Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 453 The Worship Pit

“Yes.” Daisy took a deep breath and continued:

"Ultimately, Monsis left the Covenant Organization. They traveled the world seeking a so-called way out, but no matter what, the Church ultimately controlled this ruin that held countless secrets. After hundreds of years of research, they discovered that Monsis's methods of confronting the supreme gods were not limited to creating artificial gods. This is also the greatest secret that the Church's Covenant scholars have discovered so far..."

“Hmm…” Milo immediately thought of what the gods in the dream world had said about the “thing” slumbering beneath this world.

“So the Monsis school is back…” Daisy added, “In fact, in this generation, although there are still differences in the ideas of both the Church and the Monsis school—the Church is immersed in the study of blood, while the Monsis school advocates understanding the knowledge of the gods through the self-development of the eyes—in reality, what they are doing today is essentially no different.”

She pointed to the black cloth covering her eyes:
"The exploration of the Eye of Thinking originated from the research project of the Monsis School. I think you've probably heard the saying—'Cheer your tongue until it's worn out to make your words clearer, and you have to give up your physical eyes to gain the favor of the Eye of Thinking.' In our civilization, there were no psychics before, or at least no concept of psychics. It was the Monsis School that defined psychics, and this only happened in the few years after the Great Plague. Brother, you were the most important opportunity."

"..." Milo recalled his cross-time conversation with the raven.

...

"Do these things have much to do with the current situation?" Milo asked, puzzled.

Daisy held up three fingers to Milo:

"Over the long years, among the many secrets that the Contract Organization has unearthed from this ruin, apart from the Golden Tree, the three most important and crucial things are the Eye of Thinking, the Death Child Mego, and the Enlightenment of the Moon."

"So that tree really existed?" Milo narrowed his eyes slightly.

“It was once the only living thing recognized in the furnace. Under its shade, a space suitable for human habitation was born. Now, it has taken on a more abstract form, existing in the consciousness of believers.” Daisy tapped her temples twice with her fingers.

"Consciousness, or a dream?" Milo understood what Daisy meant.

If the Golden Tree in the real world has perished along with the ancient civilization, yet it still exists, there is only one possibility: it exists in the dream world through the powerful faith of believers.

"That means there are no more Golden Trees in the real world." Milo shrugged.

“But the believers believe its seed will sprout again.” Daisy pointed to the large depression in front of her:

"This was once where the Golden Tree took root. The apocalypse completely burned its body, leaving only this deep pit. In addition, scholars have found many fallen ancient beings and even incarnations of Outer Gods in this ruin. They are collectively referred to as superior beings or gods. Their traces of destruction led the Monsis school to believe that Pumeru had clearly mastered the power to kill gods. Over an extremely long period of time, their faith wavered, and they no longer worshipped the Golden Tree, but instead followed the ethereal 'moonlight' because there are many clues in the ruin that indicate that the moon was the most powerful weapon that Pumeru prepared for the descending superior beings."

Milo fell into deep thought.

Even in the long night, I can still see the moonlight.

These are the hunters' proverbs.

The Hunter Organization originated from Raven, which belongs to the Monsis School.

It seems that all the information is beginning to connect. Regardless of what the so-called lunar enlightenment or lunar faith specifically refers to, the raven has indeed forged a weapon with the "moon," which is the hunters led by Monquia.

The scholars of Monsis have always been considered arrogant and conceited. Even Raven himself said that the purpose of their lives was to recreate the old gods and understand the knowledge of those in power.

……

"The Eye of Thinking, Mego, and Moonlight?"

Milo repeated the three things Daisy had mentioned, then asked:

"So, the person who severely injured Dirasha was after these three things, right? You can't even tell who it is?"

“I think it’s highly likely that someone from the Monsis school used some kind of special substance to hide themselves,” Daisy shook her head.

"Special substance?"

“It has many names; in ancient texts it is called Starstone,” Daisy explained. “It can allow life forms to escape into chaos, becoming untouchable and unseen entities.”

Milo raised an eyebrow.

It just means it becomes a "cannot be selected" state.

"Okay, so what's the situation now?"

As Milo was speaking, he suddenly heard some strange noises coming from the side.

Suddenly, a person kneeling and worshipping at the edge of the depression stood up unsteadily, took a few steps forward, and rolled down the slope of the depression.

His face was pale and his body was thin. It looked like he hadn't consumed any nutrients for a long time. The few steps he took after getting up seemed to have drained the last bit of strength from his body.

…The man's figure quickly disappeared into the darkness of the hollow.

But the sound of his body sliding and rubbing against the concave slope lingered in this unseen land for a long time.

……

Milo turned to Daisy, waiting for her to answer his question.

Daisy, however, lowered her head with a gloomy expression.

She said:
"Losing your followers must feel terrible, right, brother?"

...

"Those are the 'Apostles of Calamity' that Dillash brought back from the city, right?" Milo probably already understood what was going on.

The church's deacons, or clerks, have been secretly taking in those who have fallen into cults and the descendants of heretics. They do not kill these bewitched people directly like hunters, but instead use another method to dispel the shadows in their hearts.

The method is to make them followers of the Eye of Thinking.

It can also be simply understood as the Eye of Thinking controlling them, but this is different from ordinary control. There is not much coercion involved; it is more like a kind of two-way journey.

As it turns out, the vast majority of those who received purification through the Eye of Thinking returned to normal life and became devout believers in the church.

However, there are still some stubborn souls that are difficult to purify.

They were left behind in this unseen land.

These are the people who are now "forced" to become believers in the Eye of Thinking.

...

Milo could clearly sense that the soul of the person who had rolled down had gone out like a lamp that had burned out, and in its place was a slight fluctuation of the will that had initially warned him from the bottom of the depression. To Milo, that fluctuation sounded like it was chewing on the soul.

……

Milo also sensed Daisy's sadness and helplessness.

But he didn't press her for answers immediately; he simply waited quietly for her to explain.

And soon, Daisy spoke up:

"This is the cave left after the Golden Tree was burned down. The first generation of contract scholars called it the Worship Pit because the bottom of the pit was inhabited by creatures that were once mistaken for gods... The first group of scholars who mistakenly entered the Worship Pit all mysteriously disappeared until later when their remains were found at the bottom. As time went by, the rules of the Worship Pit were gradually figured out. Humans who enter the Worship Pit must always make a sacrifice and offer their souls in exchange for the survival of their fellow humans in the pit. Those who survive can receive a certain degree of physical and spiritual purification. Otherwise, no one can escape and will be left in the pit forever."

After she finished speaking, she added, "But the will at the bottom of the pit does not represent the Golden Tree. It is a creature born in the dark and fireless era between two civilizations... The church does not have the ability to prolong Dirac's life. He is essentially a servant of the Golden Tree, but the Golden Tree no longer exists in this world. All I can do is use the power of the worship pit to mend the disintegration of his limbs and soul. The price is that every hour, one of these people will jump down... one of them is controlled by me."

Seeing that Milo didn't respond, she added:

"I have no other choice."

“I understand what you mean, but… why turn to such a greedy creature?” Milo crouched down at the edge of the pit, staring into the darkness at the bottom.

“Its bloodline and will contain the broken rules of the Golden Tree, which is the only solution to save Diracho,” Daisy explained.

"You have the Eye of Thinking, you see more clearly than I do, but that thing in the pit isn't as noble as you think. The reason it was able to be tainted by the rules of the Golden Tree is because, during the gap between the two civilizations, it devoured all the roots deep underground that hadn't been completely burned away," Milo calmly assessed.
"This thing has nothing to do with gods or the Old Ones. It is just a superior independent race that was born by chance during the Dark Ages. If the Contract Organization had not dug up this ruin, it might have survived this era and joined the ranks of the Old Ones when the next civilization was born."

As Milo spoke, he rolled up his shirt sleeves.

He leaned forward and peered at the bottom of the so-called worship pit.

Then he turned around and ruffled Daisy's hair:

“That thing is a bit greedy. Dillasho is basically fine now, but it’s holding onto him and won’t let him leave. Wait here for me for a while.”

"Uh-huh."

Daisy nodded obediently and took a step back.

(End of this chapter)