Chapter 101: Three prophecies about the blood moon.
The moment the holy voice disappeared, the room plunged into complete darkness, with the only source of light being the blood moon outside the window.
An Wujiu felt a bone-chilling coldness, as if his entire skin had been peeled off, and the cold wind sliced through his flesh like soft blades.
This cold lasted for about half a minute. Suddenly, the lights began to ignite one by one, forming a ring. The twelve of them stood in the center, no longer in the small room from before, but in a more spacious hall of lights.
There were twelve lamps, each placed on a stone pillar, all carved with various images of gods and mythical creatures.
The ceiling was eight or nine meters high, adorned with exquisite paintings, but unlike European dome ceilings, it was flat, built with bricks and stones, and covered with intricate, ancient murals predominantly in red, yellow, and green. At first glance, the colors were vivid and intense, depicting people with bright feathered hats, reminiscent of primitive tribes.
In the center of the mural, as well as the center of the ceiling, was a rectangular black stone about one meter long and half a meter wide. Unlike the ordinary gray stones, it was translucent, shining like black crystal, allowing the red moonlight from the sky to penetrate through it.
The sky was starless, and the eerie red moonlight fell coldly through the black stone, casting a dark red shadow on the floor in the center of the hall, creating a sinister atmosphere.
An Wujiu noticed that they were no longer in their original clothes but were now wearing coarse linen robes with black animal fur cloaks.
Wind and snow continuously blew in from the open stone door to the west, freezing their bones and making them shiver in the empty hall.
“Is there a door?” Shen Ti walked towards the open stone door and said, “We’ll freeze to death before we even start the game.”
As he approached, he noticed that the doorway had two tall stone slabs on either side that could be pushed to close the door. Judging by their thickness, it would take four or five people to move them.
But Shen Ti didn’t call for help and tried pushing one of the slabs himself.
“Be careful,” Andrew said to him, “This door is too heavy. Let me help you.”
As soon as he spoke, Shen Ti easily moved the stone slab, looking relaxed as if he were pushing a wooden door.
Andrew, puzzled, walked over to the other stone slab and tried to push it, but it was even heavier than he expected. Despite pressing with both hands for a long time, it didn’t budge.
“Let me do it,” Shen Ti said, walking over and pushing the slab until it connected with the other, sealing the door.
When pushing the door, he took a moment to look down.
They were on very high ground. Outside was a vast, flat expanse, looking more ancient than modern, and it didn’t seem to be in Asia.
“I’m not good at much, but I’m very strong,” Shen Ti said, turning to Andrew with a smile.
Andrew returned the smile.
“Why hasn’t the holy voice given us the rules for this round yet?” Megan said, stomping her feet to keep warm, “Hurry up, I’m freezing.”
An Wujiu looked down at the floor and noticed that the stone tiles were also decorated with the same type of colorful totems as the ceiling. The figures with feathered crowns were holding spears or similar weapons, seemingly engaged in battle.
Apart from these, the sun appeared most frequently, which was fitting for an atlar.
“I feel like this place…” Nan Shan habitually clasped his hands together. He looked around and suggested, “This looks like a temple.”
“A temple?” Toudou Sakura hugged her arms, rubbing them for warmth, “What kind of temple?”
Nan Shan explained, “I think this looks like ancient Egyptian, Mayan, or ancient South American architecture. They all favored building temples with stone to worship and offer sacrifices to their gods. In those times, human civilization wasn’t advanced, and religion dominated most of their lives, so many places built various temples and sanctuaries.”
Toudou Sakura nodded, “So… this game is really related to religion this time.”
Listening to their discussion, An Wujiu observed his surroundings and noticed that the wall opposite the stone door wasn’t connected to the surrounding walls but stood alone like a floor-to-ceiling stone screen.
Could something be hidden behind it?
With this thought, An Wujiu walked straight towards the stone screen. He moved through the gap on the right, which was just wide enough for a person. As he passed through, he glanced sideways.
Behind the stone screen was a massive stone sculpture.
An Wujiu couldn’t describe what the statue resembled or didn’t resemble because it had everything: dragon-like scales, a jaguar’s head (but not just one; there was also a snake’s head with a forked tongue, and a human-like head that looked quite handsome, topped with a sun). The eyes, though made of stone, were bright. This face didn’t match its body, which gripped a spear, its body resembling a soft sack or a meatball absorbing all creatures, sprouting tentacles, lion’s legs and paws, a crocodile’s maw, and fish-like fins and tail.
Apart from the wise eyes on the human head, the entire stone sculpture was covered in eyes like those of a snake or lizard, with elongated pupils of various sizes, scattered across its body like bulging boils.
An Wujiu stared directly at the sculpture, hearing Lao Yu’s voice in his ear, saying that he had disappeared and was coming to find him, soon joining him.
“What are you hiding here for?!”
Lao Yu always felt threatened by An Wujiu, but seeing him staring intently at something, he followed his gaze. As soon as he saw it, his heart pounded twice, almost slamming against his aging chest.
What is this?!
He gazed at the stone sculpture, as if his soul had been tightly gripped, unable to move. Countless images flashed through his mind in an instant: the stars changing positions, the seas turning into mulberry fields, unstoppable transformations.
“Let’s go.”
Hearing An Wujiu’s voice, the feeling of being trapped suddenly disappeared.
Lao Yu’s stiff neck turned to look at An Wujiu, whose expression remained indifferent, his eyes exceptionally bright in the dim light.
“Let’s go outside.”
The two walked out from the sides of the stone screen. The moment they left the stone sculpture, An Wujiu felt as if a heavy stone had been lifted from his heart. This feeling was strange, perhaps because, in such a religious setting, even a non-believer couldn’t avoid the oppressive presence of the gods.
The remaining people saw the two coming out and were about to ask, but the sacred sound preceded them.
“Greetings, survivors.”
“The current round of the game—Blood Moon Sacrifice—officially begins. In this round, each of you is one of the twelve selected citizens of the Water City.
Water City was a prosperous and beautiful city. Periodically, the city’s leader and his subordinates would bring back abundant wealth and resources from their expeditions, and you lived in the city, on broad plains, by the water, worshipping the Sun God and the Rain God, living peacefully and stably.”
But just two days ago, the city’s high priest observed the moon phase and found that the bright waning moon had suddenly turned into a scarlet full moon. Through divination, he gave the people of Water City three prophecies:
First, on the second day of the blood moon, there would be a great natural disaster. If not averted, the disaster would continue to spread, threatening the city’s very existence. Second, the blood moon was brought by terrifying cultists hiding among the twelve mid-ranking priests, trying to summon an evil god. Third, these twelve mid-ranking priests must enter the temple, identify each other, and use their combined strength to destroy the cultists to lift the blood moon’s calamity.”
The sacred sound continued, “Upon receiving these prophecies, the high priest secluded himself in the Glass Pavilion of Water City. His first prophecy came true: on the second day of the blood moon, this warm, prosperous land, which never knew snow, was suddenly hit by a blizzard that killed dozens of citizens. Just as he said, four cultists are hidden among you twelve, devouring their faith and transforming their flesh into the souls of evil wolves, intending to consume Water City completely.”
“In this round of the game, you survivors have two tasks: First, identify the four cultists among you and sacrifice them to the Sun God and the Rain God. If all cultists are eliminated, the citizens of Water City will survive the blood moon disaster and win; otherwise, this place will remain forever trapped in dead, icy snow.
Second, you must protect the citizens of Water City, saving them from danger and confusion, and giving them a future of freedom and peace.”
After the sacred sound finished speaking, it instructed each person to stand directly behind a pillar in the temple hall.
An Wujiu, like the others, complied and stood on the steps of a pillar.
“Now, men, extend your left hand, women, your right hand.”
“Place your hand into the burning flame.”
Megan frowned, “What?”
Toudou Sakura suggested, “We should comply.”
In the scorching flames, An Wujiu felt as if he grasped something, the searing pain making him clench his hand. He only withdrew it when the sacred sound instructed them to.
There were no burn marks on his hand. An Wujiu instinctively opened his palm to see what he had taken from the fire.
But his hand was empty, except for three faintly glowing characters in his palm.
[Grave Keeper]
“Now you have received your identity. At no time are you to reveal your identity to anyone else, except during the morning sacrificial ritual. At that time, the twelve of you must discuss and decide on the day’s sacrifice. The specific sacrificial rules will be released during the day.”
The characters in his palm flashed and disappeared without a trace.
“Now, please enjoy your night. Perhaps one of you won’t see tomorrow’s sun.”
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