Blood of Mercury

Claudia slowly opened her eyes and stared at the dim candlelight around her.

...seems to be, had a nightmare.

Claudia couldn't remember the specific content of the nightmare, but she only remembered that she seemed to be walking in the endless snow field with her bare feet and very thin clothes.

There is a vast expanse of white everywhere, without any markers, without distinction, without purpose, without beginning.

The feet started with cold pain at first, gradually began to numb, and then completely lost consciousness.

Her movements became slower and slower, and her movements became more and more sluggish. In the end, she was directly curled up in the white snow, and began to feel the slightest warmth as if she was deeply immersed in a warm bed.

Just when she was almost unable to extricate herself from this deadly warmth, she was suddenly awakened by a harsh shout.

She trembled, her lips trembled, and she felt death brushing in front of her like a reality.

A primordial instinct from living things woke her up instantly.

"...you can't die yet..."

The cold and ethereal female voice crossed her ear, and she suddenly felt that the frostbite on her body turned into rotten flesh and jumped away from her body.

At the same time, she felt a complete tranquility that she had never experienced before.

As if life is complete, there is no need for any struggle, and nothing needs to be done next—a sense of redemption based on wordlessness.

if you can. She would rather be in touch with that great tranquillity for eternity, but immediately, she felt the reality of her body gradually returning. The snowfield shattered and opened, revealing the dim candlelight that was constantly beating around him.

...that's the ritual fire only used in witchcraft ceremonies. The source of the fire is not the burning of the candle, but the assimilation of the surrounding space to the elemental plane of fire through the oath inscribed on it. Therefore, even if there is no air, it can burn forever and release heat.

The price is that the "world" itself is being devoured by the Elemental Plane of Fire at a very slow rate.

Claudia's professional training immediately allowed her to judge the body of this candle like a sunset.

This is a skill peculiar to the priestly sorcerers of Bantha. They threw a lot of resources from the plane to the elemental plane, squeezed out pure elemental power, and fed this power back to themselves.

By the end of their practice, they can even fully incarnate into the elemental creatures of that plane. Almost immortal.

But because this kind of wizard really consumes the resources of this plane too much - in the words of a White Tower wizard, they "just like to use the plane they are on as fodder to feed other planes. Then eat happily. The excrement from other planes is as disgusting.

In order to ensure the sustainable development of witchcraft, the wizards have even used the wing tree as a substitute for the consumption of gold. The inheritance of the pastoral wizard was cut off more than seventy years ago...

"But... what is this?"

Just as Claudia wanted to spit out the question, she felt her mouth thirsty and her eyelids dry. Body aches, bones soft. It's like having a serious illness just now.

…what happened?

"Ah, you're awake."

A dull, almost rude voice came from in front of her. Claudia looked carefully, and then she stripped out the shadow of substance that almost merged with the surrounding darkness from her blurred vision.

Is that... Roland?

Claudia tilted her head suspiciously.

Why is he here? No... I should say, where is this place? Why are you here?

"...have you forgotten?"

She watched Roland bend down and gently rested her chin with her left hand, and immediately wanted to resist.

But at this moment, she felt powerless. That weak trembling was more of a temptation than a struggle, and she immediately stopped the useless struggle and looked at Roland with a frown.

unexpected. There was no panic or fear in her heart at this moment. Roland, who had only met her a few times, looked so pleasing and reliable at the moment, like a priest to a devout believer.

But... how is that possible? I don't believe in any gods...

Claudia frowned slightly and stared at Roland. His face was not even more than three or four millimeters from Claudia's forehead, and Claudia could even feel the warmth and very slight fragrance in his breath.

"What do you remember? How did you get here, remember?"

As if afraid of waking her up, Roland spoke slowly in her ear in a very soft, very soft voice. His right hand brushed Claudia's cheeks at exactly the same speed as the water flowing across the riverbed. Finally pressed it on her forehead.

"Can not remember…"

"Then calm down and think about it carefully..."

As Roland's soft voice, which seemed to make people fall asleep, kept recalling in his ears. Claudia only felt a dizziness that was almost intoxicating.

It wasn't that she was drunk or in love - her subjective consciousness was burning, her mind was uncontrollably quiet, as if dipping into the ocean currents of something great.

...is this... a malicious hypnotism by the Witch of Confusion?

Thinking of the candlelight that made her focus too much, Roland's gentle and soothing movements and his calm, reassuring voice, Claudia faintly sensed the truth.

But at this moment, as a cold metal-like touch penetrated from the contact between Roland's fingers and her forehead, her sense of resistance was quickly destroyed, and some great force dragged the consciousness she just wanted to forcibly wake up. to the deepest.

"rest in peace-"

Roland's gentle voice came from her ear.

Claudia could feel that something too great to perceive immediately responded to Roland's call and descended above her.

"Never forget to sing, never forget to pray... Never forget me."

Xunxun's voice was like a magical voice pouring into her brain, and it continued to obliterate Claudia's consciousness. A terrifying force derived from the death of all things poured into her forehead with Roland's priest-like prayer.

Just like the baptism chant that Teacher Claude once cast to her.

But at that time, she wore the ring of deception that her brother bought for her, so she could resist Sivir's mental infection.

However, isn't Roland a Druid? How could he...

"Appointed to me, learned from me, obeyed me."

Roland's christening did not end. Silver-gray spots of light danced around him.

All the gods have their own chants of baptism. As long as the priest sings the chant of baptism, the power of the gods will immediately descend and transform the essence of the soul of the baptized.

After awakening the origin, the archbishops can even force the soul of the baptized to ascend to heaven directly through the chant of baptism. And even the faintest chant of baptism will strip away all the spiritual defenses of the baptized in a short period of time—

Claudia's pupils dilated instantly, and a silver-gray worm-like light spot shone in her light blue pupils, expanding and growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Rest in my hands. Eternal life, given by eternal sleep—forgiveness is now."

"I hereby swear an oath. Grant mercy to this soul."

Claudia's consciousness is still further evaporated.

She could no longer notice what she had said - the dim candlelight was burnt into her sight like a bright red silhouette.

In her last impression, she felt that she had sank into a large ocean that was as solid as mercury and was frozen in ice.

When she wakes up, she will officially become the priest of some great being. Ironically, until now, she didn't know who the true God she was going to serve for life was.

After the baptism was over, Roland retracted his right hand.

He bowed his head and gently kissed Claudia on the forehead, but Claudia didn't respond. Just look straight ahead like this.

"Take off your clothes first, then learn to bark."

Roland said.

"Yes."

Claudia, whose consciousness and body were separated, followed Roland's command without hesitation.

But before her hand touched her own button, Roland held her wrist tightly.

"Okay, stop." Roland said in a deep voice, "What is seventy-nine plus twenty-one?"

"one hundred."

Claudia answered immediately.

"What is the first line of the third volume of the Sivir Mantra?"

"…"

Claudia was silent. UU reading www.uukanshu. com

"Don't know... What is the fifth tower of the White Tower Wizard?"

"…"

"...Bansas? When was the pastoral sorcerer killed?"

"Yes. 848 years of the gods calendar."

Roland showed a satisfied smile.

This level is enough.

The christening will last for twenty minutes, enough for Roland to ask everything clearly and arrange some questions.

"Shh, don't talk." Roland put his right index finger on Claudia's lips, showing a charming smile.

His voice was hoarse and gentle: "Little cutie, now we officially start."

"First a question-and-answer session—" (to be continued)