Ceremony

Richard stood up and stretched his hands out to reach the three divine marks floating in the air. When his fingers came into contact with them, the mysterious power of the Eternal Dragon would take form as an appropriate blessing.

He first touched the hourglass formed by the devil skull. It cracked open, and the fine golden sand entered his body to form a complicated golden scripture that disappeared into him.

Richard felt a new mysterious force in his body, which filled his muscles with vigour. The meaning of the scripture surfaced in his consciousness: Divine blessing, Torrent of Life. In the next fifteen years, his body would not age.

This blessing was akin to prolonging one’s life by fifteen years. Humans in Norland only naturally experienced this at two stages in their lives— when they entered the saint realm,...