Chapter 203 Void
The flow of time in the dream should be vastly different from reality. Days have passed, yet Li Wen’s internet cable has not been disconnected. She has also tried to log off, but that action could not be executed effectively.
If she died in the dream, would she still revive as a Player? She did not want to risk finding out. If this dream could interfere with the game panel, it might as well prevent player resurrection. It would be quite a loss if dying in the dream meant dying in reality as well.
Seven days, not a long time, nor a short time.
Li Wen lived a regular life in the convent. Every day, aside from participating in the Sunset Ritual, she would converse with Dean Afonsina, trying to glean more information about the city and the Sunset Ritual from her.
However, Dean Afonsina seemed unwilling to elaborate, always being vague and resorting to ambiguous words whenever the conversation touched upon critical points.
Li Wen was not in a hurry. She had plenty of time. Since the passage of time in the dream was so different from reality, she believed that as long as she was patient enough, she would eventually find a way to enter the spire from this city.
Finally, the Sunset Ritual of the seventh day arrived.
Li Wen woke up early that day. Dean Afonsina had been waiting outside the door for a long time. She held a brand new ritual robe, its golden sun patterns shimmering in the morning light.
“Tris, it’s time to prepare,” the old woman’s voice was more solemn than usual. “Today’s ritual will be exceptionally important.”
Li Wen took the ritual robe. As her fingertips touched the fabric, a strange warmth spread from her fingertips throughout her entire body. She noticed a fleeting, unusual glint in Afonsina’s eyes, which vanished in an instant.
“Why is that?” Li Wen asked probing as she changed.
Afonsina’s hand paused slightly before she continued to adjust her collar. “Because today is when the Crimson Crown is at its closest to perfection.”
This answer was vague, but Li Wen did not press further. As they left the convent, she noticed the unusually solemn atmosphere. The clergy in the hallway walked with their heads bowed, not speaking.
When they arrived in front of the temple, Li Wen found that the crowd gathered in the plaza was several times larger than before. All the Silver Elves were dressed in their most formal attire, holding various offerings. Their eyes were more fervent than usual, and the golden flames in their pupils flickered more intensely.
Li Wen followed Afonsina through the crowd. The Silver Elves parted the way for them, but dared not look directly at her. Their gazes were always lowered, as if looking upon her was a blasphemy.
“Lord Tris…”
“May the Crimson Crown be with you…”
Faint prayers rose from behind her. Li Wen could feel countless burning gazes following her, and this feeling of excessive worship made her quite uncomfortable, but she had to maintain the demeanor of “Tris.”
The temple doors opened silently before them, revealing the familiar staircase. Afonsina stopped, folded her hands across her chest, and made an ancient gesture.
“Go, child. Today’s ritual will determine the fate of us all.”
Li Wen keenly caught the unusual tone in the old woman’s words. Previously, she had only said the “Sunset Ritual” was exceptionally important, but now she directly stated it would “determine fate.” This was clearly not a casual remark.
After a moment of thought, she took a deep breath and took firm steps, walking up the long staircase. Every step she took seemed to tread upon the expectations of the elves. She could feel the pressure of countless gazes behind her. Just what kind of heavy emotions were those? She couldn’t understand. Her expression remained calm, showing no sign of wavering.
Before long, Li Wen reached the circular hall, whose memory was already hazy. The positions of the twelve priests had not changed at all, as if they had never moved even half a step from their spots.
The ball of light in the center of the hall had nearly doubled in size compared to the last time she saw it. Twelve light bands pulsated like veins, illuminating the entire space in a crimson hue.
“Begin, Tris,” said the elder black-robed priest. His withered, ancient face was devoid of any expression, except for his slowly burning golden eyes, filled with an unconcealable fervor.
Strange characters pertaining to the “Sunset Ritual” once again flooded Li Wen’s mind. This was not a restoration of memory from seven days ago, but rather new knowledge appearing in her mind from nowhere. Li Wen couldn’t even judge whether this text matched the content from seven days ago.
All the priests looked at her. Li Wen gazed at the ball of light, and the characters gradually took shape in the depths of her consciousness. They were not a language, but ritual steps imprinted directly on her soul – each step precise to the rhythm of her breathing, each prayer corresponding to a specific pulsation frequency of the ball of light.
Instinctively, she walked towards the ball of light, raising her hands, her fingertips touching its surface. A burning sensation instantly spread from her fingertips throughout her body, as if countless tiny suns were burning in her veins. She was filled and saturated with the light, yet never satisfied.
Her slender, white fingers caressed the surface of the ball of light, as if comforting it, attempting to control it, or tame it.
The flames that could evaporate oceans and melt the earth fell upon Li Wen, yet they did not dare to harm her in the slightest. The twelve priests arranged around the ball of light knelt in succession, clasping their hands and beginning to pray. However, their object of prayer was not the son of the sun, but Li Wen as she was now, or rather… Tris.
Accompanying these heavy, solemn prayers that sounded like hymns, Li Wen involuntarily began to chant the syllables that had appeared in her mind from nowhere.
As the first syllable left her lips, the ball of light trembled violently. The twelve crimson light bands writhed like enraged snakes. The black-robed priests responded in unison, their voices creating an eerie resonance in the circular hall. Li Wen could feel a colossal will awakening in the depths of the ball of light.
The golden threads on her ritual robe began to glow, melting into liquid metal and flowing down her arm towards the ball of light. The intense pain made Li Wen’s vision black, but she could not interrupt her chanting. When the third verse of the prayer ended, a fissure suddenly cracked open on the surface of the ball of light, resembling a giant eyeball, from which a blinding golden light erupted.
At this moment, a dark gray object gradually materialized in front of Li Wen. It resembled both a key and a lock, but a more accurate description would be a rib or a human limb.
With the appearance of the Bone of Vantannirr, a great tremor came from the dome of the circular hall. The priests, ignoring it, continued to chant those prayers that were both sacred and profane.
The golden eyeball turned towards Li Wen. With almost no need for thought, Li Wen realized that this giant sphere before her was the gateway to the dark spire. So, she grabbed the rib and easily inserted it into the crack of the ball of light.
With the explosion of an immensely powerful light, Li Wen briefly lost consciousness. When she regained her senses, she found herself in a realm of nothingness and darkness.
