This time, Luvia bought two dandelion coins from the black market. She had heard about them since this Summer and only managed to get them after going through many channels.
And now, Luvia hoped these two coins could reveal the contents of the "death Chosen One Ritual."
The coin was tossed into the air by her pale right hand. Xia De and the cat on the sofa simultaneously looked up, only to find that the coin hadn't changed at all; it fell straight back to its original position.
"It seems it's not enough."
Saying that, Luvia took out the diviner's silver coin, but Xia De stopped her:
"This is a rare relic that can assist divination and aid in peeking into fate. Are you really willing to just use it up?"
The purple-eyed girl indeed hesitated. Xia De took out the blood money:
"Use this one."
Luvia immediately shook her head:
"How can that be? Our only relic currently capable of detecting similar relics is this one."
"Sometimes the coin isn't the key; the key is what we want to do."
Xia De slapped the 【pirate's blood money】 onto the table:
"With the blood money's sensing ability, we've already found too many coins. Sometimes people can't be too greedy. Besides, I don't want to run into those dangerous location-based relics again just for blood money, and be forced to play rhode cards with all sorts of cheating guys."
Xia De said with a smile, and Luvia also smiled:
"Yes, people can't be too greedy. If we blindly rely on blood money to find blood money, we might fall into the trap of greed sooner or later. This is also an inherent characteristic of relics like blood money. Yes, Xia De, you're right."
As if she had understood, she picked up the blood money:
"We first found Iluna with the blood money. Now, in the blink of an eye, we've reached the third Chosen One. Time really flies."
Three coins spun in the gaslight. At one moment, Xia De seemed to see colorful light floating around the rotating coins.
After reaching their highest point, rust marks appeared on the coin surfaces, and they rapidly decayed during their descent until they dispersed into invisible dust and disappeared.
Luvia opened her eyes, and a purple streak of light flashed in them. The white figure behind her also seemed to appear for a the moment, and that figure was smiling at Xia De.
"Very good, I completely understand the Ritual now. Relatively speaking, this Ritual is more dangerous."
(Mia is running...)
On Monday morning, Xia De, emerging from Sicar Mountain in a thick fog, requested to meet Sister Devlin from the House of the Blind.
At nine in the morning, Sister Devlin's carriage broke through the City's thick fog and stopped downstairs at the House of the Blind. The Sister met Xia De, who had been waiting by the window for a long time, in the third-floor reception room.
This thick fog was even more terrifying than last week. Having not been to this City for just half a week, the City seemed to have fallen into a slumber within the white fog. And the whisper element in the white fog could be felt even without Xia De's level of soul sensitivity. The Gap was constantly approaching Middelsburg in the material world. The boundary between life and death was overlapping with the world of the living.
"Sister Devlin, the third nail was found and removed by me last week."
"That's good. News from the Orthodox Church confirmed this and believes it was the work of the Summoner, who has yet to appear. But Grandma Cassandra said over the weekend that this matter is highly likely related to you."
The Sister's tone remained the same.
"I heard last week that the Church also found the whereabouts of the last nail. I wonder if there was any progress over the weekend?"
"Yes, Chosen One Iluna Bei Ya Si led the team and successfully captured the last nail. Because it's uncertain whether the clown taken by Joey Barton has already been sent away, the Church has temporarily not removed him."
Xia De looked at the fog outside the window and pondered for a moment:
"Regarding Joey Barton, Sister, how much do you know now?"
"You and I once visited him together. He is the Chosen One of death, and he has now fled into the Gap, attempting to break the rules of life and death to bring back a deceased person."
"Yes."
Xia De carefully chose his words:
"Regarding 'whispering chapters,' do you know that a Chosen One of a certain identity actually has a succession ranking, and there isn't just one person?"
The Sister, sitting on the sofa, paused. Her eye patch was aimed at Xia De's back, and she shook her head slightly:
"I don't know."
Iluna learned this from the Chosen One Knowledge. The Church and the Academy might know, but the Spiritual Cultivation Order is, after all, only a regional Ring術士 group, and they truly don't know about this point.
"This is like the order of succession to the throne. The first in line is, of course, the most important, but if the first in line dies before inheriting the throne, that is, before performing the Ritual, then those in subsequent positions can fill in in order. And now, there are at least four candidates in Middelsburg. Among them, the first candidate is, of course, Joey Barton. Although he is only a First Ring, his control over death power is terrifying."
"Are you trying to say that I am the second candidate for the Chosen One of death?"
The Sister's tone was very calm, making Xia De think she had known all along.
"Yes."
"I understand."
Xia De really wanted to ask the Sister what exactly she understood:
"You probably also know that this Autumn I have been frequently traveling between Tobesk and Middelsburg. This is not because I like it here very much, but because I am looking for the Chosen One."
He turned around and indeed saw the Sister "looking" at him.
"Although I am on good terms with the Witches, I don't have much influence myself; I can only be considered an ordinary Letter-based Ring術士. But due to special reasons, I am pursuing the thirteen Chosen One, pursuing and witnessing those epic scenes.
Iluna Bei Ya Si, the Chosen of Balance, is my closest friend; Ivan Darkness, the Chosen of Darkness, was actually the first one I met in Coldwater Port."
The Sister said nothing, just listened quietly.
"When all thirteen Chosen One appear, the survivors will push open a door, and that door will determine the future of this world. Sister, Joey Barton is now walking on a tightrope of making a big mistake. I want to prepare a second plan in advance. I hope you can be ready. If Joey Barton dies before performing the Ritual, please perform the Ritual immediately."
"Okay."
Despite this being such an important conversation, Sister Devlin's cold voice made Xia De feel as if he were discussing what to eat for lunch today.
His expression was very serious:
"I specifically came to see you today to inform you of the complete contents of the Selected One Ritual. But before I tell you, I want you to guarantee one thing. If Joey Barton truly dies, and you inherit the Chosen One's position, I hope you can go with me to see someone, who is also my companion on the path of pursuing the Chosen One. I hope our friendship can last, and please do not tell anyone about this, not even the Witches."
"In the name of Original Fire."
The Sister said, then stood up from the sofa. In the open space between the sofa and the window, she cupped her hands slightly, and a slender flame rose in her palm:
"Xia De · Su Lun · Han Mi Er Dun, may you and I become allies of fire."
"Okay."
Xia De nodded. He deeply trusted Sister Devlin's character:
"The Selected One Ritual always includes three parts: First, the Chosen One must understand the meaning of their corresponding identity, which means understanding the meaning of death; second, an item related to the power of the corresponding ancient god must be prepared."
He paused, and the Sister nodded:
"The Order collects some ancient artifacts passed down from the previous epoch."
"That's good. Finally, the Ritual content. Before the Ritual begins, someone who has died and been resurrected needs to be sent away as a Ritual token. We have already done this on the peak of Sicar Mountain within the Gap."
Not only did the Sister do it, but the other two candidates also did.
"The Ritual location must be at the boundary of life and death. The specific method is to commit suicide in the boundary land, and in the deepest slumber of the soul, grasp the feeling that all mortals die and all things perish, and then be reborn through this."
Compared to Balance and Darkness, the Ritual requirements for death were clearly a bit more demanding:
"Don't worry about suicide reversal. The normal Ritual process will not cause the Chosen One to truly die, so reversal will not occur."
Xia De added:
"Sister, I hope you can prepare in advance. I have a very reliable informant in the Orthodox Church. Once Joey Barton is found, I will go to see him immediately. If he truly doesn't want to turn back, then he is our enemy."
"I understand."
The Sister nodded again, and she also had something to say:
"Mr. Hamilton, I hope that after all matters in Middelsburg are concluded, you will follow me to the headquarters of the Spiritual Cultivation Order. I want to talk to you about First Fire and some other matters."
"That's certainly not a problem."
Xia De had always been very interested in the headquarters of the Spiritual Cultivation Order, but even Grandma Cassandra didn't know where it was.
While Xia De was away from Middelsburg, relaxing in Tobesk for half a week, various local events continued to unfold. Under the thick fog of late Autumn Mi Fort, public safety rapidly deteriorated, and the number of evil spirit incidents handled by the Orthodox Church in recent days was more than the past few months combined.
In addition, as the Gap increasingly approached the real world, more strange things were happening.
When Xia De had lunch with Grandma Cassandra and Miss Aurora at noon, the Witches mentioned a strange sleeping sickness that had appeared in the City:
"Ordinary people with strong enough inspiration can also perceive the existence of the Gap. If they harbor obsessions, and the soul of the person they miss is truly in the Gap, then these people can, in their dreams, have their consciousness appear in the Gap and be drawn by the souls in the Gap, unconsciously following them towards death."
Miss Aurora said, drinking the blood brew made by Xia De, then paused and looked at her glass:
"What Miracle is this? Has Saint Byron's developed the ability to brew wine?"
Xia De was unwilling to say that the essence of blood brew was cannibalism, so he skipped that topic.
---End of Side Note---
PS: It's the end of the month again. The author doesn't want to open a single chapter to ask for votes, so I'm adding an update to ask for votes!
