Free Web NovelChapter 389: Chapter 386: The Subscriber You Dialed Did Not Answer...
Rorschach still remembered what Kano had said about the Dwarves who tried to ascend with fuel rockets—and how they died. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
He had already experienced traversing the Transmuting Dust, but that wasn’t what Rorschach was after.
Directly ascending to the Symbolic Realm to build a "server" for the Spell Cloud would be a needlessly convoluted process. The Original Layer already existed; doing so would create a purely reskinned system with no real advantages. Even if it was just a reskin, Rorschach was determined to make it smoother than the original Casting System.
’Can I go a step further than the "Church" domain and permanently place the Tower Spirit between the Material Realm and the Symbolic Realm? Or, to put it in layman’s terms, inside a "Vesicle" caught between the "real" and the "illusory"?’
Rorschach knew such spatial structures existed. If a "Church" was a projection from the Material Realm into the Symbolic Realm, then a "Sub-plane" was a "Space-Time Bubble" separated from the Prime Material Realm by a Mighty Power. Its main body was composed of existing matter, but its sky was enveloped in Transmuting Dust, and the concept of "desolation" permeated the entire plane.
Strictly speaking, Transmuting Dust was a similar product, but its transformation was in the opposite direction of the previous two examples. It was the result of a Divine Kingdom from the Symbolic Realm shattering and transforming as it fell into the Material Realm.
’Since precedents exist, there must be other, similar phenomena,’ Rorschach believed. ’Perhaps even the incompletely shattered Divine Kingdoms of past gods, drifting between the Material Realm and the Symbolic Realm.’
’So, how can I pinpoint the locations of these potential "Vesicles"?’
Time to pray!
...
"Master, you’re suddenly studying Mythology?" Andre asked, carrying a pile of materials Rorschach had requested. Some were borrowed from the Magic Guild, while others came from the libraries of Bayern’s various universities.
’He had actually wanted to borrow from the Tower of Secret Techniques as well, but now that I think about it,’ Rorschach mused, ’those people would’ve surely come up with all sorts of excuses.’
"I’m looking into rituals related to prayer and Ascension," Rorschach explained. He had Andre organize all documented information on sacrificial rites to Divine Spirits and post-mortem ceremonies for followers. Obviously, when a god’s follower made an offering, a correct ritual should deliver it directly to the Divine Spirit’s Divine Kingdom. Furthermore, most believers hoped their Souls would ascend to a Divine Kingdom after death, where they could enjoy the company of eighteen beautiful maidens, handsome men, or furries.
"In other words, both types of rituals should point toward a Divine Spirit’s Divine Kingdom—assuming the Divine Kingdom isn’t completely shattered and the ritual hasn’t lost all its power."
First, any Evil Gods and any deities whose domains included keywords like "life," "nature," or "earth" were ruled out. Second, any who went silent too early or too recently were also ignored. Finally, any gods with powers of prophecy, perception, or high intelligence were also out. This left about a dozen rituals for orthodox Divine Spirits, mostly for the God of Craftsmanship and Star Gods (such as the Sun-Light God, the Planet-War God, etc.) from various civilizations.
Rorschach molded a few more Stand-Ins. Due to the deficiencies in the Clone Technique’s Casting Ability, the clones of his clones were all shoddily made and constantly on the verge of collapse. However, these Mechanical Bodies had only one purpose: to perform rituals aimed at Divine Kingdoms. The majority of their Souls were artificial constructs Rorschach had fashioned, imbued with the sole thought of executing their task.
They performed the rituals in a vacant warehouse at the Kempson Steel Factory. In the vast space, a dozen or so ritual sites were ready. Improvised altars and symbolic objects were scattered about. As some of the rituals dated back to a primitive age, animals of various sizes had also been prepared for the sacrificial rites.
In short, it was a scene of utter pandemonium. And it was in this environment that Rorschach was about to pray to over a dozen Divine Spirits (without ruling out the possibility of a single god using multiple aliases).
Watching this chaotic, super-blasphemous party, Andre grew fearful. "Master Rorschach," he said, "isn’t this far too risky?"
Rorschach was still making final preparations while explaining to Andre, "Those Mechanical Bodies are sacrificial lambs. They contain unstable Artificial Souls. If a ritual succeeds and a Divine Spirit actually awakens or responds, the body will shatter the instant the divine consciousness descends, making it impossible to trace back to us."
’It’s like I’m running a dozen virtual machines to make dial-up connections from here, like some kind of burner-phone operation...’ This was also why Rorschach avoided gods with domains of prophecy or heightened perception; he had to ensure they lacked the ability to trace him back. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Andre was still uneasy. "When I was a child, my father warned me never to underestimate Divine Spirits or doubt their power. If you... really insist on doing this, you should at least have a Great Mage present to oversee things."
"I get what you mean, but a Great Mage wouldn’t be enough. Look here, what’s this?" Rorschach finally finished his last failsafe: in the center of all the ritual "stalls," he had carved the Holy Emblem of the Master of Light and Order. The dagger Rorschach used to carve it was still shimmering with a holy radiance. When Andre looked at the emblem itself, he saw that not only was its configuration precise, but the standard of its grooves was identical to that of a Magic Circuit.
Andre couldn’t help but swallow. That sacred aura was unmistakable. It was a genuine Order Holy Emblem with true mystical significance. In comparison, the ones in the small chapels were nothing more than a child’s doodles.
"When it comes to gods, how can a Great Mage possibly compare to the Mighty Power of the Lord of Order?" Rorschach put away the heavily worn dagger and said with a scoff. "As for these other worthless hacks, the Light God King could crush them all with one hand."
"I’m about to begin," Rorschach said. "Stand next to the Holy Emblem and hold this jar of Transmuting Dust. If anything goes wrong, sprinkle the dust on the emblem and pray to the Lord of Order."
"Will that work?" Before becoming an Upper Valuva High Master, Andre had been a casual follower of the Lord of Order. But now... he probably wasn’t even qualified to set foot in a Church.
Rorschach clapped his timid apprentice on the shoulder. "Don’t worry. Your master and the Lord of Order go way back."
With everything ready, the warehouse doors were sealed shut. At Rorschach’s command, all the Mechanical Bodies began to perform their pre-programmed actions. Some started adding materials and lighting candles, some began to perform shamanistic dances, and others took out their tools, slit the throats of the unlucky animals, splattering blood all over the altars and smearing it on their own faces.
Instantly, Magic Power erupted into chaos as all sorts of energies overflowed. Rorschach raised a Blue Light Barrier, isolating each of the "stalls."
Scorching sparks and frigid ice crystals clashed. The sound of what seemed to be smithing echoed from some distant place. Other, imperceptible phenomena wove together, one after another.
Standing in the center, Andre trembled, yet he couldn’t deny the thrill of witnessing such a grand spectacle.
The phenomena from more than half of the dozen-plus rituals gradually subsided; even when Rorschach used Transmuting Dust to stimulate them with Magic Power, it had no effect. Among the remaining few, some also began to fizzle out, leaving behind only Mechanical Bodies, their Souls and energy completely depleted.
Only three rituals made it to the "final round." Two were for the Master’s God and a Forging Furnace god—Rorschach declared these two were definitely one god with two aliases. The third was for some Elf God. At its ritual site, a cold wind howled, carrying a salty, fishy mist that billowed over them.
Rorschach first selected the two altars of the Master’s God. He couldn’t delegate this part of the task. He had to let the Soul his clone was carrying leave its body and follow the pathway connected to the altars.
"If any more profound anomalies occur, destroy the ritual and activate the Holy Emblem of the Lord of Order." After giving Andre his instructions, Rorschach’s clone resolutely plunged into the towering torrent of flame that resembled a furnace fire. It was as if he were sacrificing himself, but by relying on the properties of the Clone Technique, he began to ascend the fragile bridge connecting reality to the Divine Kingdom.
