Chapter 89 - 87: Divine Pantheon Salon
Richard quickly carried out his grandfather’s instructions. After explaining the situation, he handed everything to Mr. Hutton and went straight home.
In the office, Mr. Hutton began making a call.
It was to someone on Imperial City Huayue Street, in an unmarked building.
The call from Gerald had likely been connected to the same name.
Mr. Hutton looked up and glanced out the window.
The sky had gone completely dark.
"I’m so sorry to trouble you," he murmured into the phone, alone in the empty office.
.........
In an inconspicuous house on Imperial City Huayue Street.
The telephone rang.
The call from the Imperial City Ashford Mansion and the call from Greenwood Middle School were answered one after the other by an automaton.
After the automaton finished its report, the woman in the room did three things.
First, she sent an urgent telegram to her star pupil, who was on business in a city in the Northern Imperial region.
Second, she pulled a map from a bookshelf and pressed an indent into it with her fingernail.
Third, she plucked the withered flower from the vase and tossed it into the fireplace.
.........
When Richard regained consciousness, he was captivated by the scenery above him.
Above him floated a Star Sea.
It was so close he could see the outline of every star and watch the starlight spill from their spheres.
Richard quickly determined that this could not be the real night sky.
Only two things allow you to "see" a star: a telescope, or a hallucination.
He didn’t have a telescope, so this was a hallucination.
The other party had forced him to sleep, pulled him from his slumber, and projected him into a pre-constructed space.
Everything he "saw" in this space was what the Technique’s creator wanted him to see.
Just as he was thinking this, the environment under his feet began to move.
He himself wasn’t moving; it was the stars that were moving.
The tide of stars receded, faster and faster.
Blue-white, dark red, and unlit ones—all of them were pushed into the distance by an invisible force, stretching into blurry bands of light at the edge of his vision.
Marble materialized continuously, forming a foundation.
Twelve stone pillars rose simultaneously from the edge of the platform.
Behind the pillars were beams and reliefs.
The reliefs depicted battles between men and beasts, Priests praying before fire altars, fleets sailing through waves, and Scholars lost in thought before scrolls.
The folds of their clothes, the manes of the beasts, the licking tongues of flame—all were rendered in minute detail.
Richard gave himself a mental sedative.
’Calm down, this is just high-end VR.’
’The graphics are a bit better, the immersion is stronger, and the underlying technology is Ether, but the essence is the same.’
’They’re trying to use visual shock to break down a newcomer’s psychological defenses. It’s the oldest method of displaying power.’
’Why do churches build their domes fifteen meters high?’
’Why do palaces place two rows of stone lions at their main gates?’
’The principle is the same.’
’Make you feel small the moment you cross the threshold, and you’ll unconsciously become more compliant.’
While his thoughts raced, an ochre Round Table and seven high-backed stone chairs rose simultaneously in the center of the great hall.
The stone chairs were all different in design.
Some chair backs were carved with laurels, some with olive branches, some with flames, and some with serpents.
Each chair faced the center of the Round Table, forming a not-quite-symmetrical ring.
One of the chairs was taller than the other six by half a head.
The entire Divine Hall, from the materialization of the first stone to the formation of the final chair, took no more than twenty seconds.
If this were a real construction project, just quarrying and transporting the stone would have taken hundreds of workers several years.
Richard reminded himself again: this was a hallucination, a Technique, it was VR.
’No matter how stunning the visuals, it’s essentially just someone playing a video in your brain.’
But he wasn’t standing here alone.
About three steps to his right stood another person.
They were also standing between two pillars at the edge of the Divine Hall, not yet seated.
That person was covered by a thin Curtain of light, obscuring their face and figure.
Richard looked down at himself and saw that he was also covered in a Curtain of light.
He didn’t rush to speak, nor did he hurry toward the Round Table. The best thing to do now was to stand still and observe silently.
The next moment, a figure appeared in the main seat.
One second it was empty; the next, she was there.
The figure in the main seat sat on the tallest stone chair, wearing a golden mask.
The top half of the mask had the features of a young maiden, with soft and beautiful eyes and brows;
the bottom half, however, had the features of an old crone, covered in wrinkles.
A horizontal line split the entire face in two: youth above, old age below.
Above her head, two objects slowly materialized.
A torch and a key.
It was at this moment that Richard understood why they called this gathering the "Divine Pantheon Salon."
The torch and key symbolized the ability to illuminate the darkness and the power to open any door.
The divine name of the person in the main seat automatically projected itself—Hecate.
Triple Goddess, Watcher at the Crossroads, patron of Magic and Witchcraft.
An ancient being who held dominion over the three realms: the Celestial Realm, the Mortal World, and the Netherworld.
At first, he had thought the so-called Divine Pantheon Salon might be an organization for studying mythology. He never expected they would actually dare to call themselves by the names of gods.
In the Greek mythological pantheon, Hecate’s position is exceptionally unique.
She does not belong to the twelve major Olympian gods, but Zeus himself treated her with great courtesy, allowing her to retain all the authority she possessed during the age of the Titans.
Hecate was also one of the few who were not weakened during the transition of power from the old gods to the new.
’To dare choose Hecate as one’s codename, this person must be extremely arrogant.’
After Hecate appeared, the atmosphere in the Divine Hall froze for about three seconds.
Then, a second person walked out of the void to the right of the main seat.
He was burly, with broad shoulders and a thick back, and wore a Red Copper Mask.
The man walked to the Round Table, and two objects also materialized above his head.
A blood-dripping spear, its tip constantly shifting, always searching for the next enemy.
A round shield, its central boss carved with the head of Medusa, her serpentine hair tangled and her eyes wide open.
The divine name projected—Aries.
The personification of slaughter and violence, the most unpopular of all the Olympian gods.
He represents the gore, cruelty, and unadorned violence of war itself.
Aries sat down, his legs spread apart and his hands resting on the armrests.
A third person entered from the west side of the Divine Hall.
He was rather slender, with narrow, relaxed shoulders, and wore a deep purple mask.
The surface of the mask was covered in countless tiny reliefs of Evergreen Ivy.
Evergreen Ivy, a symbol of irrepressible life force.
He walked to his chair, crossed his right leg over his left, and leaned back into the seat.
His posture was so lazy it bordered on disrespectful.
A Double-Eared Kantharos Cup appeared above the man’s head, with a tempting bunch of grapes hovering beside it.
The divine name projected—Dionysus.
The Wine God, the God of Revelry and Drama.
His followers find liberation in revelry, and in revelry, they lose their reason.
Freedom and loss of control have always been two sides of the same coin.
A fourth person emerged from the flames.
His mask was red-gold, and his build was somewhere between the burliness of Aries and the slenderness of Dionysus.
The man bowed his head slightly, gave a small nod toward the main seat, and sat down.
The moment he sat, only a ball of fire appeared above his head.
There was no second object beside the flame, but the fire itself was enough.
Because fire is the beginning of civilization.
The divine name projected—Prometheus.
Prophet, Fire Thief, the Titan who stole fire from the Celestial Realm for humanity.
"Prophet" is the literal meaning of the name Prometheus.
Many people see him as a "friend to humanity."
In reality, He did not steal fire out of love for humanity; Titans do not possess an emotion like "love."
He stole fire because he foresaw humanity’s potential.
The price was to be chained to the Caucasus Mountains, his liver devoured by an eagle each day, only for it to grow back each night, to be devoured again the next day.
Four Greek divine names had just appeared, worn by people like crowns, and Richard felt a visceral discomfort.
From Eton to Greenwood, from the Imperial University to any common Grammar School, every student who had paid attention in class could name Zeus, Athena, and Apollo and recount some of their stories.
But myths and legends were one thing; calling oneself by the name of a god was another entirely.
In mainstream Imperial culture, this was blasphemy, an act of extreme hubris!
Even the most unruly, self-taught Spirit Mediums would, at most, dare to "invite" a deity to possess them; they would never dare to call themselves that god.
There is a chasm between "inviting" and "proclaiming oneself to be."
The former is a servant calling for their master; the latter is a servant sitting on the master’s throne.
Richard considered several interpretations at once.
’The most straightforward one is that this group is simply arrogant and ignorant.’
’They might think calling each other by Greek divine names is cool, stylish, and shows how unique they are.’
’If that’s the case, then this organization doesn’t have much substance.’
’But the members’ mindset is extremely dangerous. A group of people so full of themselves that they dare to call themselves gods will sooner or later do something that exceeds their capabilities.’
’Another possibility is that this group has the power to back up such claims.’
’To defy mainstream ethics within the Imperial borders and not be held accountable requires strength.’
’Strength so great that the official system turns a blind eye.’
’If that’s the case, then the power behind this organization is far beyond his comprehension.’
’Then there is the third possibility, the one most in line with Mysticism: the divine names might be ritual Anchors.’
’The Greek gods are widely recognized as powerful conceptual images.’
’For thousands of years, countless people have mentioned these names on countless occasions. Each mention leaves an imprint on the Ether Layer.’
’Thousands of years of these imprints layered on top of each other form a kind of "conceptual sediment."’
’Using divine names as codenames might serve to "borrow power" or as a form of "Disguise."’
’You’re borrowing a vessel that has been polished into shape by millennia of recognition, and wrapping yourself inside it.’
’It’s like wearing a coat woven from the gazes of countless people.’
’The coat is too thick, so thick that no one can see who is inside.’
’If this is the case, then this organization may have mastered extremely advanced techniques in Mysticism.’
Richard didn’t rush to a conclusion.