Chapter 21: The Sacrifice

“We implore the Scholar of Sin, the long-abandoned god, the god of Death and Desire! Lord of Sin and Knowledge! Source of lust and wisdom! I offer you this—the light within the skull of the lost!” The two followed the sound and saw a simple altar in the center of the circular hall. It was a raised platform made of stone, clearly out of place with the surrounding architecture. The platform was square-shaped, about two meters high, with ten steps leading to it from the ground on each side. And on the platform, a figure in a black robe stood, holding high a strange sword—it was a sword with seven curves and seven nodes. Judging purely from its appearance, it seemed more like a ceremonial object than a weapon.

He wasn’t wearing a hood, but his face couldn’t be seen. Where his face should have been, there were seven deep, dark holes, from which a pale, unclear liquid flowed. Selene was startled by this horrifying image, and only then realized that it was actually a mask.

Behind the figure stood a sharply angular pillar, on which a painting was drawn—seven eerie holes, identical to those on the mask, floated in the sky. A faceless figure, holding a blade, lay on the ground. Above his head floated an infinite symbol pierced by the character “one.”

Selene recognized at a glance that the figure on the ground represented the Envoy of the God of Wisdom, and the blade in his hand represented the “Blade of Wounds,”.

… If the holes represented the “Scholar of Sin,” then did this painting mean that the “Scholar of Sin” was replacing the Eternal Cycle and becoming the new God of Wisdom?

Considering that the areas they controlled included wisdom and knowledge, it wasn’t impossible… But honestly, the goal was incredibly ambitious. In the ten thousand-year history of the Divine Construct, there hadn’t been such a major event as a change of gods… The deities had always been fourteen, and there had never been more than fourteen… The god who had similar intentions was the “God of Vapor,” who had a large following among the dwarves. But he ultimately failed to achieve his goals. His church disappeared overnight. It was unknown if the deities killed him.

Selene muttered to herself, speculating about the strange worldviews of these heretics. “Shadow Walker,” who knew nothing about superhuman knowledge, kept looking around, his gaze never resting on the platform for even a second, as if he was looking for something.

Selene gaze finally settled on a group of people beneath the platform.

More than a hundred people, all dressed in black robes, were gathered beneath the platform. The two that Selene and “Shadow Walker” had been following were quickly lost in the crowd—at a glance, they were surrounded by strange-looking individuals just like them. They weren’t special at all.

Those with abnormally large bellies (“Gluttony”), those with exposed genitals (“Lust”), those with swollen, red skin (“Fury”), those with red eyes, long tongues, and long necks (“Envy”), those with elevated heads and two swollen lumps on their heads (“Pride”)… At a glance, all the

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“You weaklings—abandoned by society, yet you cling to the embrace of the Evil god, you pathetic refuse—” One of the robed figures struggled. He cursed at the followers of the “Scholar of Sin.” Then one of the “Fury” conduits punched him in the chin, forcing him to shut up.

The masked figure on the platform walked up to him and stared at him for a few seconds. Then, in a compassionate voice, he said,

“Pitiful wanderer and stranger, have you ever felt the emptiness under the night sky? Have you ever found yourself under the scorching sun, yet felt cold to your very core?”

The robed figure remained silent, but the masked figure didn’t care whether he answered or not. He didn’t expect any particular reaction. His words weren’t for the “sacrifice” to hear, but for the followers below and the somewhat depersonalized “Scholar of Sin.”

“Emptiness and coldness are the curses and misfortunes sent down by false gods. They take away the entrances and paths of living beings. They steal the eyes of mankind seeking truth. They steal the infinite future light of the world.” The masked figure spoke compassionately, raising the strange sword high in his hand. “On this unified land, there is still suffering. Under this deep and dark ground, there is still lurking…”

His voice suddenly rose, the old tone imbued with a captivating and exciting emotion:

“On the surface, the swords rise. Beneath the surface, darkness stirs. How can we survive in this world? How can we survive under this absurd, distorted sun? We only pray that the ‘Scholar of Sin’ will be reborn from the mists of history! To give light, hope, and peace to the world once more! We will all live forever in his light—”

His hand suddenly came down, smashing the robed figure’s head, splitting his skull and face in two. Only the skin at the back of his neck remained connected, barely holding his head together. The blade was pulled from the flesh. The lifeless body fell backward, revealing the brains and flesh beneath the mask.

The masked figure moved to the next sacrifice. The heretics below the platform chanted and shouted, their emotions surging as they cried out,

“We only pray that the ‘Scholar of Sin’ will be reborn from the mists of history! We will all live forever in his light!”

“We only pray that the ‘Scholar of Sin’ will be reborn from the mists of history! We will all live forever in his light!”

Watching this scene from a distance, “Shadow Walker” frowned. He seemed to have considered intervening, but quickly abandoned this unwise idea. Selene, having seen that the sacrifices were a group of masked people, put aside any non-existent compassion.

—The cult that had been destroyed in Molan, as reported in the “Molan Weekly,” was called the “Gathering of the Lost.” Their most distinguishing characteristic was wearing masks depicting forests, roads, and fog.

Let the heretics kill each other off.

After the four “Lost Ones” who were used as sacrifices were killed, the emotions of the heretics around the platform reached a peak. They chanted and shouted the name of the “Scholar of Sin,” calling for him to descend.

The light from the ceiling shone down on the four corpses on the platform. The red blood and grey-white brains seemed to radiate a pure, clean brilliance. Amidst the cacophony, a strange, almost imperceptible glow emanated from the skulls of the corpses and entered the masked figure’s hand, which held the sword.

The sacrificial ritual was over. The masked figure waited for a few more minutes, until most of the people had calmed down somewhat. Then he gave the order:

“Go and check on the sacrifices. The next round of sacrifices begins in ten minutes.”