Whispering Verse

In the end, Shade accepted the [blasphemous cross], but felt that Miss Swift kept looking at him strangely after lunch.

After lunch, Shade left the auction house and took a carriage alone to the House of the Blind in Rufu Lane. Even though the weather has turned cold recently, Sister Devlin, who was already waiting, was still dressed in the dark gray silk nun's robe.

According to the agreement between the two of them last Wednesday, today Sister Devlin will take Shade to the headquarters of the [Spiritual Cult] and inform him of more information about the cult and Chu Huo.

After confirming that Shade was free all afternoon, the two boarded the carriage at the back door of the House of the Blind and drove out of the city.

Even Granny Cassandra didn't know exactly where the religious order was located. She only knew that it was from the old city in the south of Fort Midhill to the mountains. In the end, Sister Devlin brought Shad to Sikal. Snake Heart Hospital at the foot of Mt.

"Snake Heart Hospital" is a long-standing hospital chain in the Old World. It is very famous among civilians. It specializes in pediatrics and gynecology. It has even become a card face of Rhodes Brand due to its semi-charitable profit method [Charity· Snake Heart Hospital], this Rhodes card is now in the hands of the owner of [Sin Mansion].

The Ring Warlock organization has its own way of making money. After all, even extraordinary beings cannot print gold pounds out of thin air. The [Spiritual Cult] relies on operating hospitals of similar nature and cooperating with universities to obtain profitable income and policy funding.

Although it doesn't sound as profitable as an auction house or something like that, it is more than enough to support a ring warlock organization that focuses on asceticism.

The Snake Heart Hospital in Fort Midhill is located on the edge of the slums in the old city in the south of the city. The hospital is a three-story building that occupies most of the street. The building itself is the same as the old city that is gradually declining. Although there are still shadows of the glory of the old era, it is inconspicuous compared with the buildings in other areas of Middleburg.

Although it is large, it has a low reputation because it is located in the old city and only treats a few types of patients. Before that, Shade didn't even know there was a hospital at Fort Midhill.

"Sister, if your station is here, how could Granny Cassandra not know about it?"

Shade asked curiously as he stepped out of the carriage holding an umbrella. The old city looked even more decayed in the rain, as if the already dirty oil painting had been splashed with water. The air was moist and earthy, and there were almost no people on the streets.

The nun wearing a silver eyepatch shook her head slightly, and under the guidance of the nun who hurriedly came out to greet him, she led Shade up the steps and past the two open wooden doors into the hospital.

The gas lamp was a little dim, but it could barely illuminate the hospital corridor on a rainy and overcast day. There were wet marks on the floor. I didn't know if it had just been mopped. Inside the hospital, there are poor people from the area wearing black or gray coarse cloth. When walking on the stairs, you can hear the cry of babies, which heralds the arrival of new life.

So, although it looks a little spooky on a rainy day, there's no scary vibe here.

The structure of the hospital is very interesting. If you want to reach the east part of the first floor of the hospital, you cannot go directly from the first floor of the hospital. Instead, you need to reach the second floor, go to the east part from the second floor and then go down the stairs.

Shade observed the internal conditions of the hospital as he walked, and then realized that he had not been sick since he came to this world.

On the way, a red bird flew from nowhere and landed on Sister Devlin's shoulder. A rare smile appeared on the delicate face of the nun under the eye patch, and she said hello to the little bird, and then it flew out of the window and flew to the Sikal Mountain in the distance.

Shade hesitantly looked at the golden color at the bottom of the crimson bird's wings, and asked in a low voice:

"Is this true?"

"Yes, it has re-nirvana and plans to stay by my side for the next hundred years. This is also a rebirth for it. It needs my flame to regain its power as soon as possible."

The two's final destination was the basement of Snake Heart Hospital, but there was no passage from the basement to deeper underground. At the end of the basement, there is a small room hidden by illusion. The room was roughly the same size as the master bedroom where Shade currently lived. It was empty with almost no furniture, but the floor and walls were covered with various styles of runes.

This is not a rune commonly used by ring magicians in this era. It should be an extraordinary system from an older era.

In the center of the room is a high platform with three steps. The iron frame on the high platform displays a huge oil painting. Even if it was erected, Shade's bed was not as huge as the oil painting.

The oil painting is framed by a huge square metal frame. The thickness of the metal frame exceeds Shade's waist. Viewed from one side, the width of the frame itself is about the size of Shade's palm. The metal surface was uneven, as if worms had penetrated into the metal, leaving raised marks on the surface.

As for the content of the oil painting, it is an ancient sacrificial site built with gray stone on the top of the mountains. The background is mountains and clouds. The background is very dark and looks a bit depressing.

"I felt the power of space."

Shade said, paused and added:

"But it's not a relic."

"Yes, please follow me."

The nun climbed up the steps, reached out to touch the surface of the painting, and then disappeared.

"Space movement? No, space movement in the material world is very dangerous. This is not a space movement, but two abnormal space zones that have been connected for a long time."

Shade found the answer from the knowledge he learned in St. Byrons. He knew that this solidified space channel was equivalent to a top-level alchemical item and could no longer be reproduced in the modern era of the Sixth Age. It's not that the alchemy craft has been lost, but that the space in the material world is very different from previous eras.

He followed up and touched the oil painting carefully, feeling as if his body had passed through a transparent water film. Then he realized that he was standing at the door of the gray stone sacrificial site painted in the oil painting. The sky was a little gloomy, but it was not. rain. Looking outside, there is a steep and rugged stone mountain road. There is only a man-made path that can be walked up, and Shade is standing at the end of the path.

Compared with the oil painting, the sacrificial site in front of you is not very dilapidated. The area is about the size of three or four St. Teresa Square, and you can tell at a glance that this is definitely not a building built in the Sixth Age.

This should be the peak of a high mountain somewhere. Looking farther away, you can see the rolling mountains:

"This is the depth of the Rommel Mountains?"

Schad could only roughly estimate that the Rommel Mountains were located in the central-eastern part of the Old World, and the Sikal Mountains were only part of the mountain system, but only on the northern periphery. The mountainous terrain in the mountains is extremely complex. Even in the steam age, civilization has not completely covered every corner of the mountainous areas.

In other words, even in the steam age, most areas in the mountains and forests were still untouched by civilization. If the spiritual cult is based here, even if the Witch Council tries to find it, they probably won't be able to find it.

"Yes, this is deep in the Rommel Mountains and belongs to the Principality of Set. If you walk here from Fort Midhill, even if you know the road, it will take at least three days and three nights of sleepless journey. The Order The illusion has hidden the nearby roads, and the nuns and monks of the Order generally do not enter or leave here by walking. The most convenient way at present is through the painting. In addition, we can also go to a few places in the Old World. City, but complex rituals are required to activate the passages left over from the previous era inside the sacrificial site. Therefore, there is no problem in identifying the religious order’s residence as Midhill Fort.”

Sister Devlin said as she led Shade into the ancient sacrificial site.

The [Spiritual Cult] belongs to the Ring Warlock organization inherited from the Fourth Age, but the predecessor of the Order was part of the Ancient Death Cult, so the history of this sacrificial site is probably older than the Fourth Age.

Although Shade saw only one building, in addition to the sacrificial site, there were towers, tombs, and abandoned ruins around it. The ruins were once the church of the ancient god, the Ancient God of Death, but the church was completely destroyed by a major earthquake in the Fourth Era.

The main body of the sacrificial site is made of gray stone and is divided into three floors: upper, middle and lower. The lower level is inside the mountain, so the middle level is entered through the door.

Although the Order operates in the civilized world, a quarter of its members are still stationed here all year round for penance and study. Although it looks deserted, there are actually many people here.

Compared with the appearance of an ancient building at first glance, the interior of the sacrificial site looks quite like the steam age. The ground was paved with a fairly flat floor, and the walls had been painted. There are even steam engines and gas storage tanks underground for the nuns and monks living here.

If Shade had appeared inside the sacrificial site from the beginning, he would never have guessed how ancient the history was here.

"We also need to keep up with the times."

Sister Devlin, who was leading Shade in the corridor, or rather in the corridor, said:

"If you don't adapt to the times, you will only be eliminated by the world. Only with this kind of wisdom can you come from the past era to the present."

Shade has begun to imagine whether St. Byrons, who is also very wise, also looks like this combination of "modernization" and "occultism".

The outsider was very curious about this place. Strictly speaking, this was the first gathering place for ring magicians that he had officially visited - St. Byrons was not counted. He was only in the library, and all he saw were bookshelves.

Sister Devlin introduced Shade as she walked, and immediately after leading Shade through the corridor, a young nun came over.

The spiritual cult does not have a very precise hierarchy, but generally those with normal eyes are the most ordinary members, those with linen covering their eyes are the official members, and those with silver eyepatch to cover their faces are the core members. At this time, two nuns who looked about the same age as Lesia and had normal eyes came forward.

They greeted Sister Devlin in a low voice, and then talked about some things that needed her to deal with.

Shade, the high-level sorcerer of the Order, has met most of them, especially the three high-level nuns who helped him open the road to the narrow room on Wednesday night. No one expressed doubts about Shade's presence here, and none of Sister Devlin's decisions were questioned.

The interior of the sacrificial site is divided into multiple areas, including many accommodations and libraries. Most of the other areas are related to the religious group's daily activities of praying, stargazing, moon worship, and ring warlock research. Sister Devlin took Shade on a tour, and even used a crystal ball to perform divination for Shade herself, but she could only "see" a white mist.

There are many ancient murals on the stone walls of the corridors throughout the sacrificial site. They are still clear because of maintenance. Through those murals, Shade roughly knew the origin and development of the [Spiritual Cult]. He even saw a mural on the wall depicting the Battle of Mount Sikal, which was also worth recording in the development of the Order.

What connects the middle and lower floors of the sacrificial hall is not a staircase, but a huge stone elevator, using steam as a power source. After stepping on the elevator, it will run automatically, and the hinges will make a rattling sound, which makes Shade very worried about the safety of this kind of elevator.

Their destination was the library on the lower level of the altar, where nearby murals depicted the origins of the order. Shade saw the symbol representing the "primordial fire" in it, which meant that the flame had been passed down in the cult a long time ago.

"It is said that at the beginning of the fifth era, the size of the flame in my hand could cover the entire sacrificial site."

The nun said, and then invited Shade to follow her deeper into the sacrificial site.

There is only one corridor to enter there, and it is also the real sacrificial site:

"Yes, this sacrificial site was originally used to worship the First Fire. But that was in the ancient era. People at that time not only believed in gods, but also believed in all things."

There is no door at the end of the corridor, and there are no lights inside. The nun stood there holding the flame in her hand, and as the fire flowed into the dark space at the end, the fire was lit up little by little.

It was a circular, real sacrificial site, with corridors connected to the bottom, and nothing in the center except an old brazier. It is surrounded by layers of stairs that spread upward, indicating that this is a space in the heart of the mountain. Judging from the style, this place is very similar to the [Witches' Council], except that there is no round table in the center.

Shade told Sister Devlin his thoughts, and the sister nodded slightly:

"Yes, I accepted the invitation last weekend and officially entered the Witch Council. It is indeed similar to here. This kind of architectural style should be popular in the ancient era."

The fire light rushed into the central brazier, and the strong flames jumped in the brazier, and the fuel that ignited the first fire was some golden bones. There is also a long sword wrapped in gray stone stuck in the brazier. It is an angel-level relic [Ashes] and is a weapon commonly used by Sister Devlin:

"Each generation of nuns who inherit the flame speculate that the weakness of the first fire represents the decline of civilization and the world. Although the strength of this flame is not a key factor affecting the strength of civilization and the world, we believe in finding more fires and Firewood can delay the end of the world."

The nun walked to the dancing flame, clasped her hands together and hung them in front of her, lowering her head slightly as if observing the flames. The firelight danced on her delicate silver eye mask, making her fair face a fiery red.

Shade also came over closely:

"In addition to the weakening of the First Fire, does the Spiritual Cult hold other evidence that the world is about to come to an end?"

"Not really. But there's always something to be done."

The nun said softly, bending down to lift the kerosene lamp obtained from the [Sin Mansion] that could accommodate any kind of fire, from the brazier:

"The speed of searching for fire and firewood alone is not ideal, but it is really difficult to find a ring warlock who can afford the power of the first fire. Only by bathing in the power of fire can we know which fires are suitable and which items Enough to serve as firewood. Mr. Hamilton, the flames of the first fire are still in my hands, and I hope you can help me collect the flames."

The kerosene lamp was handed to Shade.

"Bring it to me. Find firewood."

He paused and added:

"It is more efficient to burn with the fire in my hands. Those ancient and powerful souls are the best fuel."

"I can help with all these things."

Shade nodded:

"But I would like more information about the end of the world."

Even Sister Devlin couldn't be sure whether this thing would really happen or at what point in time it would happen, so Shade expressed doubts about it:

"We are the most unbreakable allies, especially when it comes to the issue of the chosen ones. Therefore, I hope that you can find a way to communicate with my friend Luvia Anat in the near future, using methods such as projection rituals. On top of that, she knows the most about the chosen ones, and I am just the executor."

"No problem. Please take this fire back and throw it towards the fireplace or brazier, and we can meet in the fire."

The nun pointed to the portable kerosene lamp, the flame from her fingertips lighting the wick.

"Ten o'clock tonight."

Shade made a reservation and looked at the flames in front of the two of them and asked:

"In addition, you have invited me here many times, and it shouldn't just be for me to see the history of the order and the initial fire, right?"

"Grandma Cassandra said that you know many ancient texts."

Shade nodded. This was probably what Miss Carina and the old witch mentioned:

"Yes, you want me to help decipher the text? No problem."

"The First Fire was split into many parts, and the Order has been working to reunite those split flames. We once found a stone tablet that recorded the situation when the First Fire split, but the writing on it is very old."

As the nun spoke, she led Shade closer to the bottom of the rows of upward stairs. The passage in the darkness led from here to the bottom of the stairs, which was the space used by the Order to store valuables.

Passing through the doorway, a huge stone monument was erected in the darkness. It was about as high as two Shades stacked on top of each other. Shade lifted the kerosene lamp in his hand and found that the upper left corner of the stone tablet was missing, as if it had been broken by an external force. There were many marks scratched by sharp objects on the surface, but fortunately the letters were still clear.

After reading it carefully, he suspiciously asked Sister Devlin who was waiting behind her:

"Are you sure that this is really the stone tablet recording the split of the First Fire?"

"Yes, any questions?"

"If I'm not mistaken, what is recorded above is clearly an ancient fairy tale."