Chapter 76

When Luminan opened his eyes, his spiritual energy had been restored, and his body no longer ached.

He suddenly sat up, walked to the table, and pulled the curtains open with a swift motion.

At this moment, it was still dark, with the red moon hanging low in the western sky and the stars twinkling. Not far away, on a locust tree, a large owl with lively eyes appeared again, looking down at Luminan.

Luminan was neither surprised nor angry, and he broke into a radiant smile.

"You're here again," he greeted warmly, but his gestures, tone, and facial expressions made the target suddenly want to punch him.

The owl stared at him for a few seconds, then spread its wings and flew into the darkness.

Almost simultaneously, Aurore left her bedroom, turned the handle, and entered Luminan's room.

"How is it?" Luminan asked eagerly.

Aurore nodded:

"The 'White Paper' has already followed it."

Her light blue eyes had turned dark, reflecting the trees that were receding and growing larger.

She then took out a silver-coated mirror, placed it on Luminan's table, and used a pale white powder to cast a spell that projected what she saw onto the mirror.

Luminan could clearly see the owl flying at a low altitude over the night sky of Cordu village, circling around as if trying to shake off any possible followers. However, the 'White Paper' was a spirit creature, moving very fast, and was not affected, maintaining a certain distance.

After a minute or two, the owl circled around to the village square.

Without hesitation, it flew directly into the cemetery next to the church.

"How is it this place again?" Luminan couldn't help but sigh.

The last time he and his sister spied on Michel Garigu, the 'lizard' that came out of the vicar's mouth also ended up in the cemetery, entering and exiting different graves!

"Can't it be that cemeteries are often used as the gathering places or hiding spots of villains in stories, and it's the same in reality?" Luminan turned his head to look at his sister.

Aurore chuckled:

"Do you know what it means when inspiration comes from reality?"

"I guess so..." Luminan acknowledged the professional writer's explanation.

At this moment, the owl flew over an ordinary grave.

Like most graves in Intis, it was a large pit dug into the ground, with a coffin placed inside, then filled with soil, and finally covered with one or two stone slabs, with a tombstone erected at the back.

The above details were Luminan's imagination and speculation, but at least from the outside, he couldn't see anything unusual about the grave.

The owl lowered its altitude and landed on the two stone slabs covering the grave.

With the help of the 'White Paper's' vision, Aurore and Luminan noticed some suspicious signs:

The corresponding tombstone was blank, with nothing written on it; the stone slabs, which should have been dirty and overgrown with weeds, were clean, as if someone frequently came to clean them.

"There's something wrong with this grave," Aurore commented.

As soon as she finished speaking, the two stone slabs covering the grave suddenly dropped down.

No, not dropped, more like opened.

They opened inward like a pair of doors, revealing a dark space and a stone staircase leading deeper.

"Wow," Luminan exclaimed in surprise, "quite spacious!"

This was very different from what he imagined a regular grave to be, more like a mausoleum with a considerable underground chamber.

"Cordu actually has such a place..." Aurore, who had lived in Cordu for almost six years and thought she knew every blade of grass, found it increasingly unfamiliar and eerie.

As they spoke, the owl flew down the staircase into the depths of the 'mausoleum.'

The corresponding underground space was not exaggerated; as soon as the 'White Paper' followed the staircase, it saw a burial chamber.

The burial chamber was about the size of Luminan's kitchen, with a black coffin in the middle.

The coffin was not closed, with the lid leaning against the side and resting on the ground.

The owl flapped its wings and flew over, landing on the edge of the coffin.

"Is that the dead wizard?" Luminan's nerves tightened.

Aurore nodded and had the 'White Paper' move closer to get a better look at the inside of the coffin.

At the same time, Luminan noticed a vague figure standing in the corner of the burial chamber.

He was about to remind his sister to check who it was when the 'White Paper' already focused its 'vision' on the open coffin.

With a bang, the silver-coated mirror in front of them exploded, and Aurore let out a low, agonized scream.

Luminan quickly turned his head to look at his sister, seeing her close her eyes tightly, tears streaming down her face, and her facial muscles twitching uncontrollably, as if they were about to split open.

Before the half-literate in mysticism could react, Aurore took out a short incense stick from a hidden pocket, fumbled with a match to light it.

A faint fragrance spread, distant and light, calming both their minds and bodies.

Aurore's facial abnormalities gradually subsided, and finally, she let out a long breath, using a handkerchief to wipe away the blood-tinged tears.

"Are you okay?" Luminan asked with concern.

Aurore kept her eyes closed:

"The problem isn't serious. I'll take a nap, and my eyes should recover. I'm really grateful that the 'White Paper' is so fragile; sometimes, weakness is also an advantage!"

She was greatly relieved.

"Huh?" Luminan didn't understand.

Aurore gave a self-deprecating smile:

"To put it simply, I saw something I shouldn't have, but the 'White Paper' is very fragile. It only caught a glimpse, or rather, barely caught a glimpse, and suffered severe trauma, retreating to the spirit world, which reduced the impact on me. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy to control, and it might have been very troublesome."

The world of mysticism is truly dangerous... Luminan truly understood the meaning of "not seeing what you shouldn't see."

He waited for his sister to recover a bit before asking:

"What did the 'White Paper' see that caused such great harm?"

"It just saw a silver-black point of light," Aurore hesitated to recall, "but there are many things that can cause harm just by being seen, maybe an item that exposes divinity, maybe a high-sequence mythic creature, maybe something carrying a curse and malice..."

"A mythic creature?" Luminan had never heard of this term before.

Aurore explained casually:

"The essence of the Path of the Gods is to transform Beyonder into deities. At Sequence 4, we can have our own mythic creature form, though it's not complete. People below Sequence 4 will be harmed just by seeing this form, and might even lose control."

So, Saints are that powerful? They and those below Sequence 4 are like two different species... No wonder those at Sequence 4 are called demigods... Luminan instantly realized how ignorant he had been, thinking that those with the title of demigod and those below Sequence 4 were not fundamentally different.

He then said:

"Aurore, when the 'White Paper' approached the coffin, I saw a figure in the corner of the burial chamber, but I don't know who it was, what they looked like, or what they were wearing."

"There's someone else there?" Aurore was somewhat surprised.

Luminan nodded:

"So, is the one in the coffin the dead wizard, or the one in the corner?"

"I think the one in the coffin is," Aurore said thoughtfully, "the one in the corner is either a puppet or subordinate, or another Beyonder controlling the wizard's corpse."

Luminan nodded:

"The wizard's problem hasn't been completely resolved. This might be the source of Cordu's increasing abnormality."

This discovery made him both happy and troubled.

He was happy that the investigation had made significant progress, but troubled that just seeing the wizard's corpse could cause harm and a high probability of losing control. How could they go to the burial chamber to confirm and take further action?

Aurore clearly thought the same:

"For now, don't go to the burial chamber. Focus on the church's underground, where we might find key clues to help deal with the burial chamber's problem."

"Okay." Luminan had already decided to find the three outsiders to discuss exploring the church's underground after dawn.

Hearing his answer, Aurore added:

"If I fully recover, I'll go with you to the church's underground."

Luminan hesitated for two seconds and agreed.

At this moment, they must gather all their strength to see any hope!

Aurore, still with her eyes closed, then asked:

"Your ritual seems to have succeeded. How do you feel?"

Luminan recounted the process of the ritual and his gains to his sister, omitting the specific description of the entity. He concluded:

"I almost lost control when receiving the blessing, but it was fine afterward, and my body didn't show any abnormal changes. Maybe it's because the sequence is low enough."

Aurore, with her eyes closed, smiled slightly:

"That dance, which can summon surrounding abnormal creatures and have one of them attach to you, is very interesting.

"It reminds me of certain abilities in the legends of my homeland, 'Kami-gakari'!"

"Huh?" Luminan couldn't understand.

Aurore smiled:

"It's about having a demigod-level creature partially possess you to use their combat abilities."

"Does that require a very strong body, soul, and spirit?" Luminan speculated.

Aurore didn't continue this topic and instructed her brother:

"Help me back to my room; I need to rest."

Luminan helped his sister up and, as they walked to her bedroom, casually asked:

"What I found strange about the ritual is that I didn't get the permission of the owner of the green-black symbol to draw power from the seal. Could she have been watching me all along? That's impossible, right? Who has that much free time?"

Aurore thought for a moment:

"You told me that the mysterious lady gave you a vague and inaccurate description of the honored name to avoid attracting the attention of the corresponding entity.

"Is it possible that the owner of the green-black symbol and the entity corresponding to the black thorn share some domains? For example, you mentioned the word 'Fate,' and both of them might have some domains of fate. So, when you recited the vague honored name, part of it not only pointed to the entity corresponding to the black thorn but also to the owner of the green-black symbol.

"Under normal circumstances, due to the incomplete and inaccurate nature, this wouldn't have any effect, but you, being inside the altar, had the corresponding symbols, power, and aura, which caused a reaction. The entity then noticed your actions, and since you were guided by the mysterious lady, it was easy to get permission.

"Once you finished reciting all the honored names and pointed to the pollution inside you, drawing a bit of power was no longer an obstacle, as the 'backdoor' was already open.

"What a clever ritual design... Clearly the work of a master at exploiting bugs."

"Ah, I see." Luminan was enlightened.

PS: Another request for votes!