The Ritual

"Since I am the Creator, my mystical energy is the source of spirituality... I should be able to change the world in my dreams—or, perhaps, influence reality through my mind."

With that thought, Aaron entered the dream world.

He knew his way around and soon arrived inside a building. It was a place where only core members of the church could gather, and where the High Priest occasionally taught occult knowledge.

Today, he was in luck. The High Priest himself was on the dais.

The bald old man's skin was wrinkled and covered in tattoos. Strands of black flame leaked from his eyes, an outward sign that his spirituality had reached a certain level and was about to overflow.

He spoke slowly, his voice low:

"Everyone here has experienced an initial awakening of spirituality. I will teach you how to resist illness, avoid danger, and gain power... even how, ultimately, to ascend the radiant staircase, draw near to our god, and achieve immortality!"

After rousing the congregation's emotions, the High Priest's smile grew wider. "Of course, with the meager spirituality you possess now, you can only attempt the simplest rituals. Remember, every ritual requires spiritual energy. So if you aren't truly Unburnt, there's no need to try—unless you want to use up your own life force in its place!"

The High Priest casually picked up a branch. "The ritual I'm about to demonstrate has just one simple effect: finding the way! It can help you find an exit as quickly as possible... Pay attention! It's not just for when you're foolish enough to get lost. If you encounter a dangerous creature skilled at creating illusions, or become trapped in a mysterious fog, it can also show you the way out!"

"A ritual consists of several parts: the procedure, the required items, the prayer, the target, the petition, the offering, and so on... Remember, we may pray only to the great Black Sun—in other words, the Lord of the Eclipse. The procedure must be followed without the slightest error, or the consequences may be terrifying..."

Aaron stood to one side, listening and nodding from time to time.

It was clear that, thanks to the relentless corruption—or perhaps the whispers—of those great beings, the occult system of this world was expanding rapidly, even giving rise to a unique form of mysticism.

It encompassed countless Secret Lore traditions and subjective methods of verification, covering ritual studies, supernatural languages, speculation, spiritualism, wand dowsing, numerology, natural magic, witchcraft, astrology, alchemy, and many other fields. It was truly all-encompassing, with nothing too strange to be included.

On the dais, the High Priest continued, "The timing of a ritual matters, too. Our Lord favors dawn and dusk, when day and night change places. That's when the chances of success are greatest. But don't try it at noon, when the sun is at its fiercest. Last time, one of our fellow believers unfortunately burned himself to a crisp..."

"When you pray, be sure your petition is clear and your words are precise. Don't pause for too long, either, or the Lord may feel insulted..."

Aaron nodded, now with some understanding of ritual studies. "These occult rituals mainly use one's own spirituality to pry open the mysterious, connect with great beings in the unseen, and petition them for power... But is Black Sun really the kind to treat its followers gently?"

He felt that the High Priest had only grasped the basics of sacrificial rites, without truly mastering them.

Perhaps he was communicating with only a tiny fraction of Black Sun's radiance. The so-called responses to the rituals might simply be natural reactions from that radiance, like an intelligent program.

"Otherwise, given how insane Black Sun is, anyone who communicated with it would have to be a madman!"

Aaron thought with amusement. He wondered what kind of expression the Black Sun Church would wear if it ever really managed to contact Black Sun.

"All right, the situation is that I can't interfere with this world... But what if someone else tried to contact me?"

"For example, a believer uses their own spirituality to activate a ritual, connecting to an unknown being in the unseen..."

Aaron thought it over, then slumped in dejection. "Uh... Would any lunatic be crazy enough to petition the unknown?"

"And my range for receiving signals—or sensing them—must be no match for Black Sun's... Pretending to be an evil god is going to be difficult."

"If I were to design a ritual for myself, what would my divine name be? The Creator above creation? The great observer behind multiple veils? Wait. Even if I came up with a divine name, I still wouldn't be able to tell my believers what it was..."

Aaron realized he'd landed in a dead end.

To influence the world, he needed believers. To gain believers, he needed to create rituals and a divine name. To get that name into his believers' ears, he first had to influence the world!

"This is a damn vicious cycle!"

Aaron grumbled, "I'd better go back to being an invisible spectator... Maybe I'll run into some idiot or lunatic who performs a ritual without a clear target, and I'll happen to sense it!"

On the dais, the High Priest had finished his lesson for the day.

He looked down at the many Unburnt, his eyes filled with desire and greed, which he hid remarkably well.

Only then did Aaron notice that Xiu was among the Unburnt. Apparently, she had completed the first stage of the ritual and successfully awakened her spirituality.

"This woman's pretty talented along the Path of Darkness."

Unable to do anything useful in the real world, he couldn't help making the comment with a twinge of jealousy.

He followed Xiu all the way back to the little house where she lived with the two children.

There were no longer any watchers outside the house. It seemed that the Black Sun Church had fully accepted them.

After entering, Xiu warily surveyed their surroundings, then quickly shut the door.

"Aunt Xiu!"

Aike and Lin were both inside. When they saw Xiu come in, they cheered.

"All right, I've become Unburnt and learned a spell. We can leave now."

Xiu lifted a floorboard. Beneath it were the black bread and canned food they had saved over the past few days, packed into a large bundle along with their other outdoor gear.

"I've been asking around. The Black Sun Cult isn't as simple as it seems... The rumors about people being burned alive are true, too. The High Priest may be waiting for a particular numerological value and date... We have to leave. We can't stay here. Mm... We can keep exploring the Path of Darkness even outside..."

Xiu hadn't realized that she had already been changed, little by little.

For one thing, she no longer resisted the faith of Black Sun.

She wanted to flee this time to get away from the Black Sun Cult, not from Black Sun itself!

"But... Aunt Xiu, do we really have to leave? I think those uncles and aunties are all very kind. They even gave my sister and me candy."

Aike hesitated.

Xiu's expression changed. Suddenly, she looked confused and distressed...

As if she had realized something, her face turned deathly pale. "This influence is terrifying... Even I'm affected, and I'm an adult. You two are just children. You have to leave right now and stay away from the 'mysterious'!"