Chapter 935
Herding: Essence of Flame
Eivass had already performed the Herding Essence Art once, and his Power of Transcendence was far stronger than before. Thus, preparing for this ritual went much smoother.
He entered the underground Ritual Chamber of the Silver and Tin Hall and meticulously etched the Magic Circle inscribed in the Book of Law.
On the Star of Eight points formed by the overlap of two squares, the names of the Nine Pillar Gods were not engraved. Instead, “Eivass” was written at each corner in eight different languages, and words of praise for Eivass were written at the top or bottom of each side, also in eight different languages.
The ritual wine was also personally brewed by Eivass.
Unlike the ritual wine used previously by the Shadow Demon, the essence for this herding was fire-attuned and of higher intensity. Therefore, cinnamon was no longer suitable for the ritual. This time, Eivass found a barrel of excellent sherry and poured it into the large cauldron.
During a half-hour of slow simmers over low heat, ginseng, dried Sichuan peppercorns, dried chili peppers, and the phosphorescent powder of the Butterfly were added in sequence.
The originally yellow liquid then turned a blood-red.
Eivass poured the scalding liquid into a crystal wine glass and dropped in the Amethyst eight-sided dice he had personally carved.
After bestowing a blessing upon Lily previously, faint dark marks had appeared on this dice. They did not seem to be stains, but rather like they had been stained by blood.
At that instant, the wine hissed like quenched metal.
A golden radiance like the sun bloomed from it, and the single dice seemed to become the core of the sun.
Eivass then placed a chair in the very center of the Ritual Array. Once the wine cooled and the radiance faded, the ritual would be ready.
There were no candles or other light sources.
In the pitch-dark space, Eivass sat naked on the chair, his eyes closed, adjusting his emotions.
Eivass strove to become arrogant and lofty. In his mind, he envisioned himself radiating light like the sun, illuminating the darkness.
Thus, without Eivass using any Illuminate Spell… his body began to glow.
It was not the pure white, soft, and delicate radiance of the Illuminate Spell, reminiscent of milk.
It was more like the fragmented colorful rainbow light that appears when sunlight passes through a glass window.
The radiance was much weaker, appearing somewhat dim.
Eivass slowly opened his eyes, his aura becoming sacred and solemn.
“At this moment, I am God. The Great Beast is the Disciple.”
He looked like a stained-glass mural in a church, exuding fragmented colored light.
At this time, Yulia knelt obediently before Eivass, cupping the wine in the goblet and simultaneously injecting fire-attribute Mana.
As the wine was infused with Mana, it once again blazed with magnificent radiance. At this moment, the seven-colored rainbow light emanating from Eivass’s body became even more prominent, and a halo even formed behind him.
Eivass took a deep breath.
He slightly raised his hand, grasping the Butterfly.
He sent it into his mouth.
As Eivass slowly chewed, unbearable flames erupted from within his body.
Cracks appeared all over Eivass’s body, and golden-red inextinguishable fire burned from his surface, as if he were draped in a fiery cape. The wooden chair beneath him was also ignited, transforming into a Throne of Flame.
At this point, his eyes had already melted from the uncontrolled scorching flames, yet Eivass did not cry out in pain.
For at this moment, Eivass felt as if he had died. His perspective appeared behind and above “Eivass,” floating in the air, almost completely separated from his body’s perception.
He tried to reach out his hand, and the hollow shell below synchronously raised its hand.
“I am your Shepherd; I shall not want.”
A brilliant, hollow voice in the void overlapped with the hoarse whisper of the shell below.
A thorn as black as charcoal emerged from Eivass’s right eye, and a white flower was pulled from it. He tightly gripped the vine, pulling it out of his brain, along with dark-red viscous blood!
The white flower immediately ignited, yet the black thorn remained still as ice.
Eivass inverted it, and as if holding a quill, pointed the black thorn towards Yulia.
On Yulia’s forehead, he wrote the name “Eivass.”
Yulia watched Eivass throughout.
There was no worry or heartache in her eyes as there should have been. The ritual demanded that she gaze upon Eivass with the mindset of a believer looking at a god, without any other distracting thoughts. The rational Yulia could perfectly fulfill the ritual’s requirements.
As the writing, accompanied by a spark of fire, finished being written, it ignited, along with Yulia’s pure white long hair, yet did not harm her.
Yulia felt no heat or pain, only warmth.
Eivass, whose body was almost burned to a husk, slightly loosened his grip. The burning white flower in his hand fell into the wine goblet, held by Yulia, glittering like the sun.
The black thorn disintegrated in the wine, while the white flower, burning with flames, suddenly expanded—
Golden-red flames erupted from the wine goblet!
“Hereby, I grant you grace, hope, and bliss.”
The voice from Eivass’s shell grew closer to the languid tone of the Butterfly, overlapping with the divine and glorious voice from the void, proclaiming, “Without asking for reward.”
The next moment, the most intense burst of flame shot out from the goblet. Like fireworks, it bloomed on Yulia’s face!
Instantly, the flames began to spread from her body in all directions. The entire Ritual Array ignited. Every “Eivass” and every word of praise for Eivass burned together.
In the space, it seemed as if countless overlapping prayers echoed simultaneously, as if countless Yulias were chanting Eivass’s name and words of praise for Him in different languages at the same time.
—The essence of the Herding Essence Art is the art of a false god.
Simulating a god, simulating a Disciple, and simulating a believer who worships a god.
Yulia at this moment was not “a” believer, but the representative and avatar of all “believers of Eivass.” Therefore, the power she was bestowed was the sum of these believers—
Yulia, unafraid of the flames in the cup, suddenly looked up and drank down the still fiercely burning flames in the cup in one go!
She held the eight-sided dice in her mouth. At this moment, the burning white flower was entwined around the dice. The white flower, outside Yulia’s mouth, looked as if she were biting onto a flower.
And amidst the flames, the white flower gradually withered and closed. At some point, it transformed into a chrysalis. The next moment, a Flame Butterfly struggled out of the cocoon shell formed by the white flower, and the cocoon shell turned to ash.
—That was exactly the Butterfly! It shone brightly like metal being heated and forged. Even in the sea of fire, it could be seen shining. It fluttered and landed on Yulia’s head, like a butterfly hairpin adorning her white hair.
Through this ritual, Yulia and the Butterfly re-established a close connection.
Afterward, Yulia put down the wine goblet. At the same time, she lowered her head and spat out the dice from her mouth. The eight-sided dice rolled and finally stopped at the number “8.”
—Compared to before, the black marks on the dice had expanded somewhat. At the moment the dice stopped, a dark red mark representing “infinity” appeared on the Ritual Array. Two rings suddenly enclosed Eivass and Yulia, and all the flames in the room were absorbed into the mark, including Eivass and Yulia.
When all the flames were absorbed, the mark instantly disappeared. The ritual was successful.
The next moment, a strong sense of connection formed in the hearts of Eivass and Yulia. It was like the connection between Eivass and Lily, but even stronger. Eivass could directly sense Yulia’s state and even communicate with her, without needing the Butterfly to act as a messenger like the Night Demon. It was like the relationship between a god and a believer.
As if time had reversed, Eivass, who had been almost burned to a skeleton, ignited pure white regenerative fire, and his flesh and skin rapidly regenerated. The traces of fire on the Ritual Array gradually disappeared, leaving only the charred wooden chair beneath Eivass. Eivass also “descended” back into his body from the hazy healing sensation. It took a while longer before he gradually returned to his senses from that aloof, god-like perspective.
Only then did he realize that Yulia had immediately draped a cloak over him.
—Did this child worry he would catch a cold? Eivass felt somewhat helpless, but also a little moved.
“How is it, Yuli?” he asked, looking at Yulia, who was joyfully experimenting with her new power. The girl was excited, as if she had received a big toy, her eyes sparkling. “I need to try again, brother!”
“Alright, get along well.” Eivass was very pleased. At this moment, the Butterfly was perched on Yulia’s head, disguised as a hair bow. He casually drew a card and, out of habit, summoned the Night Demon.
The next moment, Eivass suddenly froze.
—Because the hair bow on Yulia’s head had not disappeared.
(End of Chapter)
