"We'll leave as soon as it gets dark!"
Shu stood up, pacing back and forth uneasily.
Her agitation scared Lin almost to tears.
"Alright, Aunt Xiu, you rest. I'll go get some things. We can't skip today's food, or they'll suspect something."
Ike nodded and left the cabin.
Shu forced herself to calm down and sat down cross-legged.
As she meditated, her breathing gradually smoothed, and she suddenly noticed something different about Lin.
"Lin, come here!"
Shu beckoned.
Unexpectedly, Lin did not come over, but retreated in fear.
Shu stood up, grabbed Lin in a swift stride, and pulled open her clothes. On the little girl's soft arm was a black tattoo.
"This is..."
Shu felt a chill run down her spine.
"Wuuwuu..." Lin cried out, "Ike said he would become a big shot, and you would be good firewood... wuuwuu..."
"I was too careless..."
Regret filled Shu's heart. She had been immersed in learning the Extraordinary Path and ignored the influence that Ike, a teenager, could have in a cult like this.
"Damn, he must have gone to inform on us."
Shu pulled up the floor, put on the backpack, took Lin by the hand, and ran out of the house.
Once outside, her pace quickened until she reached the edge of the town.
At the town's edge, there were usually Burning Child-led patrol teams. They were often at the Second Order, possessing the power to control flames, and Shu did not want to face them.
However, if they ambushed them, there might be a chance.
After all, they thought she was their ally, and because of their deliberate escape, she became familiar with the patrol team.
But this time, Shu's luck was bad.
She saw the Black Sun cultists gathered at the town's entrance, led by none other than the High Priest, who was holding a child – Ike!
Shu's heart sank, and she quickly recited a mysterious spell, summoning a living-like black wind.
"Are you using the curse I taught you to attack me, Shu?"
The High Priest's lips moved, and the black wind vanished.
Shu's heart sank even deeper.
Aaron calmly watched this scene.
He knew that until he found a way to interfere with this world, he could do nothing about it.
In the end, Shu was captured, after all, she had Lin with her, and if they fought, the girl could easily be hurt.
Moreover, resisting was meaningless in the face of their formidable power.
"Tell me, what does 'firewood' mean?"
When she was tied up, Shu couldn't help but ask.
"You'll see."
The High Priest revealed a hint of a smile.
Aaron suddenly had a feeling that he was about to touch upon the core secrets of the Black Sun Church.
...
Two days later, at the transition between day and night.
Aaron saw human pillars tied up in the town square.
At their feet were intricate, artistic ritual tracks.
"Divination and counting points determine that this is the best time to please My Lord."
The High Priest removed his hood, revealing a skull covered with tattoos and incantations: "And you, too, will become my firewood, together experiencing the allure of this high-order ritual, called—the Solar Eclipse!"
Aaron suddenly thought of the High Priest's first sermon—"Darkness symbolizes destruction and sublimation. It can make us Unburned. To awaken the Spirituality of Darkness we must first burn ourselves, offer our flesh and blood, pass through the three great gates, go through the Solar Eclipse Ritual, and upon completion, our form will be gone while our bones stand tall. This is a great achievement!"
"Now it seems that the three great gates refer to the three stages of Unburned, Burning Child, and Chasing Darkness. Only by reaching the pinnacle of Chasing Darkness can the Solar Eclipse Ritual be held, right?"
Aaron stood in the crowd, quietly watching the High Priest show off.
The High Priest's face turned slightly red, clearly excited to the extreme: "Ordinary people have their limits. After completing the ritual, I will shed my mortal body, gain a new life form, be closer to My Lord, and enter a whole new stage! Now, it's time!"
Roar!
Following the command, the Black Sun Cultists on the outer circle chanted incantations together.
Amidst the strange incantation sounds, a group of pitch-black flames suddenly burned on the ritual tracks, one after another, devouring the offerings.
Shu even saw Soron, the once-refugee, and now a traitor, also becoming "firewood"!
He screamed, his body melting like a wax statue.
Meanwhile, in the ritual track, some inexplicable things seemed to be summoned and attracted, converging on the High Priest's body.
"Offer everything to the Master of Solar Eclipse, ascend amidst the flames, receive the favor of Darkness, and become the Beast of Darkness!"
The High Priest roared, and his body was also engulfed in black flames.
The flames quickly swallowed his form, and within the raging fire, it seemed that a new form was being nurtured...
"As I thought... the Spirituality of Darkness among the Black Sun Cultists can be stripped and absorbed from each other... So that's why the High Priest constantly recruits, preaches, and even teaches without reservation."
"Their spirituality... all are 'firewood,' all are sacrifices to be burned, all are nutrients for the growth of the Beast of Darkness!"
Aaron watched coldly.
To the Black Sun Cultists, this scene seemed to be a common occurrence, and even the eyes of a few Burning Children in the crowd were filled with craving.
They were much stronger than the Unburned, but were ill-suited to be used as sacrifices.
"So that's how it is... "
Aaron muttered, at this point, the Black Sun Sect had no more secrets in his eyes.
Or rather, he had already figured out the highest secret of the Black Sun Sect!
"Aunt Xiu!"
Outside the arena, Lin cried out, but Ike hugged her tightly and covered her mouth.
"Aunt Xiu has gone to a higher Light World; she's one step closer to the Black Sun."
Ike whispered in Lin's ear, seemingly comforting or hypnotizing her.
As the sun set, all the firewood for the ritual had been burned to ashes, and the black flames gradually extinguished.
Roar!
Suddenly, a monstrous beast with a human head on a dog's body and covered in black flames jumped out from the ashes.
It was the High Priest!
He had successfully performed the Solar Eclipse Ritual, changed his life form, and became the Beast of Darkness!
...
Nighttime.
The reveling Black Sun Cultists were in ecstasy or deep sleep.
In Ike's cabin, the door creaked open.
Lin looked up at the bright starry sky: "Aunt Xiu... sob... I miss you so much, I'm sorry... "
She looked at the crimson moon, recalling the old legends in her hometown.
The souls of the dead rose to live above the moon, watching over every person in the mortal world.
And the moon tonight seemed to be particularly round...
"Mom... "
Lin suddenly thought of her mother, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
She didn't know if it was an illusion, but through her tearful eyes, she seemed to see, above the moon, a giant tree completely entwined with flesh and blood...