Chapter 592: Chapter 592 Nether Moon Chapter 592: Chapter 592 Nether Moon The Spiritual Practice Order, because of its unique heritage of Circle Sorcerers, is eligible to don Silver Crown Eyepatches, enabling the nuns to perceive spiritualities invisible to the naked eye. Thus, even though the Church and the Academy are unable to detect the one-way interstitial gateways that have appeared in Midshire Fort City, the Spiritual Practice Order can. That is why they have been able to rescue people who have mistakenly wandered into them, while the Church was unable to immediately rescue Priest Augustus. The Order needed some time to locate a usable entrance within the city, secure it, and then allow a single person to enter. All Shard had to do was provide 3,000 pounds for the ritual materials, enabling the “Spiritual Practice Order” to perform the ritual using methods resembling “Necromancy,” allowing Shard to enter that ambiguous area between life and death as well. Holding an item personally belonging to the priest, Shard would be able to find Priest Augustus within that eerie region, and then the Order would be able to pull both of them out. In this plan, the 3,000 pounds was not a problem at all; the other four members of the group could contribute, and after they rescued the priest, they could simply ask him to reimburse them. Also, there was no rush for the money as the nun had given Shard a week to deliver it. Finding the priest’s personal item was not difficult either; the Holy Emblem Pendant Shard had found could be used. The only risk was that Shard had to enter that dangerous area by himself, as a stranger could not rely on the ritual to find Priest Augustus. Though just a few hours earlier, Shard had promised the other three members not to recklessly venture there, now that he had a way, he was not willing to back down. Sister Delphine thoroughly explained the entire rescue process and elucidrated the potential dangers. A slight misstep, and Shard could also become lost in that realm, waiting for someone else to rescue him. “Mr. John Watson, I cannot gauge the risks of doing this; you must think carefully before making your decision.” “No need to think, Sister Delphine, please prepare the ritual. I will raise the money later.” Shard shook his head; Priest Augustus was one of the few friends he had in this world, and the priest was definitely a good man worth rescuing. He still had a drop of divinity within his soul, unused, and if truly necessary, he would use it to transform into a deity to change everything. The nun remained silent for a moment: “Mr. Watson, people like you are very rare nowadays.” “No need to praise me. Perhaps I’ll regret it in the future, but right now, this is what I want to do.” Shard sighed, thinking that when it came time to treat the priest to a meal after his rescue, perhaps he could choose a slightly more upscale restaurant: “Sister Delphine, by the way, is the local church planning something big? My friend, Priest Augustus, came here on a business trip, and he himself didn’t understand why.” He thought about this again, and under the eyepatch, the nun’s half-visible face showed a serene smile: “The local church has been busy with other matters since last winter. They want to hold a large Divine Ritual locally, and your friend, the Old Cleric, was probably summoned for this reason as well.” “A large ritual?” Shard nodded; he hadn’t heard about this. Even the priest himself didn’t know why he was here on a business trip. Though considered a “normal person” by the Church, an elderly, devout clergy member like the priest could still play a significant role in a Divine Ritual through prayer, making the claim of a “large Divine Ritual” quite believable: “As far as I know, the Church of the Five Gods has dispatched no fewer than 100 clergy members from various districts of the Old Continent to the local area. If they need so many experienced clergy members just for that, I can hardly imagine what they want to do.” Ms. Michelle gently shook her head; the Spiritual Practice Order was also investigating this matter. Having received the information he wanted, Shard was ready to take his leave. By tomorrow morning, the Spiritual Practice Order would pass the information about the Interstice of Life and Death to the House of the Blind, and the search for the boundary entrance and the conduct of the ritual were expected within a day or two. But Sister Delphine asked Shard to stay a little longer; she still had something else to do: “I heard from Sister Michelle that you possess exceedingly pure moonlight. May I use my eyes to look at your radiance?” Her tone when making the request was consistent with her conversational tone, betraying no emotion. “Of course.” Since she had helped him greatly, he naturally wouldn’t refuse such a modest request. Thus, Shard sat on the sofa, watching the nun with gray-white hair. She carefully removed the silver crown, and when she finally raised her head again, the metal eyepatch no longer obscured her eyes, allowing Shard to truly see her visage. Indeed, she was beautiful, exhibiting an eerie, pale beauty, different from the transcendent beauty of witches. “I apologize.” She said softly, then opened her eyes. Shard looked intently, only to see a pair of lifeless black eyes. Upon closer inspection, the eyeballs were cloudy, and the blackness of the eyes seemed to have faded, making it difficult to distinguish between the eyeballs and the whites. This seemed to be some kind of special genetic disorder, somewhat similar to cataracts. This meant that Sister Delphine was indeed a true blind woman. Shard thought this and then realized that staring was impolite. As he averted his gaze, he speculated on how exactly she intended to “see” by removing her eyepatch, since she truly was blind. “Quite beautiful indeed.” While Shard was lost in these thoughts, the gray-white-haired nun suddenly spoke: “Such brilliant silver moonlight, serene, peaceful, and pure, it reminds me of watching the silver moon on the quietest nights in the mountains.” She closed her eyes and put her eyepatch back on. She did not continue to comment on the glimmer emanating from Shard, but instead asked a somewhat abrupt question: “Mr. John Watson, may I ask if you know about the Ancient Gods?” “Of course,” Shard raised an eyebrow, not understanding why the other party suddenly brought up this topic: “As far as I know, the Ancient Gods are the thirteen deities that were the first and oldest in this world.” “Yes, the Ancient Gods are different from all gods today. They do not symbolize a single or opposing entity, but each Ancient God corresponds to a considerable number of powers.” “I know this too. ‘That lady’ from Tobesk mentioned it, the dark Ancient God, who possesses powers of darkness, error, history, and more.” “Because of recent events, the Seventh Seat Witch of Tobesk should indeed know this… So, do you know the meaning of ‘the Moon’?” The nun asked again, and Shard nodded: “It’s quite simple, the Moon, the night, the recorder.” The nun had already put on her eyepatch and continued in the same calm tone: “And death.” “Death?” Shard could not have expected that. “To be precise, ‘Guide to Death’. The powers of the Ancient Gods sometimes have subtle overlaps. The night has always been inseparably linked to the concept of death, and in contrast to the sun, which symbolizes light, heat, and the living, the moon corresponds to the dark, cold, and the deceased. Mainstream mystical studies believe that the Red Moon represents flesh and reproduction, the Yellow Moon represents the moon itself along with guidance, and Silvermoon stands for the sacred and purification. But actually, the oldest moon, that Silvermoon…” Shard glanced at Sister Delphine. “Is also considered by people as a sign that guides death during the night, which is what divination studies call the ‘Nether Moon’.” “But among the Ancient Gods, there exists a deity of death.” Shard said, aware of the Roder Card ‘Genesis: Death’. “Yes, the Ancient God of Death, the original deity of death. He represents the most pure death, termination, and nothingness, beyond doubt.” This morning, Mr. Edmund from Coldwater Port also mentioned the Ancient God of Death. The nun spoke softly. Shard hesitantly looked at her, suspecting that the Spiritual Practice Church might be an extraordinary group that has been worshipping the Ancient God of Death or the Sage of Silvermoon since ancient times, much like the Prophet’s Society that worships Mr. Ring. But before he decided whether to ask her about it, a warmth suddenly sprang up in his chest. “Hmm?” It was the badge that could discern Witch Power heating up, and judging by the intensity, it was not merely a female with Witch Power nearby, but a Grand Witch. Although surprised, Shard’s expression remained normal. He continued to feel the changes in the heat of the badge on his chest while talking with Sister Delphine about the local legends and stories of Midshire Fort City. The heat in his chest became more pronounced, but it never came close completely. About ten minutes after Shard noticed the appearance of the Grand Witch, someone knocked on the room door, and the maid of the club opened it upon receiving permission: “Ms. Delphine, Granny Cassandra is here, waiting for you in her room.” “I understand.” Sister said as she stood up and nodded slightly to Shard: “Mr. Watson, I have some matters to attend to.” “No problem, I also need to take care of my own affairs shortly. You go ahead, I’ll leave after finishing this cup of tea.” He picked up the teacup in front of him, actually worried about encountering Granny Cassandra on the stairs. “Alright, after 9 a.m. tomorrow, you can collect the documents at the House of the Blind.” Having said that, the nun left the room. Only when the door closed and the footsteps receded did Shard stand up with his teacup, moving to the window of the comparatively simple room to look outside. In the distance, continuous mountains undulated, with fog arising from halfway up the slope down to the base, covering the villages below. Such a mountainous scene was not visible in Tobesk and Coldwater Port. Midshire Fort City itself was also enveloped in the smog from the steam factories, where the two types of fog met at the foot of the mountains but did not completely blend together. It was Friday afternoon, and it had been two days since Priest Augustus’s incident. Sincerely, Shard hoped that by this time next week, the priest would have safely returned. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com