Chapter 609
Eclipse Ritual
February 28th, the new moon rose into the sky.
Sherlock was in a corner of Eivass’s room, quietly reading a grimoire. Eivass, meanwhile, was preparing for this unique Ascension Ritual.
The reason he was the one guarding Eivass’s Ascension Ritual was because Lily’s separation had reached its most critical moment.
The full moon would wane with the changing lunar phases, withering and dying. Just as a flower turns into a fruit, nurturing new life with its own existence. And that fruit would be the new moon… a moonless egg.
It would eventually consume itself to grow, and with the rising and setting of the sun, become the next full moon.
The *Egg Moon Grimoire* expounded on the techniques of lunar phase changes, self-division, and self-nurturing.
For this very reason, the birth of the “new self” had to be completed on the night of the new moon.
However, he did not collapse directly onto the ground in a coma.
Eivass hummed lightly and then began the ritual.
Sherlock mumbled.
He had experienced this feeling before.
It felt as if some gaze had swept over him.
Eivass sighed, “You should have asked earlier.”
As Eivass chanted, the jewel on his chest suddenly lit up with emerald radiance.
White doves. Deep blue fish. Green snakes.
At this moment, Eivass clearly felt his body fall into a state of weakness. A “cold burning” ignited beneath his skin, as if he had a high fever. Compared to the pain of a low fever, a high fever brought a sense of tranquility, like being immersed in the ocean. Eivass’s thoughts became colder and more rational, as if he were controlling this body from a higher perspective.
Therefore, the only one who could guard Eivass’s Ascension Ritual was Sherlock.
When facing the wind, it was difficult to draw oxygen into his lungs. Sherlock gasped for air, feeling an increasingly intense sense of suffocation. The messy objects in the room trembled, toppled, and became chaotic, but they did not approach the Ritual Array beneath Eivass. When they got close, they were repelled by a storm.
—The next instant, Sherlock felt a surge of dread.
This was the most dramatic Ascension Ritual he had ever witnessed—even the Pillar Gods had personally shown up.
Eivass raised his hands and chanted loudly, “I praise the flying birds and fish, and the crawling creatures of scales and feathers upon the Earth!
Meanwhile, on the other side, Lily looked up at the moonless sky, “The time has come…”
Sherlock stared intently at the grimoire and suddenly asked, “Do you need my help?”
“Are you alright?”
“I praise thrice, I worship thrice. I anoint mine eyes with the gall of serpents, and smear bird’s blood upon my entire body. I bathe in seawater!
“In the moonless woods, I shall surely grow wings and scales—”
The wheelchair Eivass had a prearranged and pushed to the side of the ritual area was not used at all. When the storm had erupted, the wheelchair had moved far away on its own.
The Ritualist believed that, excluding illness and the torment of pain, the weaker a person’s body, the stronger their soul. Therefore, a person around the age of fifty had the strongest soul, which was also the prime age for spellcasters like Ritualists and Mages.
The last time, it was in Eagle Cape Village, when Eivass had performed the “Ritual: Trial of Odin” in front of him. The moment that lightning struck, Sherlock felt that momentary fear. His body involuntarily trembled, his limbs weak and shaking.
Accompanying his chant, the room with its tightly shut doors and windows was suddenly swept by wind, and all light was extinguished. In the pitch-black space, only an emerald star rose slowly, emitting a sharp, cross-shaped radiance.
Sherlock looked down at the book and casually said, “Unless I die, no one will be able to harm you.”
If it were any later, people would start falling ill. The pain and worry caused by numerous chronic illnesses would gradually wear away the brilliance of the soul. People would then age rapidly, because the weakening of the soul would reflect upon the physical body… At the same time, severe damage to the brain would, in turn, affect the soul.
And when the Pillar Gods cast their gazes, their very gaze was like a mind-influencing spell.
After drawing the first part of the ritual array, he began to use seawater to write the second layer. Then, he used the gall of snakes to write the third layer, and finally, bird’s blood for the uppermost layer.
After finishing everything, Eivass stood in the very center of the ritual array.
Eivass’s voice became indistinct amidst the increasingly violent storm, “I walk alone—”
They respectively symbolized the sky, the sea, and the earth, with their commonality being that they were all creatures with scales and feathers.
Forget it, I’ll tidy things up first.
—When Sherlock gradually recovered from that creepy feeling, he saw Eivass still standing in the center of the ritual area, frozen in a silent stupor.
At this moment, Lily was alone on the second floor, preparing for self-division.
Eivass used a special ritual sacrifice this time—fasting.
It seemed as casual as fooling around. But since these words came from Sherlock Hermes, they might actually be credible.
“God adorned with scales and feathers, God of a thousand appearances—”
He lowered his head, his feet off the ground. His knees were slightly bent, and his hands were wrapped around his abdomen. Except for not being able to curl up completely, he looked just like an infant.
“If I had asked earlier, I would have truly needed your help, my friend.”
“Gaze” has power, to the point where some exceptionally perceptive people can clearly feel eyes on their backs.
Eivass curled his lips, “In conclusion, watch over my body. Don’t let anyone approach it.”
“I implore the Lord of Scales and Feathers, the God of Sacred Number Six.
Rather, he was fixed in mid-air by an invisible force.
He shook his head, got up, and closed *The Fool’s Eulogy Grimoire*, patiently tidying up the scattered objects on the floor, which looked as if burglars had ransacked the room.
“…Does Eivass really need me to protect him?”
“I knew you wouldn’t help, so I didn’t ask you from the start…”
“I praise that which is medicine, poison, and that which is neither medicine nor poison!
This was also the first time Eivass had, like a true Ritualist, followed taboos and rules step by step to perform a ritual.
Eivass did not prepare nine different symbolic objects, but only three.
The storm that rushed over made Sherlock involuntarily close his eyes and raise a hand to shield his face. Because he was indoors, he wasn’t wearing a hat, and his hair was being blown around, forming different shapes.
He placed these materials into a ring, connecting the three rings into an equilateral triangle. He then prepared a vial of life potion, poison, and anesthetic, placing them into three smaller rings, connecting these three into a smaller equilateral triangle. He then overlapped these two triangles to form a less regular hexagram.
“It’s already done.”
Eivass had been fasting for five days, awake for one day, and without water for one and a half days. For an ordinary person, this was a level of weakness that would necessitate lying in bed. Yet Eivass could still handle the ritual single-handedly… at most, he would feel a little dizzy when getting up.
Therefore, when performing serious and dangerous rituals, Ritualists usually began fasting a period in advance. This was to ensure their bodies were sufficiently weak, allowing their souls to maintain a more stable state during the ritual.
—This was different from all previous Ascension Rituals.
“The eight are not here—”
Sherlock’s lips curved slightly as he replied, “Why don’t I rest and recuperate, and then properly protect you as you complete the ritual.”
“Don’t worry.”
Her eyes glittered with crimson radiance, and beside her was a glass of red wine—containing a drop of Eivass’s blood.
She tilted her head back and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.
(End of Chapter)
