Night Journey

Chapter 11 The Sacrifice

"Ha ha……"

Ciri knelt on the ground, large drops of sweat dripping from his nose. The excruciating pain lingered in his mind, and his vision blurred and indistinct.

It took nearly a minute for Cillian to calm down, successfully digest the medicine, and the turbulent high temperature in his body to cool down.

"Is this... reality?"

After regaining his senses, Cillian finally took notice of the current situation.

Ciri has returned from the Sea of ​​Origin, his consciousness awakening within his physical body, amidst a ring of blazing fire.

Behind the flickering firelight, Nunn held his longsword aloft, his bare arms bearing striking burn marks.

Everything was just as it was at the very beginning of the ceremony.

Ciri shouted, "Teacher!"

Upon hearing Cillian's call, Nunn cautiously took a few steps forward, his longsword still held high.

"I... I think I succeeded."

Ciri looked at his hands. Although the Ouroboros mark on his palms had disappeared, Ciri could faintly sense an extraordinary power lurking within him.

--extraordinary.

“Cillian Soflova”.

Nunn calmly pronounced Ciri's full name, and Ciri responded with a firm gaze.

The two stared at each other for a moment, and then the blazing ring of fire went out.

Nunn carefully examined Cillian's condition. "Try to control the power within you and release it."

Cillian slowly clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking like snapping twigs.

The residual heat that had cooled inside the body rose again, and the blood began to heat up and burn.

Ciri spread his hands out, and the veins in his palms were no longer the familiar blue, but instead glowed with a fiery red light.

Ascend!

The skin surface was covered with dense charred lines, as if an invisible wildfire was burning along Ciri's blood vessels. Dark red embers spread along the capillary network, and even the fingernails shone with an orange-red glow.

Nunn was momentarily stunned. He, who was not good with words, opened his arms and hugged Cillian.

The strict teacher, showing his long-lost gentleness, congratulated him.

"Cillian, you did it!"

……

Cillian and Nunn left without informing anyone, and their return went unnoticed.

"Does the entire ceremony only take a few minutes?"

"From the time you take the drug and lose consciousness to the time you regain consciousness, only a few minutes will pass."

“I feel like I was there for at least a few hours,” Cillian said, puzzled.

“The Sea of ​​Origin is a strange space.” Nunn organized his thoughts. “It has no concept of time; it only exists in the present moment.”

Cillian recalled the crystallized Randolph. "I know, I met someone in the Sea of ​​Origin who told me the same thing."

"people?"

Nunn looked at Cillian with a puzzled expression, "What did you experience in the Sea of ​​Origin?"

“It’s a long story,” Cillian took a deep breath and added, “It’s absolutely terrible.”

Cillian briefly recounted his experiences in the Sea of ​​Origin, without hiding anything. As Nunn listened to the story, his expression grew increasingly gloomy.

“There seems to be a subtle resonance between the Sea of ​​Origin and me.”

Cillian recalled the motherly illusion of the Sea of ​​Origin: "When I was dragged into the deep sea by that mysterious chaotic creature, a force protected me and brought me back to the surface."

"Unfortunately, I had already lost consciousness by then and knew nothing."

Ciri paused for a moment, “That old Mr. Randolph Frank helped me a lot. I don’t quite understand his work and those complicated rituals, but his dedication paved the first step for me to climb.”

"Don't feel too guilty, Cillian, he didn't die because of you."

Nunn suddenly realized, “The followers of the Three Sages, in order to emulate the Three Sages’ contributions to the world, all have this kind of tradition of dedication to some extent.”

"Are the torchbearers the same?" Cillian asked curiously. "Of course."

Nunn doesn't shy away from this, saying, "The Torchbearers are composed of multiple clans, each with its own unique culture, but after that..."

After mentioning something difficult to put into words, Nunn paused for a moment before continuing.

"In short, the torchbearers' tradition of self-sacrifice was reduced to two kinds: some dying torchbearers would gather together, sharpen their swords and prepare for battle, and organize brigades to embark on expeditions into the dark world."

Nunn's words were soft, but they sounded particularly heavy to Cillian's ears.

"Have any of them returned?"

Yes, but very few.

Nunn answered briefly.

"Another tradition of self-sacrifice is to leap into the raging flames of the second sun, allowing the remaining soul essence of the remaining body to burn in a final burst, without wasting anything."

Nuen pretended to be relaxed and said, "Don't think it's cruel. After hundreds of years of faith cultivation by the Fire Guardian Cult, many fanatics want to be cremated. They believe that the body burned to ashes in the Second Sun will allow the soul to be purely sublimated and embark on the road to heaven."

Cillian asked cautiously, "Teacher, what will you choose when you're old and frail?"

“I don’t like the Fire Guardians, so I will embark on an expedition to the dark world, but I don’t know if I can assemble a whole crew.”

Nunn laughed, but he hadn't laughed in so many years that his face was stiff like a puppet's.

“The truly cruel ones are those in the House of Ten Thousand Officials,” Nunn joked, a rare occurrence for him. “They’re a bunch of lunatics, psychopaths.”

"In order to make the most of their remaining life, some foundries have the tradition of using themselves as raw materials for smelting, while others remove their brains and insert them into machines as wet parts, and so on."

Nunn talked about Randolph, explaining, "The Mr. Frank you met should be from the Purification Society under the Modian Society, and his rank is at least that of a Spirit Martyr."

Only the unwavering spirit of a martyr could serve as the material to repair the Bound Source Long Staircase.

"Do you understand, Cillian?"

The conversation shifted, and Nunn asked Ciri a question, which immediately created a somber and oppressive atmosphere.

"Becoming an extraordinary being does not give you control over your own destiny. Rather, it is only by becoming an extraordinary being that you begin to have the qualifications to dedicate yourself to the world."

"In this crazy era, the continuation of rational civilization depends on this sacrifice regardless of the cost."

The image of Randolph gradually crystallizing flashed before Cillian's eyes.

He didn't know what the so-called Spirit Martyrs were, but to be able to stroll so leisurely in the perilous Sea of ​​Origin, Randolph must be an extremely powerful superhuman.

Perhaps Randolph was even more powerful than Nunn. With his status and strength, Randolph could have easily spent his later years in a luxurious residence, but he chose to repair the long staircase alone, using up all his flesh and blood, and even his soul...

Once, as a mortal, Cirion could have lived comfortably under Nún's protection, but things are different now.

"I'm sorry, Cillian."

Nunn's few words completely shattered the joy of the successful ceremony, leaving only a bleak reality.

“It’s alright, teacher,” Cillian said nonchalantly. “You’re just overly worried, I can tell.”

“You have seen a bigger world, experienced countless fierce battles, and know the crazy and dark truth... Therefore, the way you look at me is always full of worry and pity, just like when you look at your past self.”

Nunn was both pleased and worried about Cillian's success.

Nunn took a deep breath and forced a stiff smile.

“Cillian, you are not yet a true torchbearer; there is one last ritual to complete.”

Cillian was slightly surprised. "There's another ceremony? I thought it was over."

"To embark on the path of destiny, you not only need to awaken from the dream of your soul and complete the transformation of your mortal nature, but also to perform some special rituals that are unique to different paths of destiny."

Nunn began to explain the secrets of that vast world.

"Take the most well-known Modian Society and Wanji Tonglu Academy as examples. The scholars of the Modian Society need to make a pilgrimage to the Whispering Tree, while the Wanji Tonglu Academy requires different parts of the body to be mechanically modified depending on the different casting courts."

Cillian swallowed hard; he could understand the former's pilgrimage.

The fact that Randolph can control the roots of the Whispering Tree shows that the extraordinary beings on this path of destiny are closely connected to the Whispering Tree.

However, the mechanization of the body by the Wanji Tonglu Academy made Ciri feel uneasy.

"As for the torchbearer's ceremony, it will be revealed to you tonight."

(End of this chapter)