154: Chapter 155 Initiation Ceremony

Chapter 154: Initiation Ceremony

Locke, however, didn't quite understand.

Why was this supernatural bartender's emotional state fluctuating so wildly just because he simply wanted to join the Church of the Night Goddess?

Could it be that the other party didn't get along with Old Man Time—er... his teacher?

He couldn't figure it out, but under the other's watchful gaze, Locke deliberately swept his right hand across the tabletop. The moment his palm passed over it, the badge vanished instantly, tucked away into his Personal Space.

The bartender, who had been watching him closely with disdain, suddenly felt a chill in his heart when the badge vanished into thin air.

“I told you to put it away, not to play tricks. Just pick it up with your hand and that would have been—fi—ne!”

He was absolutely certain that Locke's hand hadn't touched the badge; it had merely swiped over it, yet the badge was gone.

This extraordinary method caused the bartender's pupils to tremble slightly.

“Is this a space-type ability?”

Locke naturally noticed the change in his attitude and expression, so the corners of his mouth curled up slightly as he quickly followed.

Though he didn't know why the man was being so antagonistic, choosing to show a bit of his hand now to 'strike the mountain and shake the tiger' was the best method.

After all, they would all be members of the Church of the Night Goddess later; there was no need to make things too tense.

No one else in the bar paid them any attention, as if they were hypnotized, preoccupied with their own activities.

Locke followed the bartender around the bar counter to a wall where the path ended.

Locke remained composed, standing quietly behind him, knowing without a doubt that there was a hidden door here.

The bartender glanced at his expression out of the corner of his eye, nodded inwardly, then raised his hand to form a seal while chanting under his breath.

“Open Sesame (Gima Hoy-mun).”

As he chanted the mantra, he channeled Extraordinary Factors into the wall before him.

With a wave of the bartender's hand, the previously sealed wall suddenly seemed to come alive, opening up an entrance.

Witnessing everything from behind, Locke showed no reaction on his face, but the twitching corners of his mouth proved that his heart was in turmoil.

Open Sesame? Who chose this mantra? Could it have been passed down by that fellow countryman of the Goddess?

After all, if they weren't from his home country, they probably wouldn't think of using this phrase as a mantra.

Moreover, if he hadn't misheard just now, this Church of the Night Goddess member disguised as a bartender was chanting the mantra in very clunky Cantonese.

“Could it be that the Goddess used to be a Cantonese person who loved eating Fujianese people?”

Having finished, the bartender stepped aside expressionlessly. “Guy, go on in. Keep walking straight, someone will receive you.”

Locke snapped out of it and nodded. “Sank-kyu.”

With that, he walked into the dark-looking passage with the raven on his shoulder. As soon as he entered, the passage door closed immediately.

Though no light came from the bar, inscriptions on the passage walls emitted a faint, continuous moonlight, lighting up the otherwise dark tunnel. Locke didn't find the door closing strange; if the passage stayed open, he would have found it suspicious.

The passage sloped downward. Locke estimated he had walked nearly a kilometer before seeing a wide-open space ahead.

He immediately quickened his pace, covering the remaining distance rapidly.

The end of the passage was a space of about a thousand square meters, a cathedral resembling an underground grotto. It was like a cave because many stalactites still hung from the ceiling.

Despite being underground, this cathedral wasn't dim at all; it was filled with a silver lunar glow emanating from an unknown source.

The entire cathedral appeared bathed in holy radiance.

In the very center stood an exquisitely carved statue of the Goddess of the Night. It was much larger than the one Locke had seen in the island prison, standing about ten meters tall, exuding a magnificent and imposing aura.

“Feynman, what are you doing in the cathedral instead of selling liquor out front? It's not Time to clock out yet.”

Just as Locke stepped into the cathedral and before he could speak, a very cold voice rang out.

The speaker clearly mistook him, a stranger, for the Owl bartender, likely not expecting a newcomer to join.

Locke looked toward the sound and saw a tall woman shrouded in wizard robes, sitting cross-legged beneath the statue of the Goddess, eyes closed in cultivation.

She had long, wine-red hair cascading over her shoulders.

However, she wore a mask, so Locke couldn't tell what she looked like.

“It seems Teacher didn't lie to me; members of the Cult of the Goddess of Night really do wear masks. Could the Goddess have some special fetish?”

Though he couldn't see her face, based on his experience, even if she was covered by loose wizard robes, he could sense the fullness hidden beneath.

Even by a conservative estimate, it was definitely a D-cup.

After staring for two seconds, Locke quickly withdrew his gaze, cleared his throat, and stated his purpose in a calm tone: “Ahem, hello. I'm here to join the church through my teacher's introduction.”

“Hmm? It's not Feynman?”

Hearing his words, the woman slowly opened her eyes and stood up. As she moved, Locke could clearly see the surging waves beneath those robes.

He had been too conservative.

After standing up, the red-haired woman walked quickly to him, circled him once, and then asked, “Who is your teacher?”

“Uh—Time.” Locke didn't intend to hide it; this wasn't some fantasy world where he needed to play the pig to eat the tiger.

“My teacher is Time.”

“Time!” When the red-haired woman heard the name, she was stunned. Her voice suddenly rose, filled with disbelief.

“Are you sure your teacher's name is Time and not something else?”

“Caw! My master's teacher is Lord Time. Is there a problem?”

Xiao Qi, who had been holding back for a long Time, saw that they were in a secluded environment and that the person before them was a Transcendent. She immediately put her hands on her hips, raised her head, and answered, though her tone was quite arrogant.

Hearing that high, thin voice, the red-haired woman finally noticed her and turned her gaze over.

“Are you... one of the ravens raised by Lord Time?”

“Humph, it's good that you recognize this young lady.”

Xiao Qi puffed her chest out even more, acting very inflated. Seeing this, Locke quickly smiled at the red-haired woman and gently tapped the bird's head. “Miss, please excuse her. This raven my teacher gave me has a bit of a naughty personality. Please don't take offense; I apologize on her behalf.”

“It's fine. This little fellow is quite cute.”

The red-haired woman's voice was very ethereal, like a goddess who didn't eat the food of mortals. Locke felt she had a very mild temperament, belonging to the gentle type, a completely different style from Serena and the others.

To keep the atmosphere from getting awkward, Locke turned his head, furrowed his brows, and feigned a scolding of Xiao Qi: “You little thing, I told you to show some restraint. These are our own people from the Church of the Night, why are you still putting on airs—”

“Caw, Master is right to scold me. Xiao Qi knows she was wrong.” Xiao Qi was now both afraid of and somewhat dependent on Locke. Being scolded like this, she immediately buried her head under her wing.

The red lips of the woman, partially visible beneath the mask, parted slightly. “It's alright. By the way, my name is Cristiana Yeri. You can call me Chris.”

“And your name is—”

“Ah—”

Facing the soft hand the woman extended, Locke hesitated. Recalling his teacher's warning, he remained cautious and gave a fake name: “Miss Cristiana, hello. My name is Gallo.”

Though their hands only touched briefly, Locke could clearly feel the smooth, tender sensation from her hand.

He felt as if he had just touched the skin of a newborn baby, so smooth and delicate.

After withdrawing her hand, Cristiana stared at his unmasked face with her large blue eyes, her tone curious.

“Gallo, didn't your teacher tell you about our cult's customs?”

“What?” Locke was slightly taken aback.

“Our Cult of the Goddess of Night has a rule: everyone who joins must hide their appearance behind a mask.”

Cristiana continued to stare straight into his eyes. “Did Lord Time really not mention this rule to you?”

“Oh, so that's what you meant.” Locke immediately showed a look of realization and then pinched his own face. “Miss Cristiana, I actually am wearing a mask. It's just a human skin mask; this isn't my true appearance.”

As soon as he said this, he could clearly feel Cristiana's blue pupils dilate, seemingly amazed by his near-miraculous disguise technique.

“This really isn't your original face?”

Still somewhat skeptical, she reached out her slender fingers and pinched the corner of Locke's face, then gave it a gentle tug to confirm.

“How can your disguise technique look so real?”

Cristiana stared at Locke with wide eyes, puzzled but mostly curious.

After all, she didn't want to wear a mask all day either. Following the rules didn't mean she liked them.

“Uh—” Locke thought for a moment and gave a casual excuse. “ I learned this from an agent named Jackal.”

“Then can you help others with disguises? Or help others make masks?” Cristiana blinked.

“Uh, I suppose I could.”

Locke smiled. “But Miss Cristiana, I primarily came today to apply to join the Church of the Night Goddess. Can we discuss other matters later?”

Reminded by him, Cristiana immediately reacted, raising her small hand to pat her forehead, her tone slightly embarrassed.

“Mr. Gallo, I'm so sorry. Once I encounter something interesting, I tend to get distracted and forget the task at hand.”

“Please follow me. I will take you to perform the initiation ceremony now.”

With that, Cristiana turned and walked toward the statue of the Goddess.

Locke naturally followed quickly behind.

When they reached the statue, a thick parchment secret codex held in the Goddess's hands flew into Cristiana's grasp. Locke was no longer the clueless newcomer he once was; seeing this, his face remained calm.

After receiving the book, Cristiana immediately closed her eyes and began to pray.

“Moon that hangs high above the earth, Ruler of Crimson and Night, Empress who protects the peace of dreams, today your most devout believer, Cristiana Yeri, humbly asks you to witness here and crown your follower.”

Locke didn't presume to follow her lead in prayer but watched quietly from the side.

After all, this didn't seem like the ceremony Time had performed, which involved a supernatural polymer as a sacrifice. Locke felt this was likely just a simple ritual, and the key to initiation lay in the book in Cristiana's hands.

Sure enough, after Cristiana finished her prayer, she turned around and offered the book with both hands. “Gallo, this is the Holy Scripture of the Church of the Night Goddess. it is an important secret codex that guides us as we walk through the supernatural world and maintain our humanity.”

“At the same Time, it is also the register for recording the names of new members upon initiation.”

Locke looked down.

This Church of the Night Goddess codex was entirely black—a deathly black like a night without a single ray of light. The cover and spine were adorned with numerous golden secret scripts, preventing it from looking too plain while also imbuing it with a sacred aura.

Four large characters were written on the cover: [Secret Codex of the Moon]. In the top right corner, there was a moon embossed in silver.

Locke quietly sensed it, comparing the supernatural aura of the [Secret Codex of the Moon] with the strange items he possessed. He found the aura of this secret codex to be remarkably pure and vast, without a trace of evil or eerie influence.

“As expected of an Orthodox God.”

Locke couldn't help but marvel inwardly, then asked, “What do I need to do?”

“You only need to place your palm on that moon, channel your Extraordinary Factors, and finally call out your name. The ceremony will then be complete.”

Cristiana pointed to the raised moon on the cover and explained, “At that Time, your name will be recorded in this secret codex. Simultaneously, this information will be synchronized across all Churches of the Night Goddess on Terra. In the future, no matter where you go, the Church of the Night Goddess will recognize you.”

“I understand.”