Chapter 265
Also a Kind of Gin Training Method
Eivass scattered a large amount of black pearl powder as if it cost nothing, and at the same time chanted loudly:
“I implore Hengwo, the God of Sacred Number One, the God of Death and Rebirth, the God of Long Sight and Ignorance!
“—Oh, Hengwo, eternal as the moon! Watch over this sun that has not yet risen but has already set!
“I beg you to reveal the starry sky of four thousand years ago here—”
The next moment, moonlight poured down like mercury, flowing into the basement that had no windows or light leaks.
This was a place shielded from Hengwo’s gaze.
And now, under Eivass’s call, the power of the Path of Love squeezed in. The excess Path Power overflowed into the already harmonious air, and the twelve runes lit up with stars in sequence.
Looking up, one could see the bright moon hanging high in the sky, and the sky full of stars.
The dim basement was instantly transformed into a night sky. The sealed stone walls seemed to have become transparent.
Even if one looked up at the sky from outside, the stars were not so bright. Perhaps the stars in a small place like Shepherd’s Bay Country were very bright, but the nights on Glass Island were much more prosperous, which made the stars in the sky dimmer.
Dark shadows enveloped Sherlock like a cocoon shell, while bright moonlight draped over Eivass.
His whole body shone with silvery white light, like the moon walking on the earth.
Eivass drew a plain dagger and walked up the steps one by one from the side. He rode on the back of a black bull.
Originally, the bull would have been startled by this, or at least pawed uneasily.
But at this moment, a dark golden majestic radiance flowed in its pupils, as if something was inhabiting it.
Eivass solemnly recited: “I am the Father of the Sun, I am the Shadow of Hengwo.
“I am the King of all stars, the end of Mith, and the birth of Mith. I command the death of the bull.”
As he spoke, he cut open the palm of his left hand with the dagger and drew the symbol of Aries. The symbol looked like a slightly curled “V” on both sides.
Eivass raised his left hand, letting his blood drip onto the bull’s forehead.
The blood was like scorching flames, and after dripping onto the bull’s head, it ignited crimson flames.
“I am the fearless Aries, I am the Sun that has died and will die again, I am the Child of the Moon, I am the elder brother of all stars!”
Eivass’s second chant: “I execute the bull’s death—”
The ritual, which should have been completed by a second person, was completed by Eivass alone.
After speaking, he fiercely plunged the iron object in his hand into the bull’s forehead.
This was not the bull’s weak vital point, but its hardest part.
The blood-red flame spread up along the iron dagger, and golden sparks shot out intensely. It was as if the dagger was not piercing the bull’s head, but was being welded.
After the dagger was inserted, the bull let out a world-shattering moo.
It struggled violently, stomping frantically in place. But it couldn’t break out no matter how hard it tried, as if an invisible wall was stopping it.
“Son of Makara, raise your head like a young crow!”
Eivass, riding on the struggling bull, chanted loudly: “Thirstily drink the blood of this bull, thirstily drink the abundant blood like the dry earth—this is the blood of the Sun!
“The old day is dead, the new day has arrived, I command all grains to be born with life!”
As the bull struggled, its blood splattered everywhere.
The blood, sputtering golden sparks and steaming with heat, fell to the ground, and clusters of grains and flowers grew at a visible speed.
But at this moment, Eivass was suddenly stunned.
Because at this moment, a strange illusion appeared before his eyes—
It was as if he had only read half of the grimoire before, and now it had lifted some kind of seal.
—The illusion that had abruptly stopped suddenly continued at this moment.
He saw the three-legged crow rushing towards him, and the golden sun passing through his body.
Eivass’s whole body burned fiercely.
He subconsciously looked back and saw that the golden radiance burning on the three-legged crow had completely dissipated.
It was like burnt firewood, its whole body as black as charcoal.
The three-legged crow flew into the distance, but the sky did not darken because of it.
Only then did Eivass realize—
He himself was the Sun!
—The three-legged crow had passed the fire of the Sun to him!
That was the sacred flame of Xi Tian Si, and at this moment he perfectly fit the ritual, becoming the new sun that killed the old day.
He saw the golden characters on the golden bull spreading towards him along the flames and the dagger. The characters, like living things, swam on Eivass’s body surface, shining with golden radiance.
They roamed, then inexplicably faded one by one, until only the Horus characters, which Eivass couldn’t understand, remained.
They stayed on Eivass’s chest, forming a sun-like ring. Then they gradually dissipated again. But it left a vague trace.
Eivass didn’t have time to investigate what changes had occurred on his body, only feeling that the wound on his left palm had suddenly healed.
At this time, the sun outside had already risen slightly.
The bull died at sunrise—it died standing. The places where the characters were written cracked open, as if they were not characters but wounds.
Deep wounds in the shape of text bled profusely, and the blood dripped onto the black cocoon shell, seeping in drop by drop.
Eivass quickly completed the final step of the ritual:
“The bull is dead, the contract is made—reverse the celestial phenomena, newborn Mith!”
As the black cocoon shell slowly shattered, the stars in the ritual site began to rotate slowly in sync.
When the cocoon shell completely shattered, the celestial phenomena had changed.
The position of the Sun officially shifted from Taurus to Aries. The bull was dead, and Mith was born—it was the newborn sun god of Aries.
Afterward, the stars gradually dimmed.
Eivass climbed down from the bull, turned around gently, and then bowed. As the simplest dance, he bid farewell to Hengwo, who loved dancing as a form of worship.
The moonlight flowed away drop by drop, like a lunar eclipse. And when the moonlight was completely swallowed by the shadows, Eivass breathed a sigh of relief.
He pushed over the still, rigid corpse of the bull and reached out to pull Sherlock out of the deep pit.
Seeing Sherlock, who completed the ritual and immediately wanted to retrieve his clothes, Eivass couldn’t help but laugh.
—It was just as he had predicted.
“…What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Sherlock looked at Eivass with suspicion.
He originally wanted to look in the mirror… but as soon as he spoke, he noticed something was wrong.
Sherlock’s voice had become childish, as if he hadn’t gone through puberty.
He was startled, looked down, and found that his hands were more than a circle smaller.
“A thirteen-year-old boy, this is the newborn sun. Back to the age when you just started middle school… it’s like rejuvenation.”
Eivass said with a smile, “Aren’t you happy about such a good thing?”
“…Fake, right?”
Sherlock quickly calmed down.
He clenched his fist and replied, “I don’t feel any decline in my physical strength—that’s why I didn’t notice it immediately.”
“That’s right, this is just a change in appearance.”
Seeing that Sherlock wasn’t fooled, Eivass clicked his tongue.
He then explained, “You are currently a new member, so your appearance will revert to that of a boy, symbolizing vitality and courage.
“When you gain wisdom and become a Mitra Worshipper, you will return to your previous twenties, which is the Fourth Tier; if you gain the recognition of devotion, you will become a Mitra Messenger, a bit older, becoming a thirty-year-old adult, which is the Fifth Tier; and if you are lucky enough to gain the characteristic of Authority, you will become a forty-something Father of Mith, becoming middle-aged… this is reaching the Sixth Tier.”
…Hmm?
Sherlock was stunned.
He vaguely felt from Eivass’s tone that this path didn’t seem to have reached its end.
But the Sixth Tier was already an unreachable realm at present. Only the Eternal Pope could reach the Sixth Tier.
But…
If Eivass’s previous statement was true, that the “Church of Mith” had five powers: balance, wisdom, power, devotion, and adaptation. If his youthful form represented balance or adaptation, then logically, there should be an elderly form to correspond to another one.
And the sun is something that dies and is to die again, is born and is to be reborn. Sherlock vaguely felt that it should be reasonable to return after old age…
…But how could that be?
How could there be a Path above the Sixth Tier…
Sherlock was somewhat confused, but he just secretly noted this matter in his heart.
Looking at the clothes on the ground that were much too large, the young Sherlock pondered for a moment, thinking about whether to ask Eivass to get him some clothes for young people, but finally gave up.
He put on his loose clothes again and decided to help Eivass clean up the ritual site first.
At least he couldn’t make things difficult for the Bishop who lent them the venue.
“Fox.”
“Hmm?”
“Tomorrow, before we leave, help me buy some new clothes. I’d appreciate it.”
Sherlock said in a childish but steady voice, “I’m not suitable for going out looking like this.”
“No problem.”
Eivass said with a smile, “I’ll buy you some cute clothes.”
“…Don’t do anything superfluous, Fox. Ordinary is fine. We’re going to the countryside—clothes that are convenient for movement would be best.”
Sherlock couldn’t hold back his temper and quickly added.
“Alright.”
Eivass replied casually.
He was just joking in the first place.
After all, it was too dark here, and he hadn’t really seen what Sherlock looked like as a youth. Eivass just habitually wanted to be sarcastic—after all, he had just done Sherlock a great favor, so even if he acted a little cheeky now, Sherlock couldn’t get angry.
So, this cheekiness was unavoidable!
“Oh, you stinky fox.”
“What?”
“Thanks.”
Sherlock said softly without turning his head, “I mean, my head doesn’t hurt anymore… So, thanks.”
Eivass’s lips curved slightly, “It’s nothing, we’re brothers—so you really don’t want cute clothes? I think Lixia would definitely be interested.”
“Forget it, I take back what I just said.”
“Just kidding, brother.”
“Better not. It won’t be long before I advance and return to my original appearance, so don’t tell them about this… You’re being so quiet, what mischief are you up to again?”
“I was wondering if Isabel has a camera.”
“Don’t tell Highness or Master Janis about this!”
The two of them were scrubbing the walls of St. Genevieve’s Chapel’s cellar in the early morning, and they didn’t know how long it would take.
Update complete!
I have to take a high-speed train tomorrow, and it will be bumpy all day, so I might need to take a leave of absence. I’m informing you in advance!
I’ll try to write some draft chapters tonight. If I can finish them, I’ll update normally tomorrow. If not, I’ll submit a leave request tomorrow morning!
