Chapter 472: The Ritual Site
“Okay, I won’t ask for specifics. If, as you said, this area is sealed by the Moon God, how do you plan to help us awaken the others?” I asked, taking advantage of the negotiation to gather more intelligence.
“Do not mention that false god’s title! Just say him, and we will know who you are talking about,” one of the Shaien immediately reminded me.
Interesting, truly interesting. He spoke of the Moon God with disgust, calling him a false god, yet when it came to mentioning Him, he fell silent. Not only would he not speak His true name, but he wouldn’t even dare to utter His title.
I strongly suspected that “Moon God” was merely a placeholder. There were too many beings in the world that could be called Moon God for it to refer to a specific deity, which was why they dared to use it.
Their reaction reminded me of the keyboard warriors from my previous life. They simultaneously disdained and yearned to pontificate, but in actual typing, they always used indirect terms, speaking in riddles. I almost burst out laughing.
“It’s very simple, Doctor Amelia. We will find a way to secretly open a gap in the Blood Moon’s seal and send her out,” the Queen of the Insects said.
“You can even do that? But why help us to this extent? Isn’t that very risky for you?” I asked, surprised.
“You don’t need to concern yourself with the specific method. We’ve lived here for a long time and have a certain understanding of false god’s power. Opening a small crack without him knowing is not a problem. As for why we are helping you, it depends on whether you are willing to help us with the prophecy,” the Queen of the Insects said.
I had a feeling she wasn’t telling me everything. The Insect Race wouldn’t undertake such a risky endeavor for just a prophetic dream. Even if they were confident they could deceive the gods, it was still an act of defiance against a divine being. This trump card should be saved for a crucial moment later.
Unless my prophetic dream could truly help them in such a significant way. However, I didn’t believe it. This prophetic dream was unclear even to me, so how could they understand it? The benefits and risks were completely disproportionate.
But now it was my turn to make a choice. All the Shaien in the area were watching me, awaiting my agreement. If I nodded now, everything would be negotiable, and even our primary target, Amelia, could be rescued directly.
However, if I refused again, the Shaien might indeed decide to keep me here forever. To be honest, having a dream wasn’t difficult. The main issue was whether I could trust the Shaien.
“Are you sure this prophecy poses no danger to Parul?” Jayad asked, having been silent until then.
Generally, he was taciturn in front of outsiders, as thieves tended to be discreet. If one didn’t pay close attention, they might even overlook his presence.
When Jayad spoke, it was usually to express concern for my safety.
“Of course. We absolutely guarantee her safety. You can watch the entire process, please rest assured. If she truly has such powerful talent, we may need to cooperate in the future, so naturally, we must protect her safety,” the Queen of the Insects guaranteed.
“Then, fine. Since you’ve all said so, it would be tactless of me to refuse. However, I will only be responsible for sleeping. How I dream about your prophecy and how it’s recorded and interpreted are all your responsibility, not mine. Is that acceptable?”
I had no choice but to agree, otherwise, it would be difficult to escape unscathed. Moreover, the terms they offered were indeed reasonable. I was unwilling to let go of any opportunity to rescue Amelia.
“No problem, it’s a deal! After we succeed, we will definitely send Doctor Amelia and you all out,” the Queen of the Insects said, overjoyed.
And so, without even consulting Amelia’s opinion, we directly used her for a transaction.
“Then, please come this way. We have prepared the ritual site,” a Shaggai Wormman, dressed like a priest, said.
Why did we need a ritual site? In my previous life, I could have prophetic dreams just by lying on a bed. In fact, a bed wasn’t even necessary. As long as Older Brother Jayad wasn’t hugging me, I’d immediately have nightmares. I couldn’t avoid it.
So, I followed them into a large hall deep within the Temple. The hall was triangular, feeling like the interior of a Pyramid. In the center was a tiered platform, and on top of that was a stone bed.
The more I looked at it, the more I felt something was wrong. Wasn’t this an altar? Especially since the stone bed was surrounded by a magic circle drawn with red paint, possibly blood, and six braziers were lit around it.
“You’re not planning to sacrifice me, are you?” I asked fearfully. If I lay on that stone platform now, a priest would likely approach with a ritual dagger and stab me in the chest.
Ideally, there would be a bloodletting trough to channel my blood onto the stone platform, forming a pattern—perhaps a divine rune or a sacrificial array—while a group of people knelt around it in worship. That would be a perfect sacrificial ritual.
“Hahaha, you jest. How can we sacrifice you when we can’t even contact the supreme God from here? Ah!…” The Queen of the Insects laughed heartily at my words, then suddenly realized she had become too excited and let slip a detail.
“Ahem! We certainly won’t sacrifice you. Miss Parul, that magic circle is for enabling you to dream about our people’s future, and those six braziers are a precautionary measure to prevent the false god’s prying eyes,” the Shaggai Wormman in the priestly robe explained to me.
Honestly, if someone else had said it, I might have been more receptive. But who would believe someone wearing a priestly robe?
However, whether I believed it or not was irrelevant. The arrow had been nocked and was on the string; there was no turning back. I followed their instructions and lay down on the stone platform. Jayad watched me nervously from the side, seemingly ready to scoop me up and bolt at the slightest disturbance.
This stone bed was giving me a headache. The Shaggai Worm Race’s preparations were too inadequate. They wouldn’t even provide a pillow. It would have been better to prepare a normal bed for me.
From the time that female Insect reported that I might have prophetic dreams to the Queen of the Insects arranging for me to be brought here, less than an hour had passed. Naturally, they didn’t have enough time to specially set up a new ritual site, so they used an old one.
Thus, they had to make some preparations and modifications based on me. Many Shaggai Worm people were busy on the stone platform, while the high-level Shaien watched quietly.
At first, I watched their preparations with interest, but soon I grew bored because I couldn’t understand. This was likely a ritual unique to their race, and my knowledge base didn’t contain any records of it.
So, I could only chat with the Shaien to pass the time. I thought for a moment and then asked, “Queen of the Insects, you could tell with one glance that I am capable of prophetic dreams. How did you discern this, and what is the principle behind prophetic dreams?”
