Whispering Verse

"I have a friend at Fort Midhill, a captain. He asked me to ask you about the Twin Cult."

Shade said casually.

"Oh, Fort Midhill, that's it."

Professor Manning put down his teacup:

"But let me emphasize first that some of the texts I saw back then were content prohibited from being disseminated by the church. I had signed a contract with the church, and some contents could not be leaked."

"It doesn't matter, just say what you can."

Shade said:

"First of all, I want to know, is the tradition of prehistoric twin worship related to death?"

"die?"

The professor was stunned for a moment, then shook his head:

"What is the relationship between these two? No, it doesn't seem to be completely unrelated. I was still very young back then and was not a major excavator, so I didn't see much textual information... But I heard it locally at Fort Midhill There is a saying that twins can actually be regarded as one person. Therefore, when one of the twins is seriously ill and may die, the death of the seriously ill person can be prevented by killing the other."

He glanced at Shade's expression:

"Of course, this is just a foolish approach. When I was young, it was just a rumor to scare children."

In this way, Gemini worship should have nothing to do with the third chosen one.

"So, in twin worship, are there any rituals that can allow twins who are far apart and will never see each other to express their thoughts and even break the barriers?"

"This question is quite strange."

The professor said, but still nodded:

"Of course, but I must remind you that I am a professor of history and archeology, not a professor of folklore. So I don't understand those mystical things. I just use my own experience and knowledge to restore ancient times. It’s just knowledge.”

"Yes, Professor, I didn't see any illegal information from you tonight."

Shade said immediately, and Professor Manning nodded with a smile, called his servant, and went to the third floor to get the documents from the reference room.

Professor Manning did not compile a book about the archaeological data he conducted in Mount Sikar when he was young, but he included it in his lesson plans as materials for teaching young people:

"Look at this, Hongdie, yes, that's it."

He handed the pages in the cardboard folder to Shade, and while Shade flipped through them, he said:

"The remaining texts of the Twin Order that we unearthed recorded that the holy symbol of the departed great Twin Gods resembled a butterfly. Later, through communication between folklorists and the Seer Association, we discovered the 'red butterfly' intention in divination , itself has the meaning of sacrifice, twins, etc.”

"So, the way to break the gap between twins has something to do with Hongdie?"

"Yes, a weird and complicated poem. I only recorded it because I was interested in it."

Professor Manning squinted his eyes and recalled the past. As Shade flipped through the pages, he recounted the lesson plans he had taught all his life:

"The red butterfly spreads its wings and flies,

Flying over towering mountain peaks,

Flying over the black river,

May the wind take away eternal thoughts,

Until the end of life and death. "

What Professor Manning said is exactly as recorded in the text:

"It sounds like a folk song, too."

"Yes, there should be other meanings in poetry and ballads, at least that's what I and most scholars think."

The professor nodded:

"I really miss you. When I first read this passage, I was only a little older than you are now. I didn't expect that in a blink of an eye, I would already be this age."

He sighed, not knowing what he thought of.

Professor Manning suddenly became sad, so Shade talked with him about some past events and listened to his interesting stories about traveling around the Old World when he was young. He did not leave until eight o'clock in the evening.

The second stop tonight is Old John’s pawn shop. The pawn shop usually closed at ten o'clock at night, so it wasn't rude for Shade to visit so late.

When he opened the door and entered, Father John was pouring himself tea under the gas lamp. When he heard the door open, he raised his eyes:

"Oh, good evening, detective. I just want to find you. There is news about the special blood you asked me to help find. I know you may be out of money, so it will be cheaper this time."

"We'll talk about the blood later. Dad, help me identify a relic first."

Upon hearing this, Old John immediately became interested. After putting on his gloves, he picked up the silver mirror that Shade put on the counter:

"Tsk, tsk, mirror, relics with this kind of appearance are rare. Since this is the case, it should be easy to find the information. Detective, wait for me."

He put down the mirror and walked to the second floor of the pawn shop. He came back in only five or six minutes. Judging from the expression on his face, he already had the result:

"I found it, it turned out to be this, a clerical grade (level 4) relic - [Corpse Mirror]."

"Um?"

"Don't worry, it's not an undead relic. This should be considered a space relic."

"What does it do?"

Shade asked curiously, and Old John returned to the counter unhurriedly:

"Two characteristics are currently known. First, this mirror can accommodate almost unlimited corpses. Yes, corpses can be hidden and carried in the mirror. When St. Byrons first took in this mirror, it was from a corpse thief. Obtained from the hands of the deceased. Of course, the corpse collected in the mirror has a chance of being transformed into a low-level undead, so people speculate that this mirror was originally made by a witch who was proficient in space power and undead power."

"Can it be used as a space prop to accommodate other items?"

"cannot."

"That mirror doesn't seem to be of much use."

Shade shrugged. If he wanted to transport the body, Thaumaturgy [Toy Making] would be enough.

"Don't worry, listen to the second characteristic. Holding a mirror, the holder can enter the mirror space."

"What's the meaning?"

Now Shade was interested.

"With this mirror, you can find another mirror and walk into it. Oh, let me demonstrate."

As he spoke, Old John moved out a floor-length mirror that looked like an antique among the messy goods in the pawn shop. He held Shade's [Corpse Mirror], and then reached out to touch the huge mirror.

The mirror surface seemed to have ripples, and Old John actually walked in like this.

The mirror reflects Shade outside the mirror, but you can also see Old John in the mirror. This scene is very strange. Shade reached out to touch the mirror surface of the floor-to-ceiling mirror, but the mirror could not be entered.

"Interesting, isn't it?"

Father John hid behind the shelves in the mirror, so he was no longer visible in the mirror.

He walked out of the floor-to-ceiling mirror, returned the [Corpse Mirror] to Shade, and continued to introduce its features:

"You can carry any soulless items into a mirror while holding the [Corpse Mirror]. Yes, relics can also be brought in, and you can choose a mirror of any size. But when you leave the mirror , the items you brought in will also be ejected together."

In other words, this small mirror cannot be regarded as a spatial object.

But Shade suddenly thought of another possibility:

"If I hold the [Corpse Mirror] and enter another mirror, can the mirror I am hiding in be moved?"

If possible, Shade would let others enter the mirror, and then he would carry the mirror through the statue of [Primary Crack] to achieve spatial movement.

"No, when the mirror you choose is entered, the mirror will be fixed in the space in a way that cannot be moved. Also, when the mirror you choose is broken, the [Corpse Mirror] will be automatically ejected, and The person holding the mirror will be trapped in the mirror space forever."

Father John said, Shade nodded:

"In other words, apart from hiding corpses, it is also a small hiding place?"

"Yes, and after entering the mirror space, it can greatly reduce the mental pollution and soul pollution from the outside world. This is a very useful feature."

But the [Corpse Mirror] is also dangerous. In addition to storing corpses that may cause the resurgence of the undead, once the user stays in the mirror world for too long, the user may also be completely lost.

There are actually many dangers in the mirror world, and contemporary ring wizards have not explored them enough. But for Shade, this mirror is valuable enough.