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  The room was nothing but an endless void. At some point, a small candle appeared in Noctis’s hand. He held the candle, walked toward the magic circle, and placed the mirror fragment facing it.

  Noctis accidentally passed by the corner of the room and found a small chest. Approaching it, Noctis slowly bent down and carefully opened the chest. As soon as he opened it, a foul stench hit his brain, nearly making him vomit. Noctis had guessed what was inside but couldn't help feeling disgusted by it.

  Suppressing his nausea, he slowly took out each item: first, a porcelain jar. Opening the lid and peering inside, He saw a fine gray-white powder. "This must be ashes," he thought, recalling the formula. Continuing to retrieve items, he found three white cloths soaked in a red substance, even more foul-smelling than the jar.

  Carefully handling all three cloths, he walked to the center of the magic circle, meticulously carved into the cement floor rather than drawn. Opening the three cloths, he once again felt his stomach churn. However, he forced himself to swallow his food and drink.

  To his left, there was a grotesque form resembling a creature with small limbs—it was undoubtedly a child, specifically a 3-4 month-old fetus according to his biological knowledge. Looking at the cold fetus, he felt deep sorrow and compassion for its fate. It was just a child, barely formed, yet it was about to be used in a dark ritual by a demon.

  The more he looked at the fetus, the more he felt not only sorrow but also immense anger. He was furious with the body’s previous owner, Noctis, and the one who led him down this insane path. Controlling his rage, Noctis took the fetus and placed it in the designated spot, feeling no more disgust, only anger.

  He carefully placed the fetus in position and quickly began setting everything else in its designated spot. On either side of the eyes, two raven heads were placed, the fetus on top, and the heart below. Seeing everything nearly complete, Noctis felt his soul elevated slightly by his courage and anger.

  He looked around the room for a moment, then took a withered finger from his pocket along with a book, placing them in the center of the eye. Although the book didn't instruct him to, Noctis’s body had a small reaction to this thought. So, he decided to trust the body’s instincts.

  Finally, he sighed and walked to a corner of the room near the door, where there was a bag of blood. He had accidentally seen it while searching the room based on old memories, feeling a connection to it, thinking it might be Noctis's blood. Now he understood why the boy seemed weaker than in his memories.

  Drawing out a quantity of blood wasn’t easy, but he set his thoughts aside. He walked to the start of the magic circle and poured the blood into the small grooves. Slowly, the fresh blood flowed along the pre-carved lines, creeping and spreading until it completely filled the magic circle and the eye with a red color. In the dim light, the circle appeared black.

  “Let’s see if my fate is sealed, shall we?” Noctis sighed and walked into the circle, standing before the eyes. Blowing out the candle, he tossed it into the corner of the room.

  Now, surrounded by darkness, Noctis was unafraid as he began chanting an ancient summoning verse of the Chaos deity. But he had to chant it in an ancient language, for human language had no effect in this supernatural world.

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  He knew two ancient languages: Old Rune and Ancient Giant. He had learned these languages because Noctis had studied a bit of Ancient Giant and mastered Old Rune, perhaps in an attempt to step into the supernatural realm. Using Old Rune, he closed his eyes and began to chant:

  “Messenger of Chaos. O one who steps beyond the brink of reason, hear the call from the endless night. In darkness, you await—the god of twisted dreams, bearer of a thousand faces. Speak the words of threat, grant forbidden power and knowledge. Reveal yourself to this ignorant fool.”

  As soon as he finished chanting, nothing happened, leaving him questioning if he used the wrong language or if placing the book had caused an error. His thoughts began to drift when suddenly, his body trembled—not his body, but his soul. This sensation drew him toward the mirror, and although it was dark, his eyes adjusted to see a bit.

  On the mirror's surface, a dark shadow gradually appeared, along with black mist escaping from the mirror. This mist caused pain not only to his body but also to his soul. The mist began to make him feel as if he was losing his sanity.

  The ritual had succeeded, but he had no idea what the shadow intended. His body instinctively backed away. Just as he took a step, a deep, distant voice spoke slowly, one word at a time:

  “F…orbid...den fr..uit...Abe…rra…nt W…a”

  However, as soon as it reached “a,” he fainted, for each word from the shadow filled him with a sense of madness, pushing his consciousness to its limits. He fell heavily to the ground, but the mist and shadow remained. A few seconds later, the mist engulfed the entire room, gradually forming a strange round ball of mist.

  The black orb made of mist shot toward Noctis’s body and merged with it. Having achieved its goal, the shadow slowly disappeared, leaving the broken mirror. The sacrificial items also vanished, and the blood-filled circle twisted into spirals. Everything had changed or disappeared, including the chest, candle, and blood bag.

  In the end, only Noctis’s unconscious body remained in the dark room. At the same time, outside Noctis’s house, a busy street was filled with people and various vehicles. The city appeared modern and bustling, with Gothic-style buildings and busy industrial factories.

  However, the peace didn’t last long as loud bells rang throughout the city. People began to react with surprise and confusion at the simultaneous ringing of bells. On the street, a middle-aged man spoke to his friend:

  “This is amazing. All the churches ringing their bells at once—this must be an unprecedented event in the history of Solarys. What do you think?”

  His friend eagerly responded:

  “I’ve only been in Bernet for a few days, and I’ve experienced so many interesting things. Now, this unprecedented event in Solarys! I must admit, this might be the most fascinating city I’ve ever visited.”

  Both men laughed heartily with excitement. However, the atmosphere in the churches was far from joyful. Priests, clergy, and knights hurriedly ran around with panicked expressions. In one church, inside a room with a statue of a deity—a tall, muscular figure holding a sun-like orb—a senior priest knelt in prayer, fervently speaking:

  “O Lord, Eternal Flame, Giver of Life! Your light banishes the darkness, warms the soul, and guides the lost. We bow before your undying radiance, worshiping you as the source of order and truth. Glory be to the Sacred Name of the Radiant One in the sky!”

  This old man spoke of the “Hymn of the Sacred Name,” a series of praises for the deities. Just as he was expressing his devotion to the supreme Sun God, the room’s door was pushed open, and a young boy with a frightened expression and youthful face rushed in. With typical Solarys blonde hair and blue eyes, the boy spoke to the senior priest:

  “Archbishop Bernet, something serious has happened.”

  The man was, in fact, an Archbishop. Archbishop Bernet calmly replied:

  “Don’t worry, it’s just that all the church bells have rung loudly for about 15-20 seconds. Do you know what that means, Luk?”

  Reassured by Archbishop Bernet’s calm and comforting words, Luk replied:

  “Archbishop, when all the church bells ring at once, it means a great entity has descended or a ‘Catastrophe’ has been born.”

  “Well, good to know. Don’t worry, Luk. Inform the church members to stay calm. This isn’t something small churches like ours should involve themselves in. The Archbishops and the Pope will handle it,” Bernet said with a praising tone, instructing Luk.

  “Yes, Archbishop,” Luk bowed, obeying and immediately leaving.

  The Archbishop turned back to the statue of the Sun God and murmured:

  “I only hope it’s a Catastrophe.”

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