Priest Augustus placed the black suitcase on the coffee table. After opening it, he found a crown of thorns made of silver-white metal placed in the depression of the cushioned lining.
It is called a crown, but in fact it is just a circle of metal thorns wrapped around a ring. Its workmanship is quite exquisite, but the silver metal is covered with reddish-brown rust, which looks like blood. This makes this "thorn ring" look like it was dug out last week instead of being made this week.
But Shade did not underestimate this item. The rich miracle element showed the essence of alchemical items. It was actually a powerful divine item. The only divine item more powerful than this one he had come into contact with was the sun emblem left by Sister Saint Perry in the Randall River Valley. This emblem now belonged to Yin Luna.
"This item is what I call the Angel's Crown of Thorns. It is very simple to use."
The old priest picked up the ring and placed it on his head. The ring did not fall, but floated above his head, and the silver metal emitted a holy white light.
Behind Priest Augustus, the shadow of a huge burnt wing flashed by, startling both Shad and little Mia who was squatting on the windowsill.
"The function is also very simple - sanctification. In other words, it allows one to temporarily possess the virtual identity of an 'angel'. Oh, don't look at me in shock. This is not a mortal creating an angel. It is fake, unreal, and virtual."
The priest emphasized, then pointed to the ring and asked Shade to look at the details carefully:
"Look, I only used it for less than two seconds and already cracks appeared. The effective time of this thing is related to the intensity of your use. If you use it directly against the Thirteen Rings with high intensity, it will be scrapped in less than five seconds."
He put the ring back into the box, and curious Mia immediately jumped down from the windowsill and trotted onto the coffee table to check it out.
Seeing that the cat had no intention of stretching its claws to touch the thorns, Shade did not stop it:
"Priest, what exactly does this allow me to do? To be honest, I don't really know much about angels."
He smiled embarrassedly, and the priest said patiently:
"The Angel of Death is called the 'First Angel' and the 'Original Angel', so I can create this thing. The specific power you can possess is related to your core spirit rune. As for the strength, it is impossible to reach the thirteenth ring, I can be sure of that. The improvement brought by this thing can only make you surpass one or two levels at most. But what is important is not the power, but the 'identity'. The temporary angelization means that you temporarily transcend the limitations of mortals and can do things that mortals cannot do."
"for example?"
Xia De asked curiously, divine burning is essentially also a kind of transcendence from mortals, but it is more thorough and powerful.
"For example, making better use of your own spirit and elements, casting spells with almost no consumption, complete immortality, strong mental resistance, and influencing the world and nature without cost. Generally speaking, if you rely on this power to escape, no one can stop you."
The priest said that the specific situation still needed to be explored by Shade.
"Then I'll take it. You're really amazing. You can make something like this."
Shade praised, but didn't put it on to try it out right away.
Father Augustus shook his head modestly:
"This is the only one you can make in the short term, unless you can find more debris I need. In addition, in that box of potions, there is the 'Weak Angel Potion' that I gave you to deal with the Human Pus, and the 'Golden Potion' that you will use when dealing with the Mirror Demon in the Randall Valley. Remember to always keep them with you to prevent any accidents."
When these potions were first made, Father Augustus said that he couldn't make more in a short time. But as Shade sent key items again and again, his potion and alchemy skills were indeed improving.
"You've been a great help. Although the enemy this time isn't a demon... at least not yet, it's very useful. Oh, and I want to order something else from you."
As he spoke, he picked up a pen and paper and started writing his shopping list. Priest Augustus told Shade about the new things he could make and asked Shade to choose. Because of the sage-level shield badge, he would only charge Shade for the materials in the future. Even if Shade insisted on paying more for the labor, the priest would refuse it.
While Shade and the priest were discussing the list of goods, the orange cat was sniffing the thorn ring with his nose raised. It was quite interested in it and even wanted to touch it, but when it turned around and saw that Shade was not paying attention, it knew that Shade would not allow it. So, the sensible cat jumped to Shade and lay down. This was the happiest moment.
The priest had nothing else to do on this leisurely Tuesday morning, so after collecting Shad's list of goods, he asked Shad what he was going to do next.
Xia De did not hide it:
"I'm going to take a trip to a real death."
"oh?"
Father Augustus was a little surprised:
"What are you going there for? And how are you going to get there?"
"There is a door on the third floor. If I sacrifice a heart of a living dead person, I can open a temporary two-way door. I want to find a deceased soul and ask her to answer some of my questions."
The source of the heart of the living dead is Stone Oxenfurt. When the souls of the Watson family dragged him into death, they took out his heart and threw it on the snow. And that heart is now in the basement of the Shade:
"This matter really doesn't have much significance, but..."
He pursed his lips and pressed his left chest:
"Pastor, do you remember my group assignment last Thursday?"
"How could you not remember?"
"After looking into the eyes of the remains, I have always felt something subtly wrong with my mental state. After touching a relic yesterday, I understood more aspects of my personality. But there are still some things I can't figure out, so I wanted to ask someone who has had a similar experience."
Father Augustus nodded in understanding:
"I understand what you said. I'll go with you. It's nothing to do anyway."
The door in the Soul Cemetery opened by sacrificing the "Heart of the Living Dead" did not say that only Shad could enter by himself, so not only could he let Priest Augustus accompany him, he could even bring Mia, who was following Shad as the two of them walked to the third floor.
Of course, although companions are allowed, only Shad can call upon the souls he wants to see from the dead behind the door during the use of this door - only souls from the Sixth Age.
Priest Augustus did not comment on the iron gate that suddenly appeared on the third floor of Shad's house. After entering the Soul Cemetery with him, he looked at the heart he held in his hand. Then, in the cemetery shrouded in white mist, a stone door appeared that was very similar to the Door of Death under Midhill Castle.
The stone door was pushed open by Shade with great effort, and the cold moonlight of the dark moon sprinkled through the crack of the door. When the left and right doors opened wide enough, Shade did not push them open completely, but hugged Mia tightly and walked in sideways with the priest.
The shoes could not make any sound when stepping on the shallows. Looking up was the boundless darkness. The cold feeling of death did not invade their souls. However, looking at the countless pure white souls flashing in the dark waters in the distance and heading towards the half-sunken moon at the end, looking at this lonely scene, a few sighs still arose in my heart.
The priest stood at the door waiting for Shade, while Shade walked a few steps toward the shallow shore where the water was rippling slightly, and then called softly:
"Ms. Hela Osenfurt."
Time and space were frozen, leading to the end of the land, and even sound could not travel far. He was not sure whether he needed to speak, nor was he sure whether the lady was willing to respond to him, so after calling out, he waited quietly, and wondered in his heart what expression the detective would have if he called Detective Sparrow out at this time.
Mia lay in Shade's arms and looked around curiously. Soon, her beautiful amber eyes widened and she looked at the dark moon in the distance. The silver moonlight sprinkled on the person and the cat, and the cat's eyes were dyed silver-white.
Unfortunately, at this time, Shade's attention was already on the soul of the woman walking with her back to the countless wandering souls. Wearing a conservative black dress and a black veil on her face, Hela Osenfurt walked from the direction of the Dark Moon.
She came to the shore from the water, and like Shad, she stood on the shallow beach of white gravel, which represented the true "boundary between life and death". If Shad wanted, he could even bring the departed soul back to the material world, which was also the effect of the sacrifice, but obviously he would not do so.
"Good day, Mr. Hamilton."
The veiled woman bowed slightly to Shade. Shade didn't quite remember whether he had said his name, but it wasn't a very important thing:
"I'm sorry to bother you in a place like this. This time I have something I want to talk about. It won't take too long."
He said embarrassedly, his black eyes looking at Shade from behind the veil. The woman shook her head slightly:
"It's okay. I'm glad to be able to help you."
"It's like this. I've been having some problems lately. My emotions, um, heart, um... It's not that my heart has turned to stone. To be specific, when I met you, you were so cold and emotionless. I found that I am also a somewhat cold person."
He spoke hesitantly because he was not sure what he wanted to know. He just wanted to talk about his own affairs with a soul that could empathize with him:
"I have recovered from complete indifference, but that experience made me a little worried. When I understand my character and myself better, do I really love everything around me and really love them? Yes, I love them, I am sure of that, but do I... Sorry, I don't know how to express it."