were absolutely necessary, nothing unnecessary would be sent to the 22nd Ring.
Anyway, the Eternal Pope is basically in a deep sleep all the time... he doesn't need to eat, drink water, or defecate.
The Pope is a tower, a link, a symbol, a scepter, a power center... and a coat rack with the Holy Trinity. But the only thing he cannot be is a mortal with an independent personality.
"All nine are complete..."
Aiwass lay in bed, closed his eyes and whispered: "I am in it."
At this moment, Cardinal Cyril was presiding over this simplest and most common ceremony with great solemnity.
In the distant Leipzig, Aleister also leaned back on a soft sofa with her eyes closed, her chin supported by one hand. Beneath her was a ritual circle made of blood, and around her were scattered ritual offerings.
Dead seabirds, shattered mirrors, a deer heart driven through by a nail.
Melting wax figures of philosophers, bitter black salt soaked in blood, flying squirrels tied to crosses.
A horse's penis tied into an "8" with a nail pierced through it, and an oyster with a black pearl that did not belong to it stuffed inside.
Finally, there is a poisonous snake coiled at Aleister's feet.
The windows and lamps were covered with a layer of red cloth, and the room was filled with a dark red glow.
Accompanied by a strong sense of sleepiness, she uttered a dreamlike whisper: "Except for me...
"—All eight will die."
As eight balls of black and red flames suddenly ignited, the blood magic circle under her feet suddenly lit up with an eerie light.
Then, she was dragged deeper into the dream world.
Aleister opened his eyes and saw that the nine chairs were empty.
Above the dark red sky hung a pitch-black waning moon.
Beneath him was a black sea of blood with the ebb and flow of the tide, covered with a large amount of white foam.
However, the light source here wasn't the dark red sky or the waning moon...
In the center of the nine chairs, a bright and warm light shone, illuminating the sea of blood beneath His feet, which had appeared black due to the dimming of the light, into a true red.
It was a divine deer made of pure ruby.
He was a pure and dazzling red, his body covered in black thorns. Those thorns pierced his skin, and blood continuously flowed down, falling into the sea of blood.
His huge, crystal-red antlers were like candlesticks, burning with pure white flames.
——That’s Sizhu.
"Great Candle Master...is this the promotion ceremony you presided over?"
Aleister quickly greeted politely.
"I just came to see you, Aleister."
A warm and steady voice, like that of a kind father, echoed through the space: "Perform well... This ceremony may be of vital importance to you."
As soon as the candlestick master finished speaking, the bright red stag disappeared without a trace.
Only a stone statue of a fawn shorter than a human was left in its place.
It has four slender legs and a very cute two-headed body. There is a small pointed horn on its head, and its body is slender and agile. Its pupils look like the clear eyes of a teddy bear. Behind it are a pair of huge flaming wings like a flame butterfly. At this moment, the flames on the wings have solidified, forming a beautiful and dynamic posture.
Aleister recognized it immediately... This was the Winged Flame. It loved to rescue those who were lost and in desperate situations, such as those lost in the snowy mountains or stranded on isolated islands after a shipwreck. Like an invisible "V" of flame, it would carry them on its back and deliver them to safety.
It was also the Candle Apostle that Aiwass often summoned when he was in the Theocracy. Whenever Aiwass brought something to Isabel, he would ask it to help send it over.
Aleister suddenly felt a little ironic.
Because this will be the most cruel ceremony presided over by the most merciful Pillar God...
Update completed!
The update may be a little late tomorrow because I have to meet my parents at noon tomorrow.
If there is no update at noon tomorrow, there will be one in the evening, don’t panic!
(End of this chapter)
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