"We're leaving right away. We'll get out of here as soon as it gets dark!"
Xiu got to her feet and paced back and forth uneasily.
The agitation on her face nearly brought Lin to tears.
"Okay, Aunt Xiu. You should rest for a bit while I go get some things. We can't skip today's portion of food, or they'll get suspicious."
Aike nodded and walked out of the hut.
Xiu managed to suppress the agitation in her heart and sat cross-legged.
As she meditated, her breathing gradually steadied. Looking at Lin, she suddenly felt that the girl seemed different from usual.
"Lin, come here!"
Xiu beckoned.
To her surprise, Lin didn't come over. Instead, she backed away in fear.
Xiu rose to her feet, lunged forward, and grabbed Lin. She suddenly pulled the girl's clothes aside, revealing a black tattoo encircling her tender arm.
"What is this..."
Xiu felt the hairs on her body stand on end.
"Waaah..." Lin burst into tears. "Aike told me he was sure to become someone important, and that you'd make excellent kindling... Waaah..."
"I let my guard down..."
Xiu's heart filled with regret. She had spent all this time engrossed in studying the supernatural path, completely overlooking the effect living among a group of cultists might have on a half-grown child like Aike.
"Damn it, he must've gone to report us."
Xiu pulled up a floorboard, slung her backpack over her shoulders, grabbed Lin, and ran out of the house.
Once outside, she quickened her pace, soon reaching the edge of town.
A patrol led by the Sons of Burning usually guarded the outskirts. They were often already at the second stage and had the power to control fire. They were opponents Xiu didn't want to face.
But if she caught them off guard, she might have a chance.
After all, they thought she was one of them. She had made herself familiar to the patrol by pretending she had no intention of escaping.
But this time, Xiu was out of luck.
She saw the Black Sun cultists gathered at the town gate. At their head stood the High Priest, holding a child by the hand. It was Aike!
Xiu's heart sank. She quickly recited a mysterious incantation, summoning a black wind that seemed alive.
"Are you using the spell I taught you to attack me, Xiu?"
The High Priest's lips moved, and the black wind vanished into thin air.
Xiu's heart sank further.
Aaron watched the scene calmly.
He knew that until he found a way to interfere with this world, there was nothing he could do.
In the end, Xiu surrendered without a fight. She still had Lin with her, and in a struggle, the girl could easily get hurt.
Besides, resisting was pointless against an opponent so powerful.
"Tell me, what does 'kindling' mean?"
As they tied her up, Xiu finally couldn't hold back the question.
"You'll find out."
The High Priest smiled faintly.
Aaron suddenly had a feeling that he was about to learn the Black Sun Church's most closely guarded secret.
Two days later, at the turning point between day and night.
Aaron saw a row of people bound to stakes in the town square.
Beneath them lay a complex, intricate ritual array, as exquisite as a work of art.
"Numerology and divination have confirmed that this is the best moment to please our Lord."
The High Priest took off his hood, revealing a head covered in tattoos and incantations. "And you will become my kindling, too, so we may experience the wonder of this high-level ritual together. It is called—the Eclipse!"
Aaron suddenly recalled the High Priest's first sermon: "Darkness is the symbol of destruction and Sublimation. It can make us Unburnt. If you wish to awaken your dark spirituality, you must first burn ourselves, offer up our flesh and blood, pass through the three gates, and undergo the Eclipse Ritual. Those who complete it will be reduced to skin and bones. This, too, is a great achievement!"
"So the three gates refer to the three stages: Unburnt, Son of Burning, and Dark Seeker. You can only perform the Eclipse Ritual after reaching the pinnacle of the Dark Seekers?"
Aaron stood among the crowd, watching the High Priest show off in silence.
The High Priest's face was flushed, clearly overwhelmed with excitement. "Mortals have their limits. Once I complete the ritual, I will shed this mortal body and gain an entirely new form of life. I will draw closer to our Lord and enter a whole new stage! The time has come!"
Whoosh!
At his command, the Black Sun cultists surrounding the square began chanting in unison.
Amid their eerie incantations, patches of pitch-black flame suddenly erupted across the ritual array, swallowing one sacrifice after another.
Xiu even saw Soren—the traitor from the former Shelter—among them. He had become "kindling," too!
He screamed as his body melted like a wax figure.
Within the ritual array, wisps of something indescribable seemed to answer a summons and gather upon the High Priest.
"Offer everything to the Lord of the Eclipse! Sublimate in the flames, gain the favor of darkness, and become a Dark Beast!"
The High Priest roared, and black flames ignited around him.
The flames quickly engulfed his body. Within the blaze, it seemed a new form was taking shape...
"As expected... the Black Sun cultists can steal and devour one another's dark spirituality. That's why the High Priest keeps recruiting people, spreading his faith, and even teaching them everything without holding back."
"Their spirituality... is all 'kindling.' They're sacrifices to be burned, nourishment for the Dark Beast to grow!"
Aaron watched coldly.
The Black Sun cultists seemed used to the sight, while several Sons of Burning watched with yearning in their eyes.
They were far more powerful than the Unburnt, but that made them unsuitable as sacrifices.
"So that's how it is..."
Aaron murmured. At that moment, the Black Sun Cult held no secrets from him.
Or rather, he had figured out the Black Sun Cult's highest Secret Lore!
"Aunt Xiu!"
Outside the ritual ground, Lin cried out, but Aike held her tightly and clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Aunt Xiu has gone to a higher Light Realm. She's one step closer to the Black Sun."
Aike murmured in Lin's ear, his words sounding like both comfort and hypnotism.
By the time the sun set, all the kindling in the ritual had burned away, and the black flames gradually died out.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a monster with a dog's body and a human's head leaped out of the ashes, its entire body wreathed in black flames.
It was the High Priest!
He had successfully performed the Eclipse Ritual, transformed his life form, and become a Dark Beast!
Night fell.
The Black Sun cultists either celebrated wildly or fell asleep.
The door to Aike's hut creaked open.
Lin raised her head and gazed at the bright stars. "Aunt Xiu... Waaah... I miss you so much. I'm sorry..."
She looked up at the crimson moon and remembered a legend from her homeland.
The souls of the dead would ascend to the moon and watch over everyone in the Mortal World.
And tonight, the moon seemed especially full...
"Mom..."
Lin thought of her mother, and tears streamed down her face.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but through her tear-filled eyes, she seemed to see a gigantic tree on the moon, formed entirely from tangled flesh and blood...
Before you continue