Shepherd’s Secret Continuation

Chapter 63: Give it a probation period

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—The Lovers, The Hanged Man, The Sun.

This card has nothing to do with positive or negative, it just hints at the nature of power.

All three answers have been given by the invisible apostle.

Perhaps there are other possibilities for the Flame of the Rebellious Butterfly. But the positive and reversed positions and the order of playing the cards are all the divination results made for the person being divined, "Yulia".

After Aiwass got his answer, the prayer service came to an end.

The candle in front of him suddenly began to jump restlessly, and the flame became thin and pale, as if urging something.

Aiwass knew that this was urging him to quickly destroy the items used in the ceremony.

This is the normal procedure of the prayer ceremony. Otherwise, it might anger the descending apostle.

Because these blood-stained tarot cards have been imbued with the apostle's power. Just like a signature or a seal, they can be regarded as the other party's identity mark.

If they fall into the hands of others, they can be used as ritual materials to call other apostles or even the Ennead Gods - they will think that this person was introduced by this apostle, so it is easier to respond to the ritual. Only with the consent of the apostles can some sanctified materials be left.

If you are not allowed to do so, attempting to leave materials with another person's scent in the ritual may lead to unnecessary attacks.

Then Aiwas respectfully handed the blood-soaked Tarot cards to the candlelight with both hands, indicating that he was really here to ask questions.

They all burned when they met fire and turned into ashes in an instant, just like the fleeting flames shaken out by a magician, or the fire that ignited and went out in an instant across an iron pot.

At the moment when these tarot cards burned out, the holes in Aiwas's hands and the wound on his thumbs were healed silently. The magic power that was blocked in his arms was also cleared away.

The long candle flame licked the back of Aiwas's hand, but it did not burn him. Instead, it made him feel warm.

Aiwass carefully washed all the blood off his hands in the fire, then used his left hand to tap his chest, mouth, and forehead in turn.

"Thank you for your revelation, Apostle of the Candlestick."

The young man with platinum hair said solemnly to the candlelight in front of him in the dark room: "I will be like a candlelight, shining forever."

As if to encourage, the stretched candle flame jumped quickly three times.

Then, the fire returned to its original color and shape.

The feeling that he was being watched also dissipated.

Aiwass carefully extinguished the candle, making sure the ceremony was completely over and leaving the apostles to prevent them from making a sudden comeback.

When the candlelight was completely extinguished, Aiwass finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He relaxed and leaned back in his wheelchair.

Although this is a regular ability of the priest, other priests can also pray to the Nine Pillars - generally speaking, the most positive response is the apostle of the dedication path, and no sacrifice or cost is required. Because the act of helping believers for free is also a kind of "dedication".

But having said that, this was after all the first time that Aiwass personally used the prayer ceremony. He was still a little nervous.

“…I forgot to ask His name.”

Suddenly, Aiwass slapped his forehead in annoyance.

Although he didn't know who the apostle who responded to him was, he was quite friendly. He even healed him before leaving, saving Aiwas from having to use the Fire Sacrifice again.

If he knew the other person's name, next time Aiwass could pray to him specifically.

Although it is not very friendly to grab a sheep and pull it apart... but as long as the other party agrees, it is a matter of mutual consent.

After a brief pause, Aiwass took out the more expensive hardcover tarot deck that he actually used from the table.

In this deck, one "Moon" card was already used when Aiwass made "Shadow Blade".

Aiwass felt that using the same deck of cards to make phantom cards might slightly increase the success rate.

Aiwass relied on the revelation given by the apostle to pick out the three tarot cards suitable for the Flame of the Rebellious Butterfly, and placed them on the table in an inverted triangle in the order of positive and reverse positions when he drew them.

Although he was asking about the nature of power before, it can actually be regarded as a tarot divination for Yulia.

Moreover, it is Tarot divination that involves higher-dimensional forces.

The apostles of the dream world can see the past and the future - time is not irreversible for them. It's just that due to the constraints of the dream world, the apostles cannot tell mortals the exact future. Just like even if you summon the eternal self with the holy number "1", the answer given by his apostles cannot be only one.

But even vague hints of it have value.

"… Fortunately, I read a lot of random books when I was crazy about occult knowledge."

Aiwass breathed a sigh of relief.

The three cards drawn based on the power of the candlestick form the "Holy Triangle" expansion.

The three tarot cards in the Holy Triangle represent the past, present and future respectively. It is not a "trend" but a "cause and effect cycle" - the cause of the "past" brings the result of the "present", the cause of the "present" brings the result of the "future"... The "future" also implies why the "past" developed in this way.

Although his skills in interpreting Tarot cards were not very good, he could still interpret this simple layout.

How could such a simple divination be interpreted wrongly

The first card symbolizes the reversed "Lovers" of the past.

The reversed Lovers card, in the past tense, can indicate "quarrels", "childish emotions", "fading friendship", "desires to grow but want to escape danger forever", etc. The key point of interpretation is that the relationship fades due to the failure to pass the test brought by the relationship and the wrong choice made when "making a choice".

Aiwass stroked his chin and fell into thought.

The relationship between me and Yulia has always been good, right

Then it shouldn't be a question of feelings or friendship...

He shook his head and skipped this card, looking at the second one first.

It symbolizes the present upright position of “The Hanged Man”.

This is a very positive card. It indicates "self-sacrifice", "dedication to love", "rebirth from the ashes". And the "upright position" indicates that this sacrifice is worthwhile.

"… etc?"

Aiwass was stunned for a moment.

In fact, in the game, Yulia sacrificed herself to protect Aiwass and turned into a phantom demon! At that time, her life form did "leap up", from a mortal to an immortal phantom demon. And she did indeed experience this "rebirth" in the flames.

If "reality" refers to this, then the "future" pointed out in connection with this issue...

"The Sun in reverse..."

Aiwass murmured.

The Sun is a card that symbolizes energy and vitality. The reversed Sun indicates the decline of vitality and the fear of "lack". For example, physical weakness, depression, or divorce caused by emotional fluctuations.

This probably means that in the original timeline, the flame of the Flame Butterfly would be sealed into Aiwass's necklace. Although he did not die, he fell into a state of distress and weakness.

And if the present and the future both refer to the matter concerning the Phantom Demon, the Flame-Butterfly, then what does the past refer to

“… Could it be the cause of the phantom demon riot?”

Thinking of this, Aiwas's expression became a little subtle.

Does Yulia really care about her contact with other people

… That makes sense.

The most important person to Julia is Aiwas himself - unlike Edward, who has been with his adoptive father for a longer time and therefore naturally cares more about his opinion, she has always been closer to Aiwas. If Aiwas disagrees with James, Aiwas can be sure that she will lean towards herself.

But even so, I can't always stay at home with you, baby.

— Aiwass felt as if he knew something, but it was of little use. It was indeed an interpretation of the "past". People really could not change the "past".

But when he thought of this, Aiwass already knew which card he should choose as his background.

First, let’s rule out the Lovers card. The key imagery of this card is “love” and the various choices that come with being in love. This is not important to the Flame-Butterfly… From the form of a “butterfly emerging from its cocoon”, we know that its essence is obviously not related to love. This should simply hint at why it lost control, or what the emotions and reasons were that caused it to lose control.

The Hanged Man is a card that symbolizes self-sacrifice, and it is a card that represents the candlestick, so it also has the imagery of light and fire.

Using her own body to raise the Flame of Perverse Butterfly, and turning it into a cocoon to hatch it. This is closer to "Yulia" in concept, rather than the Flame of Perverse Butterfly in her body. If Aiwass wanted to use some ritual to influence her, then this answer is correct - it can accurately guide the power to Yulia, and the main position is always her, not the phantom demon in her body.

However, what Aiwass really wants to do is to seal the phantom demon in her body.

The sun represents knowledge, vitality and energy. In the Sun card, a naked child sits on a white horse, bathing in the brilliant golden sunlight, holding high the flag symbolizing victory and praising the vitality that the sun brings to the land. In the relationship between Yulia and the phantom, the "sun" that provides vitality is actually Yulia... In other words, the child as the main body of this card is the "Butterfly of Rebellious Flame" that is about to be hatched!

Without a doubt, this is the most suitable trump card!

It can fill the Flame of the Rebellious Butterfly with enough energy to allow it to manifest in the form of light and heat. This concept is related to the Way of Devotion and is governed by the Candle Master.

Therefore, Aiwass can use the "Hanged Man" representing the candlestick as a symbolic card to seal and suppress it!

Because the representative card is the Hanged Man, the big beast that was created has the affinity of "Path of Devotion" - when Aiwass uses this card to summon the Butterfly of Paradox Flame, even if others come to detect it, they can only detect the power of the Path of Devotion!

Its energy attribute is fire, and the power of the path comes from dedication - if it looks like a priest skill, feels like a priest skill, and no matter how it is tested, it looks like a priest skill.

There is no doubt that it is a priest skill.

Moreover, the front and back cards of the blank cards were both "recommended cards" pointed out by the apostle. The effect is self-evident.

"Fortunately I left this behind..."

As Aiwas thought about it, he took out the True Flame Essence extracted from Yulia's body from his pocket.

He did it subconsciously at the time just to keep a souvenir, but it actually came in handy now.

In addition to fire essence, common materials that can carry fire magic power include ruby, charcoal, cinnabar, sulfur, and saltpeter.

Aiwass cut open his left thumb again, and invested one point of fire mana for every three drops of blood he squeezed out of his fingertips, for a total of four points of mana.

He used the white crystal stick to carefully mix the blood and the flame essence. At this moment, it began to emit white steam, and the moisture in the blood was being quickly dried.

Aiwass lay on the table, concentrating on brushing it onto the tarot cards with a toothbrush before it dried, making sure it was evenly applied.

Then, he ground and mixed cinnabar and ruby in a ratio of six to one, and sprinkled them evenly on the Tarot cards to nourish them.

The production of the "Moon Card" is different. The environment for storing this card must be warm enough, but it cannot be exposed to open flames.

Aiwass stroked his chin and had an idea.

He put the card into a red cloth bag, filled it with a lot of charcoal powder and flattened it. He made it into a pendant.

Aiwass hung it on himself and prepared to go to bed.

When he woke up tomorrow, he could give it to Yulia... so that she could wear it close to her body.

The temperature from her heart can be used to warm this card - if the phantom wakes up, the overflowing fire mana will also be absorbed by the large amount of mystical materials filled in it.

Moreover, it can also allow the phantom demon to adapt to the environment after being sealed in advance.

—Arrange an internship period for Little Butterfly.

Even if it was not satisfied, Aiwass would not let it run away.