Ella’s master, Agnes A. Reich, arrived at the hotel in just a few hours.
When Iserin mentioned that she felt she had come here through her abilities, Jinseong subtly took the sisters straight to the hotel.
Iserin and Iarin wanted to greet Ella’s master, but who could manage a proper greeting when someone was struggling to hold onto their sanity due to what had happened to Ella?
Jinseong convinced the sisters that they could only have a proper conversation after the ritual was performed and that for now, they should spend some quiet time together.
Thus, Jinseong led Iserin and Iarin toward the outskirts.
They rented a truck to stuff materials in, and for items that shouldn’t get damaged, they had managed to store them in a box reinforced with cooling magic. However, it was too cold in Russia to shove a goat and a capybara into the back, as they risked freezing to death.
Because of this, the sisters had to each hug one of the animals.
“Eek! Stay still!”
“Yikes! You stubborn little fluffball!”
Thanks to the warmth from the sisters, the capybara and goat avoided death, but instead, Iserin and Iarin were the ones suffering. The goat in Iserin’s arms squirmed, seemingly eager to jump into the vast expanse of snow, while the capybara crammed against Iarin was relatively calm but was continuously relieving itself all over her clothes. And when this ‘pooping stubborn fluffball’ began to do its business, the goat wasn’t going to lose out either, adding to the chaos with its own mess.
Thankfully, Jinseong had come prepared with a cleaning artifact, so the truck didn’t turn into a cesspool. The cleaning artifact not only wiped away the mess on the floor but also cleaned the clothes that had been hit first with the animal waste, making them look fresh out of the laundry.
The bodies stained with filth could be washed clean using a cleansing artifact created to maintain hygiene during travel, so that wasn’t a problem either.
But the nuances of human emotions are quite strange.
No matter how clean and new something is, the instinctive aversion to the words ‘used’ or ‘refurbished’ lingers.
Even if the clothes and bodies were now spotless, the fact that they had been soiled could not just disappear, naturally leading to resentment.
“Brother! How far to the destination?!”
“Quick, hurry with the magic!”
Not long after they had started, the sisters who had once chirped about ‘The capybara is surprisingly cute… It seems a little sad to sacrifice it,’ and ‘The goat is too adorable, can we not use it for the ritual?’ now found themselves naturally saying, “hurry and kill this wicked beast for the sacrifice!”
“Ow! Why are you gnawing on my hand?!”
“Ah! Why are you trying to eat my clothes! No! I don’t need to know about goat habits!”
The goat was gnawing on the hem of Iserin’s skirt, turning it into rags, while the capybara was chewing on Iarin’s fingers to file down its growing teeth. To make matters worse, while Iserin was distracted, the goat escaped to the back and relieved itself right on her head.
Truly, the time spent with these uncontrollable animals felt like a nightmare to the sisters.
But nightmares tend not to end on their own whims.
The sisters had to endure a long time of pleasant company with the animals while hearing dispassionate remarks like “It won’t take long,” “We’re almost there,” and “Feel free to enjoy the scenery outside.”
Eventually, they got into the truck at dawn and only reached their destination after the sun had fully set.
“Is… is this it?”
When she got off the truck, Iserin gasped at the view.
“Wow, this scenery is something else! It wouldn’t be surprising if a ghost popped out! Older brother, this can’t be the destination, right? Please say no.”
Iarin followed up, also in awe.
But their admiration was far from positive.
It was the kind of awe that emerged when encountering something horrifying and terrifying, not the kind that would arise from a breathtaking view.
What lay before their eyes was a closed amusement park.
Firstly, the entrance was overrun with unidentifiable weeds and trees. Vines wrapped tightly around the lush trees were choking the life out of them, and the canopy formed created a dark curtain of shadow on the path leading to the amusement park. Even if a flashlight were turned on, it would likely be swallowed by the darkness.
Moreover, they could see the entrance from afar, but it looked equally ominous. The heavy chains and locks that sealed the main gate seemed to emanate a menacing aura. The rust on the metal looked like dried blood, and graffiti that seemed hastily drawn declared, “This place is dangerous!” as if it were screaming with all its might.
Beyond the entrance, a massive ride loomed, its precarious state made it seem like it might topple over at any moment.
“This is it.”
But Jinseong didn’t even flinch.
Instead, he merely gazed at the sisters as if to ask what the problem was.
“The most important thing in performing a ritual is the magical meaning behind it. Naturally, places with history, legends, and traditions are preferable. However, it’s a misconception to think that only such places can use genuine magic.”
Everything changes with time.
The same applies to rituals of magic.
Long ago.
When humanity first began to establish civilization, they surely performed rituals in places that appeared magical.
Whether it was on mountain tops that created a scene like a white sea due to year-round fog, lakes that were perpetually struck by lightning, caves that sparkled with sunlight at specific times, or lakes where one might float instead of sink when lying down, or seas that were transparent enough to see to the bottom but had depths of dozens of meters.
Places accompanied by incomprehensible natural phenomena.
Natural masterpieces that instill a sense of awe.
Mysterious locations that remain beyond human understanding no matter how much they are explored.
Such places were primarily used for rituals of magic.
But as time passed, human beings began to conquer nature, believing that such awe was something to be dominated and destroyed. In that process, even the venues for rituals began to change, resulting in altars.
These altars can take on various forms depending on the era and the region.
In some regions, stones are carved to create structures that reach dozens of meters high through countless stacked stairs, while in others, it takes the form of towering structures adorned with sculptures and murals related to ancient myths. There were regions where countless skulls were piled like towers, and others where mud bricks made by mixing well-kneaded clay with human skulls were shaped into square pyramids.
“I was a bit worried before arriving, but seeing it in person isn’t so bad. No, on the contrary, it’s quite marvelous.”
Humans hold reverence, fear, and longing for high places.
Thus, they have believed that a massive, incomprehensible entity resides high above in the sky, and preferred to send their wishes and prayers skyward.
When the smoke from burnt offerings rose into the sky, they believed it touched the gods above, and when the traces of burnt offerings disappeared, it was thought that the fire served as a medium for the gods to receive their tribute. A loud sound elicited emotions, serving as a conduit to communicate with the distant gods and simultaneously a desperate effort for humans to be heard.
As time passed, humans’ obsession with the sky grew.
Altars rose higher so the gods could be reached.
The sounds meant to reach the gods became refined and shaped.
The ecstasy of the spirit to communicate with the gods was solely regarded as their goal.
Finally, when humans learned to fly in the sky, their obsession with it began to wane, but…
That doesn’t mean the symbolic significance simply vanished.
High places bring one closer to the heavens.
Being closer to the heavens enhances the efficacy of burnt offerings.
And here stands a grand artificial creation of humanity.
“That Ferris wheel will be the location for your ritual.”
Jinseong said this while looking at Iserin.
“Uh, um, excuse me?”
What Jinseong was pointing at appeared to be nothing more than a hunk of junk that could fall apart at any moment. From the looks of it, it hadn’t worked in decades, and even if it were operational, one would worry it would explode due to some fault.
“Eek.”
Iserin’s complexion turned pale.
“Worry not. You don’t have to go all the way to the top.”
Jinseong gently patted her shoulder in reassurance and took the goat out of the truck, placing it in her arms. The goat, once returned to Iserin’s hold, bleated and struggled to escape, but as Jinseong placed a hand on its head, it closed its eyes and nestled against her.
As the goat fell asleep in Iserin’s arms, she looked at it with disbelief. Iarin, who was standing next to her, also gazed at Jinseong, seemingly blaming him.
Wondering why he didn’t just let it sleep back in the truck.
“If it sleeps for too long, it loses its value as a sacrifice, and it will degrade. The state of sleep has historically been viewed as being closely related to death, so if it sleeps too long, the symbolism associated with life diminishes.”
In ancient Greece, Hypnos, the god of sleep, was regarded as the twin brother of Thanatos, the god of death. This was because people who witnessed others dying, likened death to ‘eternal sleep.’
Moreover, this notion wasn’t unique to ancient Greece.
In various other cultures, it is believed that sleep signifies the resting of the soul, and some folk tales describe souls as taking the form of animals that roam outside before returning. If a soul becomes lost or doesn’t return in time, it is thought to perish, illustrating the close relationship between death and sleep.
“Of course, unless it’s for a disturbingly long time, the differences wouldn’t be significant, but should we not aim for the best efficiency in what we do?”
Explaining this, Jinseong retrieved a bag from the truck.
Inside the bag was a bounty of white salt, sun-dried and glistening.
As Jinseong grasped at the air, the salt began to float as if defying gravity, swirling around Iserin and Iarin like Saturn’s rings.
“This salt will ward off defilement.”
With that, Jinseong spoke and began walking toward the amusement park, leading the two sisters along.
