I loaded the Mysticism panel.

"Strange items plundered from various colonies."

"Over the years, the Imperial fleet has sailed to various places and brought back their belongings piece by piece."

Some ended up in museum storage, some fell into the hands of private collectors, and some... Have you all seen that newly erected obelisk on the riverbank in the capital?

The people at the table were nodding.

"That was taken down entirely from the entrance of a temple in the Black Soil River and transported here."

As soon as the war began, these things that had been forcibly removed from their homeland started to seep in, one by one.

"The seal is leaking at every turning point, and the leaks are increasing at each point."

Richard stopped talking.

This information was obtained by him based on his status as a scholar assisting in the investigation, and also from the museum's internal archives. It was clean and substantial.

Hecate, seated at the head of the table, also spoke.

"I have heard all the information you have provided, and I would like to add a few points."

"As I mentioned to you all last time, the game of the Old World is being emptied out one well after another."

Somewhere in the empire, there is a "well" that has been in operation for hundreds of years. Its former owner recently... passed away.

The table fell silent.

"As soon as the well was released, everyone rushed to grab it."

"During the scramble, a group of people like us were eaten up by another group..."

"Are there any other salons besides ours?" Hercules was the first to ask this question.

"Yes, last time we didn't tell everyone because not everyone was there yet."

Gatherings like ours are actually competitive, which is what I mean by the third stage.

Hecate explained in detail:

"The entire table that was eaten up, including the people and their names, was swallowed up by another table."

"Our gatherings are not just a race, but also a hunt for each other."

Her three-phase timbre overlapped, and listening to it for a long time sent chills down one's spine.

"If you're a step behind, someone will fall behind, and those who fall behind will become someone else's meat in their pot."

As everyone sat in their seats, a sense of crisis kept rising in their hearts.

Everyone realized that what they were having was not a peaceful, casual gathering.

This is a game of hunting each other, and they are all already in it.

"There's one more thing," Hecate continued.

"Recently, the 'slumber' rituals throughout the empire have been failing more and more frequently."

"Is it the kind of routine vulnerability maintenance and investigation activity?" Hercules asked.

"More or less... Send those behind the curtain to rest, and let restless spirits find peace."

For hundreds of years, this ritual has had its own set of rules and regulations.

Hecate sighed softly.

"But in recent years, the deceased have become increasingly unwilling to rest in peace."

The verdict was read, but they refused to accept it; their bodies were sealed, but they broke free; the various rituals for their final resting place became increasingly difficult to perform.

"If this set of fixed rituals collapses, the things that accumulate on the other side of the curtain will eventually spread to this side."

The people at the table all looked serious.

Hecate concluded:

"The candle tube that Dionysus spoke of made a different sound every time it was played."

The woman's voice might have come from behind the curtain, through the medium of the phonograph.

"Wax cylinders can record sound because they can preserve sound vibrations;"

If you can retain the vibration, you can retain other things;

Similarly, if an electrical wire can conduct electricity, then it can conduct other things as well.

Phonographs, electric lights, and telegraphs—these technological inventions are becoming new conductors.

She continued.

Why did the homecoming ritual collapse?

Decades ago, people died in the fields and in their beds; now, people die in factories and mines...

The manner of death has changed; the old verdict can no longer suppress what's oozing from the new method of death.

Hecate stopped talking.

"This is just my humble opinion; combining several pieces of information may not necessarily be accurate."

But if we can establish a foothold, then everything from sealing and slumbering to identification will have to be reconsidered based on this new system.

That concludes the information sharing.

Hecate raised her hand from her seat, and the torch and key solidified above her head once more.

That's all for tonight. You can explore the mask yourself after you take it back.

Think carefully about the costs before you use it.

The people at the table responded.

On the main seat, Hecate seemed to remember something.

"Oh, right." Her mother's voice was very gentle.

"As you may have noticed, Ares is no longer here."

Upon hearing this, the chair Hercules was sitting in suddenly seemed particularly glaring.

"His arm was badly injured, and he couldn't keep running around like this. I politely asked him to leave."

Hecate's voice was very soft: "We gave him enough money to make a prosthetic limb, and we parted amicably."

Tonight, not a single person mentioned Ares.

That man, with a broken arm, sitting dejectedly in a chair, was gone just like that.

The six people at the table were all preoccupied with their own things, and none of them asked where the original owner of the chair had gone.

Hecate raised her hand.

"Let's call it a day."

"The next gathering will be in mid-October."

Richard closed his eyes.

One, two, three... The outlines of the seven masks receded layer by layer in my mind.

Four, five... Ares's chair, which had been empty and then filled in again.

Six, seven... The sea of ​​stars has dispersed, and the temple is empty.

………………

On the other side, Lillian also opened her eyes in the wind and snow.

She was standing in a hall.

The hall was huge, so huge that you couldn't see the end of it.

But it's hard to say exactly how big it is; when you stare at that wall in the distance, the wall seems to recede into the distance.

As soon as I looked away, it moved closer again.

A fire was lit in the middle of the hall, and rows of braziers were arranged along the long table.

But the fire wasn't warm.

The fire was thriving and seemed more lively than anyone else, but it wasn't warm.

It can illuminate your face, but it can't warm your hands; it's just a beam of light designed to deceive the eyes.

On the long table were silver platters, crystal goblets, a whole roasted suckling pig roasted to a golden brown, piles of fruit, and desserts dripping with honey.

But if you actually go to get it... the plate is full of ash, the cup is empty, and the suckling pig will collapse into a puddle of cold oil the moment you touch it.

This is a place that Ms. Holloway mentioned.

She said there was more than one party on the mystical side.

Some people follow the rules, some believe in exchange, and some don't.

This family is the least likely to talk about these things.

In that ancient legend, this place was called the "Hall of False Oaths".

Fire is called "deceptive flame," a cup is called "empty promise," and a knife is called "betrayal of oath."

That fake banquet was called "false feast".

It's all fake; it's all a lie.

When Lillian first came in, she once peered into that impenetrable darkness.

There, heads hang suspended.

Some still had masks on, while others had broken masks, revealing their dried faces underneath.

At the far end of the hall was a tall chair, and a man was sitting on it.

He was thin, with loose, drooping shoulders, and his whole body sank into the chair.

The man wore a mask covered with fine stitches.

A snake was coiled above his head.

The snake was a dark green, its head drooping and drooling.

The saliva landed on his mask, but he didn't even flinch.

God's name projected—Loki.

God of deception, father of all evil.

He can transform into any form, male or female, human or animal, old or young.

Legend has it that he committed countless evil deeds and told countless lies, deceiving the gods, giants, and dwarves alike.

He set up this fake fire, empty cups, and frivolous meal.

Five people sat to the left of Loki.

A woman was sitting in the chair right next to the high chair.

The left half of the mask depicts the face of a young woman with exceptionally beautiful features;

The right half of his face was a rotten mess, with his cheekbones showing through the rot.

Above her was a half-open door; the other side was pitch black, while cold air flowed out from the other side.

The name of God is projected—Hela.

The Queen of the Dead, the Guardian of a Fallen Kingdom.

In mythology, Loki is her father.

But the "father and daughter" sat in this hall and didn't look at each other, almost like strangers.

Below Hela sat a blond man.

The mask shone brightly, drawing all the flames from the hall.

A small mistletoe stalk floated above his head, its green leaves bearing a few ginkgo seeds.

Projection of God’s Name—Badr.

The God of Light, the most beloved of all the gods.

It is impervious to fire, iron, water, and poison.

Invulnerable to swords and spears, impervious to water and fire, the only one among the gods whom no one can touch.

Every time Lillian came in, Bader would look at her with the same eyes he would give a kitten or puppy.

Neither malicious nor benevolent.

Across from Badr stood a terrifyingly tall man, whose mask was shaped like a half-open wolf's mouth.

He sat there with several invisible chains wrapped around his neck and wrists.

Projection of God's Name - Fenrir.

It was destined to break free of its chains on the day of the apocalypse and swallow the God-King whole.

The man next to Fenrir was a one-armed man.

The mask was iron-gray, square and plain.

He sat ramrod straight, like an old soldier who had guarded the barracks his whole life.

Above his head was a sword and a bitten-off hand.

Projection of God's Name - Tyr.

The God of War is also the God of Justice, who holds the oath.

When the gods wanted to bind Fenrir, the giant wolf refused, so Tyr put his right hand into its mouth as a guarantee.

The chain was fastened, the scam was complete, and Fenrir bit off his hand.

The last one was a woman.

Her mask was dark gold, and her eyebrows and eyes were drawn with extreme allure.

A shallow dish was placed in front of him, containing a dark red, viscous substance.

She dipped a finger in the liquid and slowly put it in her mouth.

A cloak woven from feathers floated above his head, along with a string of crimson gold necklaces.

Projection of God's Name - Freya.

The goddess who controls love, war, and witchcraft is also not to be trifled with.

All six chairs were occupied.

Lillian stood on the edge of the hall with her fellow candidates.

She has been standing here since the first day she was brought in, covered by a curtain.

Ms. Holloway had told her the rules for the table.

The seventh chair on this table is fake.

The seventh number is empty, the place where the candidates stand.

And for these candidates to turn their nominal positions into actual ones, there is only one way.

kill!