After waiting for nearly ten minutes outside the main prayer hall, Klein and the other believers attending the Moon Mass were led inside by the pastor.
In the dim and tranquil atmosphere, they were greeted by a neat and ethereal chanting:
The crimson Full Moon rose, illuminating the earth.
Everyone was lost in a sweet dream, dreaming of themselves.
"To dream of one's parents, wife, and children means that this is eternity..." (Note 1)
As the sacred and rhythmic sounds echoed, the believers in the great prayer hall were naturally calmed down, seemingly forgetting the troubles of life and no longer worrying about the various problems of the real world.
Led by several priests, they found their seats and sat down in front of the altar. Bishop Electra, who was in charge of the Mass, held the Revelation of Evernight and began to give a simple sermon.
As this part of the ceremony drew to a close, the priests took out water and bread and distributed them to Klein and the others. This was a blessing from the Evernight, food shared by the living and the dead.
Klein, who hadn't yet had dinner, naturally didn't waste the mediocre bread and the water in his cup. Then he saw the candles on the altar lit up, shining like stars in the darkness, radiating a reassuring light and warmth.
At this moment, Bishop Electra, along with the priests and the entire choir, once again chanted in unison:
We will look up at the night sky.
He spoke her name tenderly: ' Evernight Goddess!'
"Besides ' Evernight Goddess,' there are no other words."
May the goddess watch over the Angel as they sing.
"Pluck them together with the sweet silence,"
"And held in His gentle right hand."
"'Goddess!' If He hears this, He will surely answer."
"I will surely show a pure smile to the deceased:"
"Come, rest, sleep peacefully, my children!" (Note 2)
The ethereal voice, imbued with a sacred quality, penetrated the ears of every believer, seemingly resonating with all the spirits present. As a Sequence 5 Beyonder, Klein also felt as if his Spirit Body was being cleansed, his Spirituality flowing out naturally and gently.
Then, a tranquil darkness seemed to appear before his eyes, a darkness without a sound.
In the darkness, corpses lay there, pale but peaceful, as if they were not dead, but merely asleep.
Klein walked calmly and peacefully through the darkness, then suddenly stopped and looked diagonally ahead.
Several people were sleeping where the Moon bloomed quietly.
They were Dunn Smith; Old Neil, still dressed in a classic black robe; and Kenley, short in stature but diligently saving money.
They closed their eyes relaxed, a faint smile seemingly playing on their lips. Around them stood tombstones, each inscribed with the same word:
" Guardian."
Klein closed his eyes abruptly, and the holy and ethereal voice echoed in his ears:
Cross your hands.
"Place it on your chest,"
"Make that silent prayer,"
"And shout from your heart:"
"The only refuge is peace!" (Note 3)
Klein lowered his head, closed his eyes, raised his hands, crossed them in front of his chest, and silently repeated:
"Peace is the only true refuge!"
"Peace is the only true refuge!"
He repeated the prayers over and over until the Great Prayer Hall became extremely quiet before Klein opened his eyes and rubbed the corners of his eyes.
He slowly exhaled, glanced around, and by the light of the candlesticks, noticed that most of the believers had tears streaming down their faces without realizing it. Even his personal valet, Richardson, had let the tears keep flowing without wiping them away.
The Moon Mass is more like a ritual, a ritual involving extraordinary power. Its purpose should be to resonate with the spirit of each person, allowing different people to see their close deceased relatives in the darkness, release their grief, and gain peace... Hmm, this isn't an anomaly only for Beyonder, so I can rest assured... For ordinary people, it's just a fleeting illusion and a release of inner emotions; they'll only think the goddess is great, without doubting the existence of supernatural power... Sequence 5 of the ' Evernight ' pathway seems to have greatly improved their control over the spirit... Klein withdrew his gaze and made a judgment in his mind.
Then, he recalled that darkness and the dead lying among the Moon.
Klein closed his eyes and let his thoughts wander:
"Is that dark plain, covered with the Moon, night-blooming jasmine, and deep-sleeping flowers, some kind of manifestation of the goddess's divine kingdom?"
"What does the source of danger at night in the Ruins of the Gods' Battle correspond to?"
Klein gradually pictured the cool night sky he saw at the easternmost point of the Sonia Sea, and the mist that shrouded the sea beneath it.
In the mist, there was a dark, ancient church with a pointed roof, with crows circling and hovering above it, as if in mourning or offering sacrifices. Around the church, there were ordinary houses, simple wooden huts, a gray mill, and shadowy figures.
Logically speaking, this misty scene, which is closely related to the night and dreams, should have been formed by the lingering aura of the goddess or the Demonic Wolf of Destruction Flegrea, yet it bears no resemblance to the corresponding divine realm... Hmm, mortals cannot fathom the divine. Perhaps that dark plain covered with flowers and grass was not a projection of the divine realm at all, but rather a byproduct of the ritual... Seeing that the Moon Mass had come to an end, Klein reached into the inside pocket of his clothes and took out his wallet.
Clutching his wallet, he rose and entered the passageway, proceeding to the altar. Under the compassionate and merciful gaze of Bishop Electra, he walked diagonally to the offering box.
After drawing Crimson Moon by tapping four times clockwise on his chest, Klein dropped all the large bills into the hole.
Total: £300!
At this moment, Klein didn't feel the same heartache and reluctance as before; he was very calm because he remembered the ceremony where Old Neil returned the debt.
On that occasion, under the goddess's protection, they found a wallet containing more than three hundred pounds in cash.
He stepped back, drew another Crimson Moon, and gave his spot to the donors behind him.
At this moment, Bishop Electra stepped forward and, while drawing a red moon clockwise in four directions, began to speak:
May the goddess bless you.
"May the goddess know that what I desire most now is to receive her guidance," Klein replied with a smile.
Bishop Electra glanced at the exit on the side of the prayer hall and said:
"If you don't mind waiting fifteen minutes, I can give you a sermon in the library."
"That's exactly what I've been longing for," Klein said with a gentle smile.
Bishop Electra immediately instructed a priest to lead Dawn Dantès and his servant out of the Great Prayer Hall through a side passage and around to the library, which was not far from the spiral staircase.
Here, large bookshelves are filled with various books related to the Church of the Evernight Goddess, and tables and chairs are arranged on both sides for pastors and bishops to use for studying and preaching to believers.
Twelve minutes later, Bishop Electra entered the library with a calming smile and saw Dawn Dantès, standing in front of a row of bookshelves, intently flipping through a classic text, exuding the air of a scholar.
"What are you looking at?" he asked with a smile.
Klein closed the book and chuckled self-deprecatingly:
" The Revelation of Evernight ".
"To be honest, although I have a devout faith in the goddess, I have been too busy with life for many years to have the time to sit down and seriously read this holy book."
As he spoke, he appeared outwardly normal, but inwardly he was somewhat uneasy, fearing that the goddess would strike him with lightning as a reward for the devout believer Dawn Dantès.
"Hmm, lightning isn't within the goddess's domain..." Klein reassured himself.
Bishop Electra smiled, took the Revelation of Evernight, and said:
It's never too late to start.
He immediately invited Dawn Dantès to sit down at a table and began to systematically explain to him the structure of the Revelation of Evernight and its key sacred words.
Richardson, carrying his employer's hat and cane, sat a little further away, waiting quietly while listening attentively to the bishop's sermon.
Time ticked by, and Klein, who appeared to be deep in thought, was suddenly struck by Spirit Intuition, and the scene outside the door naturally appeared in his mind.
This was his gut feeling, a premonition amplified by the " Clown " and the Gray Fog!
Outside the door, an elderly man dressed in a black clergy robe passed by and headed towards the nearby spiral staircase.
His white hair was quite thick, but it was unkempt and looked rather messy. His face was thin, giving the impression that his skin was directly covering his bones. He had a rather cold and sinister aura, his skin was unusually pale, and his eyes were an unusually pure black.
The figure quickly disappeared through the doorway, followed by the sound of footsteps growing louder in the distance.
The inner guardian! But not the one I met in the Great Prayer Hall before... Hmm, is it his turn to be on duty today? Klein stared intently at Bishop Electra, who looked as if he were pondering the contents of the holy scriptures.
He wasn't surprised that the inner guardians appeared inside the church and passed through the library at this time, because the sealing power behind the Chanis Gate reaches its peak at night, making it unsuitable for living beings. Therefore, the inner guardians always enter at sunrise and leave at sunset, and it was just getting dark now.
Remember what day it is, what day of the week it is... and then gradually add the relevant information to figure out the rotation pattern of the internal guards, so that you can Acting the role of the right target at the right time... Klein pulled himself out of his thoughts, listened carefully, and got up to leave half an hour later.
He smiled and said to Bishop Electra:
"I wonder if I will ever have the honor of hearing your sermons again?"
"No problem." Faced with the wealthy man who had just donated 300 pounds, Bishop Electra couldn't bring herself to refuse, and even nodded happily, saying, "As long as you come to the church, as long as I have time."
Klein didn't dwell on the details to avoid arousing suspicion. He sincerely thanked him and left Saint Samuel Cathedral with his personal valet, Richardson.
He returned home before 8 p. m., just in time to enjoy dinner and leisurely spend the rest of the day.
Late at night, in the master bedroom.
Klein, who had been sleeping, suddenly opened his eyes.
His Spirituality intuition told him that someone had broken into his house!
Note 1: Adapted from Tennyson, " The Lotos-Eaters "
Note 2: Adapted from E. B. Browning, * the Cry of the Children *.
Note 3: Adapted from Thomas Hood, * the Bridge of Sighs * and Tennyson, * the Lotos-Eaters *.