"OK." Creste Cecima nodded and leaned forward slightly, "Then you swear by the sacred object."
While speaking, he bent down and picked up the silver-white box beside him.
Sacred object? That's the sacred object that made you known as "The Goddess' Sword"? Klein watched the every move of the senior deacon in front of him with great curiosity.
Creste placed the box on his knees, and his emerald eyes instantly turned dark.
He raised his right hand and pressed down, causing something on the surface of the silver-white box, resembling a musical box, to shatter and dissipate like a tide.
Almost at the same second, Klein felt that all the radiance around him was drawn towards it, drawn into that box.
So he saw the alchemy room in total darkness, except for the elegant gas lamp enclosed by metal grilles, and except for that box that emitted a silvery-white glow. The scene was particularly eerie.
Crack!
In the crisp sound, the core of the night watchman, one of the nine senior deacons, Creste Cecima, opened the box, revealing a pure white bone sword placed inside.
Yes, a bone sword. Just seeing this sword, less than one meter long, Klein instinctively thought that its main material was bone!
In the silent gas-lit alchemy room where the lamp burned without light but remained dark, that short sword quietly emitted a pure white, moist radiance, like a moon hanging high to comfort the heart in the night, like a lighthouse marking the direction in a storm.
Its surface seemed pure and flawless, but if you observed carefully, you would find that there were layers upon layers of symbols and markings deep within, and these mysterious patterns formed an inseparable whole with the sword's body.
Klein looked at this sacred sword and suddenly found that he couldn't take his eyes off it!
His gaze was drawn in, and his brown eyes gradually lost their luster.
At this moment, Creste moved the box upwards, causing the pure white sword to move away from its original position.
Klein suddenly woke up and finally broke free from the nightmare he was helplessly watching but unable to avoid.
He turned his gaze to the side and solemnly asked:
"Sir, do you need me to place my hand on this sacred sword?"
"Yes, come here." Creste's voice was like reciting a bedside book, like singing a lullaby.
Klein stood up, looking sideways, and moved step by step, because it was too dark, he couldn't even see the legs and feet of the senior deacon in front of him or the slightly worn-out leather boots of the other.
"Stop." Creste spoke calmly.
Klein stopped and stood still, using his peripheral vision to quickly glance at the pure white bone sword, then fearfully moved away.
Following that brief second of memory, he bent over, placed his right hand, and accurately pressed it on the sacred sword.
The cold but not icy feeling passed through his skin and reached his brain, instantly calming his distracting and worried emotions, like suddenly arriving in a quiet countryside after the hustle and bustle, sitting on the roof, smelling the harvest's scent, and quietly looking up at the night sky and the stars.
"Follow me and recite." Creste said in a deep voice.
"OK." Creste nodded.
Then, he heard the senior deacon in front of him switch to Hermes language and say:
"Night Goddess, more noble than the stars, more enduring than eternity;"
"I swear to you with my true name and my spirituality."
"I, Klein, from now on, will never reveal the corresponding details to those who don't know the 'Playing Method'."
"If there is a violation, let it be punished by you."
"Please witness my oath."
Creste, with all his thoughts gathered, followed the senior deacon Cecima and recited the oath solemnly in Hermes language.
Vaguely, he felt that he and that pure white bone sword, and some existence far beyond, had established a subtle and mysterious connection.
Releasing his right hand, he drew the red moon symbol on his chest:
"Pray to the Goddess!"
"Pray to the Goddess!" Creste smiled and followed the ritual. Then, he snapped the lid shut and let his right hand press down heavily and slowly.
The darkness was suddenly illuminated, and the light from the gas lamp once again filled the room.
Klein saw that Cecimah's senior deacon's dark eyes had also regained their dark green color at the same moment.
He sat backward onto his high-backed chair, furrowing his brow and asking doubtfully:
"Playing the role of a deity?"
Creste cleared his throat and didn't directly answer the question. Instead, he smiled:
"The things I'm going to say next might make you confused and puzzled. But I won't explain why, because it involves the church's secrets."
When you become a bishop or a senior deacon, you will be qualified to know... Klein looked at the Cecimah Lord with the tall collar raised, and answered quickly in his mind.
"When you become a bishop or a senior deacon, become the core of the church, you will be allowed to know." Creste emphasized.
Creste placed the silver box back beside him and raised his right leg:
"In the long history of the church, generations of extraordinary individuals and geniuses gradually discovered ways to minimize the risk of losing control."
"And the core of this method is the name of the potion. It is not only crucial but also the key."
Looking at Klein's thoughtful expression, Creste continued:
"We discovered that the names of the potions all point to a certain group, and the corresponding groups have similar and unique behavioral patterns. In simple terms, the names of the potions contain certain specific rules, and different potion names contain different rules. When we strictly follow the rules contained in our own potions, the risk of losing control will be minimized."
"Similar to my 'Divinationist Code'?" Klein asked opportunely.
This is not even my explanation of 'Justice' and 'The Hangman' in a simple and understandable way... Meanwhile, in his mind, he silently chuckled to himself. "Yes." Creste gave a positive reply, "When we abide by the corresponding behavioral rules, we seem to become the kind of group described by the potion name. That is to say, we are 'playing' the profession pointed to by the potion name. Well, this is the 'acting method', you must remember that everyone's spirituality is unique and special, and compared to those who have taken the same potion, the core part of the behavioral rules to be followed will not change, but the boundaries are different and not similar. Therefore, others' experiences can only be used as a reference."
This was a key point that I didn't know and hadn't noticed... Creste spoke sincerely:
"Thank you for your reminder. I will remember it."
Creste smiled and said:
"This is all accumulated experience over generations."
"After using the 'acting method', we not only master the potion but also digest it, just like digesting the food we eat. When you truly digest the potion and the residual spiritual influence, you will obtain a unique and wonderful feeling. Do you understand?"
"I understand. The word 'digestion' is very appropriate..." Creste put on a thinking expression.
After Creste explained in detail for a while, he carefully asked:
"Lord Sezima, since the name of the potion is the key, the key to unlocking, then how did the original extraordinary individuals obtain them? I heard it was by defiling the stone tablet records?"
"Yes, this statement is correct." Creste replied calmly, "But what is recorded there are ancient terms. The evolution of the potion name has come from 'divine inspiration' or from the summary of the extraordinary individuals themselves."
Creste nodded slowly and pursed his lips, saying:
"Lord Sezima, since the 'acting method' is so effective, why doesn't the church tell every night watchman?"
"I said it's a secret of the church. When you become a bishop or a senior officer, you will understand the reason." Creste replied seriously, "Alright, you go back upstairs and inform the other night watchmen to come down one by one. I need to conduct the final step of the examination."
This is to prevent Fry and others from leaking the 'acting method'? Creste got up thoughtfully and left according to the etiquette among night watchmen.
He walked through the corridor, along the stairs, back to the Black Thorn Security Company, and saw Dunn sniffing his pipe at the underground entrance, not knowing how long he had been waiting.
His mouth curled up slightly, and Creste said voluntarily:
"There should be no problem, Lord Sezima. I will inform Fry and others to have a conversation one by one."
"em, this is the final step, and it also shows that there were no problems before." Dunn put away his pipe and relayed the matter to the night watchmen's entertainment room.
Watching Fry and Xigah go deep underground, Creste suddenly remembered something and said hurriedly:
"Captain, do we still need to replace Loya of the rotating watch duty for Chenisen Gate, and Leonard of the lunatic asylum? By the way, there's also Cohenli on leave."
Dunn was stunned and pinched the bridge of his nose, saying:
"I forgot..."
He paused and chuckled softly: "However, the matter is not too complicated. One of the benefits of the senior officer coming to conduct the examination personally is that there is no need to send telegrams to the sanctuary, no need for cumbersome paperwork exchanges, he can give a conclusion on the spot and give you the formula and main materials of the 'jester' potion."
"This is not bad." Creste couldn't help but look forward to what was about to happen with great anticipation. ......
One and a half hours passed. After Cohenli, who looked solemn yet clearly puzzled, exited the alchemy chamber, Klein was called down into the underground again, facing the High Deacon once more. "The Sword of the Goddess," Creste Cecimah.
This time, this nobleman with golden-brown hair and emerald eyes didn't sit down but stood there, allowing the coolness from the underground to gently caress his black windbreaker.
Creste's two double collars were raised high, hiding his chin in the shadows.
He looked at Klein and smiled slightly:
"Nightwatchman Klein Moretti, I solemnly inform you in the name of the Goddess that you have passed the examination of the Sanctuary."
"Congratulations. With your achievements, you can now be promoted and become an extraordinary individual of Sequence 8!"