Awakening Day Collection

Chapter 7 Preface (7)
"I understand," Bernard nodded, "rest in peace."

There was a strange smile on the corner of Aldoric's mouth, and the fire of life in his eyes was gradually extinguished.Bernard turned around and took the painting away.

Back home, he lit the fireplace and wanted to throw the painting directly into the fire, because he couldn't forget the fear in Odoric's eyes that could not go away until he died.Bernard was just an ordinary person who didn't want to add any inexplicable burden to his life.No matter what happens in those wild lands thousands of miles away, it has nothing to do with him.

However, it seemed that there really was a devil hiding in the dark and releasing a tempting poisonous mist. The moment he was about to let go, Bernard hesitated in a strange way.He stood there for several minutes, until the hands holding the picture frame were sore, and then he stomped his feet fiercely and withdrew the picture frame from the fireplace.Panting heavily, he put the painting on the table, as if he was afraid of repentance, he tore off the cloth strip wrapped outside with almost rough movements, revealing the oil painting hidden inside.

Then he covered his mouth, feeling an indescribable sense of fear flowing through his body like quicksilver.Even as a doctor, he never thought that he would see such a terrible picture.Aldoric was right, it was a scene that did not belong to the world at all.If this painting is not fictional, but from what Aldoric saw with his own eyes, then this is really a picture from hell, a nightmare created by the devil.

"God..." Bernard closed his eyes and made the sign of the cross on his chest.

"My father later returned to Paris. He wanted to destroy the painting several times, but in the end he didn't make up his mind." The strange man said to Nicholas, "He said, whether it is God or the devil with the help of Odoric It is probably fate that left this painting, and he was unwilling to rebel against such a fate. Before he died, he gave this painting to me, hoping that I could find someone who could interpret it, and I believe, You are that person."

"I hope so," Nicholas nodded, "I'll give you five livres for this painting."

After the strange guest left, Nicholas locked the door of the store, closed the curtains, and walked into a locked room behind the bookstore with the painting in his arms.There is a large desk in the secret room, on which there are quill pens and a large pile of scattered papers. Many strange symbols that ordinary people cannot understand are depicted on the papers.And in the center of the desk, there is an old book with a brass cover, on which are some words similar to ancient Greek.And when you open the book, you can see that most of the contents are written in Latin, and there are many strange pictures.

This is a book that Nicholas bought by accident three years ago and changed his life: "The Book of Abraham the Jew".For three years, he studied the book exhaustively, but he was still unable to crack the key.He is like a thirsty traveler in the desert. A well with a cool spring appears in front of him, but there is no rope at hand to lower the bucket.

According to Nicholas' deduction, this rope came from some kind of mysterious text mixed in the pages of the book.They do not belong to any script known in Europe, and without any comparison, there is absolutely no possibility of deciphering.All Nicholas can do is to keep searching for various ancient documents, hoping to figure out what they are first.Unfortunately, he has so far found nothing.

And now, this long-sought puzzle seems to finally have an answer.Those incomprehensible characters may have come from the far east, from the mysterious plateau called Tibet!

Nicholas propped up the oil painting with a simple stand, and then turned to a page of "The Book of Abraham the Jew". On this page, a strange creature was painted: it was like a fleshy oval Bugs, covered in disgusting folds.For Nicolas, who had sneaked into a Paris cemetery to dissect a dead body, the bug was closer to something else.

That is the human brain.

Another thing worth noting about this illustration is the person standing next to the bug.If this person is a normal human being, it is speculated that this brain-shaped worm is bigger than a bull in proportion.And just above the head of this huge bug, there is a long string of ancient characters that do not belong to the European world.These words are exactly the same as those on the oil painting.

Nicholas clenched his fists, only feeling that the blood in his whole body was boiling.He moved his gaze to the oil painting, staring at this strange and unheard-of painting for a long time, and couldn't help thinking to himself: "What are you trying to explain? Is this really... a picture of hell?"

The dim candlelight dimmed the painting, adding to the eerie atmosphere.The scene depicted in the painting is a high platform, through which you can see the steep and steep snow peaks standing in the distance. Such mountains that seem to be able to pierce the sky will never appear in Europe.On the platform, countless black vultures and crows circled low, flying around a thing in the center of the platform.

It was a man, a man standing upright, with a prominent Asian-Mongolian face and a bald head, very much like the Buddhists in Tibet described by Odorick: lamas.But his body is... a skeleton, a skeleton with all the flesh and blood peeled off, and the internal organs are falling down the pelvis.Under his feet were pieces of flesh scattered all over the ground, and the white snow was completely stained red with blood.Some crows and vultures had already landed on the ground, greedily pecking at the fresh human flesh.The jagged pale skeleton and the intact head formed an extremely weird visual impact, and anyone who saw it at first sight would feel uncomfortable.

Although there are only thick bones left in the body, the lama's body movements are still very vividly drawn by Odoric.In his right hand he held a sharp machete, the knife was stained with blood, and in his left hand he held something—that was his own heart!He raised his bleeding heart high to the sky, and an ugly big crow swooped down, its body still in mid-air, its long beak had already pecked at the heart.

Judging from this action, the lama seems to have cut off his own flesh with a knife, and took out his internal organs to sacrifice to these birds!

This is very similar to the sky burial scene in Tibet described by Aldoric. However, the old monk never said that a person can perform a sky burial alive, and a person can carry out a sky burial for himself with a sharp knife.Even without talking about celestial burials, after losing almost all of his body and all his blood, especially his internal organs including the heart, it is really amazing that a person can still stand, control the movements of the crippled body, and possess consciousness. It runs counter to the physiological knowledge that humans are familiar with.

And the most trembling thing in the whole picture is the expression of this lama.The flesh on his body was cut clean, and even the intestines were being fought over by crows, but there was no trace of pain on his face.Instead, his face was filled with an unbelievable... happiness.Yes, happiness, almost divine happiness.

It was difficult for Nicholas to find a suitable word to describe such a sense of happiness.It is by no means a religious martyrdom, because even the saints who believe in God, at the moment of death, even if they are not afraid because of their pious beliefs, it is inevitable that some tragic feelings will appear on their faces .Humans are not gods after all, and it is impossible not to have any negative emotions when facing death.

But the lama in this oil painting really only has extreme happiness and extreme joy on his face.Amidst the splattered flesh and blood, surrounded by hungry ominous birds, and in the primitive and wild plateau air, a bright smile appeared on the lama's face, like a coquettish flower blooming on a bone body.He didn't seem to be facing death and pain, it was almost as if he was watching the gate of heaven slowly opening.

Heaven.This word made Nicholas suddenly think of something.In the description of Dr. Bernard's son, Odoric, in those unconscious moments, once said such words: "It is impossible for God to create a world ruled by demons." He could not help but have such terrible thoughts. : Could it be that this dying lama really saw the wonderful world ruled by the devil, so that he could burst out with the kind of joy that cannot be faked?

Nicholas stood blankly in front of this incredible painting for a long time, and his expression gradually eased.The devil is the devil, he said to himself, what I am after may have been the work of the devil.

Nicholas began long preparations.Several years later, he left Paris for a long journey.Regarding this journey, due to the evidence of some scattered letters, people believe that Nicholas just went to Spain for a pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santa Dia.But an undeniable fact is that when he returned to France, he seemed to be a different person.He left his own strong stroke in history and became an immortal legend.

There are a lot of people who think that Nikolai doesn't exist at all, a lot of people who think he's a complete liar, but equally, there are a lot of people who spend their lives believing in the obscure bits and pieces that he has passed down the world. Follow in his footsteps, follow the guidance of the Jewish Book of Abraham.However, no other person has achieved as great a feat as he has.

Likewise, no one else knows what happened in that gloomy copy shop in Paris in 1360, in the depression after the Black Death.No one else knows that horrible painting and how that painting changed the life of the only successful alchemist in human history——Nicolas Flamel.

(End of this chapter)