I loaded the Mysticism panel.

Richard quickly completed his grandfather's instructions, explained the situation, handed everything over to Mr. Hutton, and went straight home.

In his office, Mr. Hutton began making phone calls.

That was for someone who lived on Huayue Street in the capital, but didn't hang any signs.

Gerrard's call should have been answered by the same name.

The old man looked up and glanced out the window.

It was completely dark by then.

"I'm so sorry to trouble you," he said softly to the person on the other end of the phone in his empty office.

………………

In an inconspicuous house on Huayue Street in the capital.

The phone rang.

The calls from Ashford House in the capital and Greenwood School were answered by automatons one after the other.

After the puppet finished its report, the people in the room did three things.

The first thing he did was send an urgent telegram to his prized student who was handling business in a city in the northern part of the empire.

The second thing he did was pull a map from the bookshelf and make a mark on it with his fingernail.

Thirdly, she picked the withered flower from the vase and put it in the fireplace.

………………

When Richard regained consciousness, he was captivated by the view above him.

Above us was a floating sea of ​​stars.

He was so close that he could see the outline of each star and the starlight overflowing from the sphere.

Richard quickly realized that this could not possibly be the real starry sky.

There are only two things that can make you "see" stars: a telescope, or an illusion.

He didn't have a telescope, so it was a hallucination.

The other party forced him to fall asleep and then pulled him out of sleep, projecting him into a pre-built space.

Everything he "saw" in this space was what the creator of the technique wanted him to see.

Just as I was thinking this, the environment beneath my feet began to shift.

He himself did not move; it was the stars that moved.

The stars are receding at an increasingly rapid pace.

Blue and white, dark red, and non-luminous colors were all pushed into the distance by an invisible force, stretching into a blurry band of light at the edge of vision.

Marble continuously solidified, and the foundation was formed.

The twelve stone pillars were simultaneously pulled up from the flat edge.

Behind the pillars are beams and reliefs.

The reliefs depict people fighting with beasts, priests praying before a fire altar, fleets sailing on the waves, and scholars pondering before a scroll.

Every detail, from the folds of clothing on figures to the manes of animals and the flickering tongues of flames, is vividly depicted.

Richard mentally calmed himself down.

Calm down, this is high-end VR.

The picture quality is better, the immersive experience is stronger, and the technology has been changed to Ethereum, but the essence is the same.

The other party wants to use visual impact to suppress the psychological defenses of newcomers; this is the oldest means of demonstrating power.

Why did the church build its dome to be fifteen meters high?

Why does the royal palace have two rows of stone lions at its main gate?

The reason is the same.

It makes you feel insignificant the moment you step across the threshold, and you will unconsciously become compliant.

As my thoughts raced, in the very center of the main hall, an ochre-red round table and seven high-backed stone chairs rose up simultaneously.

The stone chairs are all different in shape.

Some chair backs are carved with laurel branches, some with olive branches, some with flames, and some with snakes.

Each chair faces the center of the round table, forming an asymmetrical ring.

One of the chairs was half a head taller than the other six.

The entire temple, from the solidification of the first stone to the formation of the last chair, took no more than twenty seconds.

If this were a real construction project, the quarrying and transportation of these stones would require hundreds of workers working for several years.

Richard reminded himself again that this was an illusion, a technique, VR.

No matter how stunning the visuals are, it's essentially just someone putting a video in your head.

I am not alone standing here.

About three steps to his right, there was another person standing.

They stood between two pillars at the edge of the temple, without taking a seat.

The person was covered by a thin veil of light, obscuring their face and figure.

Richard looked down at himself, his body also covered by a layer of light.

He didn't rush to speak or walk towards the round table; the best course of action for him now was to stand still and observe silently.

The next moment, a person appeared in the main seat.

One second it was empty, the next second she was there.

The person in the main seat sat on the highest stone chair, wearing a golden mask.

The upper half of the mask depicts the silhouette of a young girl with delicate eyebrows and eyes;

The lower half of the mask, however, revealed the outline of an old woman, covered in wrinkles.

The face is divided in two by a horizontal line, the top half representing youth and the bottom half representing aging.

Two items slowly materialized above her head.

Those are a torch and a key.

At that moment, Richard understood why the other party had called the gathering "Theological Salon".

The torch and key symbolize its ability to illuminate darkness and its power to open any door.

The divine name of the person in the main seat was automatically projected—Hecate.

The Triad Goddess, the Watcher of the Crossroads, the Protector of Magic and Sorcery.

An ancient entity that governs the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and the Underworld.

He initially thought the so-called Theological Salon might be an organization that studied mythology, but he never expected that they would actually dare to call themselves by the name of a god.

In the Greek mythological lineage, Hecate holds an extremely special position.

She was not one of the twelve Olympian gods, but Zeus himself treated her with great respect, allowing her to retain all the authority she had possessed since the Titan era.

Hecate was also one of the few who were not weakened during the transition between the old and new theocrats.

The person who dared to choose Hecate as his codename was at least extremely arrogant.

After Hecate appeared, the atmosphere in the temple froze for about three seconds.

Then, a second person emerged from the void to the right of the main seat.

He was a large, muscular man with broad shoulders and a thick back, and he wore a red copper mask on his face.

The man walked to the round table, and two more things appeared above his head.

A long spear dripping with blood, its tip constantly shifting direction, always searching for the next enemy.

A round shield, with Medusa's head carved on the raised navel in the center, her snake hair tangled and her eyes wide open.

The name of God is projected—Ares.

The embodiment of slaughter and violence, and the most unpopular of the Olympian gods.

It represents the bloodshed, cruelty, and unadulterated violence of war itself.

Ares sat down, legs apart, hands resting on the armrests.

A third person also entered from the west side of the temple.

He was rather thin, with narrow and loose shoulders, and wore a dark purple mask.

The mask's surface is covered with countless tiny ivy reliefs.

Ivy symbolizes the unstoppable vitality of life.

He walked to his chair, crossed his right leg over his left, and leaned back in the chair.

His posture was so lazy it was almost rude.

A double-eared cantaloupe appeared above the man's head, with a bunch of tempting grapes hanging beside it.

Projection of God’s Name – Dionysus.

Dionysus, the god of revelry and drama.

Its followers find liberation in the revelry, but also lose their reason in the revelry.

Freedom and loss of control have always been two sides of the same coin.

A fourth person also emerged from the flames.

His mask was made of red gold, and his physique was somewhere between the robust build of Ares and the slender build of Dionysus.

The man bowed slightly, gave a slight nod towards the head of the table, and sat down.

The moment he sat down, there was only a ball of fire above his head.

There was no other object beside the flame, but the fire itself was enough.

Because fire is the starting point of civilization.

The divine name is projected onto Prometheus.

The prophet, the fire thief, the Titan who stole fire from the heavens for humankind.

"Prophet" is the original meaning of the name Prometheus.

Many people understand it as the role of "friend of mankind".

In reality, He did not steal fire out of love for humanity; the Titans do not possess the emotion of "love."

He stole fire because he foresaw the potential of humankind.

The price was being chained to the Caucasus Mountains, where eagles would peck at his liver every day, only for it to regenerate each night and be pecked at again the next day.

The four Greek god names appeared just like that, and Richard felt instinctively uncomfortable being placed on their heads like that.

From Eton to Greenwood, from Imperial College to grammar schools, every student who attended a lecture could name Zeus, Athena, Apollo, and some related stories.

But mythology is one thing, and calling oneself by the name of a god is another.

In the mainstream culture of the empire, this was blasphemy, a great transgression!

Even the most unorthodox and unconventional spiritual mediums would at most dare to "invite" a certain deity to possess them, but would never dare to call themselves that deity.

There is a chasm between "please" and "self-reference".

The former is a servant calling out to his master, while the latter is a servant sitting in his master's chair.

Richard was simultaneously considering several interpretations in his mind.

The most obvious thing is that these people are really a bit arrogant and ignorant.

They might think that addressing each other by the names of Greek gods is cool, classy, ​​and a way to show that they are different from others.

If that's the case, then this organization doesn't carry much weight.

However, the members' mentality is extremely dangerous. A group of people who are so inflated with self-importance that they dare to consider themselves gods will sooner or later do things beyond their capabilities.

Another possibility is that these people have the confidence to call themselves that.

To disregard mainstream ethics within the empire and escape accountability requires strength.

Moreover, their strength is so great that the official system turns a blind eye to it.

If that's the case, then the power behind this organization is far beyond his comprehension.

Another possibility, most in line with mysticism, is that the name of the deity might be the anchor point of the ritual.

The Greek gods are a widely recognized and powerful conceptual image.

For thousands of years, countless people have mentioned these names on countless occasions, and each mention has left a mark on the etheric plane.

The imprints accumulated over thousands of years have formed a kind of "conceptual sedimentation".

Using a god's name as a code name may serve a purpose of "borrowing power" or "disguise".

You are using a container that has been shaped by thousands of years of understanding to enclose yourself inside it.

It's like someone putting on an outer garment woven from the gazes of countless people.

The coat was so thick that no one could see who was inside.

If this is the case, then this organization may possess extremely advanced occult techniques.

Richard didn't rush to conclusions.