Volume 1: Stranger in a Strange Land Chapter 42: Eternal Gift
The Eternal Gift, an ancient grand ritual of the Blackwater Kingdom, requires the construction of a miniature underworld through extremely rich necromancy magic, allowing the executor of the ritual to resonate with the soul imprints remaining on the corpses of their ancestors.
The caster can either gather those soul imprints to strengthen his own spirit, or command the corpses to rise up and become his slaves.
Of course, as the price of controlling this powerful force, the former may leave the hidden danger of schizophrenia, while the latter may cause the corpse to run away and get out of control because of the inability to control the spiritual will of the ancestors.
When the great sage Yeats compiled the Star Law, the necromancers from the Corrupted Moon Cult in Blackwater Province hoped to include the "Eternal Gift" in the catalog of necromancy magic. But in the end, because the spell was too full of Moon Realm worship, it was excluded by the first generation of the Star Council.
Logically speaking, all records of this secret ritual should have been destroyed during the "Great Book Burning" movement when the Star Law was promoted.
But one day, Duke Simon came to the keeper of the Star Lighthouse with an ancient manuscript.
Duke Simon's condition was to use the Moon Realm magic to recreate the Eternal Gift and help this old man, who had been lingering on the edge of legend for many years, to fully enter the legendary realm.
"Are the preparations for the Eternal Gift almost complete?"
The old man opened his eyes again after hearing Simon's words. He stared at Duke Simon with some suspicion and asked:
"Is it so fast? Shouldn't we wait until the next round of astrological signs are right, and the undead magic from the astral world enters the human world along this star lighthouse, so that a magical environment that meets the requirements of the Eternal Gift can appear?"
Duke Simon shook his head and said, "That's too slow. I've calculated that the next time the stars are correct will be in the Frost Moon this year. There are too many possible variables in between."
The old man sneered and said, "Are there too many variables, or are your affairs too big to be covered up?"
Simon replied: "I have already said that the church will not find out what is happening here. Their actions have always been under my control. Including the movements of the woman sent by the Eighth Order, they have always been under my surveillance."
The old man who was familiar with the efficiency of the Thorn City intelligence system nodded unconsciously, and then he asked doubtfully:
"Then what other variables are you worried about?"
"The so-called variables are things that cannot be predicted."
Simon sighed and continued, "You have also seen the records left by the Reverberation Ritual, right?"
The old man nodded.
He had looked back at the record of the gray-haired, silver-eyed magic caster who killed the overseer sent by the Duke to the Silver Mine several times after receiving the news.
He was deeply impressed by the quick release of [Ice Barrier] to block the supervisor's [Dragon Thunder Spear], as well as the unknown teleportation spell.
He estimated that if he had not met that person within the range of this Star Lighthouse, the odds of winning or losing would have been fifty-fifty. In the entire Thorn City, perhaps only the Scorched Sage Vincent could defeat that person.
Of course, it would be another matter if he could call upon the power of this star lighthouse to fight it.
"I have seen it, what's wrong?"
The old man asked.
"That wizard who is probably at the master level seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. My men could not find any clues about his origins."
Simon said a little irritably.
In this era, it was difficult for a strong magic caster to hide his or her identity, whether he or she was formally registered or from a heresy, let alone having no clues to his or her identity at all.
Becoming a magic caster requires the accumulation of a large amount of resources, and the use of those resources cannot leave no trace.
No wonder he was so anxious.
The threat from the unknown is always the most terrifying.
"But even if you plan to hold the Eternal Ceremony right away, how do you plan to solve this rigid condition of magic density?"
The old man asked.
"The Holy Sepulchre. I intend to hold the Eternal Rite in the Holy Sepulchre."
Duke Simon's answer made the old man's eyes widen.
The Holy Tomb is located underground in the Thorn City Cemetery, or rather, the Thorn City Cemetery is built on top of the Holy Tomb. It is a holy place for generations of worship in the ancient Blackwater Kingdom, and it is also the original source of ancestor worship and worship of the dead in the Blackwater Swamp.
In addition, it should be the place with the most concentrated undead magic in the entire Vic continent.
After all, you can't find another place with so many intact corpses buried.
But for any magic caster who is familiar with history, another identity is more famous there.
The site where the "Tide of the Corrupted Moon" occurred more than a thousand years ago.
A tide of undead that once swept across the entire continent.
Some people have speculated that the source of the disaster was a failed eternal gift.
"No no no, that's crazy."
Thinking of this, the old man shook his head repeatedly.
"And even if we don't talk about the risks of holding a secret ceremony there, as a tower keeper, I can't leave the Star Lighthouse."
Simon said in a very relaxed manner:
"If it's only half a day, wouldn't it be okay to let a magic caster of the same level as you take your place? I think Vincent would be happy to help."
The old man was silent. He thought for a while before saying:
"But it is still too dangerous to hold this secret ceremony in the Holy Tomb. And you must know why the weapon Judgment IV, which is coveted by the Eighth Cult, was left in the Holy Tomb, right?"
Simon knew what he was referring to.
He had been to the Holy Sepulchre more than 20 years ago , and learned about that unknown history from the inscription on the tombstone in the Holy Sepulchre.
That was ten years after William Kane left, and the seven kingdoms of the continent entered an era of war and conquest.
The Blackwater Kingdom's royal family, which was at a militarily disadvantage, made a crazy decision - to awaken the vengeful spirit of the old king who had caused the Tide of Corruption Moon, and control it to summon the dead as a source of soldiers.
This plan, of course, failed.
Of the already fragmented Tribunal, only two people promptly responded to the Blackwater Kingdom's call for help: the fourth seat's black swordsman, Black, and the last seat's Jackdaw, Coles.
In order to prevent the Corrupted Moon Wraith from breaking through the seal, these two legendary members of the Trial Seat both died there. Before dying, Blake used up his last breath to seal the Wraith under the Holy Tomb.
Judgment IV became his tombstone.
Apart from a stone tablet erected by the members of the Tribunal who later arrived for their former friend, there is no record of this story in the history books.
"But more than a thousand years have passed. Even the strongest vengeful spirits should have dissipated by now."
Simon replied.
But the old man still shook his head: "This is the only thing I can't do. Even if I have to turn a blind eye to the people in your Mage Hall studying Moon Realm Magic..."
"You turned a blind eye because you want to become a member of the Star Council, and I am the only one who is willing and able to help you advance to the realm of legend."
Simon interrupted the old man directly.
"I'm not negotiating with you now. As I said before, I'm informing you of your only chance to advance to Legend in this lifetime."
…………
As Simon was descending the tower, a message suddenly reached him from a dim and ever-changing star in his etheric realm.
"I've almost finished the arrangements here. As long as the actors appear on stage, the ceremony can begin at any time."
That was the Nightmare Maiden speaking to him through the anchor point in his soul.
"It's the same for me. It's a pity that the old coward is too afraid of death. In the end, I had to use threats to make him agree to come out of his shell."
Simon replied.
"So you're finally going to let the tower keeper be the ceremonial fuel instead of Vincent?"
The Nightmare Maid asked through the etheric realm.
"You just saw the character of that old guy. He is useless except for his bloodline. He has countless resources but still cannot advance to the legendary level because of his insufficient spiritual power. If the same resources were given to Vincent, he would probably be preparing to impact the divine realm now. I think there is no need to say which of these two people is more valuable."
When Simon went downstairs, he transmitted his thoughts to the nightmare maid through the etheric realm.
During this time, he was distracted and accidentally bumped into a wizard who was wearing a plain robe and his face was covered by a hood.
"Excuse me."
The man said politely in a hoarse voice, and made way for him.
"fine."
Simon didn't care too much. He didn't even look at the man twice. He just walked past him and went downstairs.
At this time, new news from the Nightmare Maid in the Ether Realm was conveyed.
"The problem is not the value of the person, but the fact that you use him as firewood, which is equivalent to declaring war directly on the Star Council."
"Then declare war. I have done so much just to overturn all those rules, at least in the Blackwater Swamp. If the world is ruled by such mediocre people, then this world will be too sad."
Simon replied.
After turning the corner of the last staircase, he finally arrived at the bottom of the lighthouse. He looked at the bright sunshine outside the door and felt more relaxed than ever before.
“A new era is about to begin.”
He said.
On the stairs of the lighthouse, the magic caster who had accidentally bumped into Simon stopped. He looked at the runes inlaid on the wall and slowly lowered his hood, revealing his gray hair.
He stroked the familiar rune patterns and murmured:
"Things from the old times really haunt us..."
