### Chapter 620: Replacement
In the dark night of Gramorn, beneath the full moon in the night sky, the waters of Twinkling Star Lake shimmered with glimmering waves. Between the reflections of the lake and the moon, the church at the center of the lake remained aglow with lights. The moment of the full moon marked a significant ceremonial occasion in the faith of Mirror Moon, and within the Mirror Moon Church, a ritual was indeed taking place—though it did not belong to Mirror Moon.
Inside the grand and magnificent chapel of Mirror Moon Church, Gethsmoor, adorned as a Sister of Radiance, stood before the massive Mirror Moon Statue, gazing intently at the ritual “rehearsal” underway. She bore witness to the murmurs and steps of the assisting sisters, watched the slow movements of the white-robed main sister, and listened to her mysterious incantations, the wickedness in her smile becoming increasingly apparent.
‘Yes… yes… Servants of Radiance, continue your ritual. Young saint, keep singing your bloody hymns and worship me… Gethsmoor, the Witch of the Deep Web. I am the symbol of Her presence in this world, I am Her moving statue!’
Gethsmoor inwardly mused, her gaze into the depths of the ongoing ritual brewing with fervor. The thought of twisting the sacred ceremony originally belonging to the Holy Mother of Radiance into one for the Spider Queen filled her with indescribable pleasure.
The Eight Pinnacle sought to avoid drawing direct attention from Sacred Summit towards Prit by refraining from clashing with Vania for control of the Mirror Moon Church. To this end, they devised a scheme to lead Vania, unaware, to complete their ritual for them without conflict.
By continuously monitoring Vania, the Eight Pinnacle learned of the existence of the advance party dispatched by Tivyán. They attacked and replaced the advance party, subsequently using their identity to lure Vania into conducting this “rehearsal” of the sanctification ritual according to their wishes.
This rehearsal, though termed as such, was actually a formal ritual. The incantations Gethsmoor taught Vania had nothing to do with the Holy Mother; instead, they were litanies glorifying the Spider Queen—the exact incantations needed for her replacement ritual! Although the church lacked symbols of the Spider Queen, Gethsmoor’s unique identity allowed her to serve as a representation, making her a moving statue of the Spider Queen!
Defiling the purity of the youngest saint in the church, unwittingly leading her to worship the so-called evil god, filling the once-sacred ritual with blasphemy; the success of such a scheme thrilled Gethsmoor. She relished the thought of the pious Radiance believers, blinded by their own high moral standards, committing grave sins under her subtle influence, especially the white-robed sister.
‘Vania Chafirlen… you are now praying to the evil god unwelcomed by Radiance. I’m so curious, what expression will a devout believer like you show if you realized you’re secretly serving the Deep Web Queen and committing blasphemy against the Holy Mother you pledged loyalty to? Would you be so ashamed to the point of self-martyring? How I wish to witness your fate as a rising star of the church…’
Watching Vania continue to chant the incantations devoutly, Gethsmoor’s heart brimmed with malice. She even contemplated that if Vania’s blasphemer came to light and she was expelled from the church, perhaps the Eight Pinnacle would have a chance to recruit her.
Amidst Gethsmoor’s many sinister thoughts, the “rehearsal” of the “sanctification ritual” gradually approached its conclusion. Finally, when Vania finished reciting the last incantation, the entire ceremony came to a complete end. Gethsmoor had witnessed the entire process, confirming that each step was correct and that every word Vania uttered was accurate.
“Very well, sisters. You did excellently; today’s rehearsal was impressive. Now, everyone please return and rest,” Gethsmoor said, clapping her hands with her usual smile. Upon hearing her words, the sisters who concluded the “rehearsal” stood up straight, took a breath of relief, and bid farewell to Gethsmoor and Vania before leaving the chapel together, departing the church on a boat to return to Gramorn.
“Sister Vania, that’s enough for today; make sure to rest well,” Gethsmoor said as she bid farewell.
“Good night, Sister Gray,” Vania replied softly, and the two separated within the church. However, Gethsmoor did not hasten to leave the lakeside church after parting with Vania but instead found a more secluded corner within the church. At that moment, a wisp of bl**d mist gathered in the shadows, coalescing into the form of a hunched elderly man, who was none other than Ed.
“What’s the situation?” Ed asked directly upon seeing Gethsmoor disguised as a sister, to which she replied, maintaining her smile.
“It’s all set; the ritual went very smoothly. That sister’s learning ability exceeded my expectations; I thought she’d need at least another day to grasp the entire ritual,” Gethsmoor said with a flick of her hand, her expression light. Ed, maintaining a serious demeanor, continued.
“The ritual succeeded? So that means… the temple of the Night Sky Empress has also been thoroughly replaced by us?”
“Yes, without those guys noticing at all, we’ve succeeded. Now, all that’s left is a bit of confirmation work.”
As she spoke, Gethsmoor slightly stooped and began to discreetly set up a very simple mini-ritual, intending to confirm the state of the church and whether the replacement ritual had indeed succeeded.
Once she drew the magical array in dust, Gethsmoor commenced her ritual. She closed her eyes and placed her hands on the array, connecting with the mystical essence of the entire church to verify its state.
During the execution of this small ritual, Gethsmoor’s expression, initially calm and composed, gradually shifted, becoming increasingly troubled as time passed. Her previous nonchalance faded, replaced by a grave concern, and finally, it morphed into disbelief. She widened her eyes and slowly murmured.
“Impossible… impossible… how could this happen? This can’t be!”
Gethsmoor muttered in astonishment, and witnessing her reaction, Ed couldn’t help but furrow his brows and inquire.
“What’s wrong, Gethsmoor? Has the ritual not succeeded? Has the nature of the temple not changed?”
“No… the nature here has indeed changed; the replacement ritual should have been successful, but the problem is… this has not turned into the temple of the Spider Queen! This is now a temple of another god!”
Gethsmoor said seriously in a low voice. Hearing this, Ed couldn’t help but widen his eyes in astonishment.
“What…”
—
On the other side of Twinkling Star Lake, within the mirror-like space.
In the colorless realm, Doro floated as usual above the Mirror Lake, relying on the vast lake surface to spy on the happenings of the current world. At this moment, her eyes were focused on the church at the center of the lake, fixated upon the statue that bore an uncanny resemblance to her.
“At last, it’s complete, my replacement ritual…”
Gazing at the scene of the current world reflected on the lake surface, Doro murmured, realizing that the grand church, once belonging to the Mirror Moon Goddess, now served a different deity.
That deity was Akasha, the System, Doro herself! She had successfully conducted the replacement ritual, transforming the domain once belonging to the Mirror Moon Goddess into her own temple!
And this ritual had just concluded; it was the one that appeared to be a rehearsal but was secretly a ritual planned by Gethsmoor for the Spider Queen. Ultimately, the temple would not belong to the Spider Queen—it was Doro’s!
The replacement ritual required two key elements: the replacement of the primary symbolic object within the temple and the incantation recited by the main priest. The scheme of the Eight Pinnacle was to have Gethsmoor, the Spider Queen’s witch, act as the symbolic object, translating the praises for the Spider Queen into an ancient language that common people couldn’t understand and misleading Vania through poison recognition to recite it as the main priest.
As for Akasha’s symbolic object—or the statue related to Akasha—although it appeared absent from the temple, it had been present from the very beginning. It was the original Mirror Moon Statue, the sacred icon of the church!
Due to reasons even Doro herself could not comprehend, the appearance of the Mirror Moon Statue bore an extraordinary resemblance to her own. Since the essence of Akasha was the System, which had no physical form, and because Doro was the controller of the System, Akasha’s image was essentially Doro’s image.
Typically, divine symbols can exist in two forms: as abstract symbols or as concrete statues. If Akasha had a statue, it would bear Doro’s likeness. Thus, after making slight alterations, the Mirror Moon Statue could serve as Akasha’s image.
The adjustments Doro made to the Mirror Moon Statue included inscribing the symbol for “Enlightenment” at a discreet part of the statue when the church was still in the concealed space. This differentiation was possible due to Doro’s striking resemblance to the Mirror Moon. If the Eight Pinnacle had handled the statue, they would have needed to swap the entire statue’s head, as they had done in other Mirror Moon ruins.
Simply altering the statue and creating her own symbolic object wasn’t enough; Doro needed to address the issue of the incantation for a successful replacement ritual. The incantation of the replacement ritual followed a set of guidelines, allowing any belief to reference it to create their own unique incantations. Doro had composed her incantation long ago, but the challenge lay in how to chant it during the ritual.
The incantations in a ritual must be recited by the main priest. Doro could easily have Vania chant what she wanted, but to prevent Gethsmoor from noticing any discrepancies, Vania had to recite the Spider Queen’s incantations throughout the entirety of the ritual without a single mistake, as Gethsmoor was listening closely. Tampering with the incantation was hugely difficult.
Faced with this challenge, Doro pondered for a while before finding a solution. The inspiration for her method stemmed from the ritual dance passed down by Adele from her teacher. In the faith of the Goddess of Abundance, the dancers incorporated movements as their incantations; in their rituals, they transformed incantations into actions, conveying them through dance. After recalling the features of the ritual dance, Doro realized she could potentially express her incantation in a form beyond mere words.
The form Doro settled on was rhythm—beats that carried underlying patterns. In simpler terms, she encoded her incantation much like Morse code, transforming it into a series of specific rhythmic beats rich in meaning. She would then have Vania recite the incantations for the Spider Queen while blinking, stomping her foot, tapping her hands, altering the speed of her speech, and so forth, thereby conveying these rhythms.
Throughout this process, Doro also allowed Vania to fully employ the esoteric knowledge she gained earlier, using various techniques from the Amakusa Cross Tragic Church to conceal her rhythmic actions. Under the professional belief-disguising techniques of the Amakusa Cross Tragic Church, Vania’s secret motions went completely unnoticed by Gethsmoor.
The God of Enlightenment represents knowledge and wisdom, logic and mystery, numbers and measurements. The former chief god of Enlightenment, Judge of Heaven, revered mathematics, integrating the rituals and ceremonies with profound mathematical puzzles. Akasha is also a God of Enlightenment; thus, Doro’s approach of encrypting her incantation using numbers and rhythm was highly rational and feasible.
In the recent replacement ritual, both Doro and the Spider Queen met the two requirements of incantation and symbolic object. However, it was Doro who ultimately secured the church. The key lay in Vania’s attention; although Gethsmoor had repeatedly reminded her to focus on Gethsmoor as the symbolic object of the Spider Queen, during the entire ritual, while Vania maintained her gaze on Gethsmoor, her focal point was actually not on her but on the massive Mirror Moon Statue behind her.
With the ritual and the symbolic object in place, the focus and attention of the main priest ultimately determined success, and clearly, Vania had been venerating the Mirror Moon Statue throughout the ritual.
The Eight Pinnacle had cleverly masked the Spider Queen’s replacement ritual within the sanctification ritual of the Holy Mother, hoping to quietly fulfill their objectives without the main priest’s awareness. Doro, on the other hand, had embedded her replacement ritual within the Eight Pinnacle’s ceremony, accomplishing her ritual without their knowledge.
The ceremony experienced in the chapel was superficially dedicated to the Holy Mother but was secretly prepared for the Spider Queen, yet in reality, it belonged to Doro.
“Now that the replacement ritual is complete, one out of three of my rituals has been successfully accomplished. Next, there are still two more: the Divine Blessing Object Creation Ritual… and the Truth Mentor Ascension Ritual.”
Doro continued to murmur. She didn’t plan to conduct the three rituals separately but intended to complete all of them in one go. While the first replacement ritual had been able to pass secretly with clever subterfuge, the second and third rituals would likely not go as smoothly. Once the Eight Pinnacle noticed something amiss, they might take radical action.
At that moment, what Doro needed for the remaining rituals was time. She needed to secure enough time for herself amidst the potentially unstable influences of the Eight Pinnacle. Fortunately, Doro had prepared for this; she had secured a bodyguard for herself.
“Well then, I’ll leave it to you now, Mr. Principal.”
Doro continued, casting her gaze to the side. On the water’s surface of the Mirror Lake stood a figure clad in a gray overcoat and a gray bowler hat. Beneath that hat was a familiar elderly face, the very principal she had known during her school days at Igewent—Audric.
