NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 872
“Eileithyia has spoken, bestowing knowledge of all divine provisions from the earth to the heavens. Following this mysterious wisdom, I shall prepare the medicine to be consumed. The ingredients include one sticky red mushroom the length of a finger joint, one herb emitting a foul odor, one flower that is splendid yet untouched by honey, and one…”
“…In the times when the sun and moon do not shine, burn the forest and immerse your body in the spring water that emerges from the center of the ash, cleansing yourself thoroughly. Gather the unburned vines from the ashes to make a rope and wrap it around your body. With the burnt ashes, draw the prescribed pattern as an offering to the goddess, for this is the will of the one who bestowed the mysterious knowledge. Take the oil extracted from the bright yellow flower and grind the poppy into powder. Then inhale the fragrant black powder through your nose, meditating to send your soul to the Elysian Fields, ensuring that the knots binding your body remain unbroken, lest you be drawn into the underworld to be judged by the king, the richest god in all existence…”
Sounds can be heard in the pitch-black space.
A voice mixed with a buzzing, like a blend of shouting, preaching, or perhaps even a lecture directed at someone.
It feels as if it’s akin to the noise of a floor above.
The sound originates from a ‘different space,’ clearly distinct from this one, yet it influences this realm. Just like that very sound now, it seems capable of knocking on the walls to make its presence felt.
“…Open the lid of the empty kiste. Open the lid of the kiste. Thus shall secrets and mysteries be passed down, and you must remember it to continue the ritual…”
The voice grows louder.
The sound comes closer.
No.
The source of the sound merely stays put.
The sound did not move.
The walls are thinning.
The walls that had blocked the sound.
The walls that had muffled the sound.
Those walls are growing thinner and thinner.
And as they thin, they shall ultimately vanish.
*Creak.*
*Crack.*
The sound of the wall fracturing is heard.
The dark space begins to crumble, revealing colorful lights behind it.
Orange, red, white, black…
How many colors are there beyond that gold?
The brilliant hues begin to shatter this space.
It was the forest, it was the dark expanse, and now it transforms into a place that is nothing.
Void.
As it was once empty, so too shall this place return.
Ella senses that her time with Anastasia has come to an end and whispers in her ear.
“Hehe. Sister. Don’t worry. This is for your sake….”
She speaks.
To not doubt her.
“And it is for my sake as well.”
She continues to say.
That this is beneficial for both of them.
That smile, that smile.
‘…Jinseong?’
It resembled Park Jinseong’s smile in a peculiar way.
* * *
A circle of blooms bursting into life.
Park Jinseong knelt at the center of a circular flower bed, as if looking at a flower clock developed by the botanist Carl von Linné.
Before him stood a clay doll that appeared to be around 2 meters tall.
Perhaps only partially fired, its surface was cracked all over, an unstable, awkwardly shaped mud doll.
The mud doll moved as if it were a golem fashioned by an alchemist.
It then made noises, as if imparting a lesson, while extending an empty box towards Park Jinseong.
[ “I convey this secret: put into the box the first sprout that arose from the field dedicated to Demeter, the first fruit from the tree planted, the land excavated one foot and fourteen digits deep in the direction where the holy tree fell, the first insect captured from the pit where the hearts of beasts grazed on the grass of the fields, and all the grains seen on the road from Eleusis to Eleusinion. You must place them in that box.” ]
The mud doll wore clothing made from the stem of the poppy, finely dried, a long garment without any knots.
[ “I ask, O transmitter, have you captured a serpent the length of one foot based on the holy figure’s feet?”]
The mud doll asked in a grave voice.
Its tongue, made of the same parasites as those within Park Jinseong, moved.
“Indeed, I have.”
And Park Jinseong replied.
Moving his only properly placed mouth and sound tongue.
[ “I ask, can you offer the eggs of a precious animal?”]
“Indeed, I can.”
[ “Have you prepared a jar filled with gold?”]
“Indeed, I have.”
[ “You have placed the serpent in a jar filled with melted gold, washed the egg with utmost care, so that no dust or stains are left, and for an entire year, have you not exchanged affections with any woman or engaged with any man?”]
“Indeed, I have.”
[ “You have confirmed that the egg did not spoil, the gold did not tarnish, and reached the temple without any contamination?”]
“Indeed, I have.”
[ “You must make your phallus the rod that ensures everything fits snugly in the box, leaving no gaps or shortages, thereby placing the ouroboros serpent at the bottom of the box and placing the egg in its center. Pour the seeds without leaving any space, and stir with your rod, taking care that its shape does not tangle or knot.” ]
The mud doll commanded.
To stir the box with his phallus.
Here, the term “phallus” refers to the male organ or any object shaped like it.
Following the instructions of the mud doll, Park Jinseong began to stir the box with a phallus statue made of clay.
* * *
The sound of seeds pouring into the box is heard.
The various seeds falling from the tightly held fist of the mud doll make sounds like flowing water, and it seemed as if the sand falling from above was marking the passage of time as it formed a hill.
Flowing seeds.
Piling hills.
Breaking, scattering, and re-piling.
With every stir of the rod, turning, splitting, and glimmering gold comes into view.
Each time the coiled serpent partially reveals itself, its radiant splendor is nothing short of beautiful.
The egg it cradles evokes anticipation for the life it may bring forth.
The box holds mysteries.
The piling seeds are earth and life.
The gold within is all the minerals and wealth sleeping beneath the earth.
And the egg sleeping beneath symbolizes life and death simultaneously.
The pouring seeds are the overflowing grace of life, and the box filled with seeds without a trace of earth signifies that the power of the divine spreads throughout the world.
The box, in and of itself, is an offering of respect, reverence, and gratitude to the goddess, a praise directed at her.
Park Jinseong places the phallus statue made of clay into the filled box.
Within this box, the phallus signifies life and prosperity.
It heralds that Demeter’s grace shall be eternal, and abundance shall continue forever.
Thus, the sacred box, the kiste, was completed.
A box containing harvested grains and their ears.
A closed world offered to Demeter.
Until the fires of the Rarion Plain turn the earth black and the traces of the harvested grains vanish beneath the frost, until the old woman, spouting lewd words as she shakes the bacchoi, falls in the Rarion Plain to face Hades.
This box shall not be opened.
Park Jinseong holds the box of secrets and mysteries in his hands.
And with the other hand, he begins to gather insects, forming them into a shape resembling a cup that could very well be used in ancient Greece.
He brings the empty cup to his lips and tilts it back.
As if to down the drink from within in one gulp.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
Four times.
After repeating this act, Park Jinseong raises the cup high and shouts.
“Kykeon! Kykeon! O merciful god, grant me a vision!”
Park Jinseong’s wrist twists.
The cup flies through the air, hitting the mud doll, and the mud doll, merely a prop in a play, collapses into powder.
With a crunching sound, the breaking cup and collapsing mud doll quickly turn into countless insects, gathering towards Park Jinseong, beginning to refill the empty spaces of his body.
“Holy vision of the night! Holy vision of the night! I have reached Him through the kykeon! I have heard His voice! Death is not the end, and life shall continue, and in praise of that sanctity, I shall duly offer my tributes!”
The ritual to create the holy object has ended.
What must be done now is to throw the box.
Park Jinseong rises from his place and begins to move.
Towards the place where the flames blaze brightly.
Towards the artificial intelligence Anael.