In one of the rooms of an abandoned castle, sunlight shone through the cracks in the heavy curtains, shining on a pitch-black coffin.

Suddenly, the lid of the coffin made a prickly sound and moved slowly to the side.

With a thud, it fell to the ground.

After a few more seconds, Azik Eggers sat up, his expression rather dazed.

At this time, he was wearing a loose pajama that Rune had been in vogue for a few years, like a nobleman waking up in his manor.

After a pause, Azik narrowed his eyes slightly, looking around as if he didn't know who he was.

Then he saw the bright sunlight piercing through the cracks, the dust fluttering and floating in the sunlight, and the letters scattered on the table, on the floor, and beside the lid of the coffin.

They resemble giant snowflakes that cover half of the place.

Azik stepped out of the coffin, bent down to pick up a letter with a puzzled face, opened it and read it.

Reading and reading, the blankness on his face disappeared a little, as if he remembered a lot of past events.

Azk immediately found a chair and sat down, so that all the letters flew in front of him, overlapping like peaks.

He opened and read one by one, pausing in between, pondering for a long time, as if seriously recalling something.

The sunlight through the gap in the curtain slowly dimmed, and after a long time, it shone in again.

At this time, Azik finally read all the letters and completed the long-term thinking of "meditation" again and again.

He looked at the letters, all stacked on the table, and let out a slow, long sigh.

Then he looked for letterhead, pens, and ink that could be used, and wrote in a gentle expression:

“...... I've woken up and received all your letters, and they remind me of who I am, who you are, and a lot of things from the past.

"Your experience, both in complexity and excitement, has exceeded my imagination and made me seem to understand some of my previous questions.

"From these letters, I can feel your joy, your weariness, your hope for life and the heavy responsibility you place on your shoulders.

"I can probably guess why you made that choice in the end, and if it were me, I probably wouldn't have made up my mind.

"From the beginning, you were a guardian, from imitating others to being imitated.

"Next, I will embark on a journey to trace more of the past and witness the changes in this world.

"You seem to be still asleep, but it doesn't matter, I'll write to you about interesting things, interesting customs, and interesting people I've met.

"I think it would be possible to send these letters to you by sacrificial means......"

The golden nib reflects the sunlight and rustles across the white paper, constantly writing more.

............

Beckland, inside a sunning house in a townhouse.

Melissa walked in with a little girl who was obviously less than ten years old.

"Auntie, auntie, why is this here?" asked the little girl, puzzled, "the stories I have heard are all about mysterious rituals in the basement. ”

Melissa, who was wearing glasses with her hair pulled up, smiled and said:

"It was an unofficial occult ritual. ”

She then pointed to the altar and the candle that had not yet been lit in front of her:

"You can get started. ”

"Really?" the little girl looked sideways at the bright sunlight shining through the window, "Do you want to close the curtains?"

"No, that's fine. Melissa replied, smiling at the little girl's unskillful and unusually clumsy imitation of her usual rituals.

During this process, she gave guidance from time to time, and even did it herself, and finally let the little girl complete the pre-ceremony for her.

"Alright, follow me. Melissa took a breath, her expression gradually presettling.

"Uh-huh. The little girl also tried to make herself look serious.

Melissa looked at the candle flame of the altar for a few seconds, spoke slowly, and said in the ancient Hermetic language:

"Fools who don't belong to this era......"

......The little girl had never learned the ancient Hermetian language, and although she tried her best to imitate her aunt, she still did not know what she was talking about.

"The mysterious lord above the gray mist......" Melissa continued.

"Ghost fracture and wound dropping holy honey boiled debt ......," the little girl followed seriously.

"The Yellow and Black King, who rules good fortune......" Melissa finished speaking, and the candle flame at the top swelled to the size of a human skull before the little girl could imitate it.

In the huge firelight, a slippery tentacle with a faint evil pattern, but it was not clear to see, stretched out hesitantly, and the movement was extremely slow.

The little girl froze for a moment, and suddenly retreated, hiding behind her aunt.

Melissa pursed her lips and said with a soft expression and a little smile:

"Don't be afraid, go and say hello to him. ”

The little girl timidly poked her head out from behind her aunt, and saw the terrible, slippery tentacle swaying gently in the bright sunlight shining in the window, as if wiping away the dust, as if waving at herself.

"Go ahead, don't be afraid. Melissa repeated.

The little girl finally mustered up her courage and stood in front of the altar.

She recited some of her own incantations, then smiled genuinely and raised her palms upward.

The slippery tentacles that had faded from the pattern paused for a few seconds, as if a little hesitant and a little rusty.

Then, it lifted slightly, curled up slightly, and landed inch after inch.

In the sunlight, it slapped with the little palm.

(End of book)

PS: I feel hollowed out, and I'll finish my testimonial tomorrow at noon