Chapter 985: The Seventy-Two Pillars of Solomon

Sara stood before a full-length mirror, swallowing her nervousness with a gulp.

Perched on her slender shoulders was a massive raven, eagle-like in form, clutching an orange beryl in its talons.

Gazing at her reflection, she cleared her throat and recited: “O Mirror Lord, open for us the gate to the Spirit Realm!”

“May the Lamp Father guide our path!”

Just before she finished the final incantation, the raven on her shoulder suddenly spoke: “Wrong!”

Sara jumped, nearly dropping the beryl; she snapped at the raven: “Why did you suddenly speak, Lamor?”

“Your ritual is flawed,” the raven Lamor said calmly. “Listen to me, Sara…”

Sara frowned: “This is the Holy Trinity Ritual—‘Spirit Walking’—the foundation of all mystery, the original rite used by the Holy Church, the Mystic Society of Miskatonic University, even the All-Knowing Sect to open the gate to the Spirit Realm!”

“Lamor, I know you’re learned—I’ve learned much from you—but your knowledge is ancient!”

“It holds too many secrets. My spiritual core cannot bear it.”

“And it’s useless anyway!”

Sara snapped: “Stop telling me those stories of the Sin Sect! The Holy Son, the Immaculate Conception, the Fruit of Good and Evil, the Seven Original Sins, the Blood-Cup Mother—I’m just an arcane apprentice. What I need is Spirit Walking, to gather knowledge of herbal magic and formless arts!”

“Because of your contamination, I can’t use the Pure Flowers of the Horticultural Society, and the Mystic Society has shut its doors on me.”

“Professor Gabe is the only one willing to help me!”

“He’s willing to refer me to the All-Knowing Sect, which holds all hidden truths—that’s the path of the Orange Lamp Mage! Since the Seven Lamps Book appeared, all arcane knowledge has become obsolete! The ancient teachings you taught me—Druids, wizards, witches, and those monstrous dark beings—they’re all finished now!”

“What has the Blood-Cup Sect come to?”

“They’re being slaughtered like dogs by the Green Lamp Knights!”

“Once they hunted humans—but now the hunters of the Red Lamp of Vengeance are hunting them. The Seven Lamps Path from the Lamp Father is too powerful! Everyone says that since the paths of the True Gods have appeared, all accumulated arcane knowledge of humanity has become outdated!”

The raven Lamor fell silent. After a long pause, once Sara had vented all her frustrations, it spoke softly: “Do you know why Gabe values you, Sara? You are not ordinary.”

“The Seven Lamps Book has indeed changed everything—it is the only path confirmed in the last millennium to open the Gate of Ascension.”

“But Sara, you are the ancestor of all mages, one of the founders of the Sin Sect—the descendant of Solomon!”

“Your lineage surpasses every secret organization.”

“The Seven Lamps Book is not, as the Holy Church claims, a lost path of virtue from the Church’s Dark Age a thousand years ago—it was created by the Sin Sect.”

“Solomon traded with us: he used the tiniest, most insignificant fragments of our knowledge on formless arts to forge magic.”

“And what he took from us—the knowledge of the Spirit Realm and the Three Sovereigns—became the foundation of the Sin Sect.”

“We gave humanity rituals, incantations, and knowledge of the Spirit Realm. Solomon took from us the knowledge of Original Sin, discovering the primordial sin within human flesh. Magic, the Blood-Cup, all hidden knowledge—all originate from us.”

“But the most precious, most secret knowledge—the very contract with us—exists only in your bloodline!”

“We are the embodiment of magic!”

“We are the kings of Original Sin and Spirit!”

“We are the rulers of the Abyss’s depths!”

“We are—the Demon Gods!”

“Get real!” Sara scoffed: “You were cast down from your thrones by the Holy Church, branded as demons, exiled dogs. You’re fallen angels who tumbled from the Spirit Realm into the Abyss. You were tricked by wizards and exploited by my ancestors—gullible giants. You once ruled the mortal world before humanity, but the Three True Creators despised you—you’re broken-down relics!”

“You’re… devils!”

The raven Lamor fell silent…

Sara lay at the center of the ritual circle, flicked her fingers lightly—the mirror flipped above her head, reflecting her prone form on the ground.

“Lamor, admit it!”

“Even if you once stood atop the dark creatures, even if a year ago you still ruled the mortal world with power—since the Seven Lamps Book and the Color Path appeared, you’re finished!”

“Vassago… the third-ranked Demon Lord, who knows past and future, all hidden and lost knowledge and truths—what a mighty demon king.”

“Three months ago, he tried to seize the Green Lamp Book in Old London, was beaten senseless by three Round Table Knights, and was even enslaved by the King of Camelot, who used the Green Lamp’s light to force him into a vow granting her three wishes—his dignity shattered!”

“Baal! Your leader—sent followers into the Holy Church to uncover the secrets of the Seven Lamps Book. When he descended himself, the Pope wielding the Yellow Lamp Book banished him from the mortal world.”

“And the Orange Lamp Mages?”

“They directly used hidden knowledge and Orange Lamp light to forge Lamp Spirits, completely replacing you—and even stole the full knowledge of several Demon Lords. Now the Orange Lamp’s Lamp Spirit, Laplace Beast, possesses knowledge and wisdom surpassing all Demon Lords—even gaining the acknowledgment of Astaroth and Vassago!”

“It holds wisdom surpassing all of us in the mortal world! Astaroth and Vassago only say that to manipulate the mages’ arrogance.”

Lamor emphasized: “Only in the mortal world!”

“Compared to the entire known universe, the mortal world is but a tiny fraction. The Spirit Realm and the Abyss each have volumes a hundred million times greater. As for knowledge of the Spirit Realm, only the Savior and His angels slightly surpass us—but as for knowledge of the Abyss…”

Lamor had intended to say no one understands it better than us, but remembering this Eastern world so utterly different from theirs, he could only say: “They are far behind us!”

“What about the Lord of Orange Light?”

Sara easily found its weak point, smiling as she carved open the demon’s heart: “You were once the most beautiful beings at the highest reaches of the Spirit Realm, standing just one step from the Lamp Father’s light. You were angels born of the Lamp Father’s light, corrupted by the temptation of alien knowledge, and cast down into the Abyss by the Savior.”

“But as you say, the Spirit Realm has four layers—the True Spirit Realm, highest of all, where the Lamp Father’s light reigns—and you are the lords of the Dream Spirit Realm.”

“Yet the Color Path originates from the Lamp Father, something you cannot deny. If the Orange Lamp’s All-Knowing Sect is right—that the Mirror Ascension Ritual has been reforged into the Seven Lamps Lord, the Gate of Ascension opened, the Color Path revealed, and the Seven Lamps Lord raises the Mirror of Creation to ascend to the True Spirit Realm and become a True God—then where will your proud ancient secrets and wisdom stand then?”

Lamor fell silent, only saying calmly: “The Color Path and the Gate of Ascension will not unfold as you predict.”

Watching the dejected great raven, Sara sighed and rose: “Teach me your ritual.”

The great raven lifted its head abruptly, staring at Sara in surprise.

The girl shrugged, like a woman from the New World with no manners: “You’re right—I’m a Solomon. We made a contract, didn’t we?”

Lamor perked up, eyes wide as beans: “Now, place the mirror above your head…”

“Let your blood drip into the silver chalice, place it upon your chest. Extinguish the silver lamp, let darkness envelop you.”

“Follow me in recitation…”

“O Mirror Lord, open for us the gate to the Abyss!”

I surrender to the path of corruption in the Great Darkness!

“Fill the cup with blood—let the Cup Mother release our Original Sin’s spirit…”

The darkness surged like water, rising over Sara’s mouth and nose.

In an instant, the solid ground behind her vanished—her entire body plunged downward, sinking into darkness. For a moment, Sara regretted believing the demon’s lies.

The darkness embraced her spirit like water, drowning her, sinking her into the Abyss—not falling through empty air.

The sensation of sinking deepened, growing more suffocating.

Just as Sara felt she had lost all perception of time, space, and existence—as if a million years had passed—her body lurched violently, jolting her awake as she sat up.

Before her stood a polite man in a gentleman’s tailcoat, bowing deeply: “Welcome to the First Layer of the Abyss, my lady!”

Sara’s eyes widened: “Lamor?”

Looking up at the towering Gothic dome, she realized she lay upon what seemed to be an altar.

First, she checked herself—her skin still warm to the touch, everything identical to the mortal world.

Not far away stood the Holy Trinity, the Sacred Triangle of the Holy Church.

“This is the Abyss?”

Lamor said calmly: “This is a church!”

“But this church stands in the First Layer of the Abyss.”

“I thought the Abyss had no churches. You always said the Savior was a thief, a liar, a fraud!”

“Correct—he’s a bastard, a lowly scoundrel!”

Lamor spoke of the name with nothing but contempt, then shifted: “But we honor the Three Founders—their greatness is beyond words. So the Holy Church could expel us not because we fear their laughable scriptures, but because we respect the Founders’ laws.”

Thus spoke the demon.

Dralmond walked slowly into the church, one blue eye smiling, the other a hideous scar.

He smiled: “The bishop here recently offered himself as a sacrifice to summon the Holy Son! But he didn’t know the true Holy Son has already descended! His clumsy imitation only proves his ignorance and folly—I used his ritual to summon you, my dear brother!”

“My dearest brother!” Lamor cried. “Where is your beautiful sapphire-blue eye?”

“Stolen by a raven,” Dralmond shrugged indifferently.

“You’ve come just in time—the city’s Thieves’ Guild has hired us to handle a lawsuit. When it comes to finding loopholes in law, no one compares to you, my brother Lamor.”

Sara was bewildered, but Dralmond stepped forward and kissed her right hand: “Welcome to the Abyss, honored Contractee.”

“It may not be what you imagined, but remember—no matter how much it resembles your world, it is but the dying embers of hellfire. Here, no one has redemption—they are all demons!”

“Yet one being alone deserves reverence. Only he can allow you to act freely in the Abyss, as if returning home.”

“Beware him, lady!” Lamor’s tone was harsh: “Even among us, he is the most cunning.”

“What is his true name?” Sara gripped the orange beryl tightly, pressing the demon’s weakness immediately.

“He is Amon, my lady…”

Lamor watched Dralmond’s slightly darkening face and smiled, smug and sly.

Sara watched Amon warily, gripping the ring on her right index finger, whispering an incantation.

Dralmond sighed: “I am willing to make a contract with you—to place my power at your command, descendant of Solomon.”

Lamor noticed the emerald tablet on Dralmond’s person and frowned: “The Emerald Tablet of Haggath? That’s his treasure—how did you get it?”

Amon did not answer directly, but turned to Sara: “Lamor is honest, but he always cunningly withholds the most crucial truth—though he means no harm, my Contractee!”

“As a descendant of Solomon, all hidden knowledge is yours for the taking, all formless arts come easily to you. You are born atop the pinnacle of the arcane—you are Mystery itself. You need no herbal potions or spiritual energy. Simply summon us, force us to sign contracts, and you will stand above all others, achieving every impossible miracle!”

“Thus, the Spirit Realm is not your path, Contractee.”

“The Abyss is your true home. Do not reject it—for all beings, the Abyss is the final destination.”

Amon spoke with deep meaning.