Paladin of the Dead God

No, the term ‘altered’ wasn’t entirely correct. In fact, the procedures Isaac knew were more likely ‘altered,’ whereas the ritual Sadraza intended to perform was closer to the ‘original.’

Regardless of the ritual, there were always three minimum essential elements required to proceed: a temple, a priest, and a sacred artifact.

The term ‘temple’ referred to any historically significant or divinely charged place. Even if small and humble, a site would serve as a worthy temple as long as divinity had once resided there.

For the priest, it was best if they were respected and had achieved accomplishments worthy of divine attention. As for tools, their rank depended on the history and meaning imbued in them.

If at least two of these were of exceptional quality, any shortcomings in the remaining element could be overlooked. This was why priests often fixated on acquiring excellent sacred artifacts or an ideal temple.

This was also why Isaac could accomplish so many rituals using only the Rite of Division.

However, to perform a miracle of the magnitude needed to break the Salt Desert, even the strictest fulfillment of these three conditions could hardly guarantee success.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Isaac had to use every trick he knew to align with these conditions.

‘In that sense, this place is… optimal.’

An ancient, thousand-year-old temple directly connected to a god—such an ideal location was rare, even in the Codex of Light. Only in the Holy Land of Lua could something of comparable significance perhaps be found.

And Sadraza was now the only remaining high priest of the Salt Council, unique in the world. Isaac considered Sadraza’s physical transformation a form of ‘acquired holy body’ within the Salt Council. There were cases where a holy body could emerge through acquired means, so it wasn’t strange that he, as a Salt Council priest, had taken on that form.

In other words, the priestly condition was excellently met.

As for the tools… though a bit ambiguous, the Armyes Sadraza had offered over the millennia had become a fine sacrificial instrument.

It was, in a sense, an altar.

From the perspective of Nameless Chaos, it might be a peculiar situation, as its own servants were essentially placed on a sacrificial table. However, they were depraved enough that they wouldn’t even be recognized by the Agents of Chaos.

And in Isaac’s mind, such beings deserved to die anyway.

“There exists a ritual called the Thirsty Feast.”

Isaac began explaining a ritual even Aidan, a member of the Salt Council, was unaware of. Ordinarily, one would have to delve into dungeons linked to the Salt Council, painstakingly restoring and translating any information found. However, Isaac already knew the necessary steps. 𝙍ÄŊố฿ĘṤ

“It involves gathering divinely charged offerings and performing a sequence of steps to rouse enough of the god’s power to fracture the Salt Desert. I don’t know the exact procedures myself—Sadraza likely knows them better.”

Aidan no longer looked at Isaac in surprise. He had grown accustomed to Isaac’s detailed knowledge of mysteries unknown even to them.

“So, it’s possible to conduct the ritual? Is there any reason why we shouldn’t do it now?”

Isaac looked conflicted.

According to his plan, it would be troublesome for the Salt Council’s god to be released now. His objective wasn’t to fulfill the Salt Council’s victory conditions, but rather to reclaim the Holy Land Lua.

“There’s a chance the Outer Boundary could temporarily collapse.”

Lianne’s eyes widened.

“The Outer Boundary?”

“The Outer Boundary is maintained by the power of the Codex of Light, and this region is heavily influenced by the power of the Lighthouse Keeper. If that force were removed, even for a moment, there would be a void. It would mean that creatures from beyond the Outer Boundary could pour into Miarma.”

Aidan seemed momentarily confused by Isaac’s words.

“Why would we remove the Lighthouse Keeper’s power? Aren’t we just trying to break the Salt Desert?”

“Well, if you want to see the sea dry up again as soon as the Salt Desert is shattered… it would require extinguishing the Cursed Sun first. Without achieving that prerequisite, the Thirsty Feast ritual won’t even commence.”

In other words, to bring the sea back to Miarma, the following process was necessary.

First, extinguish the Cursed Sun.

This alone risked drawing the ire of the Lighthouse Keeper, who might crush their skulls in fury.

Second, perform the Thirsty Feast ritual.

Depending on how thoroughly Sadraza had prepared, it might require additional sacrifices and undoubtedly would attract the Lighthouse Keeper’s attention, leading to more skull-crushing… and so on.

Third, the seawater would flow in.

And as the Outer Boundary weakened, monsters would enter along with it. The recently revived, still-weak ‘Caller’ would likely appear as a tempting meal to them.

In short, the Issacrea Dawn Army would be dealing with a horde of Outer Boundary creatures.

Each step was utterly harrowing.

There was a reason Isaac had opted to use an altered version of the Thirsty Feast ritual for the Salt Council’s victory.

Though more complex and challenging, it was a far safer approach.

“To safely shatter the Salt Desert, you would need to overcome a trial from the Lighthouse Keeper, gather three critical artifacts related to the Salt Council, slay the sacred monsters connected to the Outer Boundary to gather offerings, and proceed through the steps.”

However, both time and resources were too scarce to accomplish all that.

“So, you’re saying it’s impossible right now.”

Aidan looked disappointed, but Isaac shook his head.

“If one condition could be met, it might just be possible.”