To humans whose civilizations had risen, the Sea of Hearts had always been an abstruse and mysterious concept.
Other than certain sages, philosophers, or those who wielded immense influence over the "Sea of Hearts"—beings known as "Kings"—ordinary humans naturally had no way of perceiving its existence.
Yet in the ancient Celestial Empire, quite a few philosophers had vaguely touched upon this power. In order to fully make use of it, the philosophers of old created certain rituals.
Because this power innately possessed the ability to influence "human hearts," these rituals were used by the Celestial Empire's ruling class and passed down through the ages.
The ancients called this power "Heaven."
Or rather, the Lord Above, the Way of Heaven.
And the ritual used to communicate with this power was called the Heaven-Sacrificing Ritual.
Of course, precisely because the power of the Sea of Hearts was so obscure, while the existence of gods overshadowed its radiance, humanity had long confused this power with another.
That was "Gaia," the power of the world.
So-called "Heaven" actually referred to the union of "Gaia" and the Sea of Hearts—or, in other words, the still-unawakened "Alaya."
If it referred to Alaya alone, then it meant what was known as a dynasty's fortune.
For the rulers of the Nine Provinces, anyone who obtained the authority of the state was one favored by destiny, blessed with fortune. Nations and rulers beset by calamities were those rejected by fortune. Fortune was the great momentum of mankind. Whichever nation it stood behind became the era's favored child, representing the glory of that age.
The combined fortune of all nations was Human Order.
But when all humanity was gathered within a single nation, that nation's fortune, its national destiny, was itself no different from Human Order.
And now, the ritual