Chapter 217: Ritual

After bathing, Arsena Dunn took the elevator and walked onto the K-11 Deck.

The bottom deck of the Shadow of Sovereignty was not a place where the lowest-ranking crew struggled, unlike other void ships, but it could not be considered tidy either.

However, the K-11 Deck was exceptionally clean, with marble covering the floor.

There was not a hint of strange odor in the air; a faint scent of incense permeated the atmosphere.

Arsena, dressed in a black robe, walked all the way to the center of the K-11 Deck.

An obsidian Altar appeared within his line of sight.

The Altar was 11.11 meters in diameter and 3.3 meters high.

The "Reasoning Student" discovered the existence of these two numbers from the Double Stone and the buildings constructed under the Primarch's orders.

Thus, when building, he adopted these two numbers.

Arsena ascended the Altar along the thirty-three steps slanting upward.

The items on the Altar had all been arranged, but Arsena still checked them cautiously.

After confirming that everything from the Black Iron Balance on his left to the cast-iron Iron Law of the Monarch on his right was placed in the correct position, he walked to the candelabra.

Arsena's palms hovered over the candle wicks, rubbing his palms together to ignite the candles with his Spirituality.

After he lit the eleven candles, which were either standing upright or upside down, he took out the Ritual Dagger from his person.

Arsena opened his mouth and chanted in the occult language named after his surname.

"I sanctify you, Ritual Dagger!

I purify you, let you serve me in the ritual!

In the name of the Black Emperor, you are sanctified!"

Spirituality gushed out from the tip of the blade; Arsena stepped forward and circled around, with invisible power surging outward.

After walking a full circle, the "Reasoning Student" activated his Spirit Vision, feeling that a wall of Spirituality had indeed been erected around him, excluding all unclean things.

Subsequently, Arsena took a deep breath and entered the Thelema Meditation state recently taught by Ninglu.

After his body, mind, and soul had quieted down, he knelt on the Ma'nao cushion and began to recite the formal incantation in the Dunn Language:

"Black Emperor of the Order Shadow,

Mysterious Master of the Disordered Kingdom,

King of Light and Shadow who holds the rules.

I pray for Your gaze.

I pray for Your favor.

I pray for You to grant me the mystery of fire, allowing me to possess greater power.

Oh Scale, the Balance of the Disordered Kingdom, please transmit power to my incantation.

Iron Law of the Monarch, the foundation of the Disordered Kingdom, please transmit power to my incantation."

Arsena knew from the materials issued by Ninglu that fire was an effective way to deal with Orcs and could also completely annihilate Orc spores.

Arsena could not obtain more from the fire spells of the Fulao people, so after the Primarch explained the process of Ritual Magic, he decided to pray for the mystery of fire.

Just as Arsena finished reciting the incantation, he felt a wind suddenly blowing inside the sealed wall of Spirituality.

This appeared exceptionally abrupt on the sealed bottom deck of the void ship.

At the same moment that Arsena was repeatedly chanting the incantation, Ninglu, who was handling official business in the palace of the Shadow of Sovereignty, suddenly stopped.

Vague sounds rang in his ears, and the disturbance made him feel irritable.

Invisible whispers echoed in his mind, and his temples throbbed slightly.

He could not hear the content of the call clearly, and the sound disappeared after lasting for more than ten seconds.

The Primarch's irritability quickly subsided, and his temples calmed down.

【Arsena is performing Ritual Magic.】

While deep in thought, his mind stirred, and he arrived at the "Kingdom of Disorder."

On the shadow side, Ninglu found a light sphere flickering with pure white radiance.

This light sphere contracted and expanded in succession; the amplitude was not large, but it was continuous.

Ninglu unfolded his own Spirituality and spread it toward the pure white light sphere.

Upon contact, vague and distorted images immediately emerged in his mind, and illusory, overlapping voices sounded.

"Black Emperor of the Order Shadow,

Mysterious Master of the Disordered Kingdom,

I pray for You to grant me the mystery of fire, allowing me to possess powerful, greater power.

Iron Law of the Monarch, the foundation of the Disordered Kingdom, please transmit power to my incantation."

Arsena's voice echoed continuously, and Ninglu's spirit became irritable as a result.

The Primarch ascended to the first level of the Thelema Mindset in an instant, and his brain returned to calm.

Ninglu looked toward the blurry image and immediately saw Arsena, wearing a black robe with silver hair, kneeling in the flickering candlelight.

He bowed respectfully, continuously reciting the incantation.

Ninglu felt a surge of joy; he had already confirmed that the ritual incantation he conceived pointed precisely to the "Kingdom of Disorder," pointing to himself!

【It succeeded.】

After rejoicing in the success of the ritual he designed, Ninglu immediately focused his attention on the content of Arsena's prayer.

The mystery of fire.

Ninglu handed all the Data Crystal information regarding fire to Arsena, as he himself had not conducted research into this area.

【To maintain the Black Emperor's aura, I must respond to Arsena's prayer.】

Ninglu's brain spun rapidly, searching his mind for the mysteries of fire he possessed.

The Fire Dragon Path that Slau Da had walked.

The samurai of this branch believed that the Fire Dragon symbolized Khaine's penchant for pure destructive desire; their only goal on the battlefield was to destroy all enemies and eliminate all obstacles.

Ninglu had not yet obtained all the mysteries from Slau Da's memories, let alone researched them or converted them into secret arts suitable for humans to master.

But he had obtained the method for drawing the Fire Dragon Rune.

The branch samurai walking the Fire Dragon Path used the fierce fire-breathing dragon creature from Eldar legend as their rune, symbolizing the cruelty of war and wanton destruction.

Mimicking the shape of the Fire Dragon Rune and engraving it onto staves and weapons would not grant any buffs.

But by using psychic power and outlining the rune according to the drawing method, one could obtain fire buffs.

After confirming the Fire Dragon Rune was effective, Ninglu immediately thought that the Fire Dragon Rune was a rune used by shrines worshiping Khaine, and engraving it might lead to being influenced.

Ninglu's eyes were deep as he analyzed whether teaching the drawing method of the Fire Dragon Rune to Arsena would cause hidden dangers.

【Khaine is different from the escaped Laughing God Cegorach and the Goddess of Life Yisha, who was taken away by Nurgle; He was shattered, and His soul was devoured by Slaanesh.

Moreover, the Fire Dragon branch was established by Fegan, a student of A'su'erman, after the "Fall of the Eldar," so the Fire Dragon Rune is not closely linked to Khaine.】

Thinking this, Ninglu confirmed there was no problem, then outlined the Fire Dragon Rune in his mind and transmitted the engraving method to the sphere of light through that subtle connection.

On the lower deck, black mist suddenly rose in the mind of Arsena Dunn.

In the mist, a blurred figure stood in the deepest part.

The Fire Dragon Rune appeared in Arsena's mind, and at the same time, the method for engraving the rune flooded into his mind.

The silver-haired psyker's eyes were full of Shock; as an Aether Master, he could clearly perceive Aether power.

He had not felt a shred of Aether power just now; the way the information was transmitted into his mind was not a method like telepathy, and it had no connection to the Warp.

Arsena felt that the mysterious power had penetrated his mental defenses and injected the graphic information directly into his mind.

The "Reasoning Student's" brain spun rapidly, and thoughts flashed one by one.

【I prayed to the Black Emperor, and I truly received a response!

The Black Emperor is truly a god-level existence!

If Lord Ninglu is the Black Emperor, then the power he bestowed upon me, upon his progeny, is very logical.

...】

Arsena reined in his thoughts, and he respectfully spoke in the Dunn Language.

"Thank you for the bestowal, my Lord."

Arsena knelt for another moment before rising to pierce the invisible barrier with his Ritual Dagger.

The Primarch Attendant walked out of K-11 Deck and said to his confidants and the Captain of the enforcement squad.

"Seal K-11 Deck; no one is allowed to enter."

Arsena knew the current Imperium policy of promoting the Imperial Truth would not allow for the worship of the Black Emperor, and he could not let anyone know, lest it cause an adverse effect on Lord Ninglu.

【If Lord Ninglu is the Black Emperor, perhaps this is why he did not state it explicitly.】

Within the "Kingdom of Disorder," having disconnected from Arsena, Ninglu could not help but think.

【What would Thomas pray for?

The "Mystery Pryer" should ask about mysteries regarding occultism.

Even if it is a prayer I do not have the ability to respond to, it does not matter; the Prophecy Dice have finished charging, and I can perform Divination.

If I can fulfill his prayer, then I can proceed with the Divination of Catachan according to my previous plan.】

Ninglu then thought: 【If I can receive prayers, then besides Ritual Magic, perhaps I can also achieve real-time inter-system communication.】

Astropath communication is not real-time, is easily interfered with, and can even fail due to factors like Warp Storms.

Even if an Astropath receives a message, it is fragmented and incomplete.

【If it is feasible, I can inform confidants like Howard Fender, and they can communicate with me in real-time.

It would be even more convenient to contact extraordinary individuals who need to hide in the shadows, like the "Trickster" Tierni and the "Assassin" Maria Kurnikova.】

Ninglu further thought: 【If I can verify that sacrifices can also be realized, I could immediately receive the special items found by the Treasure Hunting Squad and others.】

Thoughts raced through Ninglu's mind as he considered numerous extended applications.

Ninglu then returned to the real world.

Two days later, he received a report that Sanchez had purged the Orks of the Seventh System and won the challenge against Enoch Lashwin.

(End of chapter)