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After night had fully fallen, Aiwass changed into the priestly garb he had not worn for a long time and solemnly lit three brand-new candles in his bedroom.

In front of Aiwass was a silver basin placed on the table, filled with salt that Aiwass had sanctified during the day.

Yulia and Ligeia sat in a row at the edge of the bed, while Yanis peeked into the room through the landscape painting hanging on the wall.

Aiwass closed his eyes in front of the candle flame for a long time, nurturing his emotions.

The holy yet feeble candlelight shone upon Aiwass. Behind him, his shadow twisted and writhed as if it were a living creature.

"I call upon the Candle Master, the god of the holy trinity, the God of Thorns Bound, the God Who Burns Body and Pursues Darkness..."

Aiwass murmured softly, repeating his prayer with his eyes closed, "Please watch over the fire of my soul... care for it as you would a corner candle...

"I call upon the Candle Master, the god of the holy trinity..."

His solemnity made Yulia unconsciously tense up, stiffening her back.

She had always known that her brother possessed the means to enhance the Shadow Demon and the Defiant Flame Butterfly through self-sacrifice.

But Aiwass had never shown it to her before.

There were many things that Aiwass had not revealed to Yulia. Some were to keep her from worrying; others were to keep her from encountering anything too dangerous.

Yulia was well aware of this and found it hard to refute. It was, after all, Aiwass's care and love for her. Its root was the persona she herself had constructed in front of Aiwass — in Aiwass's perception, Yulia was a fragile girl who needed care.

There was no emergency at the moment, so it wasn't a good time for Yulia to suddenly change.

After chanting three times, Aiwass plunged his hands into the basin of salt, which had been sanctified with the Blessing Skill.

He scooped up the salt with both hands, spread his arms, and casually scattered it around.

It was as if sparks flew upward. The white grains of salt seemed to come to life, whirling and dancing around.

They gradually began to twinkle with a faint light — in the dim bedroom, a glow slowly rose like a cluster of stars.

Aiwass's shoulder sash fluttered without wind, twisting and dancing like two slippery sea snakes.

He bowed his head, gently touching the salt in the basin and sighed softly, "My child, my fleshless daughter...

"— Rise, return from the flesh of all things."

Salt symbolized the flesh and material.

And hearing Aiwass's call, the unconscious Shadow Demon, who had slipped into slumber, emerged from the shadows of the salt basin like a puppy responding to its master's call.

It was a blur of shadow, like mud, like a swamp.

Under Aiwass's gentle caress, the salt in the basin moved on its own, making sounds like the ebb and flow of ocean waves.

"I am your totem, I am your father, I am your god."

Aiwass chanted softly, "You shall not touch my holiness, you shall not harm my body—

"However, upon my death, you should grieve; yet, after the day of my death, you should celebrate!"

As he spoke, Aiwass retrieved a short gun made of salt from the shadow condensed from the salt.

He raised the salt gun high and then fiercely plunged the gun into his own abdomen!

Yulia immediately shuddered in shock, nearly crying out in alarm.

But at that moment, a pair of cold hands reached out from behind her, covering her mouth.

"Don't be afraid, child," Yanis's voice softly arose from behind her, "Sacrifice is like this."
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"...Does sacrifice always require hurting oneself?!"

Yulia asked in a lowered voice, her tone anxious and fearful, "Could something have gone wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong."

Yanis said gently, "This is the ceremony. The essence of the ceremony is imitation, and the aim is to transcend."

Ligeia nodded as well.

She, too, had deepened her understanding of the Path of Transcendence through study.

The white-haired dragon girl softly responded, "In the hearts of humans lies a desire, the unstoppable, inevitable instinct to 'imitate.' It's the most fundamental aspect of humanity and is reinforced by the repetition of external voices.

"When we were ignorant, clueless babies, we instinctively imitated the people around us. We mimicked their language, their expressions, their every move. It came from the Serpent Father's compassion, allowing people to transcend from the path of beastly love.

"— And so, we became human."

Meanwhile, as Aiwass drove the salt gun through, blood began to stream out from his priestly garment, slowly soaking into the ground.

The shadow in the salt basin immediately began to boil violently.

It was as if some reagent had been added — this was what Yulia thought.

And Aiwass still chanted the secret words from the "Nurturing Secret Sequel:"

"You shall celebrate my death. You shall sing of my holiness. You shall inaugurate festivals. You shall lift high the scepter."

Speaking thus, Aiwass took a second gun of salt from the basin.

He tilted his head slightly and thrust the salt gun straight into his collarbone!

Intense pain caused Aiwass's pupils to constrict and then relax, as he trembled violently on the lips.

He choked and coughed up pink froth.

And a dark red blood streamed down his neck, seeping into the pure white priestly garment.

The faint scent of blood instantly burst in all directions like a sphere, and even the candles around Aiwass seemed to dim slightly, reflecting the dark red bloodlight.