In the living room of Mayor Kelso's house, several people sat in a circle on the sofa. Titus stood in front of them, with a blackboard behind him.
"Once again, I don't want anyone who still has a choice to take this bloody road." Titus emphasized the word "bloody".
After speaking, he looked at Shangluo.
"Do you mean."
"Karma. I don't mean karma in the mystical sense, but physical karma. The forest king will die under the blade, and every forest king will die like this, because this is the essence of the branch-breaking ceremony. Branch-breaking , and then assassinate the previous king with a blade, you can become the new king. I think Mayor Kelso may have said something to you? He will definitely say it."
The reason is self-explanatory. Karin is "broken", and seems to be more "damaged" than before. This vision could not help but worry Mayor Kelso.
Shangluo nodded, which was considered confirmation.
"I understand his difficulties, but I still want to tell you that the current plan is optimized. We have also tried to let trusted internal guards carry the karma of the Golden Bough, but without exception, they all died violently. Several of them died. Fame, or even death in the hands of teammates. The temptation to become the forest king is too great. He is one of the few remaining wizard kings in mankind so far, possessing mysterious power from the ancient times of mankind. He is this land The true master, even the earth must obey his orders."
"Then this is..."
"It's a silhouette. We tied the golden branch to the silhouette of a forest king in the classical era. We only broke the branches each time without crowning him. This will ensure that the authority of the forest king will not leak out and will not be given to those who bear the royal power. The operators themselves bring karma and disaster. The Forest King will surely die under the blade, it is only a matter of time. Because everyone is mortal, unless wait, you are a Qi practitioner in Cathay, right?"
"Well, in principle, it can be counted."
"In other words, you have hope of immortality? Haha, it's really enviable." He shook his head, "This is a state that the Romans would not dare to hope for anyway. Then if you can't die, then you will age. ?"
"No. Compared with immortality, it is easier not to age. In fact, it is very close."
"Okay." Titus sighed, "The immortal Cathay monk is indeed the most suitable person to bear the karma of the Golden Bough. But let me explain to you first, the agreement between us never mentioned that we would crown you. As the king of the forest. However, the coronation itself is just a matter of effort. You can be crowned directly after grabbing the golden branch. So it is completely a political issue, because according to the Chinese proverb, you are called 'walking around when you can't eat.' Inviting you to dinner, the result You moved the restaurant with you.”
"Is this in line with Zhou etiquette?"
"Um" Titus sighed again, "It fits. So I said this is just a secular political issue, not a magical issue. But I also talk to you from a secular perspective: being crowned the King of the Forest is cost-effective for you. A very low choice. Because you have not practiced magic, you are a Cathay monk. Taking away the golden branches to refine medicine is the best choice for you. Carrying those extra karma is not worth the gain. You have planted a seed. A bad fate is not auspicious."
"Yes." Shangluo nodded, "I will consider your opinion. I will make my own judgment whether I want to be crowned or not."
Shangluo felt that he had to look at the actual situation - mainly because he still didn't know what he could gain by being crowned the Forest King. If you have to stay and watch the forest, wouldn't it mean that you have come all the way to apply for a job as a security guard?
"Okay, I respect your opinion. It's not a bad thing for us to let you take the responsibility. Just think about it yourself." Titus turned around and started writing on the blackboard.
"So in order for you to make a more comprehensive judgment, the first half of this introductory course on occultism focuses on the history of occultism."
His pen stopped, and two symbols appeared on the blackboard.
The sun, and the wine glass.
"Apollo and Dionysus are the starting point of all magic in Rome. Just like the culture of Rome itself, they all originated in Greece. The origin of their origin is a prophecy: the god-king of the Olympus clan will die. At the hands of the Son of God. The first-generation God-King Uranus, the second-generation God-King Cronus, and the third-generation God-King Zeus, all their inheritances are regicide and patricide. So what about the fourth generation? Who are the four god-kings? The mythology is once again divided. The binary opposition of Apollo and Dionysus arises here."
He first pointed to the sun: "Apollo refers to the sun god Apollo, who symbolizes the beautiful fantasy of the dream world. What Dionysus refers to is Dionysus, which represents pain and vitality. In other words It is the desire for immortality - the branch-breaking ritual you see belongs to the power of Dionysus. Just like the rituals of the Sun God include prophecies, revelations and dreams, the rituals of Dionysus all have one thing in common: blood. Wine is the cup filled with blood, and blood is the wine rushing in the veins. The ritual of Dionysus involves seeing blood."
"That is, assassinate the Forest King?"
"Yes. But this actually has nothing to do with the myth of Dionysus, because in terms of mythology, the origin of the sacred grove of Lake Nemi is actually the moon god Diana. But if it is divided by the duality of Sun God and Dionysus, then As the opposite of the Sun God, the Moon God naturally belongs to the Dionysian mythology series. The myths of Diana are often inseparable from bloody killings, but they are more peaceful than the true worship of Dionysus."
"Is there any restlessness?"
"The true worship of Dionysus does not involve killing with a knife. Ancient literature records that in certain rituals a person was to be torn alive. Because Dionysus, the god of wine, was born three times, true immortality was born from it. Of course. In modern rituals we no longer tear people apart, now we tear bulls apart, with our mouths.”
"Huh?" Shangluo didn't expect such an exciting project in modern Rome. This is really exciting.
"Ah, but don't worry, no bull will feel pain during the ceremony because of the anesthesia. And judging from the physique of modern people, I doubt whether the Dionysian sacrifice can be performed normally without anesthesia. . I am afraid that before they tear the bulls apart with their mouths, they will be gored to death by the bulls' horns. In some places, bullfighting is held in the arena, which is a very popular event. This belief also extends to the army, and is also related to Worship of the sun coexisted. For example, although the Roman legion believed in Mithras Helios, the legion's call sign was still Io Triumphe (for victory). We shout his glory in the name of Dionysus and intercept him. Cutting blood. So there will also be many hints of red blood in this branch-breaking ceremony, such as the red apple you ate last night, and the fact that you are about to cut the forest king, causing him to bleed red blood. I hope you have better luck, because the Bacchus is crazy. It doesn’t matter whose blood the sacrifice belongs to.”
(End of chapter)
