The Ritual
"Since I am the Creator, and my mysterious energy is the source of spirituality... I should be able to change the dream world, or rather, use my spirit to interfere with reality."
With this thought, Alan entered the dream world.
He skillfully navigated to the interior of a building, a place where only core members of the church could gather. Occasionally, the High Priest would impart knowledge of mysticism here.
Today, he was in luck; it was indeed the High Priest on the platform.
The bald old man, with wrinkled skin covered in tattoos, emitted wisps of black flames from his eyes. This was the outward manifestation of spiritual power accumulating to a certain stage, about to overflow.
He spoke slowly, in a deep voice:
"Everyone present here has taken the first step towards awakening their spirituality. I will teach you how to resist sickness, avoid danger, gain power... and ultimately, ascend the shining steps, draw closer to our deities, and attain immortality!"
After thoroughly rousing the congregation's emotions, the High Priest's smile grew wider: "Of course, with your current shallow spiritual power, you can only perform the simplest of rituals. Remember, every ritual requires spiritual involvement. If you are not truly unburnt, you should not attempt it unless you wish to consume your own life force instead!"
The High Priest casually picked up a tree branch: "Next, I will demonstrate a ritual with a simple effect—pathfinding! It can help you quickly find a way out... Beware! This is not just for when you foolishly get lost. If you encounter some confusing danger or fall into a mysterious fog, it can also show you the way out!"
"The entire ritual consists of rites, necessary objects, prayer, target, petition, offering, and other parts... Remember, we can only pray to the great Black Sun, the Eclipse Lord. Any mistake in the rites will lead to terrifying consequences."
Alan stood on the side, nodding occasionally.
It was clear that, thanks to the relentless pollution or murmurs of those great beings, the mystical system of this world was rapidly expanding, even birthing a unique form of mysticism.
It encompassed many esoteric teachings and methods of subjective verification, covering ritual studies, extraordinary languages, mysticism, spiritualism, wand divination, numerology, natural magic, witchcraft, astrology, and alchemy, among other fields. It was indeed all-encompassing and full of wonders.
On the platform, the High Priest continued: "The timing of rituals is also important. Our Lord favors dawn and dusk, the times of day-night transition offer the highest success rates. Do not attempt it at noon when the sun is at its peak, lest you end up like the unfortunate brother who burned himself to ashes last time..."
"During prayer, avoid unclear intent, mumbled words, or lengthy pauses; the Lord will feel offended..."
Alan nodded, gaining some understanding of ritual studies: "These mystical rituals mainly use one's own spirituality to trigger the mysteries, communicate with the great beings in the void, and beseech their power... But is the Black Sun the type to treat its followers kindly?"
He felt that the High Priest had grasped a bit of the path of ritual but was far from mastery.
Perhaps the communication was just a fragment of the Black Sun's brilliance, and the so-called ritual feedback was merely a natural reaction, like an automated system.
"Otherwise, given the Black Sun's madness, those who communicate with it should all be lunatics!"
Alan thought mockingly, wondering how the Black Sun Cult would react when they truly communicated with the Black Sun.
"Alright, the situation now is that I can't interfere with this world... but what if someone else took the initiative to communicate with me?"
"For example, a believer using their spirituality to initiate a ceremony connecting to some unknown existence..."
Alan thought for a moment, then felt dejected: "Ugh... would there be such a madman who would pray to the unknown?"
"Moreover, my connection, or rather my sensing range, must surely be less than those of the Black Sun... Pretending to be an evil god is quite challenging indeed."
"If I designed a ritual for myself, what title should I use? The Creator Above Creation? The Great Observer Behind Multiple Veils? Oh? Even if I designed a title, I couldn't inform my believers..."
Alan found himself in a dead end.
To interfere with the world, he needed believers—to have believers, he needed to establish rituals and titles—to impart titles to believers, he first had to interfere with the world!
"This is a damn deadlock!"
Alan complained: "I should continue to be an invisible observer... maybe I'll stumble upon some idiot or lunatic using an ambiguous ritual that I just happen to sense!"
On the platform, the High Priest had finished his lecture.
He looked down at the unburnt with well-concealed eagerness and greed in his eyes.
At this moment, Alan noticed that Shu was among the unburnt, clearly having completed the first phase of the ritual and successfully awakened her spirituality.
"This woman has quite a talent for the path of darkness."
A reality-inept person couldn't help but feel sour.
He followed Shu back to the small house where she lived with the two children.
At this moment, there were no more watchers outside the house, indicating they had fully integrated into the Black Sun Cult.
Inside the house, after a vigilant sweep, Shu quickly closed the door.
"Aunt Shu!"
Inside the house, Ike and Lin were there. Seeing Shu, they cheered.
"Alright, I have become an 'Unburnt' and learned some incantations. We can leave now."
Shu pulled up a floorboard, revealing a large bag filled with black bread and canned food they had saved over time, along with other outdoor tools.
"I've already investigated. The Black Sun Cult is not as simple as it seems... The rumored burning of live people is real. The High Priest might be waiting for specific spiritual numbers and dates... We must leave and not stay here. Yes... even outside, we can continue exploring the path of darkness..."
Shu did not realize she had already begun to change slightly.
For instance, she no longer resisted the faith in the Black Sun.
This time, her escape was only to distance from the Black Sun Cult, not from the Black Sun itself!
"But... Aunt Shu, do we really have to leave? I feel that the uncles and aunts there are kind, and they even gave me and my sister candies," Ike said hesitantly.
Shu's expression changed, becoming confused and pained...
Suddenly, she seemed to realize something, her face turning pale: "This influence is terrifying... I'm like this as an adult, but you two children must immediately leave here, away from the 'mystical'!"