Even though Xia De found the cold blood brew unbearable, the witch still drank it all in one gulp, her face turning green as she shivered; the two little girls huddled together, sipping the blood brew in small mouthfuls, warming each other.
After they finished their drinks, the blood the witch brought was distributed to everyone.
Although the blood she brought had a fishy smell, it wasn't red, but blue. Observing the liquid in the glass carefully, one could even see faint lights flickering like stars in a Star Sea.
“This is the blood of a Star Sea Whale. Each Star Whale only passes through the material world once every 300 years. They are creatures between physical and astral bodies. I waited from 56 to 78 years old to see one appear in the sky of the material world. And my wish is to break through the ninth stage of a witch. I know I have no possibility of advancing further, but I am truly unwilling, unwilling.”
The blood brew made from the blood of the Star Sea Whale had no bloody smell whatsoever. Drinking this blood brew also did not cause any discomfort to the drinker; Xia De even felt as if he was vaguely touching the power of the stars.
And after drinking a full glass of the blue liquid, the eyes of the mortals present all gained some subtle, sparkling points of light. By asking the old man beside him, Xia De learned that his own eyes had similar symptoms.
The witch also didn't know why this was, as no one had ever drunk such a thing before. Xia De only hoped this wouldn't be a permanent change.
“Finally, valuable blood has appeared. The last time I drank the blood of a Star Sea Whale was in the fourth epoch, offered to me by my loyal servants.”
The Saint also drank the blood, and the words of praise brought a smile to the witch's face. Although she still had to live until the end of the party to get what she wanted, at least she was sure that her twenty-plus years of waiting were indeed worth it.
There was no sound in Night Manor. In the strange and quiet night outside the window, the manor courtyard had not changed at all so far, as if the scenery outside the window was actually just a realistic painting.
Talking and drinking these wines took a lot of time. It had been 24 minutes since Xia De stepped out of the white mist and arrived here, just enough time for him to drink the last glass of liquid.
The twin girls only brought one portion of blood, but the God recognized that it was jointly owned by them. The blood transformed into a crimson blood brew, equally distributed to everyone, and the red blood looked unremarkable. Shaking their glasses, the Saint and the mortals also heard the girls' story:
“We are twins, I am the older sister, and she is the younger sister.”
The girl in the white gauze dress said, her voice more mature than her appearance. Although she was only fourteen or fifteen years old, she spoke with the same clarity as an adult:
“Our family is very ancient, even older than this epoch. In an era when family records were lost, the family took on the responsibility of guarding a certain seal. In return, every generation of the family could produce extraordinary individuals.”
This story was more complex than others, and no one interrupted her.
“According to the contract signed by our ancestors and the Ancient Ones, whenever twins are born in the family, it signifies that the seal is about to have problems, and the twins need to perform a ritual after becoming extraordinary individuals to stabilize the seal. The content of the ritual is: one person goes into the seal, one person stays outside the seal; one person dies, one person lives. By relying on the unique talent of twins born in the family and the connection of their souls, through the torment of longing and pain, they construct the ritual from inside and outside the seal through the method of life and death resonance, and twin bonds. This is the most ancient contract, and also a responsibility. Even if we don't want to fulfill this responsibility, fate will guide us to do so.”
Compared to the various rituals Xia De had seen, this ritual was not particularly strange. And sacrificing one twin every few generations to ensure that every generation of the family had extraordinary individuals, in the eyes of most people, was actually very worthwhile.
This should be considered a typical 'sacrifice', sacrificing one of the twins, using the longing and torment of two souls to achieve effects that ordinary rituals could not. Xia De had learned about similar rituals in books.
Of course, he himself would not comment on whether doing so was worth it, because it had nothing to do with him.
“But I don't want to be separated from my sister.”
The girl in the white gauze dress said. Xia De could see the determination in her expression.
“I don't want to be separated from my sister either.”
The girl in the black gauze dress said. The two little girls bravely raised their heads together, looking in the direction of the Saint, holding hands, and as blood tears flowed from their eyes, they expressed their wish:
“We never want to be separated.”
In fact, they didn't need to express their determination in this way. The fact that they dared to attend the evil god's party just to avoid separation already spoke volumes.
“So, O God, we hope you can release us from our fate. If we die here, our souls will at least return to the same place.”
“But what about the seal your family is responsible for guarding?”
The armored old man asked the question that Xia De and the witch also had. The witch offered them a handkerchief. The black-dressed girl, who was the younger sister, apologized softly, being more shy, while the white-dressed girl, who was the older sister, pursed her lips:
“That is the responsibility of our ancestors, and the contract signed by our ancestors. It has nothing to do with us.”
The old man stopped speaking, but from his expression, although he sympathized with the twin sisters, he did not agree with their idea. The witch was expressionless, either because of strong facial control or because she was used to such things.
As for Xia De, he had no opinion. For the time period he lived in, this was already a past event. At least the world had not been destroyed because of that so-called seal, so he just wanted to end this party. Although he was curious about the girls' fate, he would not interfere with others' choices.
This was, after all, a story from the past.
“God, the blood we offer is the blood left by the twins of our family throughout generations before performing the ritual. The family preserves these, not only to commemorate and thank them for their sacrifices, but also to strengthen the connection between newly born twins and enhance our already miraculous talent by having them bathe in this blood. Our blood is also in here.”
The twin sisters drank the blood. The silver-haired old man shook his head and also drank all of this human blood. The witch, knowing that this was only human blood, also drank it all without any psychological burden.
The Saint did not drink it immediately, but instead shook the glass, taking deep breaths, as if wanting to inhale all of the scent into the nasal cavity of this body:
“This is truly good.”
He praised it unreservedly, and anyone could see the God's undisguised joy:
“What truly good blood. Bonds, pain, regret, longing, responsibility, repentance, courage, sorrow—such complex human emotions, perfectly blended together. Only after generations of fermentation, and catalyzed by the emotions of pairs of soul-connected twins, can such blood exist. Good, though still not perfect, it is truly good. This could almost be considered a collector's item.”
This time, He did not drink it in one gulp, but savored the wine carefully.
Suddenly, He looked at Xia De across the table:
“Unexpected guest, why don't you drink?”
Of course, it was because this was human blood. Xia De had even swallowed frog ingredients for his Miracles, so he had no aversion to dragon blood, butterfly blood, and whale blood just now. After all, when learning Miracles and spells, even the strangest materials had to be swallowed.
Drinking human blood, although not directly vampirism, nor harming others, nor eating human flesh, still carried some psychological burden, so he wanted to try other methods:
“Excuse me, can I 'drink' it in another way?”
The God smiled:
“I already know of your connection to me, unexpected guest. Do you wish to taste this fine brew with your eyes, at the confluence of time and blood?”
The God of Vampires really did know.
“Yes.”
“You may, but this method can only be used once. Next time, you cannot do this again.”
The second party would involve drinking the evil god's own blood brew, and at that time, even stranger things would surely appear. It wouldn't be as simple as human blood; Xia De was very sure that the evil god's blood brew would not be drunk without any cost.
“Understood.”
But in any case, this time he did not intend to drink human blood.
Guiding the red droplets, Xia De dripped all of the blood brew into his right eye. A normal eye, of course, could not 'drink' such a volume of blood, but Xia De's Echo of Blood could absorb the effective components from the blood and remove impurities during its active state.
Therefore, although Xia De's right half of his face was stained blood-red by the impurities in the blood after 'drinking' it all, at least he did indeed 'drink' it all.
This time travel journey seemed simple, but the truly complex parts were yet to come. Before the second party, he had to collect two qualified bloods and drink the God's blood brew at the party.
It could be said that among the three chances this key offered, almost all the risks were concentrated in the second one, which was different from before.
“Well then, Duke Lowell, I think I should take my leave for now.”
The time was almost up. Xia De put down his glass, then stood up and bowed respectfully.
“I look forward to your next visit.”
The God said softly.
The old man and the twin sisters were puzzled by Xia De's departure, but said nothing. The middle-aged witch hesitated, but before Xia De turned around, she spoke:
“Can you go back outside?”
“No, I am different from you, so I cannot offer you any help.”
Although Night Manor was likely to have the same memory loss characteristic after leaving as other places, Xia De still did not want to reveal his origins to unrelated people.
“Two types of blood, and also special antidotes or something.”
He calculated in his mind, counting down as he walked to the door he had entered through.
The double doors on both sides opened automatically. Just as the time arrived, Xia De walked into the white mist behind the door.
The Saint, seated at the head of the banquet table, clasped His hands on the table, looking at the four people who watched Xia De disappear in surprise:
“What an interesting banquet. I originally thought he would be as rude as the master of that Blood Feast. Going to the mortal realm with that one in the previous epoch was simply a disaster. Although His appetite is good, His taste is truly bad.”
The Saint scanned the four mortals present, then suddenly smiled:
“Before the unexpected guest returns, during the interlude of the party, perhaps we can play a little game. A thousand years ago, a mortal named Slitch Riddell mistakenly entered my party. Although he did not bring blood wine, he played a 'Game of Life' with me at the party, a game that only existed in the fourth era, so I let him go and even gave him some gifts. He said he had spread this game on a small scale, so do you, in this era, know how to play the Game of Life?”
“I do.”
The old man skillfully pulled out his cards.
