With Vahn's arrival, Circe, he had been squatting down, petting the head of a lamb, turned to look back as she rose to her feet. Her wings flittered just a bit, revealing the golden sheen of Magic Circuits on their interior as she whispered in a gratified tone, "You came..." Though Vahn himself wasn't required for the ritual, and could actually make it worse, Circe wanted him to be here with her. This was, perhaps, one of the most important moments of her life as, if she failed to receive Hecate's blessing, the only end that awaited her was death. She did not fear this, however, and, even if she were to die, she had already left a will and other items that would aid, not in her revival, but any other version of herself that Vahn decided to summon...
After navigating his way through the flock of lambs, Vahn pulled Circe into his embrace, her body nearly weightless as he lifted her a few centimeters off the ground while answering, "Of course. I would not leave you alone during a moment like this..." This ment cause Circe's ears to waggle adorably, causing Vahn's expression to soften as he gave her a small peck on the lips. He didn't want to rile her up too much, as this could plicate the ritual even further, so he settled for just giving her a bit of motivation.
With her eyes briefly flashing with a pink hue, Circe licked her lips and, as Vahn sat her back down on the ground, she mused, "You know, if this ritual is a success, you'll have to take responsibility. If you don't give me lots and lots of attention, I may die of a broken heart..." As the Red Moon Ritual would strip her of both her immortality and divine spark, it meant that Circe would just be a very unique mortal woman. There was a good chance that even her wings would be torn from her body if Hecate was so inclined to make her pay an even heftier price for her apostasy. If Vahn didn't treat her well after the fact, she would do everything in her meager power to ruin him before taking her own life...
Cupping Circe's face with his hands, Vahn gently stroked her cheeks as he stated in a firm tone, "You know me better than that, Circe...I may not be able to stay at your side at all times, but I can fill the moments when we're together with meaning..." With his Petting Laws and a bit of support from his [Hands or Nirvana], Vahn sent calm and forting energy into Circe's head and body, helping her relax as he could tell she was very anxious. This caused her skin to glow with a subtle rainbow hue as, with nothing but the moon to grace them with its light, the cold peak was shrouded in darkness.
Feeling the familiar fort, Circe's mind calmed considerably but, as there was a heat rising in her body, she reluctantly separated from Vahn's hands after a few seconds. Then, with her back to him, she looked over her shoulder and said, "Watch closely...never forget this moment, no matter how much time passes...if you do...I..." Without finishing her words, Circe decided they were unnecessary and, instead of adding to her slowly building anxiety, she began to discard each of her pale-gold accessories before removing her think vest and skirt. As panties weren't even a concept of her time, her modesty was instead protected by a powerful enchantment, meaning there was nothing beneath the hand-length skirt that had baffled Vahn during their first few meetings...
Circe had never explained how the Red Moon Ritual worked but, with her having him promise not to intervene, regardless of what happened, Vahn was left gawking at the side with a serious expression on his face. He watched as Circe snapped her fingers to ignite a basin of oil-soaked logs, causing a medium-sized pyre to illuminate the surroundings. Though this obscured her figure somewhat, Vahn was virtually immune to changes in light intensity and, even in the absence of any light source, he could still see in the dark with relative ease. As a result, he was able to see Circe throw her clothes into the pyre, allowing them to ignite into golden flames before, startling him quite a bit, she 'tore' the winged ornament from her head...
Though they were not originally part of her body, Circe's winged ornaments had bee one with her person shortly after her training with Hecate. They served as the catalyst that allowed her to use Magecraft that should have only been available to the gods, representing both her acplishments and the favor of Hecate. Removing them was not only painful, but it was the same as renouncing the teachings that had been deeply ingrained into her heart, mind, and body...
With her long pink hair quickly filling with some bloody streaks, Circe unhesitantly tossed her tiara into the pyre which, under normal circ.u.mstances, had no hopes of burning such a powerful artifact. Under the stimulation of her blood, however, the flames became a pale golden color, tinged with a subtle blue hue as the 'crown' she had prided herself to obtain was turned to ash. At the same time, a massive ritual spell circle expanded outward from the basin, spreading precisely 300m as it began rotating a few centimeters off the ground.
While doing his best not to intervene, Vahn looked around at the ritual spell circle and, though he would have normally tried to analyze it, he felt this could 'offend' the entity being invoked. Thus, he decided to simply observe, allowing the image to be stored in his memory instead of trying to break it down in the present. Then, as the light from the moon had noticeably changed, at least in the area of the spell, Vahn turned his head skyward, noticing that the moon had gained a red hue that was slowly deepening to blood red, just like the hair around Circe's scalp...
Resisting the pain as best she could, Circe's eyes reflected a resolute light as she brought her hands together in prayer, chanting, "Hear my plea, oh Great Mother of the Night. I stand at the crossroads of my fate, seeking the guidance of she who walks all paths freely. To thee, I offer the lives of these one-hundred innocent and pure, raised carefully by my own hand so that they may walk at your side between the boundaries of life and death..."
Though these words sounded rather simple for a chant meant to invoke a Goddess, Vahn knew that Circe had spoken the entire verse using Divine Words. By the time she was finished, Avalon was no longer in view and, now bloody red, the moon seemed to have grown more than a hundred times in size, now dominating the night sky. In the surroundings, which had previously been rich with healthy apple trees, a ghostly forest spread out far beyond his perception, plete with a hazy mist that, as it touched his skin, felt significantly colder than ice. Then, as Circe continued to pray, the Lambs in the surrounding area began to drop to the ground, ghostly blue flames rising from their bodies...
Vahn's primary focus had been on Circe but, before he realized the transition, he suddenly found himself in plete darkness as an icy cold voice echoed in his ear, "I was wondering what kind of man had corrupted my daughter so..." Then, in a pletely different, yet equally icy tone, another woman's voice echoed, "To think the instrument of the World would take such a form...
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