Chapter 162: Intense Sunlight
Weak light shone through the narrow window from high above, making the
interior of Morse Cathedral a little more visible.
Klein put his top hat on his knee while he leaned his leg against his
cane. He sat quietly on the first row of the left pew and looked at the
altar before him.
There weren't any statues of the Goddess except for a massive Dark
Sacred Emblem. Its base was black, with a crimson half-moon that was
surrounded by radiant points of light.
On the wall behind the Sacred Emblem, there were a few openings which
allowed sunlight to shine in from the outside. They were focused into
tiny specks of pure light which combined with the dark surroundings to
form a scene that resembled that of a lofty cosmos.
*None of the traditional Gods ever left behind an actual image. Only
their symbols are worshiped and glorified by people... That seems to be
a manifestation of the command, "Do not look directly at
God"...* Klein let his thoughts wander. He wasn't in a hurry to
make the Flaring Sun Charms as soon as he got the opportunity to be
alone with Sealed Artifact 3-0782.
He felt that he had to be careful, patient, and had to wait. Within the
first fifteen minutes, it was possible that Leonard and Kenley would
enter at any moment to remind him about points that he should take note
of.
In this extremely quiet atmosphere, time flew by quickly. Klein suddenly
snapped back to his senses as he took out his silver vine-leaf pocket
watch, flipped it open, and took a glance.
Twenty minutes have passed... He muttered to himself. He then
set his silk top hat and silver edged black cane by the side. He got up
and walked towards a hidden corner near the altar.
At first, he faced the side of the altar, but once he saw the large Dark
Sacred Emblem and the holy scenery that resembled a depiction of a night
sky, he felt guilty and uncomfortable. Hence, he turned his back to the
altar.
Then, Klein took out the Sealed Artifact 3-0782 from the inner pocket of
his black tuxedo. He bent down to place the golden unadorned badge on
the ground.
Klein took a look at the Sun symbol that was filled with abstract
meanings, then he took out a small candle mixed with sandalwood. He put
it right at the bottom of Sealed Artifact 3-0782.
That was the dualistic ritual that he learned from the Eternal Blazing
Sun. He used an item that was closely related to the deity to represent
"Him" while he used the candle to represent himself.
He took a deep breath to ease his tense emotions. Klein then took out
the items required for the ritual, one after another, including a
carving knife, two thin gold slices, Sun essential oil extracted from
the combination of black-rimmed sunflower, golden-rimmed sunflower and
white-rimmed sunflower, Golden Hand fingered citron powder, and also
rosemary powder.
After that, Klein adeptly used the silver ritual dagger to guide the
flow of spirituality. He guided it to flow around the simple altar and
created a shapeless sealed wall.
He squatted down, placed the silver dagger down, and extended his right
hand. He lit up the candle that represented himself by rubbing his
spirituality.
Under the flickering dim light, Klein picked up the Sun essential oil
and dripped a drop onto the flame.
With a puff, an illusory fog spread out with the slight scent of
sunlight.
After burning the fingered citron and rosemary powder, Klein held the
carving knife and golden slices. He stood up, took a step back, and then
recited in Hermes, "The blood of the Eternal Blazing Sun.
"You are the Inextinguishable Light, the Embodiment of Order, the God of
Deeds, the Guardian of Businesses."
Inextinguishable Light, Embodiment of Order, God of Deeds, and Guardian
of Businesses were all parts of Eternal Blazing Sun's honorable titles.
If there wasn't the prefix of the blood of the Eternal Blazing Sun, the
ritual would require the god's response to proceed. If so, Klein
suspected that the Eternal Blazing Sun would recognize him as the
disrespectful person that looked at "Him" directly. Then, Leonard and
Kenley would only find a pile of black ashes when they entered.
Plus, the ritual had to be conducted via Ancient Hermes, a ritualistic
language that stemmed from nature. Only a language without any
protection but had outstanding effects could allow an incantation to
sidestep around the Eternal Blazing Sun and point towards the Mutated
Sun Sacred Emblem.
At the same time, as he was stealing the power from a deity, Klein had
no way to divine if it would be successful ahead of time. He felt that
it would result in him directly dealing with the deity again. So, he
could only recite the rest of the incantation with a strained heart, "I
pray to you,
"I pray for you to give me strength,
"Give me the strength to complete the Flaring Sun Charm.
"The blood of the Eternal Blazing Sun, please transfer your strength
into my charm...
"Oh fingered citron, a herb that belongs to the Sun, please bestow your
powers to my charm..."
As the incantation neared completion, Klein suddenly felt something
light up before him.
The simple gold badge radiated with an intense light, as though the sun
had descended onto the land.
Klein suddenly found himself enveloped in extreme heat. His hair was
heating up rapidly and was almost on the brink of igniting.
His feet felt like they were stepping barefoot on yellow sand that had
been exposed to the midday sun, and his face and body were greeted with
the hot wind blowing from every direction.
In that instance, he felt that he needed to do something to let the
burning energies out. Otherwise, he would turn into a human candle.
It required almost zero thought as Klein lifted both his hands. While
his thoughts were boiling over like porridge, he relied on the
combination of his spirituality and the strong winds, as well as his
instincts and ritualistic guidance, to begin etching symbols,
corresponding Path Numbers, magical characteristics, and ancient
incantations onto both sides of the gold slices with his carving knife.
Outside the church, Leonard was standing in the shadows to hide from
coming into contact with direct sunlight.
Suddenly, the sunlight intensified, like the hottest days of a year in
early July.
He squinted his eyes and looked towards the sky. He saw that the blue
sky had no clouds or dust. It was so pure that it made people gasp with
admiration.
"Such strange weather." Beside him, Kenley also noticed the changes in
the sunlight.
Leonard responded with a smile when he suddenly turned his head.
He knitted his eyebrows slightly and cast his gaze towards the
cathedral.
"Luckily Rozanne isn't here. Otherwise, she would be complaining about
the sun tanning her skin," Leonard looked away and said with a smile.
The blazing sunlight remained intense for a few minutes before it
returned to normal.
In the cathedral, Klein's carving knife finished the final stroke.
As he finished the magical characters that represented light, the
spirituality on both sides of the gold slices suddenly melded together,
as the light converged onto the metal.
No, this is even closer to godhood... Klein was finally
relieved from the boiling and burning sensations. He examined the two
Flaring Sun Charms in his hands with a clear mind.
The golden luster on the surface of the charms had turned dim, and the
pattern looked ancient yet complex. There was a warm, damp feeling that
seeped into Klein's skin bit by bit.
"Not bad. I finally have a more impressive trump card." Klein sighed
emotionally.
He set the activation incantation for the Flaring Sun Charms as the word
"light" in Ancient Hermes.
I want light and there will be light... He quipped, amused.
Then, he put the Flaring Sun Charms into another pocket. He didn't put
them with the Slumber, Requiem, and Dream Charms, because the Flaring
Sun Charms would decrease their efficacy period.
"Yes, the power of the Flaring Sun Charms can be maintained for at least
a year, or even longer." Klein reined his thoughts back and looked at
the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem on the ground.
It didn't look any different on the surface, and it still gave off
feelings of warmth and purity. Klein finally relaxed, and quickly
completed the ritual and removed the spiritual wall.
At that point, he thought to examine himself. He realized that his
clothes were almost drenched, and he was covered in sweat. The edges of
his hair were slightly curly too.
Thankfully, thankfully... Klein sighed in satisfaction. He put
away his things and returned to his original seat. He was so exhausted
that he slept the moment he sat down until he was woken up by footsteps.
His eyes shot open, and he touched the Flaring Sun Charms subconsciously
to see if they were still there.
"You don't look alright?" Leonard asked as he entered the cathedral.
Klein massaged his temples, stood up and smiled.
"I'm nearing my limit."
He took out his silver pocket watch and took a glance. "Just in time.
It's your turn to look after Sealed Artifact 3-0782."
Before he finished speaking, Klein took off the Mutated Sun Sacred
Emblem and passed it to Leonard.
Leonard watched Klein walk out of the cathedral. Then, he dropped his
frivolous attitude and examined Sealed Artifact 3-0782 attentively and
seriously. He grew confused and looked bewildered.
After the shifts ended, the three Nighthawks began their journey back.
Before that, they told Priest Siur to take note of the town's situation.
If there were any paranormal incidents, he was to immediately send a
telegram to Saint Selena Cathedral.
At twenty minutes past seven that night, they finally arrived at
Zouteland Street and returned Sealed Artifact 3-0782.
When he had made sure that the Captain didn't notice anything unusual,
Klein left the Blackthorn Security Company and arrived home before
eight.
He took out his keys and opened the door, only to see an unknown figure.
It was obviously a maiden who wasn't even in her twenties. She was in an
old, grayish-white dress, and she was wiping the dining hall with all
her might.
She had black hair and brown eyes. Her eyes were small, her nose wasn't
sharp enough, and her facial features were very ordinary.
Who is this? Klein was stunned at first, then he realized that
she was most likely the maidservant that had come for a trial.
At that moment, Benson lowered his newspaper and looked at his brother.
He smiled and said, "A company that doesn't allow employees to leave the
office on time is annoying."
"But it provides a salary that can counteract any kind of
dissatisfaction," Klein replied with a laugh.
*When Miss Justice's 300 pounds reach me, I'll inform Benson and Melissa
about my raise to six pounds a week, that way they would worry less
about our family's finances...* Klein thought as he put his cane
aside and took off his top hat. He walked to the living hall and lowered
his voice as he asked, "Have you made a choice?"
He had divined the information of the three maidservants the day before,
and he had found that all three were suitable. Hence, the decision was
left to his brother and sister.
"Yes, Bella. Weekly salary of five soli. She's very willing and also
capable of learning cooking. She hopes that she can become a home chef,
at which point her weekly pay will double. Her father is a factory
worker at the Tingen Steelworks Union Factory, and her mother is a
laundry worker," Benson replied with a chuckle. "Of course, another
thing that led Melissa and me to the decision is that the other two
servants believe in the Lord of Storms, and she is a believer of the
Goddess. I personally don't mind the believers of the Lord of Storms,
but Melissa didn't quite like the idea."
*It wasn't that Melissa didn't like it, a more accurate description
would be "I grieve at their misfortune and am infuriated at their
refusal to resist." Yes, it was said by Lu Xun!* Klein recalled
his sister's behavior and revealed a smile.
Benson didn't elaborate further. He put down the newspaper and stood up.
"Since you're back, let's have dinner."
The next day, Klein entered the Blackthorn Security Company in a good
mood.
"Good morning." Rozanne looked to the left and then the right. Then, she
said, "Old Neil is sick, let's go and visit him at noon. What say you?"
"Old Neil is sick?" Klein asked in surprise.
*Could it be that the ritual for treating diarrhea caused severe
constipation?*
*Well, from the way he acted after learning of the "acting method," it's
not impossible for him to suddenly fall sick... He's getting old, so
once his mind turns frail, his body would also suffer from those
ramifications...*
Rozanne nodded and said, "Yeah, he sent someone to the Captain to
request some time off."
Klein nodded slightly. "Let's visit him at noon. Sigh, Old Neil sure is
pitiful. His wife passed away early, and his son is busy in some other
city. When he's sick, all he can do is stay at home in loneliness and
helplessness."
That was the first thing he recalled from his first visit to Old Neil's
house.
Listening to Klein's sigh, Rozanne opened her eyes wide and asked in
shock, "When did Old Neil get married?"