Chapter 496 Ritual: Shadow of Avalon
When Aiwass, wearing the red robe of a bishop, opened the door of St. Guinevere's Chapel and walked in... he had an illusion in a trance.
At this moment, I seemed to overlap with Bishop Mathers, who brought Aiwass here to learn sacred skills.
Shaking his head slightly to dispel this strange feeling, Aiwass opened the door and let the people outside in.
Then, Aiwass closed the door of the chapel, put on the mitre and straightened it carefully, and then turned on the light switch in the chapel.
In an instant, the lights in the Saint-Guinevere Chapel were brightly lit.
Light suddenly appeared behind the thirty-seven white statues placed in the niches on each side.
“…Huh?”
Seeing this, Grape made a somewhat puzzled sound.
...The Candlemaker is the pillar deity that controls light. Why is there electric lighting in the Candlemaker Cathedral?
Sherlock immediately tugged at his brother's arm and glared at Grape, who was playing the role of Mycroft.
"It's okay, Mr. Hermes."
Aiwass smiled and shook his head... He just didn't know which "Mr. Hermes" he was calling. "It's normal to be surprised... After all, during the Candle Festival on weekdays, the Chapel of Saint Guinevere is always open and candles are lit."
I even helped her find a way to make it up to her. I'm so kind.
Aiwass was somewhat touched.
But what he said was not a lie.
"While it may seem strange to have electric lights in such a quaint building, it's actually necessary."
Aiwass explained: "Because within the Candlemas Cathedral, the act of 'lighting candles' carries a certain divinity, or at least special significance, just as lighting kerosene lamps does. Therefore, outside of festivals, holidays, and daily worship, the lighting of candles is prohibited throughout the cathedral. On weekdays, lighting must rely on electric lights.
"Before the invention of electric lighting, lanterns were used. Light had to be brought in from outside, or candles were simply kept burning inside. The deacon's job here used to be to constantly change the candles in the sanctuary and keep them from going out."
He looked at Mycroft leniently and explained, "This is something only a priest would know. It's normal for the Lord Chamberlain not to know."
As Aiwass spoke, all the statues in the chapel were activated.
Seeing them all looking toward the door, Aiwass bowed his head slightly, raised his hand, and gently touched the three candles on his head, lighting them one by one. "Seventy-three Pioneers... May the Candlelighter watch over your candles."
Although Queen Sofia has died, she has not yet been buried here. Therefore, there are still only 73 people who have received the state funeral.
Aiwas took a quick look and found that Sophia's shrine was ready, but there was still no image inside.
...It seems that Queen Sophia, who has entered the twilight of her life, no longer thinks about her afterlife as much as before.
After Aiwass gave the secret order, the icons calmed down and turned around again.
This was a special system within the Chapel of Saint Guinevere. It ensured that even if someone stole or robbed the key and had someone with the power of light and fire open the door, if they didn't immediately pay homage to the icons of the forerunners, the intruder protection mechanism would still be triggered.
Aiwass led everyone to the innermost part, which was also the huge coffin placed in the center.
It is on a high step and looks like a throne.
A pure white statue of a saint lay sprawled on the coffin, her chin resting on her arm, as if taking a nap. Her features were pure, dignified, and sacred, her long, flowing hair hanging loose. Her arm and hair held down the intricately carved coffin, preventing it from being opened.
In a trance, Aiwass felt as if he saw Isabel.
She was somewhat similar to Isabel, but lacked her elven aura. She looked to be about thirty years old, and could even be Isabel's sister or mother.
"...Bring out the Queen's blood."
Aiwass took a deep breath and whispered.
This was his first time going so deep, and also his first time seeing Saint Guinevere and Lancelot I in person.
He walked forward, took off his mitre and placed it on the coffin.
Aiwass reached out and touched the candle on the mitre, and the pure white flame seemed to be drawn over and burned quietly on his fingertips.
He used the flames as paint to paint on the coffin.
"Why don't you let me become a god?"
Then, Aiwass reached out and lit the second candle, and wrote again:
"Why don't you let me be mortal?"
Finally, Aiwass lit the third candle and wrote the final secret words at the bottom:
"A fool will be forgotten three times, and then return from the world."
After the three secret words were written, the pure white statue of Guinevere opened its eyes.
She raised her head, and her beautiful, yellow pupils like yellow grapes looked at Aiwass.
Then she held the casket with the candle already extinguished in her arms, reached out and cut the coffin in half to the side, stood up and stepped aside.
The half-open coffin only revealed the upper body of Lancelot I. Scattered within his coffin were numerous withered petals, each stained with a drop of long-dried blood.
So Aiwass stepped aside and watched Olive walk forward.
He first performed a complicated consecration ceremony, took out a lily from his arms, poured the queen's blood on it, and inserted it into the heart of a lion, declaring it the queen's heart.
This lion's heart is dried, as it can be used as a common ritual material. Naturally, there is no blood inside... That's why the Queen's blood must flow into it and then drip out through the heart.
Normally, the Shadow of Avalon ritual requires the heart of a direct descendant of the royal family, but they cannot obtain it. Therefore, they can only use the "substitution" method in the ritual to let this powerful ritual master replace it with something else.
The next moment, he plucked a blood-stained lily and threw it into the coffin.
In an instant, the coffin began to boil—
The shadows stirred and boiled like living things, gurgling and overflowing. The heavy black smoke, like the fumes of dry ice, spread to the ground, entwining around everyone's ankles, making them unable to move.
Olive solemnly picked up the Alondite dagger that was taken back by Aiwass and stabbed it into the lion's heart.
Blood dripped, and the blooming lilies withered and died at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"I pierced it as I pierced the Queen's heart."
Olive held up the bleeding lily, reached out his hand and slowly and forcefully squeezed out the little blood left in the heart.
He spoke slowly and clearly, making sure not to make a single mistake: "Twenty-one founders of nations bowed their heads in sorrow, twenty-one Knights of the Round Table broke their swords, and twenty-one Du Lacs bled to death.
"Fools have passed away, the time has turned, and the warriors of yesteryear have returned from their battles.
"You will no longer be a king, no longer a knight, no longer an apostle—
"—The time for revenge has come!"
As he spoke, he pulled the bloody dagger out of the lion's heart.
It pierced fiercely into the heart of Lancelot I in the coffin!
A little late! A relative just came over and delayed us for a while!
I will finish writing the second chapter in the afternoon and then go home. There will be more, there will be more!
(End of this chapter)
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