Stealing the Divine Descent Ritual

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

"Your experience with fate has taught you that rather than handing over the 'Remains of the Night Watcher' as a favor, Lena is more inclined to trust the Fire-Stealing Priest, who holds the sacred duty of communicating with the gods and protecting the villagers. This information grants you more options."

"So, Explorer, you are using your cheat again."

"Do you choose to flee Fire-Stealing Village and search for the Dark Fog Town that Lena mentioned?"

"Investigate the Fire-Stealing Priest."

"Wait and see how things develop."

"Or, find Lena once more and use the secret she revealed before her death as leverage to gain her trust."

Yang Qizhou chose the fourth option. The reason he used the ability of the Doom-Bringing Raven was to save the captain of the Night Watcher Squad and extract information about the "Blasphemy Slate" from her.

If not for that, he would have preferred to light up the new map of "Dark Fog Town," as his current situation in Fire-Stealing Village is one where everyone is an enemy.

Of course, the outcome of leaving Fire-Stealing Village might not be much better.

After all, there is still the Resentful Maiden Aliceina, who is suspected of worshipping the "Lord of the Dark Night," lurking outside. She certainly wouldn't let someone who toyed with her get away.

The text continues to scroll.

"As an explorer with a weakness for beauty, you recall the tragedy of Lena's death and cannot bear to let it happen, choosing to take a risk."

"You find Lena."

"You speak to her once again about the secrets of the Fire-Stealing Priest."

"Lena asks you with an expressionless face if you are finished."

"You reply that you are not."

"You begin your performance once more, claiming with great conviction that you were entrusted by a future version of Lena to stop the Fire-Stealing Priest's conspiracy. You explain that in the not-so-distant future, the Fire-Stealing Priest will complete a ritual, and the 'Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World' he secretly worships will descend upon Fire-Stealing Village, causing everyone to perish."

"Lena does not believe your nonsense at all; fire flickers in her eyes, and she looks ready to burn you alive."

"You hurriedly blurt out that when Lena was a child, she accidentally wandered into the Wilderness and discovered the 'Blasphemy Slate.' You emphasize that this was told to you by the future Lena herself, a secret she has never shared with anyone, not even her closest father. You add that the future Lena said mentioning this would be enough to earn the trust of her past self."

"Lena falls silent."

"You keenly perceive a subtle shift in Lena's attitude and feel a secret sense of joy."

"Lena finally speaks, asking what must be done next."

"You think of the [Mother Goddess Flower Seed of the Dream Realm] and the [Rag Stained with the Great Lord's Blood] currently in your possession, and a bold idea suddenly takes root in your mind."

"However, the unknown risks of this method are so great that you feel hesitant."

"So, Explorer, with your mind racing and a sudden flash of inspiration."

"Do you choose to gamble by placing the [Mother Goddess Flower Seed of the Dream Realm] into the [Rag Stained with the Great Lord's Blood] and replacing the original holy relic on the altar? By hijacking the ritual of divine descent, you would not only receive the blessing of the 'Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World' but also give this mysterious entity—suspected to be an evil god—a taste of what it feels like to be pregnant."

"Or do you feel this method is too outlandish and decide to abandon this impractical plan to discuss other options with Lena?"

Another blissful choice of two.

However, Yang Qizhou feels he won't need the "Doom-Bringing Raven" this time. The idea of hijacking a divine descent ritual while simultaneously making a suspected evil god pregnant—just thinking about this plotline is thrilling.

Therefore, he chooses the first option without hesitation.

"A love for adventure is the nature of an explorer. Thinking of this exciting scheme, your blood boils. You express your idea of hijacking the divine descent ritual to Lena, though you conceal the part about the [Mother Goddess Flower Seed of the Dream Realm], claiming only that you have a way to eliminate the 'Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World' after the descent."

"Lena is shocked by your boldness and explains the process of the divine descent ritual."

"The essence of the divine descent ritual is to use the altar as a terrestrial kingdom of god, the holy relic as a vessel, and the complete true name of the deity along with the corresponding prayer to build a bridge of communication. To hijack the ritual, aside from the altar, the steps involving the holy relic and the prayer of the true name must be performed by the one summoning the god."

"Hearing this, you form a rough plan and tell Lena that her future self has already provided you with a solution."

"You ask Lena to take you to the Fire-Stealing Priest's residence."

"Lena agrees."

"On the way, Lena suddenly asks why her future self would choose you to save Fire-Stealing Village."

"You are stunned for a moment, but soon the greed and shamelessness of an explorer take the moral high ground. You brazenly claim that, according to the future Lena herself, she chose you because the two of you will become husband and wife in the future."

"You prepare yourself for a slap from Lena."

"You notice Lena says nothing. Looking closely, you see her head is bowed, and she seems to believe your words."

Pfft, what a scumbag.

Yang Qizhou spat in disgust. He used to think his own personality was bad enough—stealing snacks from Little Bean, teasing the beautiful landlady, and occasionally getting into fights—but compared to this character in the game, he could be considered a saint.

Wait, did Lena actually believe that?

"Don't tell me this is going to turn into some cheesy soap opera. Please, no. The Lovecraftian atmosphere is great right now; don't ruin a masterpiece," Yang Qizhou wailed, even regretting his choice of plotline.

The game continues.

"You arrive at the Fire-Stealing Priest's residence, and for the first time, you see his face."

"He is a kind-looking old man, wearing a grey-brown pastoral robe embroidered with flame patterns. He holds a dark bronze lamp and wears a gentle smile."

"You suddenly realize why Lena trusts the Fire-Stealing Priest; his appearance is truly deceptive."

"Lena introduces you, emphasizing your feat of bringing back the 'Remains of the Night Watcher.' The Fire-Stealing Priest expresses his gratitude and warmly invites you inside as a guest."

"You have arrived in the living room, and the Fire-Stealing Priest has brewed coffee for you with his own hands."

"You talked about many things."

"Explorer with ulterior motives, you know full well that you did not come here for idle chatter, but to find the complete honorific name and corresponding prayer of the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World, and to replace the divine descent relic on the altar; you must now find an excuse to leave first."

"You say that you need to go to the washroom, and the Fire-Stealing Priest agrees, pointing you in the right direction."

"You have left the living room."

"The fork in the road of fate appears before your eyes once again, oh explorer with such wild and imaginative plans."

"Will you first go to search for the complete honorific name of the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World,"

"Or do you intend to go to the altar first to replace the divine descent relic, the Rag Stained with the Great Lord's Blood?"

"Please make your choice."

The two options might seem indistinguishable, as both are necessary steps to hijack the divine descent ritual, but Yang Qizhou knows clearly in his heart that choosing to obtain the honorific name and prayer of the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World first versus replacing the Rag Stained with the Great Lord's Blood first will lead to different outcomes, and he has long since made his own plans regarding this.

Yang Qizhou chooses the first option.

"You decide to go and search for the complete honorific name and corresponding prayer of the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World first."

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

"You found the complete honorific name and prayer of the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World inside an ancient book."

"Oh, Great Lord of Mocking Reality."

"You are the traveler who walks between dreams and reality."

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

"I pray for your descent."

"I pray for your grace."

"I pray for you to manifest a divine miracle before my eyes."