Chapter 496
Ritual: Shadow of Avalon
As Eivass, clad in the Bishop’s red robe, opened the doors of St. Genevieve’s Chapel and walked inside, he was momentarily caught in an illusion.
In this moment, he felt as if he had merged with Bishop Mathers, who had once brought him here to study Sacred Skills.
Shaking his head slightly to dispel the strange feeling, Eivass opened the door and let the people waiting outside in.
Then, Eivass closed the chapel door, put on his Episcopal Crown, adjusted it seriously, and turned on the electric lights inside the chapel.
Instantly, St. Genevieve’s Chapel was illuminated.
Light flared behind the thirty-seven white statues in the niches on each side.
“……Huh?”
Grape let out a somewhat doubtful sound at the sight.
Candlemaster himself was a Pillar God who controlled light. Why would the Great Cathedral of the Candle Holder use electric lights?
‘Sherlock’ immediately tugged his brother’s arm and glared fiercely at Grape, who was playing Mycroft.
“It’s alright, Mr. Hermes.”
Eivass smiled and shook his head, though it was unclear which ‘Mr. Hermes’ he was addressing. “It’s normal to feel surprised… After all, during the Candle-holding Ceremony, St. Genevieve’s Chapel is usually open and lit with candles.”
I’m even helping her find a way to cover this up. I’m so kind.
Eivass felt a touch of emotion.
But what he said was not a lie.
“Although installing electric lights in such an ancient building might seem strange, it is actually a necessary measure,” Eivass explained. “Because within the domain of the Great Cathedral of the Candle Holder, the act of ‘lighting a candle’ possesses a certain divinity, or at least a special significance, as does lighting a kerosene lamp. Therefore, outside of ceremonies, festivals, and daily worship, lighting candles is not permitted anywhere within the cathedral. Daily illumination relies on electric lights.
“Before the invention of electric lights, oil lamps were used. Light sources had to be brought in from outside, or the interior fires kept burning. In the past, the work of the deacons included constantly replacing the candles in the Shrine and ensuring they did not go out.”
He looked kindly at ‘Mycroft’, explaining for him, “This is usually something only a Priest would know, so it’s natural for the Minister of Palace Affairs not to be aware of it.”
As Eivass spoke, all the statues in the chapel had been activated.
Seeing them all turn to look towards the entrance, Eivass slightly lowered his head and gently touched the three candles on his Episcopal Crown, lighting them one by one. “Seventy-three predecessors… May the Candlemaster watch over your flames.”
Although Queen Sophia was dead, she had not yet been buried here. Therefore, only seventy-three predecessors had received a state funeral.
Eivass glanced around and noticed that Sophia’s shrine was prepared, but it still did not contain a Sacred Statue.
…It seemed that Queen Sophia, having walked the path of twilight, no longer thought about her afterlife as she used to.
After Eivass spoke the secret command, the Sacred Statues calmed down and turned back.
This was a special system within St. Genevieve’s Chapel. It ensured that even if someone obtained the key through theft or snatching, and someone with the power of light and fire opened the door, if they did not immediately pay homage to the Sacred Statues of the Predecessors, it would trigger the intruder defense mechanism.
Eivass led everyone to the very back, to the giant coffin placed in the center.
It sat on a high platform, resembling a throne.
A pure white statue of a Saintess was propped against the coffin. She sat to the side, resting her chin on her arm as if taking a nap. Her appearance was pure, dignified, and sacred, with gentle long hair flowing down. Her arm and hair covered the coffin, which was engraved with intricate patterns, preventing it from being opened.
In a trance, Eivass felt as if he saw Isabel.
She bore some resemblance to Isabel, but lacked her elven aura. The woman, who appeared to be around thirty years old, could even be considered Isabel’s elder sister or mother.
“…Produce the Queen’s Blood.”
Eivass took a deep breath and said in a low voice.
This was his first time delving this deeply, and his first time seeing St. Genevieve and Lancelot I with his own eyes.
He stepped forward, removed his Episcopal Crown, and placed it on the coffin.
Eivass reached out and touched the candle flames on his Episcopal Crown. The pure white flame seemed to be drawn over and burned quietly on his fingertips.
He used this flame like paint, inscribing it onto the coffin.
“Why did you not let me become a god?”
Then, Eivass lit the second candle flame and wrote again:
“Why did you not let me become a mortal?”
Finally, Eivass lit the third candle flame and followed by writing the final secret phrase at the bottom:
“The Fool will be forgotten thrice, and then return from the world.”
As the three secret phrases were written, the pure white statue of Genevieve opened her eyes.
She raised her head, her beautiful, hazy pupils like ripest amber gazing at Eivass.
Then, she hugged the Episcopal Crown, whose candle flames had already extinguished, to her chest, reached out, pushed the coffin aside by half, stood up, and moved to the side.
The coffin, pushed aside by half, revealed only the upper body of Lancelot I. Scattered within his coffin were withered flower petals, each stained with a drop of dried blood.
Eivass then stepped back, watching as Olive stepped forward.
He first performed a complex consecration ritual, took out a lily from his embrace, poured the Queen’s Blood onto it, and inserted it into the heart of a lion, declaring it to be the Queen’s heart.
The lion’s heart was dried, as it is a common ritual material. Naturally, there was no blood inside… which was why the Queen’s Blood had to flow into it and then drip out again through the heart.
Normally, the Shadow of Avalon ritual would require the heart of a direct descendant of the royal family, but they could not obtain it. Therefore, they had to use the ‘substitution’ method of the powerful spellcaster, substituting it with something else.
The next moment, he plucked off a blood-stained lily and threw it into the coffin.
Instantly, the coffin began to boil—
Shadows stirred and churned like living things, bubbling and overflowing. Heavy black smoke, like dry ice emitting vapor, spread to everyone’s ankles, immobilizing them.
Olive solemnly picked up Arondight, the Dagger Eivass had retrieved, and thrust it into the lion’s heart.
Blood dripped, and the blooming lily withered and died at a visible rate.
“I pierce it, as I pierce the Queen’s heart.”
Olive held the blood-dripping lily high and slowly, forcefully squeezed the remaining blood from the heart.
He spoke slowly and clearly, ensuring not to miss a single word: “Twenty-one founders weep, twenty-one Knights of the Round Table break their long swords, twenty-one Du Lac spill their blood.
“The Fool has passed, the stars of heaven turn in myriad ways, the warrior of the past returns from a hundred battles.
“You shall no longer be King, no longer Knight, no longer Disc—
“—The time for vengeance has arrived!”
With that, he pulled the blood-stained dagger from the lion’s heart.
He plunged it fiercely into the heart of Lancelot I within the coffin!
(End of Chapter)
