The Crimson Magister Chapter 149: V4-C8: The Ritual

Read chapter 149 of The Crimson Magister by Okram on NovelPedia.

A final corrupted Vila burned in the black fire. Aqua closed her eyes and exhaled. “It is such a shame.” It was a sad thing that rot existed, yet one could not blame a natural force for fulfilling its purpose. Just as Sun God’s aspect was rebirth and change, and the black flame’s aspect was consumption and destruction. The rot represented assimilation and corruption. Of course, Aqua hated it as all living things should, it was an anathema to all life that wished to avoid being twisted into something terrible. Yet she understood it. She tilted her head toward the horizon, the sun was almost down, and thus she had to return and finish the ritual. Lesh appeared behind her, and a faint smell of lavender filled her nose. “Lesh, I believe there are no corrupted Vilas in the forest. I will head to the village now.” “Thank you for your assistance, champion,” he said. Aqua nodded before disappearing in a flash. She appeared in the ritual chamber. The Vilas were hard at work finishing their preparations. They decorated themselves with various flowers and vegetation while the ribbons of various colors trailed behind them. “Champion!” Katarina shouted while waving to Aqua. She, too, was decorated as the other Vilas were. The eager girl approached and grinned. “We are about to start, but there is one more thing you need to do before we commence.” Aqua tilted her head. “What is it?” Katarina flew into the air, and retrieved a wreath of flowers from behind her back. “We need to decorate you, so just be quiet while we do it!” Aqua did not protest; instead, she stretched her hands to the sides, letting Katarina and an additional two Vilas work on decorating her. They placed flowers and vines around her arms and thighs, and various ribbons were attached at her sleeves and shoulders. After a minute of preparation, Katarina placed the wreath of flowers on Aqua. The eager Vila flew back and clapped her hands together. “Perfect, you look beautiful, and unlike the Empress, you didn’t even utter a single complaint!” Aqua chuckled. There were no reasons to complain. She trusted them completely. If they had said that the decorations were necessary to commune with Valerie, then she was more than happy to accept them. She chuckled and placed her hand on Katarina’s head. “Why would I? It’s not like you are going to do any harm to me, not to mention that the wreath of flowers is beautiful.” The Vila shook her head and separated, desperately attempting to suppress her excitement at the praise. “I weaved it myself!” She exclaimed before tapping her fingers together. “And Poludnitza helped… of course.” Aqua crossed her arms, smiling warmly at the girl. After a moment of silence, Katarina cleared her throat. “Alrighty! I think it’s time to start the dance. Aqua, please walk into the middle of the circle.” Let’s do this. Aqua urged herself as she stepped into the carefully prepared circle. Dozens of Vilas, including Katarina and Poludnitza, took their positions at the rim. Katarina placed her hands on her hips. “When the time approaches, I will bring you the tea to drink.” “I understand.” Yet, she couldn’t help a shakiness in her legs. Her palms sweated, and she found it hard to stand idly. Am I nervous about dancing, of all things? She suppressed the urge to laugh. After everything she had gone through, that dancing was the thing to cause her to stumble. A clap brought her attention to Poludnitza, who stared at her with equal intensity as the first time, yet this time she could tell it was not out of fear but hope. “Let us begin the ritual of communion! It has been so long since we communed, and now is the time to do what we were meant to do! When we dance, our mother listens, and when our mother listens, our dreams will reach her!” Is that why I need to sleep? Her heart sank. She wondered what would happen if she had a nightmare when a connection was established. After all, her nightmares were not just that. They were far more dangerous than normal bad dre