The Price
Based on the orthodox Summoning Ritual described in Aurora's Witchcraft Notes and the Mysticism knowledge inherent in the "Contracted One," Lumian solemnly uttered in Ancient Hermetic: "The ' The Fool ' who does not belong to this era;
You are the Ruler Above the Gray Fog;
"You are the King of Yellow and Black who holds the key to good fortune."
I pray for your favor;
I beg your attention;
"I!
"I call upon the name of the great ' The Fool ':"
"Strange creatures roaming the Upper Realm, the severed hand of a mysterious being, the swollen, bluish-black throat-crusher."
This is a summoning Incantation that Lumian designed himself based on the information about the "Abscessed Severed Hand". Since this Ritual will grant the object of the supplication a certain degree of protection, and the "Abscessed Severed Hand" is not considered dangerous, he removed the descriptions related to "weak" and "friendly" and added other phrases to ensure that it Precision targets the creature.
The candlelight, already tinged with Blue-Black, suddenly expanded and intertwined, forming a phantom gate covered with mysterious patterns. A thin Gray Fog had already permeated the surrounding area, filling it with an unsettling atmosphere.
The gate slowly opened, and out flew a rotten, swollen, and pus-oozing bluish-black severed hand. It was two sizes larger than Lumian's hand, and seemed capable of crushing a human's head.
The abscessed, severed hand hovered before the mysterious, illusory gate, its five fingers spread, aimed at Lumian's neck, yet it did not launch an attack.
Lumian took out another Military Flask of a different color, unscrewed the cap, and splashed some strong liquor towards the Altar, specifically onto the location of the "Abscessed Severed Hand."
The wine had already spilled onto the ground halfway through, but with a flash of light from the Broom- shaped Brooch, the "Bribery" was quietly completed.
Lumian then opened his mouth, his throat and chest resonating as he uttered a series of strangely pronounced Vocabulary.
He had never learned those Vocabulary before; they all came from the Mysticism knowledge inherent in the "Contracted One," which allowed him to directly grasp their pronunciation and meaning.
They belong to the "Secret Language of Fate," and are part of this language.
As Lumian's voice stirred the air, silver-black Vocabulary, like symbols, appeared out of thin air.
They landed one after another on the Imitation Sheepskin Paper placed on the Altar, forming a short but eerie Contract.
As the Contract was formed, Lumian established a subtle connection with the "Abscessed Severed Hand," much like using the "Summoning Dance" to attach it to himself.
Through this, Lumian grasped the general abilities and characteristics of the "Abscessed Severed Hand" and sensed its desire.
The latter is the price Lumian had to pay:
"Find my body, or you will never attain Divinity!"
The payment can be advanced, with the cost to be paid later... Does this mean the "Bribery" has some effect? No, not really. Once the Contract is signed, I will immediately pay the price, but the price will be "the Destiny of becoming Half-God." Once I have collected the rest of the body parts of the "Abscessed Severed Hand," the payment will naturally replace the cost... Right now, it's like providing enough collateral first... A series of thoughts flashed through Lumian's mind, and he roughly understood the essence of this Contract.
At the same time, he found the "Spirit World Traversal" he wanted from the "Abscessed Severed Hand," including its abilities and traits such as "Anti-Divination," "indestructibility," and "ability to snap the neck of Divinity."
This was a characteristic of the "Abscessed Severed Hand" itself, not an ability. The effect was slightly worse than Lumian had anticipated, but it was still within his acceptable range.
Since "Dignity" could only be used for a quarter of an hour, and the cost was bearable and the ability barely met the requirements, Lumian didn't waste time summoning another alternative creature and directly made the promise in Ancient Hermetic:
"I will help you find a body; until then, I cannot attain Divinity."
These words Fusion with the surrounding environment, transforming into wisps of bluish-black mist that seeped into the Imitation Sheepskin Paper.
The "Abscessed Severed Hand" then fell, leaving a trail of yellowish, bloody pus in the blank space of the Contract.
The Contract spontaneously combusted instantly, burning out multiple silver-black symbols and characters.
They connected end to end, forming an illusory and intricate pattern, before suddenly shrinking into Lumian's shoulder.
Although the clothing concealed it, Lumian could still naturally picture the condition of his right shoulder.
There was a strange, stamp-like black object there.
Lumian instinctively believed that as long as he activated this Contract Mark, he could use the "Abscessed Severed Hand" to travel through the Spirit World, and that the Contract could not be broken unless one of them died; this was his Predestination Destiny.
Without bothering to test the "Spirit World Traversal," Lumian ended the summoning and began a new Ritual:
"...
"I call upon the name of the great ' The Fool ':"
"A vengeful spirit lingering in illusion, a headless bride, the Source the Curse upon the clan's bloodline."
The mysterious, illusory gate reappeared amidst the intertwining of bluish-black flames, and a chilling wind blew out from within, turning the summer night into a winter night.
Lumian saw a figure emerge from the illusory gate, dressed in a bright red, festive Long Dress embroidered with numerous patterns in Golden thread.
Without a doubt, this figure had no head, and intense resentment and hatred emanated outwards.
Following the previous procedure, Lumian "Bribery" the bride with wine, recited the Contract, and sensed the price demanded by the "Headless Bride":
"To sacrifice a blood relative or friend."
"Thank you for your hard work." Lumian chuckled self-deprecatingly, ending the summoning abruptly.
This ineffective summons did yield one benefit: it confirmed that "Bribery" could produce some effect.
The "Headless Bride" was originally only required to sacrifice blood relatives, but after being "Bribery," the condition was relaxed to include friends.
Lumian's next target is "Man-Faced Mantis," and the summoning phrase he has designed is:
"A vengeful spirit lingering in illusion, Hunting resembling a mantis, a human face adept at Change."
Amidst strange whooshing sounds, a giant, translucent blue mantis crawled out from behind the illusory gate.
Its head is topped with a young, handsome, and Sunlight face, which makes people subconsciously lower their guard.
Upon sensing the presence and gender of its summoner, the Man-Faced Mantis quickly transformed into a beautiful Women dressed in a black evening gown.
Lumian scoffed inwardly, having completed the entire process of "Bribery," chanting, and spiritual connection.
The "Man-Faced Mantis" demands three kinds of "Sacrifice," and only one of them needs to be given:
"The Contract's Reproductive Organs; Contract contractor's ability to Lie; the Contract's method of burning at the stake."
After being "Bribery," the conditions were relaxed, and one or two more options were given? What this guy really wanted was only one thing: "Torture of humanity"... The first corresponds to the jealousy of those Men; if I were a woman, this option probably wouldn't exist... The second corresponds to the slanderers and accusers, and the third corresponds to the burning at the stake that he himself suffered... Lumian quickly made a judgment.
As an "Pyromaniac," he felt that the third price was perfectly acceptable. On the one hand, he had a strong resistance to Flames, and on the other hand, enduring pain was one of his strengths.
If he didn't have this option, Lumian planned to give up and go back to find a few more similar Spirit World Creature to summon. After all, Deprivation him of the Lie would significantly weaken him, even making it impossible for him to survive in a place like Trier. He wasn't sure if he could return by six in the morning after sacrificing his Reproductive Organs, and he didn't want to take the risk.
He quickly found the "Face of Niser" he wanted from among the "Man-Faced Mantis's" abilities.
"Niser" was the name of the Man-Faced Mantis in life. The nature of this ability is closer to illusion than to the alteration of the body's flesh and bones. However, without the ability to counter it and without Divinity, it is impossible to see or see through illusions.
This time, the black mark landed on Lumian's left shoulder, accompanied by crimson Flames rising from the soles of his feet.
Unaffected by Lumian, they set his clothes ablaze and scorched his body.
Lumian felt as if he were back in the time he fought Suzanne Matisse, and a familiar yet strange pain surged up like a tide, trying to overwhelm his mind.
He quickly threw all his valuables aside and held the "Dignity" Brooch in his palm.
The burning lasted for a full three minutes. Lumian's skin was burned beyond repair, with scorch marks from his clothing clinging to his body.
For the "Pyromaniac," such injuries were not fatal, not even serious; he even had the strength to prepare for the next summons.
"A bizarre creature that roams the Upper Realm, a fleshy mass with numerous eyes, Participant in deep Nightmare."
As the Incantation was recited, a creature composed of flesh and blood rolled out from the illusory gate, with a white-kerneled, black-eyed eye on each piece of flesh.
After being seen by countless eyes, Lumian, who was holding an aluminum-white Military Flask, suddenly collapsed and fell into a Past sleep.
He didn't know how much time had passed when he suddenly woke up and found that the Ritual had ended naturally, and the "Thousand-Eyed Evil" had returned to the Spirit World without actually attacking him.
Seeing it makes me fall asleep; there's absolutely no way to communicate with it... And this level of influence isn't protected by the Ritual itself... Lumian sighed, picked up the pocket watch from the Breeze Ballroom that he had just tossed aside, and checked the time.
Thank goodness, I only slept for a few minutes, about three more minutes... Lumian his spirits, Reboot the Ritual, and summoned "Screaming Shadow":
"...
"A spirit wandering in illusion, a composite of numerous Shadows, the creator of the shrill screams of unconsciousness."
The mysterious illusory gate opened, but what Lumian saw was not the tangled, strange Shadows, but a blurry figure covered in fish-scale-like Pitch-Black armor.
Its scales, unlike any armor Lumian had ever seen in newspapers and magazines, seemed to conceal tiny, writhing Shadows on every single scale.
Uh... this summoning Incantation wasn't Precision enough, and it summoned a similar Spirit World Creature? It should also have a fainting scream. Let's try to form Contract first... Lumian roughly understood what was going on and began a new round of "Bribery," chanting, and sensing.
The Sacrifice this Armored Wraith desires is:
"A blood sacrifice of more than ten people or gold worth 100,000 Felkine."
Because of the "Bribery," the conditions were relaxed to sacrifice within three months, otherwise the Contract would backfire.
That could very well lead to Loss of Control, or even death.
100,000 Felkine... Lumian felt this was barely acceptable, so he began searching for the Coma Scream within the abilities and traits of the Armored Wraith.
While quickly browsing, he discovered an ability with a peculiar name:
"The Heng-Ha Art."