Chapter 57: The Messenger Who Walks Between the Living World and the Realm of the Dead
Chapter 57: The Messenger Who Walks Between the Living World and the Realm of the Dead
"Once used, the sacrificial site is no longer pure. The Lord favors cleanliness and detests filth. He is the sovereign who leads to restful sleep; only a clean and refreshing environment is suitable to serve as His earthly kingdom," count Richard explained with devoutness.
Maric nodded without doubt, while Hastur paid close attention.
This time, Hastur and Maric arrived early, just in time to witness a complete sacrificial ritual.
Initially, they sat in unison around the perimeter of the bonfire, eyes closed, chanting hymns in praise of the Lord.
"Drifting through the world, oh restless souls with no place to rest.
We need guidance, we need salvation, we need the grace of the Lord.
Oh Lord, the master of rest in the realm of the dead.
Please cast your merciful gaze upon us, bestow blessings that lead us forward…"
After chanting the hymn ten times, count Richard concluded the first part of the ritual.
The second part was the summoning ceremony, conducted and completed solely by count Richard.
Surrounded by the crowd, he drew a mysterious and complex rune on the ground with devout expressions, several curves paired with three circles, and four straight lines.
Hastur stepped forward to observe and, with a twitch of his mouth, held back his criticism and retreated to the side.
What kind of summoning rune was this? It was clearly just an ordinary pattern that count Richard had randomly drawn after seeing somewhere, merely looking intimidating.
count Richard then took out three candles he had prepared earlier: a black candle placed in the upper left corner, a red candle in the upper right, and an ordinary candle in the center.
This scene surprised Hastur; the meaningless rune made him think count Richard's knowledge of the occult was poor, but the placement of the three candles indeed met the requirements of ritual magic.
When he saw count Richard take out plants like corpse grass, bone flower, night-scented herb, and deep sleep flower, and place them neatly with reverence, he was inexplicably shocked.
He could now be sure that count Richard must have combined the Reaper and the Goddess of the Night into what he considered the Lord of the Dead.
Corpse grass and bone flower, plants with a strong scent of death, were favored and cherished by the Reaper.
Night-scented herb and deep sleep flower were the beloved of the Goddess of the Night.
And it wasn't over yet; count Richard carefully took out a fist-sized crystal ball from his bosom and placed it in the very center of the three candles.
After preparing all this, count Richard began to chant the incantation with devotion.
"I!
I summon in my name!
The spirit that dwells in the depths of the void, the mysterious creature that loves the night and tranquility, the messenger who walks between the living world and the realm of the dead."
As count Richard finished the incantation in the ancient Gohem language, a gust of wind rose from the void, eerie and cold, and the flickering candle flames took on a deep blue glow.
The giant spirit creature from the realm of the dead, resembling a toad, appeared again last night, coiling its body and looking down at count Richard and the others below.
count Richard stood up and respectfully bowed to the location of the spirit creature.
Outside, forming a circle, five people took out brass whistles and blew them, and soon, five smaller spirit creatures appeared.
The temperature around them dropped again, and a gust of wind made everyone shiver with cold.
"The ritual is complete!"
After all this, count Richard was very happy, and the surrounding participants also praised the Lord's gaze descending from the realm of the dead to the living world.
Maric, though well-traveled and knowledgeable, was still shocked by this scene.
A ritual magic so haphazardly conducted, and yet it succeeded in the end?
He was curious to know how count Richard had managed to coexist harmoniously with this giant spirit creature for so long?
Without signing a contract, yet able to summon successfully every time, and without any mishaps.
Wasn't that luck a bit too good?
And those five brass whistles could actually summon five spirit creatures; could they be some kind of seal?
But no, if they were seals, the negative effects alone would be more than these ordinary people could bear.
Hastur was also stunned by count Richard's actions; truly a talent!
The third part of the ritual was dancing around the bonfire to please the spirits.
Maric still did not join, but Hastur didn't wait for count Richard to invite him and took the initiative to join the dancing group, which pleased count Richard.
The sacrificial dance had three rounds, each with its own symbolic meaning.
The first round of the sacrificial dance was to please the spirits, to let the spirits listen to their humble wishes, and to fulfill those wishes.
The second round of the sacrificial dance was for their deceased loved ones, hoping that the dance would allow their souls to rest in peace.
The third round of the sacrificial dance was for themselves; the souls of the dead needed rest, but those still living needed to continue on their journey. They needed courage, blessings, and the luck to complete their lives.
After three rounds of the sacrificial dance, Hastur and those around him began to discuss the deeds of the Lord of the Dead and their own sad stories.
At three o'clock in the deep night, the grand and mysterious ritual ended once again, and count Richard sincerely invited Hastur and Maric to visit his manor.
"If I can witness a miracle tomorrow night, I think I might change my faith."
Hastur didn't finish his sentence, just giving count Richard a signal that he might join.
"Of course, the Lord will manifest miracles and grant equal blessings to every believer."
count Richard happily led his team away, and before leaving, they still extinguished the bonfire and cleaned up the site.
"It's unimaginable, unbelievable, that he could have survived until now!"
With no outsiders present, Maric let out a series of sighs.
Hastur concealed a smile and asked, "Is there a problem?"
"Of course there's a problem! And it's a big one!"
"Could it be that count Richard is possessed by some evil god or demon?"
Maric waved his hand, "It's not that serious, he, how should I put it, is just a lucky fellow. The main problem isn't from him, but from that giant spirit creature."
Hastur showed a willingness to learn, and Maric paced back and forth, saying, "There are indeed friendly creatures in the spirit world, but the ritual magic that count Richard just performed didn't specifically mention words like 'harmless' or 'friendly.'"
"The spirit that dwells in the depths of the void, the mysterious creature that loves the night and tranquility, the messenger who walks between the living world and the realm of the dead."
"Creatures that fit this description do exist in the spirit world, but they're not necessarily friendly. More likely, they're evil, harboring malicious intentions."
"Especially that phrase, 'the messenger who walks between the living world and the realm of the dead,' I've never heard of a friendly creature coming from the realm of the dead."
"Hmm… you should understand the ancient Gohem language, right?"
Hastur modestly said, "I understand some of it."
"Then you need to study harder. To enter the extraordinary world, the ancient Gohem language is a very important occult language. If possible, you should also master other occult languages like Elvish and Giant."
"It's hard to find a suitable teacher."
Hastur sighed lightly; although he knew some Giant and Elvish, it was limited and far from mastery. These two languages were indeed difficult to find suitable teachers for.
Maric thought for a moment, "Sharon is very good at learning this kind of knowledge, much better than me. If she's willing to be your teacher…"
"With her personality, she's not likely to casually become someone's teacher. You'd better go to Beckland University and find those professors who specialize in languages."
Maric felt that asking Sharon to teach occult languages was a very unreliable idea.
With her character, she would probably just throw the relevant books in front of Hastur and let him learn on his own.
Hastur also felt that with Sharon's character, she wouldn't become his teacher, alas, a bit of a pity.
"Do you think count Richard is a Sequence number extraordinary?"
Hastur changed the subject.
"He definitely won't exceed Sequence 5; I reckon he's around Sequence 7."
Sequence 7, the necromancer of the Reaper's path?
That did seem to match the abilities count Richard had shown.
Such a person, not very proficient in occult knowledge, could successfully advance to Sequence 7 without losing control; his luck was indeed good.
The two chatted all the way back to the lakeside, and before parting, Hastur deliberately guided, "You said that count Richard and his group have to change places every time they hold a ritual, could there be a special reason?"
Maric pondered for a long time, "Tomorrow, let's go investigate together."
…
The next day, Hastur and Maric began searching the nearby dense forest and quickly found the third and fourth places where rituals had been held.
"Have you noticed that these four ritual sites seem to be points around a circle?" Hastur speculated.
"Do you think the thirteenth ritual will be at the center of the previous twelve ritual sites?" Maric's face grew more solemn.
Following this line of thought, they searched around the circle and indeed found the fifth, sixth… up to the twelfth ritual site.
Connecting these twelve points, they did indeed form a circle, and the distances between each point were roughly equal.
This indicated that count Richard and his group did not choose ritual sites at random, but had predetermined thirteen ritual locations from the start of their ceremonies.
"According to the order in which they conduct rituals, it should be in a counterclockwise direction."
Hastur's expression became serious.
In occult studies, counterclockwise and clockwise have their own significance, such as the difference between upright and reversed in tarot cards.
If clockwise represents the passage of time, from past to future, then counterclockwise signifies the opposite.
It can be interpreted as a reversal of time, from the present back to the past.
The philosophy that count Richard and his group adhere to is to let the souls rest in peace, where the soul dies and is reborn, from death to new life, which should represent clockwise, as time flows normally.
Conversely, counterclockwise represents the pursuit of resurrection from death.
This is completely contrary to the philosophy of count Richard and his group and is extremely dangerous.
He now suspected that count Richard might not understand the occult meanings behind these actions, and his deeds were guided by an external force.
For example, that indistinctly visible giant spirit creature.
According to count Richard's description, it is a messenger that walks between the living world and the realm of the dead.
Then, escaping from the realm of the dead and appearing in this world would be a reasonable pursuit for it, right?
This could also explain why count Richard could summon it accurately every time and remain unharmed.
Because count Richard still had enough value to be used.
(End of Chapter)