Stealing the Divine Descent Ritual

"You returned to the moment when you had made your last choice."

"Your experiences with fate had taught you that, rather than repaying Lena for the favor of bringing back the Remains of the Night Watcher, she was more willing to trust the Fire-Stealing Priest, who had the sacred duty of communicating with the gods and protecting the villagers. With this information, you had more options."

"And so, the adventurer used his cheat once more."

"Would you choose to flee Fire-Stealing Village and search for Dark Fog Town, which Lena had mentioned?"

"Investigate the Fire-Stealing Priest?"

"Wait and see what happened?"

"Or find Lena again and use the secret she had revealed before her death as leverage to gain her trust?"

Yang Qizhou chose the fourth option. He had used the Doom-Bringing Raven's ability because he wanted to save the captain of the Night Watcher Squad and learn from her about the Blasphemy Slate.

Otherwise, he would have preferred to unlock the new map, Dark Fog Town, because he was already surrounded by enemies in Fire-Stealing Village.

Of course, there was no guarantee things would go any better if he left the village.

After all, Aliceina, the Resentful Maiden who seemingly worshipped the Lord of the Dark Night, was still waiting outside. She would certainly never forgive someone who had toyed with her.

The text continued to scroll.

"Greedy for beauty, the adventurer remembered the tragedy of Lena's death. In the end, he couldn't bear to let it happen and decided to take a chance."

"You found Lena."

"You once again told her the secret about the Fire-Stealing Priest."

"Lena asked expressionlessly whether you were finished."

"You replied that you weren't."

"You began your performance once more, claiming with utter conviction that the future Lena had commissioned you to stop the Fire-Stealing Priest's plot. In the not-too-distant future, the Fire-Stealing Priest would complete his ritual, and the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World, whom he secretly worshipped, would descend upon Fire-Stealing Village. Then everyone would die."

"Lena didn't believe a word of your nonsense. Flames flickered in her eyes as she prepared to burn you alive."

"You hurriedly told her about how, as a child, she had once wandered into the Wilderness and discovered the Blasphemy Slate. You stressed that the future Lena had told you this herself, and had never mentioned it to anyone—not even her closest relative, her father. The future Lena had also said that if you brought this up, you would earn your past self's trust."

"Lena fell silent."

"You keenly sensed that her attitude had changed ever so slightly, and couldn't help feeling secretly delighted."

"Lena finally spoke. She asked what you should do next."

"You thought of the Mother Goddess Flower Seed of the Dream Realm and the Rag Stained with the Great Lord's Blood in your possession. Suddenly, a bold idea came to you."

"But there were too many unknown risks with this plan, and you hesitated."

"And so, the adventurer's imagination ran wild, and inspiration struck."

"Would you take a gamble, put the Mother Goddess Flower Seed of the Dream Realm inside the Rag Stained with the Great Lord's Blood, and replace the sacred relic on the altar? You could steal the divine descent ritual and receive the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World's blessing, while also letting this mysterious being—who might be an evil god—experience what it was like to be pregnant."

"Or did you think this plan was too far-fetched, abandon the impractical idea, and discuss things further with Lena?"

Another wonderfully happy either-or choice.

But Yang Qizhou figured he wouldn't need the Doom-Bringing Raven this time. Stealing the divine descent ritual while also getting a mysterious being who might be an evil god pregnant? Just thinking about that plotline thrilled him.

So he chose the first option without hesitation.

"Adventurers were born to love a thrill. The thought of this exhilarating plan made your blood race, and you told Lena you wanted to steal the divine descent ritual. But you kept the Mother Goddess Flower Seed of the Dream Realm secret, saying only that you had a way to destroy the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World after his descent."

"Lena was shocked by your audacity, and explained the steps involved in stealing the divine descent ritual."

"The divine descent ritual was, in essence, a process of using the altar as a kingdom on earth, the sacred relic as a vessel, and the deity's full honorific name and corresponding prayer to build a bridge of communication. To steal the ritual, the altar was the only exception: the sacred relic and the honorific name and prayer both had to be handled personally by the one performing the divine descent."

"After hearing her explanation, you had the general outline of a plan. You told Lena that her future self had already told you what to do."

"You asked Lena to take you to the Fire-Stealing Priest's home."

"Lena agreed."

"As you traveled, Lena suddenly asked why her future self had chosen you to save Fire-Stealing Village."

"You were stunned at first, but soon the adventurer's greed and shamelessness seized the moral high ground in your heart. You brazenly claimed that, according to the future Lena, she had chosen you because the two of you would become husband and wife."

"You were ready for Lena to slap you."

"You saw that Lena said nothing. Looking more closely, you noticed her head was lowered, as though she believed what you had said."

What a load of crap. What a scumbag.

Yang Qizhou spat. He used to think he had a pretty rotten personality: stealing snacks from Little Bean, teasing his beautiful landlady for no reason, and occasionally getting into fights when he saw someone being bullied. But compared to this character in the game, he was practically a saint.

Wait, Lena believed that story?

"Don't tell me this is about to turn into some cheesy romance plot. No! The Lovecraftian atmosphere is great right now. Don't ruin this masterpiece!" Yang Qizhou wailed, even regretting his choice of storyline.

The game continued.

"You arrived at the Fire-Stealing Priest's home. For the first time, you saw his face."

"He was a kindly old man, dressed in a grayish-brown priestly robe embroidered with flames. He held a dark-colored copper lamp and wore a warm smile."

"You suddenly understood why Lena trusted the Fire-Stealing Priest. His appearance was incredibly deceptive."

"Lena introduced you, placing particular emphasis on how you had brought back the Remains of the Night Watcher. The Fire-Stealing Priest thanked you and warmly invited you inside."

"You went into the living room, where the Fire-Stealing Priest personally brewed coffee for you."

"You talked about many things."

"Knowing the real reason for your visit, the adventurer understood that this was no time for idle chatter. You needed to find the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World's full honorific name and corresponding prayer, and replace the divine descent relic on the altar. You had to find an excuse to leave first."

"You said you needed to use the washroom. The Fire-Stealing Priest agreed and pointed the way."

"You left the living room."

Another fork in fate appeared before you. So, adventurer with an outlandish, wildly imaginative plan—

"Would you first look for the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World's full honorific name?"

"Or would you head to the altar first and replace the divine descent relic with the Rag Stained with the Great Lord's Blood?"

"Make your choice."

The two choices seemed no different, since both were necessary to steal the divine descent ritual. But Yang Qizhou knew full well that finding the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World's honorific name and prayer first, or replacing the Rag Stained with the Great Lord's Blood first, would lead to different outcomes. He had already made up his mind.

Yang Qizhou chose the first option.

"You decided to look for the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World's full honorific name and corresponding prayer first."

"You searched many places but found no clues. Then you suddenly remembered the strange diary in which the Fire-Stealing Priest had described the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World, and returned to the study."

"You found the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World's full honorific name and prayer in an ancient book."

"O Great Lord of Mocking Reality, the Illusory!"

"You are the wanderer who travels between dream and reality."

"You are the Ancient Dominator hidden beyond all things."

"I pray for your descent."

"I pray for your blessing."

"I pray that you reveal a miracle before my eyes."