The Shepherds Are Dense-Chapter 35: A Different Possibility of History

Following Erinye's words, the pitch-black, shapeless space at once took on form and color.
It was a scene Aiwass knew well enough—
This was the intersection between the Law Union District and the White Queen District, a district known as
Law Square
.
He'd walked by here on his way to the Pelican Tavern.
Across the gray sky, the setting sun hovered low in back of thick clouds.
Dull gold light poured over the dismal streets, bearing the wet tension of an oncoming storm.
But Aiwass soon sensed something was amiss.
This was a busy section, but there wasn't a soul on the street.
It was absolutely quiet.
And it wasn't that sort of intuition.
At this instant, time itself stood motionless.
The nine of them sat at the center of the road, encircling the glowing hourglass.
Only the old man and Sherlock did not react to it, Aiwass observed.
The rest of them—including himself—were shocked visibly in some way.
Faced with the sudden change, everyone reacted with wary silence.
And when nobody spoke, that silence became the dominant mood.
"Are Apostles. the angels of legend?"
Only a few seconds had lapsed before Cheese spoke first to end the silence.
She muttered in a low, dreamy tone, heavy with childlike curiosity and hope:
"Is it Angel Onee-chan who's assisting us to progress?"
"——Not at all."
Sherlock bluntly cut short the girl's utopian fantasy, providing a level-headed explanation:
"An Apostle is, fundamentally, merely a Phantom Demon.
They only manifest themselves to be of service to the Nine Pillars, helping them respond to rituals."
".In short, they're nothing but errand runners of the Pillar Gods."
To his left, Cocoa chimed in softly, her voice gentle and reassuring:
"Don't worry.
They're only here to take us through the ritual.
They don't judge us, neither do they determine the content of the ritual.
"The actual title of the advancement ritual is the
Ceremony of the Nine Pillars
.
It's a ceremony that invokes the descent of all Nine Pillars.".
But since there are so many low-ranked Transcendents like us.
The Pillar Gods do not have the time to personally attend to us, so they send an Apostle in their place.
"Even if nothing else, there has to be at least one Apostle present.
Since we're still not strong enough, we can only draw a single Apostle…
And the ritual can't continue until they get here."
"You don't have to worry too much about the Apostle."
Sherlock suddenly interrupted again:
"Fair Lady Erinye is the Apostle of the Path of Balance, and she cares much for justice.
But you won't always receive the Hourglass Apostle with every progression.
"If an Apostle of the Path of Affection, the Path of Discernment, the Path of Domination, or the Path Beyond were officiating,
they could quite possibly show prejudice or even cheat the participants."
"But in reality, what affects the ritual most isn't the officiating Apostle…"
"It's the one who
wrote
this ritual—the Pillar God's likes and dislikes."
The Hourglass
was also the name of Sandclock, the Pillar God of the Path of Equilibrium.
Their symbol was also found on Avalon's copper coins.
There were forbidden Paths in each nation.
Typically, the forbidden Paths were those in opposition to the prevailing ideology,
then those of political consequence.
For instance, the Star Antimony Kingdom fostered the Path Beyond, the Path of Dusk, and the Path of Equilibrium.
The Fleur-de-lis Kingdom favored the Path of Beauty and the Path of Love.
They shared a border with Avalon, but their relations among themselves were hostile in no way.
Because of concerns such as cultural penetration and espionage, each of the three nations had contrary Paths.
——But even so, although founded on alchemy, the Kingdom of Star Antimony still did not prohibit the Equilibrium Path.
Avalon and Fleur-de-lis didn't either.
One reason was the essential role played by technology and alchemy.
But more importantly, the Equilibrium Path, by nature, supported fairness, neutrality, and a lack of national loyalty—
A sort of fairness run top-down.
"Generally speaking," Sherlock nodded at the always-silent old man, then went on,
"The presiding Apostle, of course, has personal tastes too.
"After all, without will, personality, and memory, they wouldn't be proper Phantom Demons.
"That's why they'll favor Transcendents of their own Path—or even make it more difficult for those they don't like."
And at that point, the shining hourglass finally broke its silence:
[Don't worry, all of you.]
[After all, theoretically, this is a ritual participated in by all Nine Pillars. We shan't go too far.]
[We are not your examiners. We are not the authors of the test. We are merely invigilators.
We're here to bear witness to the ritual and make sure there's no cheating.
Flattery is irrelevant. Even verbal hostility doesn't count—
Though I myself don't care, that hungry 'detective' was correct.
I also caution against provoking other Apostles.]
Erinye spoke softly.
She didn't cut Sherlock short, nor did she debate with him.
She was obviously the soft-hearted kind.
[Now then, all of you—as a tradition—when you first advance, I'll give you an explanation.]
[Three of you are multi-path adepts. Be aware:
In the ritual, you can only use abilities from your progressing Path,
and only supernatural items
personally made
and attuned to that Path.]
[——What you find in the Dream Realm is connected to world history, but not exactly.]
[Sometimes, one ritual invoking a higher being, one assassination targeting a major figure, or one local war could change the world.
Or perhaps the world has already been changed… but no one remembers how it used to be.]
[During this ritual, you’ll witness a version of ‘history’ as calculated by the Nine Pillars—
A different possibility of history.
]
[Each advancement will involve a one-time dream scenario.
The story is fictional and will not match actual events.
[Your challenge under the scrutiny of the Nine Pillars is to unravel the mystery, retrieve important items, vanquish foes, or merely survive—
To establish your ability.]
[This ritual is restricted to four hours, with a 1:1 time ratio compared to real life.]
[You will each play the role of someone in the story.
Finish tasks to gain points.".
Because this is a Full Moon Ritual, cooperation is permitted, and cooperative points will be awarded:
Each cooperator earns 10–50% of the points earned by those they help, depending on their effort.]
[But you can
not
cooperate with anyone who belongs to one of your
opposite Paths
.
This will deduct your score by 50–100% of their rewards.]
[Note: If you inadvertently help someone from an opposite Path, points will still be docked.].
If you accurately discern a cooperative Path's identity but help without announcing it, you do not get bonus points.
The three lowest scorers are eliminated at the end of the ritual.]
[In this ritual, all intelligent beings except the players are not really intelligent and do not have souls.
They are completely created by 'Amber'.
Therefore, killing, healing, sacrificing, or interacting with them will not activate oaths, taboos, contracts, or curses.]
[The complexity of this ritual is rated as 'Safe'.
All death or injury incurred in it will not harm your body in the real world.
Even failure will not drain or scar your soul.]
[Addendum: This dreamscape was built by 'Amber'.
The assignments, positions, and point system were created by 'Linfeather'.
As the witness of the ritual, I—the speaker at hand—owe no responsibility.]
Erinye completed her whole disclaimer in a single breath before stopping for the first time.
[Does anyone have questions?
The next time you progress, the new presider will not elaborate in this manner.
No one answered.
It was like when a teacher says,
"Any questions?"
and the class sits there in complete silence.
Erinye was not surprised.
She gave one last, gentle reminder:
[This ceremony is very simple and won't take long.
So don't get nervous, and don't worry about finding teammates.
If you're unsure about something, you can ask your guide upon waking up.]
[Remember—everything you see in this ritual is fictional.
Do
not
confuse it with real history—]
At that precise instant, the final grains of sand in the hourglass slid down.
As it started to turn, Apostle Erinye uttered her last words:
[In the year 1884, in the capital of the Kingdom of Avalon,
a ghastly series of murders occurred…]
As the hourglass finished turning, a sense of hard vertigo washed over Aiwass.
The icy scene before him did not move—
But the nine seated figures in their chairs melted, disappearing like waves on a lake.
(End of Chapter)