Ring of Fate

Chapter 766 The Origin of Folk Customs

Lumian "followed" his promise and sat at the two "witches'" table for only a few minutes before politely saying goodbye and leaving, leaving the men nearby a little dazed and confused.

Shouldn't we press on to win?
Is this the advanced technique of the Intis playboys and Danticists?
Walking back to his own table, Lumian saw the waiter leaving with a pile of plates, looking confused, shocked, and terrified.

All the dishes on the entire menu were actually eaten up!

They looked at Ludwig and Lugano as if they were two monsters that had crawled out of the abyss.

“If you knew that Ludwig ate two-thirds of the dishes and staples just now, and Lugano and I only shared the remaining one-third, you would be even more scared and worried that you would be eaten too. Well, such worry is justified…” Lumian muttered silently and sat down.

A piece of apple cake and a cup of milky ice cream were placed in front of him, Ludwig and Lugano respectively.

Ludwig's face showed undisguised satisfaction. This was the fullest and most satisfying meal he had had in a long time. This was not only because the portions of Feysac dishes were large and tasted good, but also because Lumian did not feel bad about spending other people's money.

Lumian pushed his portion of apple cake to Ludwig and seemed to be concentrating on scooping up the milk ice cream with a spoon and putting it into his mouth.

As he felt the frost melting and the smell of milk spreading, he lowered his voice and muttered to himself:

"Have you noticed anything unusual around the 'Two of the Holy Grail' and the 'Seven of the Holy Grail'?"

After a brief silence, a disembodied voice rang in Lumian's ears.

That comes from Maric, the "Knight of Swords":

"I did find something, starting from Chaban Street and ending near the 'Saint-Milon Restaurant', but I only noticed a slight abnormality and didn't find out where it came from."

It matches Franca's description and my speculation, and they confirm each other... Even though Osetto has already started to follow Franca and Janna, the demigod of the Temperance Faction still can't catch them... can only wait for Osetto to take the initiative? Lumian thought for a few seconds, took out a pair of plain gold-rimmed glasses without prescription for disguise from the "traveler's bag", and put them on the bridge of his nose.

He immediately saw the figure of the "Sword Knight" in shirt and waistcoat appear on the lens and then disappear in an instant.

Maric's voice in his ears became clearer:
"We have occasionally discovered similar slight anomalies and corresponding traces, which is one of the main reasons why we are sure that Osetto is still in the Lacre area."

Can such a thing be achieved simply by relying on the "Otherworld"? Can one quietly travel under the nose of the "Prisoner" demigod with very strong spiritual intuition without being "seen"? Lumian lacks a deep understanding of the "Otherworld" and can only speculate based on his past experiences.

He has entered the "other world" more than once!
In Koldu Village, whether in reality or in dreams, he had entered the "Otherworld" many times, but at that time there was no high-level power involved, so he had no way of judging the normal state of the "Otherworld" and whether it could conceal the senses and intuition of the demigod after it unfolded;

In Trier, during the "Shadow Tree" disaster, he passively entered the "Otherworld" of "Lady Moon". That "Otherworld" was well isolated from the inside and outside, so that the demigods of Trier did not notice that the "Shadow Tree" was growing and that a battle was taking place in that area. Later, it was with the help of Franka using the "Judgment" card and the special features of Lady Judgment that they established contact with the outside world, allowing the demigods of the "Tarot Club" to complete their positioning and descend into the "Otherworld". However, at that time, the demigods of Trier were far away from the chaotic streets and did not find anything hidden there, which was understandable and acceptable...

Memories flashed through Lumian's mind. He always felt that the "Otherworld" could not achieve the level it has now:

When the "Other Side of the World" was folded up, the demigod of the Temperance Faction could not sense it even though he was right next to it. This was normal. But after it was unfolded right under the eyes of the demigod of the Temperance Faction, how come there was still no problem revealed?
Is it that strong?
I think the "other side world" of "Ms. Moon" can't do that. It can only conceal its movements and protect itself from being discovered by keeping a distance...

Lumian looked out the window and saw two local residents among the passers-by. One of them had a purple-painted human skull hanging on his chest, and the other had a white human skull tied to his head with a rope.

“Death cult…

"'The Other World'...

"Perhaps, what the 'Witch King' Osetto did in the Lacre area made his 'other world' have some special features, and it is precisely relying on this special feature that he can unfold the 'other world' in front of a demigod without being discovered until the two sides have substantial interaction..." Lumian made some guesses based on the fact that Mrs. Puaris wanted to use the folk customs of Cordu Village to perfect her "other world".

Lumian took another scoop of milk ice cream and said again in a low voice:
"Tell me in detail the origin and circumstances of the Skull Blessing Festival."

The voice of the Sword Knight Maric echoed clearly in his ears:
“This dates back to when the ‘God of Death’ fell and the situation in the southern continent changed fundamentally.

“The fall of the ‘God of Death’ caused a change in the underworld. Most of the undead can no longer sense the underworld or enter it. They can only wander outside it, between the spirit world and the real world.

"As a result, after the death of intelligent creatures, it is very easy for them to turn into corpses, or become resentful spirits or evil spirits. This is a huge threat to living creatures and has brought about one disaster after another.

"The response of the countries in the northern continent is to purify the church and strengthen the cremation. Among them, the purification effect of the 'Eternal Blazing Sun' Church and the God of War Church is significant. Those who have undergone purification do not need to be cremated."

After hearing this, Lumian truly understood and comprehended the series of measures including consolation before death, purification after death, encouragement of cremation, and reward for discovering dead homeless people.

Their source turned out to be the fall of the "God of Death" and the changes in the underworld!

No wonder the old bones in the lower layers of the catacombs are all bones, without ashes... In the Fourth Epoch, the Underworld had not yet undergone any mutations, and the dead still had a place to return to... Some occult knowledge says that corpses are prone to mutations because of the influence of the "Death God" invading the northern continent in the "Pale Disaster" at the end of the Fourth Epoch. Well, it is indeed the influence of the "Pale Disaster". The "Death God" fell in that disaster, and the Underworld mutated because of this... Lumian suddenly realized and understood some occult knowledge more thoroughly.

The Sword Knight continued:
"The same problem occurred in the southern continent. It was not difficult to deal with. The Balam Empire, which had a large number of Beyonders of the Path of Death, quickly came up with several solutions. It quelled the corpse disaster in some areas without forcing cremation, allowing those places to return to normal.

"In other regions, as countries like Hagati, Pers, and the Highlands were striving for independence, the belief in the 'God of Death' began to decline. There was a period of rampant corpse disasters and a power vacuum. People in different regions could only find their own solutions."

Lumian nodded slightly:
"The Rakre region's solution is the Skull Blessing Festival?"

"The Skull Blessing Festival is just a manifestation." The Sword Knight explained simply, "According to the information left by the Highland Kingdom, the Rakre people should have established a small kingdom for the dead with the help of a local official from the former Balam Empire, allowing the spirits of the dead to enter there and never come out again, and rest in peace.

“But that’s not the underworld after all. There’s no way to truly put the souls to sleep, and it’s impossible to completely restrain the dead. We can only wait for them to die little by little.

"The annual Skull Blessing Festival is a festival for the dead to come out and revel and release. Placing the skulls of relatives at home can prevent the dead who accidentally leave that small country from harming them."

To put it simply, I created a simple, regionalized underworld for the dead to return to...

A place to return to... One of the concepts of "The Other World" is that the soul returns to the earth and wanders in the wilderness. These two ideas are very similar...

Also, in the "other world", on special days, the dead souls can return home and enjoy the joy of reunion, which is very similar to the Skull Blessing Festival in the Lacre area...

The only difference is that the souls here have no way to be reborn and can only slowly die... Lumian compared the similarities and differences between the local kingdom of the dead and the "other world" and vaguely grasped something.

He remembered some of the words that Louis Lund had relayed to him from Mrs. Pualis:
What is currently being built is only a small, miniature world on the other side, which is a component of the complete world on the other side...

Hiss…Lumian took a breath and whispered to himself:

"Is Osetto trying to integrate the local kingdom of the dead into his own 'other world' to make the latter more complete?

"He, no, she has already achieved some initial success. Is that why you couldn't find her?"

The Sword Knight Maric was silent for a moment and said:

"possible."

After a pause, he added:

"We didn't see the kingdom of the dead either."

Seeing... Lumian was stunned at first, but then he understood what the "Sword Knight" wanted to express.

The "prisoner" path can transform into resentful souls and directly see the kingdom of the dead, but after they arrived in the Lacre area this time, they did not find anything corresponding.

Lumian did not respond, but thought of another question:
"If Osetto has indeed initially merged with that small kingdom of the dead, then he is equivalent to the local god of death. He must have sensed the Omibella bloodline in me just now...

“How will she react?
“Was it a moment of anger, or did you feel like you could take advantage of this?
"Why didn't she just do it? Yes, she also used the bird claw monster baby to find that Ludwig beside me had the scent of the dead 'mother'. Adding the two together, it's a bait at first glance, a trap at first glance!
"This allowed her, who was used to indulgence, to endure it. What she has to do now is to ask for help?"

Thinking of this, Lumian took off his glasses and stood up.

(End of this chapter)