paranoianovel Chapter 19 Sequence Selection
Chapter 19 Sequence Selection
"The lamp...and the cup?" Lucius read out the two colors and their corresponding properties.
Felix looked at the two sexual orientations Lucius pointed out, pondered for two seconds, and then said:
"The lamp embodies reason, the pursuit of knowledge, radiance, and enlightenment."
Compared to other criteria, this criterion is more closely linked to dreams and includes abilities such as precognition and divination.
From the Third Age onwards, the authority of the Lamp aspect was inherited by the deity worshipped by the Invincible Sun Church.
"So Oliver is also a lamp spirit?" Lucius knew the answer as soon as he asked the question, having experienced Oliver's dream abilities before.
"The members of the Invincible Sun Church at least possess the element of a lamp or something related to a lamp," Felix replied, then frowned and recited the image of a cup:
"The cup represents food, sex, and desire; it is a vessel into which one drowns and cannot return."
It includes sensual desires, procreation, temptation, pain, blood, and craving.
only……"
"Captain, is there something wrong with this person's appearance?" Lucius quickly asked.
Felix's hesitant demeanor gave him a bad feeling.
Felix shook his head and told the truth:
"The deity who holds the power of the cup is the Red Cup, and He was once the true god, a point that is undisputed in theological history."
However, at some point after the end of the Third Age, the Red Grail and the Blood Grail Order, which it favored, were classified as evil gods and esoteric cults by most churches.
"The Red Cup?" Lucius knew of this god from a history class in the Second Age, where the textbook only contained a brief sentence:
The crimson cup was emptied to drink the waves.
He found it strange at the time that a god who could "drink the tide dry" at the turning point of an era could only be given six words in a textbook. It turned out that it was because He had been deliberately erased from the official history.
Felix waited until Lucius had finished processing the knowledge of his own nature before speaking:
"Lucius, regarding your sexuality and sequence, I have two options."
"Which two?" Lucius asked curiously.
"The first option," Felix held up a finger, "is to change your faith, join the Invincible Sun Church in Hull City, and become a Radiant One like Oliver."
This is the easiest path; the Invincible Church of the Sun possesses the complete formula for the Ascension Potions of the Radiant Ones and the corresponding ritual procedures.
However, there are two problems.
First, considering the hostile relationship between the Church of the Invincible Sun and the Blood Cup Order, the conflict between these two churches can be traced back to the "Church War of the Third and Fourth Ages" at the turn of the century.
They may not be able to accept your cup shape. Will you be treated differently after joining, or even have certain promotion resources restricted? You need to weigh this issue yourself.
Second, if you successfully become a Radiant One, according to the relevant provisions of the "Complementary Agreement of Members of the Anti-Extermination Bureaus of Major Churches", the contract we previously signed will be void, and you will be assigned to a squad without Radiant Ones.
Unfortunately, all four of the city's anti-suppression squads are already full.
So you'll most likely be transferred elsewhere, depending on the internal allocation within the Church of the Invincible Sun, but it's certain you won't stay in Hel.
Felix explained in great detail the pros and cons of choosing the Radiant One, and Lucius almost immediately abandoned this option.
The only difficulty in this choice seems to be whether the Invincible Sun Church will accept him, but if he is transferred to a remote place, wouldn't he be ruining the good hand he has in his hand?
"Captain, what about the second one?" Lucius placed his hopes on the second option.
Seeing this, Felix raised his second finger and hesitated, saying:
"Becoming a Feastman is the sequence path bestowed upon the Blood Cup Order by the Crimson Grail. In our struggle against the Blood Cup Order, we successfully obtained the recipes for the first three Feastman advancement potions."
The problem is that the materials for the Feastmen's advancement are too exotic, and very few churches of true God keep their core materials, especially our Unyielding Order, which destroyed most of the materials it had previously seized on the spot.
Choosing this sequence means your promotion will be very difficult.
He paused for a moment, then added, his tone shifting from hesitant to clear advice:
"Furthermore, I don't recommend you choose this path."
"Why?" Lucius asked instinctively.
"Those who feed on others are now universally despised, even some esoteric sects agree with this," Felix said with a smile, as if recalling something.
"Even if you are one of our team members, you can't avoid being discriminated against. As the captain, I naturally hope that the team can be more harmonious."
Lucius sighed helplessly after hearing this. It seemed he had no choice but to choose the Radiant One? He said somewhat reluctantly:
"Isn't there a sequence that includes both a lamp and a cup?"
Lucius was just making a casual complaint, but suddenly he remembered an unknown sequence recorded in his diary: the Feasting Apostles.
The occult diary opened before him, and line after line of text appeared:
The Promotion Ceremony of the Feast-Serving Apostles
【Sexual characteristics: Lamp (1), Cup (1)】
[Effect: Promoted to the next rank of Banquet Attendant]
[Introduction: He who gives us pleasure saves us from death and from boredom; we should give everything for Him.]
Isn't this a perfect fit for my own situation?
Lucius was about to ask about the term "Feasting Apostle," but seeing Felix frowning and deep in thought, he swallowed his words.
"I've got it!" Felix's eyes lit up, and he turned to Lucius, asking:
"You should know about the Hull Estuary archaeological site, right? No, as a history student at East York University, you certainly do."
When Felix suddenly asked about this, Lucius had a guess in mind and followed Felix's lead, saying:
"I do know about this site complex. The rubbings of the inscriptions unearthed in the second phase were once used as advanced anagramming lessons taught to me by Marcus."
"You're talking about the documents unearthed during the second phase of archaeological work, right?" Felix chuckled.
He revealed inside information that most scholars had never read about in any newspaper or academic journal:
"When the first phase of archaeological work was underway, the so-called archaeological experts and history professors who were photographed by the media were actually a joint team of sequencers composed of both church and noble forces."
They scavenged a wealth of occult resources within the site, including esoteric texts, ritual records, sequence advancement formulas, and materials.
The vast majority of stone tablets, sacrificial implements, and ritual fragments were dispersed and compiled into their respective secret archives.
Only history deemed harmless to ordinary people is left for ordinary scholars to interpret and publish.
Lucius didn't show much surprise after hearing this; he had already deduced this from the diary.
"So, you have a third option for sequence selection." Felix steered the conversation back to the core issue:
"The Feast-Serving Apostles" is the name of a sequence pathway discovered during the first phase of archaeological work at the Hell River Estuary site complex.
It is recorded on a stone tablet in the very center of the core sacrificial plaza of the site, and its domain encompasses both the lamp and cup aspects, making it a rare dual-aspect sequence.
"As expected..." Lucius thought to himself, the Church had actually possessed this sequence for a long time.
"But..." Felix's change of heart cheered Lucius up again, and he sighed, saying:
"It is not a complete sequence."