Old-time musicians

"Mithras?"

[As I write this, I hope readers will remember our domain name Taiwan Novel Network→𝘁𝘄𝗸𝗮𝗻.𝗰𝗼𝗺]

"The name of a person, place, object, or the name of a secret church?"

Fan Ning asked in this strange and empty noise.

“The former constitutes the latter, and the latter contains the former.”

The saint walked around the stone lantern, and the lights and shadows of different colors also set off the picture into some contrasts.

"There is no way to verify who originally built this core area of ​​the 'Glory Wheel'. However, according to the canon, it is clearly recorded that Saint Sebastian, the first luminary, had the experience of meditating here. In this case, what things are There are already some things that have been changed subsequently, and there are some doubts. At least, Saint Sebastian and Mithraism are inextricably linked, and it is very likely that he has done something to the things here. Additions, deletions and changes will be made to reveal to future generations the truer secret of the origin of the Holy Sun Church.”

It is clear that the saints preferred the group of syllables "Mithra" to be the precursor organization of the present church, or at least to be related in the process of differentiation.

Fan Ning was not surprised by the issue of the predecessor of the Holy Sun Church.

Starting from the development laws of mysticism and speaking more broadly——

The predecessors of all Orthodox churches are secret religions, and the predecessors of all official schools are secret organizations.

In the long river of secret history, even the Lord of Witness itself is evolving, not to mention the organization of knowledgeable people who worship the Lord of Witness?

There are so many secret organizations that I have never heard of.

"At that time, was Mithraism worshiping idols, totems, or solar terms? Was it the right way or a heresy? At what age did it rise and at what age did it fall? Now our Father in heaven, as Is it good or bad?"

The saint stood as still as a statue and did not directly answer Fan Ning's question, but just reminded:

"Look up."

Fan Ning subconsciously raised his head and looked up.

His vision suddenly froze.

There is no longer a barrier to the light passage here. It is a stone chamber, but there seems to be a "skylight" above it.

The swirling streaks and shadows in the sky became duller, but there was something else higher and deeper.

An indescribable giant is slowly turning, rolling like a millstone, projecting layers of celestial double images and indistinguishable sounds, smells, and colors into the observer's senses, and seemingly The observer directly grabbed him and pulled him high into the sky!

This is glow!

Fan Ning actually experienced the chaotic transcendental feeling that he had when he first entered Yiyong and witnessed the "light of first acquaintance", in which individual consciousness, time, space, and the boundaries of the five senses were all broken, broken, and mixed together!

"No way, this is not a real glow."

Fan Ning reacted the next moment.

Those fragmented and chaotic feelings are also fleeting.

If it were really the glow after the curtain was lifted from the heights, even an existence like Pogolic would be burned into nothingness without any suspense because of facing the truth.

Is this a light and shadow model concocted by the observer based on his or her own understanding? The "Cow Slaughtering Picture" below is the projection of the "glow model" after it finally reaches the end point?

Even though it was just a model, Fanning still marveled at the handiwork of the person who created it.

And, there is something else.

Slightly below the high "glow model", he also saw a strange geometric body floating there quietly.

Two flat triangles face each other and are connected by three light bridges with profound patterns. What is formed in this way is

"Why is it like a 'prism'?" Fan Ning frowned.

The shape of a prism is exactly a "triangular pillar".

One of the triangles has a golden flame burning on one side, and the other two sides are relatively dim, similar to how "one-third" of the "glow wheel" was lit up when looking at it from the outside.

As for the other triangle, one side has undergone a more obvious mutation, turning into the appearance of the "Key of Timing" in his hand, exuding pale, flickering heterogeneous light and shadow!

Various metaphorical scenes suspected of "Mithraism" impact Fan Ning's cognition.

He suddenly realized that the core area of ​​​​the Yiyong Secret Realm was not just a "Cow Slaughtering Picture", the complete scene actually looked like this -

The "glow model" at the top emits incomprehensible light and shadow, and then under the action of the "prism", it passes through numerous strips and is projected onto the stone slab surrounded by lamps below, forming a sculpture composed of various ordinary colors and lines. "Cow Slaughtering Picture".

Strictly speaking, this is an installation art! Painting is only part of installation art!

"What does this really mean?"

"Prism, why is there a prism?"

Fan Ning's spirituality was violently shaken by the knowledge.

He began to recall his understanding of the world when he first came into contact with the mystery.

Some of the initial concepts and forms thrown out by the gathering point descended to a relatively low place and turned into radiance.

The Aura is complete divinity and original inspiration, yet remains indescribable and incomprehensible.

Those who have knowledge cannot observe the original appearance of divinity. They can only observe various silhouettes formed by the collapse of radiance in the secret revelation - that is, the phases of various parts of divinity.

"The glow, through secret revelation, collapses into seven relatively intuitive phases, and an eighth, less intuitive, secret history."

"Just like, just like?"

"Sunlight, after passing through a prism, is refracted into seven kinds of visible light in the world, and 'less intuitive' invisible light??"

"So, what does the 'prism' corresponding to the 'hidden revelation', this 'prism' deliberately built in the 'installation art', actually refer to?"

Fan Ning's thoughts fell into the violent sea of ​​light from above, when the saint finally spoke in a low voice again:

"What do you think is the essential purpose of any school of mysticism?"

"Or, what should be the nature of the greatest merit of any organization, official or covert?"

So Fan Ning spoke without hesitation:

"Rise higher."

The saint's silence indicated that this was not an answer.

Fan Ning also recalled some of the secret past about the "fourth type of origin" of the God of Origin that he saw and heard while exploring the ruins of the "Great Palace School" and traveling in the southern continent:

"Go through the door of the dome, be promoted to the Lord of Witness, and be listed in the HOS seats?"

The saint remains silent like an hourglass running out of water.

Are such illusory things not high enough and not essential enough?

Fan Ning couldn't help but feel very confused, but he suddenly recalled what he really felt in his heart when he first completed the "Preview" and returned to the waking world, and his whole spiritual state started to tremble:

"See the glow in person?"

This is the essence of spirituality rising like a spark, but is this something that can really be done in reality?

He couldn't help but suspect that even the Lords of Witness were unable to "see the glow" because they only controlled one or several phases, and this was still just an incomplete silhouette of the glow.

But this just shows what a supreme concept the real so-called "great achievement" is.

The saint's low voice echoed in the stone chamber:

"Judging from the vague information fragments collected so far, Mithraism is a secret church in the strict sense. It does not preach the gospel, recruit believers, record the dates of its deeds, and has no written scriptures. The believers keep one-on-one secrets. After rigorous testing, the higher-level priests dictate the teachings orally. Even if they advance in the religious hierarchy, they do not make it public. Only one-on-one messages are communicated to both parties. In contrast, today's so-called secret sects have become like viruses. A raging public scourge.”

"But this makes it extremely difficult to study the secret history of Mithraism. It is impossible to even know the active era, and there are also gaps in the subsequent evolution that are completely incompatible with known organizations."

"According to my guess, Mithraism may be the earliest known organization of knowledgeable people to establish a mystical system currently known to mankind. They are also the first to regard 'seeing the radiance' as the most essential great achievement and religious sacrifice. The ultimate goal of pursuing one's goals, and what they believe is the way to achieve 'seeing the light' is the 'prism' occult symbol above their heads."

"The layout of the stone chamber, on the one hand, is a metaphor for the light above being refracted into phases through the 'triangular prism' symbol, condensing into the tower of light, the door, the movement and the waking world - that is, we can recognize the shape of the scene depicting reality. "Cow Slaughtering Picture"; on the other hand, various elements symbolizing 'lattice' appear in "Cow Slaughtering Picture", which means that mortal creatures can in turn climb upward through the 'upgrade' method, and finally pass through the 'prism' symbol , see the glow for yourself.”

"In this way, the compound word 'person' is split. 'Person' represents the position, that is, the current height of climbing. 'Person' represents human attainments and historical cognition. The only one in Mithras can be called a doctrine. "Picture of Slaughtering a Cow" perfectly explains the mystical relationship between 'position' and 'lattice'."

As Fan Ning listened to the saint's narration, his eyes gradually scanned the elements of the "Cow Slaughtering Picture".

The moth, lion and moon in the picture directly correspond to the "moth", "forged lion" and "crescent moon";

The burning torch symbolizes the "torch bearer";

Ears of wheat, grapes and little figures in fine clothes symbolize the "sower" or "bridegroom";

The cloaked man wearing a crown symbolizes the ‘father’, and the dagger in his hand symbolizes the ‘blade bearer’.

Indeed, although the order is staggered and the logic of the display is given priority, the elements of the seven "grids" are all present.

"But this slaughtered cow that occupies a large position has the same core in theory, but what kind of metaphor should it use?"

"What are the hounds and snakes and scorpions that bit it on the side?"

"An unsolved mystery," the saint said.

Fan Ning knitted his brows and nodded.

If this is a digression, the next most critical question should be

He said: "The most important thing is that Mithraism believes that the way to 'see the radiance' is to explain what the 'prism' symbol should be."

The saint took a step forward, but instead of looking at the "prism" above, he continued to stare at the "Cow Slaughtering Picture".

"Did Bishop Lavoisier see anything else?"

"The triangular side of the prism above shows the appearance of the key about the 'snake' below. As for this painting, this painting." Fan Ning poked around and quickly discovered the inconsistency. "This is the surrounding area." The tones of the stone lanterns are not uniform. In my opinion, the prism refracts the light, and the "Cow Slaughtering Picture" formed may not necessarily have uniform brushwork and uniform steps."

Yes, this painting looks a bit fragmented under the special light and shadow!

It's like several people painted separately and then "stitched" them together.

"Later on, disagreements and divisions arose."

The saint finally looked up at the prism suspended in the sky.

"The first group of believers believe that the power of mysticism comes from 'doctrine' and 'belief', 'first the worshiper, and then the worshiped'. They advocate following the will of the Lord and usurping the home. The other two seats, through the 'Trinity' way, can see the light firsthand - these people are called 'originalists'."

"Although the fault is serious and I don't know how it evolved in the middle, our Holy Sun Church must belong to the orthodox inheritance of the former Mithraic 'original sect'."

The saint came to a conclusion directly and unfolded a simple scroll with several lines of text in front of Fan Ning's eyes.

"Since the New Era, Saint Apollo the Light-Bloomer and three other saints, including myself, have continued to study the secret history and concluded that there are "ten similarities" between Mithras and the Holy Sun Church."

Fan Ning read the writing on the scroll word for word.

"First, Mithraism is a 'Sun Worship Cult', and the Lord of Witness enshrined by our Holy Sun Church both refers to the sun as the representation of the world, and both advocate saving the world through divine actions."

"Secondly, the god who walks in the world worshiped by Mithras is 'born in stone and walks in light.' Our church has a theory of 'giving form' to light, which is an unconventional way of reproduction of mortal creatures." (This article immediately reminded Fan Ning of the 'virgin pregnancy' theory of the Blue Star Holy Cross Church in his previous life)

"Thirdly, both believe that the birth date of the Lord of Witness is the "Winter Solstice", but the calculation method of the calendar is different (or the time is too far apart, and the annual operation itself has changed), resulting in the actual date being different."

"Fourth, both have miraculous allusions to "strike a rock to produce water."

"Fifth, both emphasize "atonement and salvation." Mithraism allows new believers to reenact the crucifixion of the "Sun God" during the initiation ceremony. Our church has a "sunset ceremony."

"Sixth, both have the Holy Communion ceremony, and the consecration materials are bread and wine."

"Seventh, both have baptism ceremonies. The difference is that some Mithraic orders use honey, and some orders use cow blood. Our church uses holy water diluted with spiritual liquid."

"Eighth, both have underground temples. The difference is that our religion regards them as both refuge and discipline, while Mithraism regards the "Sun Cave" - ​​a cave full of candles with swaying candlelight - — as a place of daily worship.”

"Nineth, both of them advocate temperance, self-denial, enthusiasm, and piety in the conduct of believers."

"Tenth, both regard the last day of the week as Holy Sunday"

The more Fan Ning looked at it, the more doubtful he became.

Now I not only feel that there are many coincidental similarities between the teachings of the Holy Sun Church and the Blue Star Holy Cross Church in the previous life.

The research on the "Origin of Mithras" by the church's top leaders suddenly made Fan Ning realize that it was not that he had never heard of it.

Just not in this life.

Various descriptions of these characteristics are very similar to a "Sun God Cult" secret church in an ancient European empire in Fan Ning's previous life!

"I think this 'originalist' faction is good."

While listening to the lecture, Fan Ning quietly suppressed doubts in his heart.

"But the second part of the congregation believes that since the Lord of Witness is the holder of the phase and the incarnation of the laws of nature, the so-called 'faith' is just a special form in which the laws of mysticism take effect. They advocate overturning the concept of 'faith' Holiness, extensively study the secrets of various witnesses, and find the three keys that reflect the ultimate law under the light, and realize the light through the way of "time sequence reunification" - these people are called " Disenchantment School'.

"In the theory of the 'Disenchantment School', the three keys have existed since the existence of the glow, and are the 'master hub' and 'master switch' of its will power, so they are called the 'keys of the glow' or ' The keys of the timing are numbered -1, 0, and 1 respectively."

"-The symbol of key No. 1 is a book, and the power of will contained in it is 'Secret History'; the symbol of key No. 0 is a clock, and the power of will contained in it is 'Order'; the symbol of key No. 1 is The power of will contained in the spears is "fate". They are different from the keys of the door. They are above the seven phases. In other words, they are like the "seven-colored light refracted from the sun through a prism". The three timings The key can directly serve as a bridge between the glow and the waking world!"

Fan Ning sorted out and digested the ideas and differences between the two factions.

"Originalism" - "Faith" - "Trinity".

"Disenchantment School" - "Study" - "Return of Time".

Ultimately it points to the essential purpose of mysticism: "seeing the radiance".

The mysterious corner behind the high curtain was finally slowly revealed after a series of plans entered the core and senior levels of the church.

But after hearing this, things became more complicated and confusing.

The key's spear embossed turned out to be a "spear", and the small vertical bulge turned out to be the Arabic numeral "1"!

Three keys, three numbers, -1, 0, 1?

A sequence of time?

The art museum key left by his father Vincent is actually suspected to be the key to the No. 1 sequence! ?