Blackthorn Security Company , underground armory.
"I've taught you everything there is to teach. Now ,give it a try."
Klein said to Caesar. At this moment, all the materials were ready and laid out on the table.
Caesar nodded, then picked up the silver ritual dagger, infused it with spirituality, and used the spirituality spewing from the dagger's tip to cut the surrounding air, creating an invisible spiritual wall. He took out two candles, one long and one short. The long one represented the deity, and the short one represented himself. He released spirituality from his fingertips, rubbed the candle wicks, and with a "whoosh," the flames ignited.
As the candlelight flickered, Caesar dripped a drop of extracted essential oil from the Deep Sleep Flower into the candle flame. The flame immediately made a "hissing" sound, and a faint fragrance diffused. He continued to add powder of Moon Flower and Night Scented Stock to the flame, and the aroma in the air became more pronounced, like walking into a meadow late at night, smelling the fresh scent of wild flowers and grass, making one feel peaceful and serene.
A two-finger-wide silver plate was placed under the long candle. Caesar held the carving knife and softly chanted in Hermes:
The Evernight Goddess stands higher than the cosmos
and more eternal than eternity.
The Lady of Crimson,
The Mother of Concealment,
The Empress of Misfortune and Horror,
Mistress of Repose and Silence.
When chanting the Evernight Goddess's honorific name, Caesar suddenly felt a bit awkward. Because he was clearly an official member of the Nighthawks team belonging to the Goddess Church, yet he had never entered the Goddess Church in his daily life. This was actually his first time chanting the Goddess's honorific name.
Outside the spiritual wall, Klein watched Caesar's ritual progress and suddenly let out a soft "Oh?"
But Caesar, inside the wall, didn't know. He continued to recite the prayer according to the procedure:
"I pray to You;"
"I pray for You to bestow power upon me;"
"Bestow upon me the power to complete the Slumber Charm."
"Great Goddess, please transmit Your power to my charm..."
As the incantation was about to end, Caesar reached out and picked up the carving knife. According to Klein's demonstration, at this point, the Goddess would respond to his prayer and project divine power onto him. Then he would use the carving knife to engrave this power into patterns on the silver plate, solidifying it into a charm, and so on. But where was the Goddess's power?
Caesar stood frozen, holding the carving knife. He had finished reciting the entire incantation, but nothing had happened.
He turned to look outside, and Klein also had a dumbfounded expression.
"Has there ever been a precedent for the Goddess not responding to a believer's prayer?"
"At least I haven't heard of it."
"Then why isn't the Goddess responding to my prayer?"
"...I don't know either."
In the underground armory, Caesar and Klein stared at each other.
After that, they tried several more times and found that as long as it was Klein, the ritual could be completed smoothly. But if it was Caesar, he consistently couldn't get a response from the Goddess.
What kind of situation is this! Does the Goddess hate me?
Caesar was completely speechless. He sat on the ground, lost in thought.
He was pondering the reason why the Goddess ignored him.
To be honest, Caesar in his previous life had no beliefs. But when he came to this world, the existence of Beyonder powers made him realize that there really were gods in this world. Coupled with the fact that the original Cardini family were shallow believers of the Goddess, he went with the flow and pretended to be a believer of the Goddess, joining the Nighthawks.
But from his heart, he still didn't believe in gods.
Could it be because of this?
Caesar couldn't help but stand up.
If that's the case, according to the consistent pragmatism of Chinese people, wouldn't it be fine to just go to a temple and worship?
So he turned and quickly walked out of the armory.
"Hey, Caesar, what are you doing?"
Klein hurriedly shouted.
"Going to pray to the Goddess—"
Caesar shouted loudly. He didn't return to the ground level but used the underground passage to quickly go to Saint Selena Church. His steps were hurried, and when he rushed out of the secret door, he startled the priests guarding nearby.
"Is something wrong?"
The priest asked.
"Nothing, I'm here to pray to the Goddess."
Caesar replied.
The priest was speechless. He couldn't stop a believer from praying to a deity, so he had to make way, while also reminding, "Please be quiet and don't disturb others."
Caesar stepped out of the corridor, and after a few steps, his vision suddenly opened up. Beneath the high dome, the altar, confessional, pulpit, and several rows of pews were laid out in order. The church as a whole was deep and quiet, with only the holy emblem at the top, where the positions representing the stars were carved with holes, allowing sunlight to project in, like brilliant stars in the Dark night.
It was afternoon, and there were few believers in the prayer hall. The priests also had their own things to do and didn't pay attention to him. Caesar chose a secluded pew and sat down, clasping his hands together, bowing his head, closing his eyes, and silently praying.
The Evernight Goddess stands higher than the cosmos
and more eternal than eternity.
He first recited the Goddess's honorific name again in Hermes, then whispered a prayer in Loen.
"Great Goddess, I am by nature suspicious and not respectful enough of deities. I hope You can forgive me."
First, admit mistakes, and have a good attitude.
"From now on, I will believe in you more devoutly."
He didn't even believe these words himself, but at least formally, he had to show enough respect to the Goddess.
"Please be as generous as the endless Darkness, bestow Your grace upon me, and grant me the opportunity to use Your authority."
Finally, express the vision. Perfect.
As Caesar's words fell, he immediately felt something different.
The originally high dome and the deep, dark prayer hall seemed to soften, making him, who was in it, appear less abrupt and instead become a part of it.
In the Darkness, someone seemed to be chuckling softly, as if an invisible thread had fallen and connected to Caesar.
Caesar's eyes suddenly widened.
He found it hard to describe the feeling, but he was very certain that at that instant, he had established a connection with some hidden, lofty existence.
The potion in his body was rapidly digesting. In a short moment, a significant portion of it was digested. His ears suddenly became quiet and clear, just like when his ears were blocked for a long time due to motion sickness, and he suddenly swallowed saliva, and his eardrums returned to normal.
Goodness, it actually worked.
And why did my potion digest so much?
Caesar's heart was filled with shock and confusion. He raised his hand, somewhat impiously drawing a crimson Moon symbol on his chest, and whispered, "Praise the Goddess."
He got up and returned, still through the secret door. When he returned to the armory, he skillfully operated the ritual again, and after reciting the Evernight Goddess's honorific name, a serene, profound power filled his body.
It's working!
Caesar held the carving knife and began to draw and carve hermes script and mysterious patterns on the silver plate, fixing the power of slumber onto the charm, until the last stroke was completed, and the power of slumber was entirely locked within the charm.
He picked up the charm, feeling the cool touch of the silver plate, and smiled with satisfaction.