1227 Summoning Ritual

After Mass, Klein followed the newly appointed Priest of The Fool, Nim, into the black tower.

With no reservations, Nim gave a detailed description of how many demigods and Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts there were in Moon City.

Three demigods… Five Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts… Moon City isn't weak at all… As expected of a power that can directly receive a revelation and guard the border… Furthermore, they had people relatively well-distributed across the twenty-two Beyonder pathways in the beginning. They could work together effectively so that some rituals didn't need any requests for external help or become restricted by the environment… Yes, compared to the City of Silver in how their surroundings is worse and how they do not have Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts to support them, it's already extraordinary for them to survive to this day… If it wasn't because they couldn't find suitable food, they should be able to survive in the darkness for centuries… Klein felt wistful after hearing the introduction.

At this moment, Nim said respectfully, "Oracle, we are willing to sacrifice all the Sealed Artifacts and Beyonder characteristics to the Lord. I wonder which one of them will be more pleasing to him?"

This High Priest had previously mentioned that apart from him, a Nightwatcher, Moon City also had an Iron-blooded Knight and an Imperative Mage. They were respectively the Lightning Priest and Night Priest.

As for the five Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts, one of them belonged to the Monster pathway. It seemed to be a portion of Misfortune Mage characteristic mixed with a little of a Chaoswalker's characteristic. One of them came from Puppet from the Mutant pathway, and the other was bestowed by Red Angel Medici. It allowed everyone to gather all their powers together. One of them was suspected to be the amalgamation of a Bizarro Sorcerer's characteristic, and there was one of an unknown pathway. It had extremely strong discernment abilities, but it was rather dangerous due to an unknown corruption.

Hearing that, Klein's eyelids twitched as he smiled.

"Serve the Lord with your heart, not with your offerings.

"The Lord accommodates the entire world and doesn't care about these things."

Having said that, he paused and said, "Of course, if you don't mind, you can bring me around for a tour to broaden my horizons."

"No problem!" Nim answered without hesitation.

He originally imagined that Gehrman Sparrow would take away a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact while taking the tour, but to his surprise, the Oracle only wanted to get a better understanding of the specific situation and had no intention of reaping any benefits. He picked up every Sealed Artifact to take a look but put them back in the end.

After the tour ended, Klein said to the three demigod priests, "The opportunity to leave this cursed land isn't here yet. You need to hold on for a while longer.

"And I will continue my journey to find other survivors and spread the light of the Lord."

"Yes, Oracle," Nim and the other priests replied without any hesitation.

With those mushrooms, they would be spared from annihilation for at least another three generations.

After settling the matters in Moon City, Klein walked out into the darkness in his trench coat and top hat.

What he was going to do next was very clear:

Find Dark Demonic Wolf Kotar and hunt for this God of Wishes!

My wish is to obtain the Miracle Invoker's Beyonder characteristic and that "curtain." I wonder if "He" will be able to help me achieve it… As Klein walked, he made a mockery in his heart.

With him out of sight of Moon City's residents, he pulled another "him" out of the fog of history.

His main body entered the Historical Void, causing his consciousness to shift to the projection.

This projection also summoned the historical projection of the Staff of the Stars. With its Beyonder powers, he descended directly into the place in his mind:

The completely destroyed northern ancient city, Nois!

After successfully reaching his destination, the projection quickly disappeared, and Klein's body returned to the wilderness outside Moon City.

Following that, he summoned the Staff of the Stars's projection and repeated the process, allowing him to instantly reach the Nois ruins.

The main purpose of the Historical Void's projection was to scout ahead and ensure that the scenes that surfaced in his mind were identical to the real world, without having any discrepancies. This prevented the Staff of the Stars from creating its random effects.

This was the cautiousness of a Scholar of Yore.

…

In the middle of the quiet and dark training grounds of the City of Silver.

Colin Iliad, who was carrying two swords on his back, stood by the side. He watched as Derrick Berg set up the ritual and prayed to Mr. Fool, asking him to send a holy spirit down upon him to provide him with help.

This was different from a normal summoning ritual. The corresponding incantation was more complicated:

"The Great Fool;

"You are the ruler above the gray fog;

"You are the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck."

"I pray for your loving grace.

"I pray for your notice.

"I pray for the power of concealment and change.

"I!

"I summon in the name of the great Fool:

"The Holy Spirit that sees through Everything, the Loving Grace of the King of Yellow and Black, the Traveler from the Dream and Mind."

As the Jotun words echoed at the altar, the flames at the tip of the candles suddenly expanded, forming an illusory door covered in mysterious patterns.

The door slowly opened and a woman wearing a pure white dress and silver mask walked out. She stepped out of the void and walked across the ground.

Her hair was red and her eyes were golden. They were limpid and deep, as if they could see through everyone's hearts.

This was Justice Audrey. She had used Lie to change her height, and a mask to conceal her main features.

She came to the Forsaken Land of the Gods, the City of Silver in the form of a Spirit Body.

In fact, the summoning ritual wasn't complicated at all. Klein had pulled Audrey's spirit above the gray fog ahead of time. He waited for the Door of Summoning to be established before helping her open it, allowing her to pass through and settle the entire matter.

That also meant that the description of "Holy Spirit that sees through Everything" could equally have changed to "Sleeping Princess, the Holder of the Golden Apple, the Previous Owner of the Crystal Slippers," and Justice Audrey would still be able to descend. This was dependent on who Klein allowed to pass through the Door of Summoning. After all, the key point of the ritual was to use The Fool's name for the summoning and using the power of Sefirah Castle to communicate with the Forsaken Land of the Gods.

The silver-masked Audrey secretly surveyed her surroundings. She sized up the lightning-lit sky, the darkness that spelled lurking danger, and the City of Silver's Chief, Colin Iliad.

She then looked away and nodded at Little Sun.

"We can begin."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but sigh at his height.

Although this could be seen during the Tarot Gathering, it was still something that left her in a daze when she met him in real life.

She remembered very clearly that The Sun was a few years younger than her. According to Loen's standards, he was definitely still underage. To her surprise, he was more than two meters tall. This made Audrey, who had used Lie to deliberately increase her height, still have to look up.

Without any hesitation, Derrick relaxed his mind and cast his gaze at the golden potion placed on the altar.

Gradually, he felt a little dazed as scenes involuntarily flashed across his mind.

Scenes of his parents who remained alive inside the coffin;

The silver sword that stabbed down, hard. The blood that splattered and blinded his eyes momentarily.

It was the heartwarming scenes of his family in the past;

It was the City of Silver that was on the verge of collapse in the darkness.

They were teammates who supported each other and watched each others' backs;

It was the Elders standing in front of everyone, blocking the storm.

It was the repeated curses, the hope he saw in the lightning amidst the darkness;

It was a dream that had existed for more than two thousand years. It was something that generations of people yearned for daily.

The emotions that Derrick was most unwilling to give up were very complicated. It contained his anger towards reality, the fondness of the past, the pain of his circumstances, the repression of history, and the desire to save the City of Silver.

Audrey slowly separated these emotions as though she had experienced the despair and sadness of the City of Silver, experiencing their unity and sacrifices.

Her golden eyes sometimes turned gloomy and heavy, while there were glints at other times, as if she had grabbed something and taken it in; yet, she still remained lost.

After a while, she saw the twelve-white-winged angel of light. This was another response from Mr. Fool to The Sun.

Audrey seized the opportunity and attached all the intense feelings onto the angel phantom, preventing them from disappearing or undergoing a resurgence for a short period of time. By doing so, they didn't stay completely separate from Derrick's body.

It's done. She didn't open her mouth, but instead, allowed her voice to echo in his heart.

At this moment, Derrick's eyes became abnormally cold, as if he no longer knew what joy, sadness, pain, and depression were.

He picked up the golden potion in front of him and poured it into his mouth.

This was a demigod potion obtained from shattering the Unshadowed Crucifix.

The Sealed Artifact that originated from the ancient sun god no longer existed. Of course, for Klein, anything he once possessed remained as enduring as the universe.

A hot, violent liquid gushed down Derrick's throat, instantly filling his entire body and occupying his soul.

Rays of bright sunlight burst out from his body, washing away the remnants of his body's corruption and the heaviness of his soul.

Derrick's body became purer and clearer, like a holy spirit formed from pure light.

His self-awareness and emotions were being purified and repelled. It wouldn't take long for him to only have the instinct to praise the Sun.

At this moment, Audrey no longer let the strong emotions that she had stripped from him remain attached to the angel projection. She guided them back towards Little Sun.

One scene after another surfaced in Derrick's mind, causing him to experience abnormally complicated emotions.

He once again experienced the pain of personally killing his parents, the despair brought about by the circumstances of the City of Silver, and the joy of receiving Mr. Fool's loving grace.

This drilled deep into him, becoming a foundation of his mind world. It was very sturdy and very reliable, allowing him to withstand the last few rounds of the potion's cleansing forces.

Finally, Derrick opened his eyes—it was pure white.

When he saw a ray of light in front of him, he instinctively extended his right hand in an attempt to grab it.

However, the light quickly dimmed and extinguished.

Derrick was stunned for a moment before he clenched his right hand tightly.

Beams of light rose up and enveloped the entire City of Silver.

The legendary noon descended for a brief moment.

All the residents of the City of Silver were stunned by what they saw. This was even more shocking than any of the previous demigods' advancement.

Sunlight.

It was sunlight that illuminated the entire city.

…

After ending the summoning, Audrey returned above the gray fog.

At that moment, Mr. Fool was no longer around. The ancient palace only had The World Gehrman Sparrow, who had planned on observing the ritual.

"You don't seem to be in a good state?" asked Klein.

Audrey sat down and smiled.

"I'm just a little edgy, hesitant, and confused."

"That's very normal. Before truly making up one's mind, everyone would behave like this. There are countless people who retreat and regret their decision," Klein calmly said.

Audrey didn't directly answer the topic at hand and instead said with a faint smile, "Ever since I became a Spectator, I've always displayed what would be the most acceptable side to them in front of others, taking care of their most delicate emotions. This isn't a bad thing, but this way, I won't be able to know what I really look like in the eyes of others. I won't be able to unveil the gorgeous clothes and see the rotting flesh beneath me. I won't be able to figure out the problem.

"Recently, I've been trying to show my true state in some details. I want to see how the people around me will react under such a situation. I want to see if they still think that I'm the kind, amiable, and virtuous young lady."

At this point, she suddenly fell silent. A few seconds later, she sighed and said, "The gap…"