The black sun hangs high

Chapter 179 Hugh's Speech

"Pick up the chains, pierce the body of the traitor, and accept the gifts of the Society!"

Herbert's words are clear, simple, and easy to understand.

As he spoke, a chain descended from the edge of the black sun, its end marked by a sharp, long nail.

It seems that this is a necessary step in joining the Black Sun Society.

Regardless of their past identity or beliefs, those who join the Black Sun Society must personally damage the body of the goddess of magic, Mel, under the witness of this bizarre ritual, to demonstrate their determination to blaspheme the gods of Vain.

Once such an action is taken, the blasphemer has essentially destroyed their past beliefs and thrown themselves into the arms of the lost gods.

Such actions naturally had limited significance for a stranger like Hugh, but for the other Vaan residents who universally worshipped the goddess Mel, this process was nothing short of cruel.

Hughes slowly moved his gaze down from the sharp chain to the metal staff protruding from inside the sculpture, and asked Herbert, "What is this?"

Faced with Hugh's doubts, Herbert showed unprecedented respect, leaning forward slightly like a patient and loyal butler.

He replied, “This is a scepter that we forged using the broken sacrificial implements found in the ruins. It was specially made for the ‘messengers’ who can guide the society forward. It is connected to all the secret rituals of the society and can also be used to understand and perceive all members who join the society through the rituals.”

Herbert looked at Hugh eagerly: "Now that Mr. Hugh has passed the test of the rites, we should entrust this item to you. May your guidance always be clear, and may the sun forever shine!"

Hearing these words, Hugh's heart trembled slightly.

If the metal cane does indeed possess the "function" that Herbert described, then the person wielding it would be able to easily locate the members and strongholds of the Black Sun Society, and even give them a certain degree of command.

No matter how you look at it, this walking stick has extraordinary significance.

"It seems Theseus hopes I can use this opportunity to get my hands on the staff?"

Hugh nodded to Herbert, then once again felt the rapidly spinning metal disc in his mental world before walking towards the exquisite steps constructed of magic, under the watchful eyes of the Black Sun Society members.

Herbert's magical skill was clearly astonishing. Stepping on the stairs, Hugh felt almost nothing amiss. Under his manipulation, the magical stairs were indistinguishable from physical stone steps.

So Hughes stepped upwards toward the sculpture, and soon he was in front of the goddess Mel, and beneath the black sun.

After the distance between them shortened, the face and body of the goddess Mel became clearer. Perhaps the Black Sun Society wanted to test the minds and determination of its members, or perhaps this goddess of magic truly possessed an irresistible charm. When Hugh came before her, he felt a magical and spiritual suggestion and influence.

This force made Hugh want to sigh.

But he still raised his gaze and looked at the face of the goddess of magic.

Hugh was then surprised to find that the goddess Mel's face seemed different from before—the desolate, helpless and sorrowful expression had disappeared at some point, replaced by a smile and composure. Her gaze, through the semi-transparent veil, looked ahead, as if she wanted to meet Hugh's eyes, this visitor from another time and space.

This feeling is just too much...

Strange.

It was as if the will of that goddess had truly descended upon this blasphemous statue at this moment, and longed to have a brief meeting and conversation with it.

The important metal scepter was right in front of him, but its surface was still covered by the magical light and shadow of the Black Sun Ritual itself—a barrier that prevented outsiders from touching it. Obviously, in order to break through this barrier, Hugh must complete the "task" in front of him according to the procedure.

The sharp chain hanging from the edge of the black sun trembled slightly, producing a cold metallic clanging sound. Hugh raised his hand and grasped the chain with long spikes at its end.

It's like holding a sharp knife.

His next step was to pierce the iron chain into the body of the goddess Mel.

Strangely, despite having neither faith in nor knowledge of this goddess of magic, Hugh was constantly being hindered by an indescribable and extremely strong sense of resistance at this moment. This surprised Hugh greatly, and he even had to mobilize more magic to suppress and calm this sudden and intense emotion.

Hughes had limited time and couldn't stay in this position for too long, so he forcibly suppressed the strong and strange emotion and gently twirled the chain nail in his hand like a dagger.

But just as Hughes was extending the long nail forward, that inexplicable emotion erupted again, and this time it even triggered an extremely strong magical tide in Hughes's mental world. These surging thoughts and powers even caused Hughes's thinking to momentarily become dazed and stagnant.

To the members of the Black Sun Society, however, the scene was quite different.

They saw Hugh, after a brief moment of thought, thrust the long nail toward the statue of the goddess Mel, and the moment the nail touched the goddess's body, the statue of the goddess under the black sun trembled violently.

The next instant, the statue of the sorrowful goddess of suffering turned into fine magical dust amidst the astonishment of the society members, and drifted into the air above the banquet hall.

Under the illumination of the crystallizing chandelier, the drifting magic dust resembled a slowly spreading, beautiful cloud.

The ceremony has been completed.

But only Hughes himself knew that he had not actually pierced the goddess Mel.

In fact, the change had already occurred before the sharp spike in his hand touched the goddess statue.

In that fleeting moment of confusion, it seemed that some invisible words and fragments flowed into Hugh's spiritual world along with the shattering of the goddess statue. They silently merged into Hugh's magical tide and eventually became one with the memories he had accumulated.

However, at this moment, Hugh couldn't examine the contents of these memories, because he saw that the Black Sun Rift's light and shadow, which had been used to seal the metal staff, had dissipated. So he immediately reached out and grasped the cold staff in his hand.

In that instant, Hugh felt his thoughts seem to expand infinitely. Inside the banquet hall, outside the banquet hall…

Almost all the Black Sun Society members in Black Forest Fortress came into Hugh's perception range. Through the cold scepter in his hand, he was able to know the names, origins, pasts, and thoughts of these society members at this moment.

Hugh looked up at the black sun. He had not received any further message from Theseus, but looking at the constantly rotating black light and shadow, Hugh felt that Theseus seemed to be secretly brewing something.

So he slowly walked down the steps, holding the scepter.

At that moment, applause rang out in the banquet hall.

Although the members of the society did not understand why the statue of the goddess Mehr would react so violently, for those who opposed the belief in Mehr, the disintegration of the statue was enough to prove Hugh's "blasphemous" act!

So the people gathered again, eager to step forward and shake hands and embrace Hugh, this special new member and the messenger of the Society.

The rational Herbert stopped the others from their enthusiastic actions, and winked at Hugh: "Mr. Hugh, as an emissary sent by a true deity, is there anything you wish to say to us?"

"Yes! Say a few words!"

A fanatical member of the society urged from the crowd: "For the sake of the society, messenger, please say a few words!"

Hugh was really uncomfortable with this scene, especially now, surrounded by a bunch of inhuman lunatics. So he looked up and glanced at the black sun that was still slowly turning.

Intuition and the state of the metal disc told him that whatever Theseus was planning, he seemed to need to buy himself some more time.

So Hughes raised his hand and made a "press down" gesture. After everyone quieted down, he leaned on the metal scepter in his hand and said, "Fellow members of the Society, now that I have passed the test of the ritual and obtained this scepter that symbolizes my status, I would like to have a discussion with you all here."

A meaningful smile appeared on Hugh's face: "Mr. Herbert previously led us on a profound and meaningful discussion about humanity... so I've decided to raise another related question here."

Hughes' opening remarks quickly drew everyone's attention. He looked around and then smiled, saying, "In your eyes, what is God?"

Herbert's pupils contracted slightly the instant he heard the question.

As a scholar, he instinctively felt that there was something strange about the problem, but at this moment he could not stop Hughes and could only let him start to elaborate on the topic.

"To me, God is an extremely distant and untouchable concept... Just like our experience in this world, we cannot truly communicate with a god, nor can we know the true thoughts of a god. Do you all agree with this view?"

Some people in the crowd were deep in thought, some were puzzled, and some nodded in agreement.

So Hugh continued, “Alright, let’s take it a step further. In order to understand the gods we follow and believe in, we must touch the miracles they left behind, trace their footsteps, and excavate the relics related to the gods…”

"Yes, of course!"

Kozlov, who chairs the Society for the Discovery of Truth, chimed in from the sidelines: "Because the gods we follow are real and tangible, the footprints they left behind are the beacons that guide our path!"

"it is good!"

Hughes glanced at Kizlov, then nodded: “As Mr. Kizlov said, the ancient deities that the Society follows have left their true traces in this world—they once existed and were the rulers of this world. Am I wrong to say that?”

Kezlov hesitated for a moment, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Then here I will ask the next question—since the gods you follow possess supreme and real power, and their status is inviolable, why have they disappeared in this day and age?"

Herbert realized something, his expression darkening slightly, and he interjected, "Of course it's because of betrayal, Mr. Hugh. Haven't we already discussed this topic before?"

The metal disc began to tremble, and in Hugh's magical perception, the power within the black sun seemed to have reached its peak.

Then he smiled and said, “This is the strange thing… I believe that in that ancient era, humans and the many intelligent beings in Vaan today must have been much more humble than they are now. They were probably just a few extremely ordinary and weak branches among countless civilizations and nations. But why have they become the rulers of Vaan today?”

At this point, Hugh slammed the Black Sun Scepter in his hand, and the magic of the Walking Forest instantly spread out, causing a slight mental shock to the Society members around him who were trying to refute him. Then he glanced at the Black Sun Society leader beside him: "I remember Mr. Herbert mentioned before that these so-called rulers of Vaan have stagnated and have completely lost the ability and qualification to compete, and can no longer be the masters of this world..."

Hughes maintained his smile, but his gaze turned icy, and he forced out vicious words from between his teeth, words that were enough to sting the Black Sun Society members.

"Then I would like to ask you all, according to this theory of competition and survival, aren't the gods you believe in and follow considered... lowly losers from the previous era?"

The banquet hall fell into a deathly silence, but a few seconds later it erupted into an uproar.

Among these members of the society, those members of the Dark Abyss History Society who were originally about to approach Hugh to show their enthusiasm and closeness are now completely enraged. The lecturer who was responsible for bringing Hugh to Black Forest Castle even rushed directly in front of him, trying to correct his "extreme fallacy" statement.

But just then, behind Hugh, within the black sun suspended in mid-air, a short and deep voice finally came through.

That was the voice of Theseus.

This time, however, Hugh clearly sensed the distinct emotions emanating from the strange deity's words.

It seemed to be lava that had been settling for a long time and then erupted, or like a sudden storm and downpour after a long period of low pressure.

The suggestion was so brief, yet as decisive as a hammer blow.

"Do it."

(End of this chapter)