"[...By scenting the moonlight with blood, one may see the lingering shadows of mysteries walking the earth. But to follow the path ahead, one must first ascertain the three paths of seeking knowledge, seeking death, or seeking emancipation.]"
Naifertali softly recited the esoteric knowledge required to initiate the ritual, "I offer the ’object of seeking knowledge’ to open the door of mystery—"
As her whisper rose,
The ritual known as "Scenting the Door of Mystery" had been accurately activated by her.
The breath of the Lady of Mysteries erged above the ritual ground.
In front of Naifertali, the celestial stars seed to shimr into existence, if only in a trance.
They were orbiting before her eyes at a velocity thousands of tis their normal speed... Trying to make out those trajectories alone was enough to induce a splitting headache in Naifertali.
She certainly knew this was the influence of the "Gravitational Pull of the Stars."
A High-Level Influence belonging to the realm of mysteries—if left unchecked, one might fall into a very troubleso nightmare.
The simplistic ritual she was conducting naturally wouldn’t summon the will of a True God. But even a re breath is enough to bring about a corresponding influence.
Influence is the remnant of power.
It is both a trial given by the True God to those who wield the ritual, and at the sa ti, a blessing for those who are capable.
The three "Knowing Worms" gradually ceased their undulating movents.
Through the light of three yellow gems, the Knowing Worms slowly took on a pellucid color akin to moonlight.
Naifertali made an incision on her right forefinger with an iron dagger.
She squeezed out a drop of fresh blood and let it fall upon the head of one of the Knowing Worms.
"The first, [The Secret Eye is an organization that truly exists];
"The second, [The Secret Eye does not exist];
"The third, [The Secret Eye can be said to exist or not to exist]."
After she provided three options,
The blood-tainted Knowing Worm slowly crawled towards the yellow crystal at ten o’clock.
This ant that the answer was the third one.
As expected.
Naifertali nodded silently.
She squeezed another drop of blood and inquired,
"The first, [The Secret Eye has another na, and ’The Secret Eye’ itself is only an alias they use];
"The second, [The Secret Eye is not an organization, but sothing else];
"The third, [The Secret Eye no longer exists, and those bearing its na are not the legitimate successors]."
These were the three possibilities she had conceived.
This ritual allowed for the consumption of a Knowing Worm to inquire about the answer to a multiple-choice question with three options, up to three consecutive tis for a single question—although it was supposedly a choice between three, the actual number of answers could be four, or even infinite. Because if all three options were clearly wrong, then the Worm would remain motionless.
By setting the number "three" one conceals countless possibilities.
This is also the notion of "Mystery" that the Lady of Mysteries upholds—
This ti the Worm wriggled towards the six o’clock direction, then hesitantly moved towards the light at two o’clock.
This implied that the answer was the first one, but with so relevance to the second possibility.
If it’s just an alias, there’s no need to further question its identity... If it has co masked, surely it won’t be easy to strip it away.
Thus, Naifertali continued to narrow down the scope of her question:
"The first, [The Secret Eye has co here to take away my property or that of my friends’s];
"The second, [If the Secret Eye is not here to take away mine or my friends’s property, then what they’re planning to do might endanger our lives];
"The third, [If the Secret Eye does not et the previous two possibilities, then they are currently trustworthy, or at least temporarily so]."
As she could only pose one more inquiry, Naifertali took a cunning approach.
She grouped two similar responses together—though there were three options, there were actually six possibilities hidden.
Because the volu of information was overwhelming, The Worm hesitated for a mont, clearly confused.
It pondered for quite a while.
Then, with indecision, it circled the Ritual Plate before slowly climbing onto the ten o’clock direction.
Seeing that the Knowing Worm had provided the third answer, Naifertali finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Friend, not foe, Niusel."
Naifertali summarized to her companion, "The party in question might be a subordinate of so organization or a bigwig, using a pseudonym to approach us. But the organization itself currently seems trustworthy.
"Oh... and you can speak now."
With the third inquiry complete, the ritual automatically concluded.
It seed that they wouldn’t be offending this ancient and mysterious organization for the ti being.
If the other party had co with the intent of seeking wealth or threatening lives, then, even if they were "harmless for now," it wouldn’t be enough to put Naifertali at ease.
However, in the third answer, the first two options had been eliminated. That was what allowed Naifertali to be friendly towards them.
"True to its na, the ’Hidden Eye’, it really is quite secretive."
Niusel remarked.
But Naifertali frowned, murmuring quietly, "Strange..."
...But since their purpose here was neither to seek riches nor to take lives and they were deed trustworthy, why did the Knowing Worm hesitate?
Naifertali was puzzled.
This organization, calling itself the "Hidden Eye," wasn’t coveting their wealth, and whatever they intended to do wouldn’t jeopardize anyone’s safety.
Under such circumstances, they should be highly trustworthy—since there was no conflict of interest.
But why did the Knowing Worm consider that they might not be trustworthy?
Never mind, it doesn’t matter.
Let’s just act according to the information obtained from the inquiries, without wavering.
Naifertali made up her mind.
"They are waiting at your house now, aren’t they?"
She instructed logically and in great detail, "Then, Niusel, grant ’Hidden Eye’ tier two clearance, excluding the forbidden zones and my ho. They can pass through anywhere... but don’t tell them about it. Also take so snacks and small gifts to appease them, as compensation for your unannounced departure and for reaching out to to test them—don’t ntion the latter to them.
"There are two girls among them? Then take an agate necklace and a yellow sapphire ring from my dressing table for them, the ones made of silver... and bring the young man a sapphire silver brooch, and see if they dare to wear them. Report back to with their response.
"Then, arrange for them to stay near your house, find them two adjacent residences. Observe how they settle in, and inform about the housing allocation... Yes, that’s it."
"Anything else? I’ve got it all down."
Niusel responded.
Naifertali thought for a mont, "Wait, there is one more thing—"
She narrowed her eyes.
"Give them ’the key’."
She said.
"It’s unlikely that they truly ca to solve our nightmares, but... what if they did, right?"
"Leave it to , Neve."
Niusel nodded repeatedly like a loyal big dog, "I’ve got it all down! I’ll handle it well!"
Watching him hurry off with the items, Naifertali smiled helplessly.
anwhile, above their heads.
Annan, disguised as "Giralda," had also located his next target.
A mind thief attempting to steal the "curiosity" of Annan, a foreign traveler.
She was a werewolf.
What drew Annan’s attention was that her appearance... bore so resemblance to "Bella."
Reviews
All reviews (0)