Chapter 3: Inspiration

Gray nodded vigorously and ran back to his room. But seeing his excited expression, it was unlikely he would be able to sleep tonight. Elian shook her head with a smile, picked up the magic lamp, and climbed up to the attic.

The attic was usually a place for storing clutter, but it was also cleaned up neatly. Elian moved aside a box, revealing a small altar behind it. The altar was made of stone, with its base intricately carved with complex magic circles in delicate and precise strokes. Only the position where a deity statue should be placed was now empty.

Elian carefully cleaned the altar, wiping away even the slightest dust. Then she stood up, her gaze falling on a thick book casually placed on a nearby box. This book was extraordinarily thick, probably nearing a thousand pages, and it was four times the size of a regular magic book, weighing at least over ten kilograms. The bronze-colored cover shone with a luster, spotless, indicating it was often flipped through. Elian was startled. She hadn't touched it for a long time, so it must have been Gray who was reading it. She just didn't expect the little guy to read it so frequently and enthusiastically.

Elian walked over and opened it with her hand. Her fingers were slender and beautiful, several grades above her appearance. The men in the village had privately commented on her hands more than once.

The book's cover was truly cast in bronze, heavy and cold, emanating the weight of years. Elian knew that within the bronze, hundreds of crystal particles were scattered like stars. When activated simultaneously, they would form a miniature altar. When the user was sufficiently devout and powerful, they could even listen to the voice of the Moon Goddess Elucia through it!

On the title page, a long poem praising the Moon Goddess Elucia was written in elegant ancient elven language. Even today, Elian still remembered every syllable of this hymn. Flipping through the pages casually, the textured pages flowed through her fingers like water, filled with either large segments of elven text or vivid illustrations. Unlike human religious texts, the teachings of the Moon Goddess only occupied a small part of its content, with many accounts of Elucia's deeds before she became a goddess. Therefore, apart from the Noland continent, it also contained a lot of content from other continents and even different dimensions. Little Aiden Gray probably saw it as an encyclopedia of geography and read it with great interest.

This large book, which didn't seem remarkable except for its thickness, was once the most precious treasure of the Elven Royal Court, the sacred scripture of the Moon Goddess Elucia.

In fact, the scripture also recorded seven unique divine techniques of the Moon Goddess, but only those recognized by the goddess could see and use them. In her prime, she could use five of them. Apart from the Grand Druid of the Royal Court, she was the priest who had mastered the most divine techniques. That represented both power and the goddess's recognition. But now, even if she paid a great price, she could only activate one divine technique, and that was with the help of the scripture's own power.

The seven divine techniques flowed through her heart like water.

"Elucia's Destiny" divine technique: Inspiration;

"Elucia's Favor" divine technique: Recovery;

"Elucia's Wrath" divine technique: Sanction;

"Elucia's Sword" divine technique: Silver Moon Armament;

"Elucia's Will" divine technique: Judgment.

There were two other divine techniques, one of which was "Elucia's Heart" divine technique: Foresight, which she had not mastered.

The seventh divine technique was only recorded in the scripture and had never been used by anyone. It was "Elucia's Confusion" divine technique: The Dark Side of the Moon.

Elian placed her hand on the scripture, quietly feeling the trace of holy aura within it. The fifth moon was now hanging high in the sky, and its cool moonlight penetrated the skylight of the roof, illuminating her body. A hint of divine power hidden in the moonlight quietly penetrated her body, accumulating for the ceremony ten days later.

The divine technique: Inspiration, was little Aiden Gray's tenth birthday gift.

On Gray's birthday, it was still midnight when he was awakened, brought to the attic, and knelt before the altar. The holy scripture before Gray had already been flipped to a specific page, revealing several lines of prayers he had never seen. It was in the ancient elven language, a profound and obscure language that Aiden Gray had mastered as proficiently as the common tongue. The content of the prayer was still praise and entreaty to the Moon Goddess, but as Gray recited it silently in his heart, he suddenly had a strange feeling. It seemed as if his body was becoming transparent, and something that had been wandering aimlessly in the darkness suddenly discovered something and flew towards him, plunging into his body. Gray felt an icy stream in his chest and abdomen, swiftly extending and spreading to his limbs and lower abdomen. This sensation flashed and vanished, though it was exceptionally clear. However, having special sensations during sacrificial or magical rituals was common, and many rituals even required enduring intense pain. So, Gray didn't say anything and continued to gradually empty his mind as his mother had requested.

"My Gray, soon you will enter the hall of the goddess Elucia and receive enlightenment about your destiny. You may have two or three choices. If so, you can choose..." Saying this, Elaine suddenly shook her head and said instead, "My Gray, choose whatever you want. Listen carefully to the voice of the goddess and then follow your heart."

Gray nodded vaguely. As Elaine's gentle chanting sounded behind him, his consciousness gradually blurred, as if he was detaching from this world in front of his eyes.

When he regained consciousness, Gray found himself standing before an extremely vast and lofty temple. The place where he stood was a huge square several kilometers in circumference, making him feel as tiny as an ant. The square was paved with silver-gray stone, shimmering with a faint mystical glow. When he looked around, he saw an endless starry sky, with stars so close that they seemed to be within reach. The square and the temple were suspended in the starry sky.

The vast space brought almost unbearable pressure to Gray. His heart beat faster, and he didn't dare to look around anymore. Instead, he ran towards the temple. He ran for a long time, crossing the entire square and ascending thousands of stone steps, before standing at the entrance of the temple. If Gray weren't a mountain child with a strong and resilient body and great endurance, he would have collapsed long ago. As he ran, he didn't dare to pause at all. The huge square filled his entire vision, and the shimmering light seemed to be pulsating, as if the entire space was not static but moving according to some rule. Gray had an illusion that if he stopped for a moment, the entire square would tilt, and with the mirror-like ground offering nothing to grab, he would helplessly and desperately slide off the square and fall into the bottomless abyss.

When standing at the door of the temple, Gray's heart almost jumped out of his chest, and breathing became extremely difficult. It took a great effort for him to catch his breath, remember his mother's instructions, and look up into the temple.

The temple had no dome but was enclosed by a circle of tall, jade-white pillars. In the center was an altar, around which three faintly visible goddess statues stood. They had different postures and varying intervals between them. There should have been six positions for goddess statues around the altar, each representing a different ability. The more goddess statues Gray could see indicated that he could unlock more abilities during the enlightenment.

Aiden Gray had exceptional memory and quickly identified the abilities represented by the three goddess statues. They were "Extraordinary Divine Power," which could grant the enlightened great strength; "Life Torrent," which possessed immense vitality and the ability to heal; and "Wind Speed," which enhanced speed and agility.

Gray was slightly disappointed. In fact, his young heart had already made a choice, which was "Wisdom" that greatly enhanced intelligence. Because real men needed wisdom.

However, having three choices was not bad. His mother only expected him to have more than one choice. What Elaine didn't tell Gray was that most people who had received enlightenment only saw an empty temple.

Aiden Gray walked towards the altar, trying to open his eyes wider to see wisdom. But this temple, along with the entire starry sky, was not real. No matter how hard he tried, what could he see? Instead, because of hesitation and doubt, even the three goddess statues began to blur.

"Do you want more abilities?" A voice suddenly sounded in Aiden Gray's ear.

Aiden Gray was startled and looked around, but he saw nothing. The voice was sudden, mechanical, and monotonous, filled with the cold, metallic taste, making him feel very scared.

"Who... who are you?" Gray asked boldly, his voice trembling. His words echoed throughout the hall, and the reverberations startled him again.

"It doesn't matter who I am, and I won't appear again in the future. Strictly speaking, I am the other half hidden in your heart," the voice said.

"Impossible!" Gray exclaimed firmly. His mother had told him that his heart was very pure and wouldn't harbor any mess. Moreover, after exchanging a few words with this voice, his fear gradually subsided. Children from the mountains were very brave. His initial fear was only because he didn't know what was happening and was taken by surprise.

However, the voice was unaffected by Gray's reaction and continued in an unchanged tone, "Now, go and choose what you want."

Before Gray's eyes, the altar shone again, and three goddess statues appeared once more! Besides "Wisdom," there was "Elemental Affinity," which was crucial on the path of magic. This ability allowed mages to communicate more easily with external elements, thereby casting spells with less expenditure. To put it simply, mages with the "Elemental Affinity" talent could have one to three more spell slots than mages of the same level. It was a terrifying talent that became more potent at higher levels. The other ability was "Nature's Envoy," which allowed people to have a more intuitive and thorough understanding of nature. It not only significantly increased stealth capabilities and movement speed in complex terrain but also enhanced the power of various nature spells and granted higher resistance to poisons.

At this point, all six abilities of the Enlightenment were presented to Aiden Gray.

"This... this..." Gray's mouth was agape, and he couldn't say anything. His little head was in chaos, completely unable to understand what was happening. The only reasonable explanation was that everything he saw was an illusion. Otherwise, how could it be different from what the books and his mother had said?

Gray finally remembered the purpose of this trip and, trembling, reached out his hand and walked towards the goddess statue representing "Wisdom." Before the towering goddess statue that was over ten meters high, the little Gray could only touch the goddess's feet. This was also part of the ritual's significance; bowing down to touch the goddess's feet represented humility. When Gray's hand touched the statue, a crisp cracking sound suddenly rang in his consciousness, and the whole world seemed to become more real and clear.

"Wisdom allows people to see the world more clearly." This was a line from the holy scripture, and now Gray finally understood its meaning.

After Gray touched the statue of Wisdom, all the goddess statues disappeared simultaneously. Logically, this should be the end of the Enlightenment ritual, but the temple didn't disappear.

Gray looked around in confusion and suddenly saw a new goddess statue emerging before the altar. Her hands were crossed over her chest, her face slightly turned to one side, and her expression was melancholic and focused. Different from the other goddess statues, this one had no texture and seemed more like it was composed of shadows. Was this also an ability? Gray tried to recall but couldn't remember what this goddess statue represented. Even in the holy scripture, there was no record of the Moon Goddess having such a form, although she was indeed a statue of Elucia.

"Don't you want another ability?" the voice sounded again.

"What ability is that?" Aiden Gray paused and said loudly, "I don't want to give up Wisdom."

"You can call it Reality. It allows you to observe the world from another perspective, and at the end of this path, you might see something else."

"Something else? What is it?" Aiden Gray asked curiously.

The voice fell silent and didn't answer.

Gray wanted to leave. He now knew that he could completely detach himself from here and return to the real world if he wanted. This temple was actually a world constructed by the power of the ritual. Its purpose was to allow those with talent to see their abilities clearly and choose their future path. But on the other hand, this world was not entirely illusory. The temple floating in the starry sky was filled with the goddess's divine power, and the acquisition of all six abilities was inseparable from Elucia's favor.

However, the voice that emerged in Gray's consciousness and the seventh statue that had never been recorded in the sacred texts completely overturned Gray's understanding. Gray suddenly had a feeling that this... resembled the temptation of a devil. But how could the power of a devil appear in the sacred ceremony of the Moon Goddess?

Looking at the seventh statue, Gray was truly hesitant. Two different voices were fiercely debating in his consciousness, neither gaining the upper hand. Take it, or leave it?

Gray hesitated and struggled, but his feet gradually led him towards the seventh statue. "The world is balanced, and every gain has its price," Gray recalled such a teaching from the sacred texts, and balance was one of the core teachings of Elucia. So, what would be the price for gaining this second ability?

The little boy was confused and struggled for the first time, but ultimately, he still reached out his hand towards the statue. His mother had said he could choose according to his own thoughts, and he was unwilling to give up this opportunity, ready to pay the price. Gray was courageous; he was willing to strive for unexpected gains. And he was intelligent; he knew that deep down, his mother hoped he would become a hero, a truly important figure.

At least, a figure more important than Lord Tack.