Blackthorn Security Company, underground armory.
"I've taught you everything I can. Give it a try."
Klein said to Silas. All the materials were now ready and laid out on the table.
Silas nodded, then picked up the ritual silver dagger.
He infused it with spirituality and used the spirituality spurting from the dagger's tip to cut through the surrounding air, creating an invisible spiritual wall. He took out two candles, one long and one short.
The long one represented the deity, the short one represented himself. Releasing spirituality from his fingertips, he rubbed the wick, and with a "whoosh," the flame ignited.
As the candlelight flickered, Silas dripped a drop of deep sleep flower extract oil into the candle flame.
The flame immediately made a "hissing" sound, and a faint fragrance spread out. He continued adding powders of moon flower and night vanilla into the flame.
The scent in the air became more pronounced, like walking into a midnight meadow and smelling the fresh scent of wildflowers and grass, making one feel peaceful and calm.
A silver piece two fingers wide was placed under the long candle. Silas held the carving knife and softly chanted in Hermes:
"Evernight Goddess, more lofty than the stars, more eternal than eternity."
"You are the Crimson Lord, You are the Mother of Concealment, the Empress of Calamity and Fear, the Lady of Repose and Silence."
As he recited the Evernight Goddess's honorific name, Silas suddenly felt somewhat awkward.
Because even though he was an official member of the Nighthawks team under the Goddess's Church, he had never actually entered a Goddess's church.
This was surprisingly his first time reciting the Goddess's honorific name.
Outside the spiritual wall, Klein watched Silas's ritual progress and suddenly let out a soft "Huh?"
But Silas, inside the wall, didn't know this. He continued reciting the prayer according to procedure:
"I pray to You."
"Pray that You bestow power upon me."
"Bestow upon me the power to complete the slumber charm."
"Great Goddess, please transmit Your power to my charm..."
As the incantation was about to end, Silas reached out to pick up the carving knife.
According to Klein's demonstration, the Goddess should now respond to his prayer, projecting divine power onto him, and then he would use the carving knife to carve this power into patterns on the silver piece, solidifying it into a charm. Wait, where's the Goddess's power?
Silas froze, holding the carving knife. He had finished reciting the entire incantation, but nothing had happened.
Turning to look outside, Klein also had a dumbfounded expression.
"The Goddess actually didn't respond to a believer's prayer. Has there been a precedent for this?"
"At least I've never heard of it."
"Then why is the Goddess ignoring my prayer?"
"I don't know either."
In the underground armory, Silas and Klein stared at each other wide-eyed.
After that, they tried several more times and found that whenever it was Klein, the ritual could be completed smoothly, but if it was Silas, he could never get the Goddess's response.
What kind of situation is this! Does the Goddess dislike me?
Silas was completely speechless. He sat on the ground and spaced out.
He was thinking about why the Goddess wouldn't acknowledge him.
To be honest, in his past life, Silas had no faith whatsoever. But coming to this world, the existence of extraordinary powers made him understand that gods truly existed here.
Plus, the Londor family had originally been casual believers of the Goddess, so he went with the flow and pretended to be a Goddess believer, joining the Nighthawks.
But from his true feelings, he still didn't believe in gods.
Could it be because of this?
Silas couldn't help but stand up.
If that's the case, then following the practical pragmatism typical of Chinese people, wouldn't it be fine to just go to the temple and pay respects?
So he turned and quickly walked out of the armory.
"Hey, Silas, what are you doing?"
Klein called out in alarm.
"Going to pray to the Goddess!"
Silas shouted back. He didn't return to the surface but used the underground passage to quickly head to St. Selena's Cathedral. His steps were hurried, and when he burst out from the hidden door, he startled the priest guarding nearby.
"Is something the matter?"
The priest asked.
"Nothing, I'm here to pray to the Goddess."
Silas answered.
The priest was at a loss for words.
He couldn't prevent a believer from praying to the deity, so he had to step aside while reminding him, "Please be quiet and don't disturb others."
Silas left the corridor, and after a few steps, the view opened up before him. Under the high dome, the altar, confessional, pulpit, and rows of pews were arranged in order.
The entire church was deep and quiet. Only at the holy emblem at the top were holes carved at the positions representing stars, with sunlight streaming in like brilliant stars in the night sky.
It was afternoon, so there were few believers in the prayer hall, and the priests had their own tasks, paying him no mind.
Silas chose a secluded pew to sit down, clasped his hands together in an empty grip, lowered his head, closed his eyes, and silently began to pray.
"Evernight Goddess, more lofty than the stars, more eternal than eternity."
He first recited the Goddess's honorific name again in Hermes, then began praying quietly in Ruen.
"Great Goddess, I am by nature suspicious and have not been respectful enough toward the divine. I hope you can forgive me."
First, admit fault. The attitude must be good.
"From now on, I will believe in You more devoutly."
He didn't even believe this himself, but at least formally, he needed to show sufficient respect to the Goddess.
"Please be as magnanimous as the endless night and bestow Your grace upon me, granting me the opportunity to use Your authority."
Finally, express his wish. Perfect.
The moment Silas finished speaking, he immediately felt something was different.
The originally lofty dome and deep, dark prayer hall seemed to become gentler, making him within it seem less out of place but rather part of it.
In the darkness, someone seemed to be laughing softly like an invisible thread descending and connecting to Silas.
Silas's eyes suddenly widened.
He found it hard to describe what this feeling was, but he was certain that in this instant, he had established a connection with some hidden and lofty existence.
The potion inside his body digested rapidly. In just a brief moment, it actually digested a huge portion.
His ears suddenly became quiet and clear, like when you've had clogged ears from motion sickness for a long time, then suddenly swallow and your eardrums return to normal.
Good grief, it actually worked.
And my potion actually digested this much. But why?
Silas's heart was filled with shock and confusion.
He raised his hand and, not very devoutly, drew the symbol of the Crimson Moon on his chest, saying softly, "Praise the Goddess."
He got up and returned, still using the hidden door. When he returned to the armory and skillfully performed the ritual, reciting the Evernight Goddess's honorific name, a certain peaceful, deep power filled his body.
It works!
Silas gripped the carving knife and began outlining and carving Hermes' text and mystical patterns on the silver piece, fixing the power of slumber onto the charm.
Until the final stroke was completed, all the power of slumber was locked into the charm.
He picked up the charm, feeling the slightly cool touch of the silver piece, and revealed a satisfied smile.