When the plot-skips players into the game world

Chapter 215

Chapter 215: 144 Shepherd’s Nurturing: Essence of Shadow Chapter 215: 144 Shepherd’s Nurturing: Essence of Shadow When the Art of Herding proceeds along the Path of Devotion, its manifestation is in prayers and sacrifices.

But when the power of the Path of Transcendence is used to employ these Mystical Skills, it transforms into a ritual—

The Ritual Magic Circle was once again inscribed upon the ground by Aiwass and Lily.

However, unlike before, this time the Octagram Magic Circle did not bear the names of any of the Nine Pillar Gods; it was filled with the name of Aiwass and its various variants, written in different languages.

They had prepared a fine cup of wine before midnight, soaking cinnamon inside.

After soaking it for half an hour, they heated it slowly over a low flame and then removed the cinnamon sticks.

Afterward, Lily added the most crucial element.

It was an amethyst carved into an eight-sided die by Aiwass.

...

Amethyst is the guardian gemstone of the Path of Transcendence.

It can balance the discordant parts of various rituals, and the core skill of the Path of Transcendence is ritual.

The rituals that were nearly complete, yet failed due to subtle imbalances, would be effectively activated after being harmonized by the amethyst...

that is, it increased the rituals’ tolerance for errors.

The Nurturing Skill is a taboo, just like making water flow backward or keeping flames burning ceaselessly.

Without using amethyst to create balance, the ritualistic part of it was bound to fail.

After the amethyst eight-sided die had been placed inside, Lily let the wine cool naturally.

Once the wine had cooled to room temperature, the ritual could begin.

Lily kneeled before Aiwass, while Aiwass sat in an armchair, placed within the Ritual Magic Circle.

His feet planted firmly on the ground, the Shadow Demon flowed spontaneously into Aiwass’ body.

This turned Aiwass’ entire body pale and cold, emitting a faint black smoke.

His eyes, too, were completely filled with a dark fog, and his hands appeared as though they were clad in black silk gloves—limbs and orifices are the parts of the Demon that most easily manifest outwardly.

“I am your Shepherd, and I shall make you want for nothing,”

Aiwass said softly.

As he spoke, he took out the ritual dagger previously used for nurturing the Shadow Demon.

He used the blade to cut open his own finger, writing his first name, devoid of his surname, on Lily’s forehead with the bloody fingertip.

All the while, Lily looked up at Aiwass, as if pleading for a blessing.

After writing the short name, Aiwass let the blood flow downward.

A trace of the Shadow Demon’s essence infused into the blood, making the droplet that fell particularly thick and pitch black.

It even carried a faint scent like rotting wood.

Lily then bowed her head and held aloft the cup of ritual wine.

Amethyst signifies the God of Wine and also denotes loyalty and love.

This also represents the other two attributes of the Path of Transcendence—rebellion and contract.

“Here, I bestow upon you grace, hope, and bliss,”

Aiwass declared with a voice overlapping with that of the Shadow Demon, as he dropped the blood into the wine: “Seeking nothing in return.”

Lily lifted her head and drank the wine in one gulp, keeping the eight-sided die in her mouth.

Then, she placed the wine glass at Aiwass’ feet and carefully spat out the eight-sided die from her mouth.

If the ritual had been successful, no matter the likelihood of other numbers coming up, at this moment, it would only show the number 8.

The number 8 signifies infinity and eternity, cycles and transcendence.

It is also the sacred number that symbolizes the Serpent Father.

As expected, the die tumbled within the cup and then lay still.@@@@

The slanted face displayed the number 8, which to both Aiwass and Lily, appeared to be lying on the ground.

Hence, it looked more akin to “infinity.”

The moment the die came to a stop, an infinite black mark abruptly appeared beneath the feet of Aiwass and Lily.

Two rings encircled them individually.

Aiwass’s Dark Attribute Mana drained away wildly while the Shadow Demon instantly overflowed from Aiwass, flowing onto Lily, and then back again.

After a few seconds, as Aiwass’s mana bottomed out, the volumes of swirling dark mist around both of them balanced out.

Aiwass distinctly perceived that at the end of his contract with the Shadow Demon, there was now another person—the relationship between Lily and the Shadow Demon had become extremely intimate, as if they were two halves of a whole.

Lily had permissions over the Shadow Demon, while the Shadow Demon’s permissions lay with him.

like half a bottle of cola had been spilled on a rubber floor.

That was why Aiwass was wearing cloth shoes for clergy, and not leather shoes or boots.

At least it wouldn’t be too sticky.

Aiwass sighed twice and then began efficiently cleaning up the ritual.

He had already cleaned up the ritual site three times that night...

Aiwass was even contemplating whether he should just set up a basement or some room that no one uses and turn it into a permanent ritual space.

Of course, his bedroom was out of the question; it would smell too bad.

Aiwass could faintly smell an odor like that of slaughtering chickens.

He didn’t even know where the smell was coming from, as the room had been exposed to blood too many times that night.

Even the floor might have been soaked through with blood.

If he sprayed Luminol Reagent, Aiwass’s bedroom would probably light up like a slaughterhouse.

When the Shadow Demon returns, I’ll have it move across the floor and corrode the blood away.

...It felt oddly like having a small dog clean up dropped food scraps.

In order not to wake Yulia, Aiwass moved very gently.

He cleaned up the ritual site quickly, and a shadow zipped across the ground, merging back into his own shadow.

After a while, Lily also came back to report.

“The furthest I could go was up to Master Edward’s room, any farther and it would automatically return.

But the Shadow Demoness can only extend five or six steps outside of me.”

So it’s like a parent-child router, Aiwass mused internally.

And why the ‘Miss’?

Was it because of Croix’s voice that made them perceive the genderless Shape-shifter as female?

Whatever, it doesn’t matter.

Aiwass didn’t bother to correct Lily.

“If it can reach up to Edward...

that means roughly a fifty-meter radius, and Lily’s five or six steps are just over three meters...”

Aiwass murmured softly.

A radius of three meters meant that, at most, the Shadow Demon could only serve as personal protection and couldn’t exert significant destructive power.

But conversely, it also meant that the Shadow Demon could follow Lily outside for reconnaissance.

Without the “Field Card: Shadow Cellar,” the Shadow Demon would be constrained.

It could only appear on Aiwass’s own shadow; attached shadows were inaccessible to it.

Otherwise, in the nighttime, it could go anywhere.

For instance, when Aiwass stood in the corner of a wall, the Shadow Demon couldn’t operate from the shadow cast by the wall corner; and when Aiwass was with others, it couldn’t enter other people’s shadows.

That’s why the Shadow Demon spread like a fungal mat, expanding its shadow domain to directly enlarge the size of Aiwass’s shadow.

But now, Lily could also serve as a temporary host for the Shadow Demon.

With a radius of three meters, Lily could use pretty much the same mystic skills that Aiwass used in rituals.

In some sense, it was as though Lily’s offensive capabilities had been indirectly boosted!

And Aiwass realized another significant benefit—

“Lily, raise your hand a bit.”

Aiwass silently instructed the Shadow Demon in his heart.

He wanted to conduct an experiment.

Sure enough, after about two seconds, Lily lifted her hand in a somewhat puzzled manner.

Aiwass’s eyes brightened.

It really worked!

If the Shadow Demon was considered his Contractor, and Lily was the Shadow Demon’s Contractor...

then Aiwass could now give Lily precise commands remotely without speaking a word, using the Shadow Demon as a relay station!

On the surface, it appeared like telepathy with a slight delay.

Or perhaps...

This was squad voice communication!