The Death Ritual

They used to refer to it as... The ritual of Bathing on the Face of the moon

That ritual is performed every three years at the top of the Rose Garden building, which is on L-05 and can be attended by anyone. Not all creatures will come. Most of the creatures who come are only those who want to pray and those who want to meet directly with the Queen. They said this ritual was an opening to enter the Queen's Palace at L-01, at the bottom of the soil layer.

A place where not many eyes can see and not many voices can be heard. Only some, or even only selected creatures, can enter the palace.

They say that those who survive will be blessed with all things. They say that they will meet the Queen, and their world will be more peaceful. Meanwhile, those who are unable to reach the palace will eventually become victims and end up being the Queen's food.

Those two things are not something that is detrimental to the creatures there.

It would be an honor to be able to serve their bodies as the Queen's food. Also, even if they survive, in the end they are also able to live more prosperously.

It's an issue that has been circulating for years.

The Ritual of Bathing in the Face of the Moon opens with a festival on the roof of the Rose Garden that presents unique dances from each race and songs in their respective languages. After that, they will strip themselves and walk to the end of the roof of the crystal building, carrying a small candle in the shape of a lotus petal. The candles were decorated with purplish-blue flames too. The flames wouldn't go out when they plunged themselves.

They will release the candle when they surrender themselves completely, to plunge into the Lake of Stars. While the candles they hold will float in the air, surround the giant moon above the lake and seem to be illuminating their departure.

Usually there weren't many survivors. However, the few surviving creatures would be able to acquire special powers more quickly and enter the world of Senior Workers at L-3.5. Those are the other outstanding issues.

There are some creatures who think that the Star Lake is the most basic selection place to register as a candidate for Candrasa. Those who didn't reach the stage of the Queen's subordinates' minions would eventually become Senior Workers at L-3.5. Star Lake is the most basic path. The remains of those who do not survive will become the Queen's food. They will not return, they will drown there.

Even so, the few who managed to get out of there also won't fully register as Candrasa because the majority of them usually don't know that the lake has other functions. However, because their skills changed after leaving the Star Lake, their lives would change too.

They will be more prosperous.

The only creatures who know the true function of this ritual are Candrasa members. Not much is known other than them. It's just an open secret among Candrasa members.

After all ... ask only the Queen's followers who want to throw themselves into the lake. Antique lovers and those who are trying to find special items will usually come there because, basically, the lake will grant them whatever they want if they dare to exchange it for something no less valuable.

Jane knew nothing about all that. At first, she was quite pleased with the news in the Rose Garden and the fact that the Black Valley was behind a giant building and they were having a big festival and she could see the valley directly from above.

But tonight, the situation was different. Jane was easily caught by an old enemy who recognized her. Someone who once destroyed her group in the past and rendered them powerless with just his insane powers. The man was now grinning at Jane, his hands moving to her neck, lifting the body of the weakest creature that had made it to the top of the Rose Garden in disguise.

"Lingga ..." Jane whispered as she tried to regulate the rate of her breathing, which was slowly fading away.

Lingga nodded casually as he looked back at her, "Yes, Chakra Lingga Purnama." He re-introduced himself to the old 'insect' he hadn't killed before, and miraculously, this little human is still alive today. "What are you here for? Ah …" he muttered for a moment after reading the girl's thoughts. "Looking for the Black Valley? You want to find that little lens? Ouh ... how clever~" he teased, smiling lopsidedly mocking Jane.

The man then looked back when he realized that the dance songs typical of the other races had stopped, and now only silence remained to greet him. "Ah… do you guys want to jump in?" he asked, turning to the creatures. "We've found a human," he said, showing Jane, her horns gone.

She also had no fangs anymore. All the creatures there were staring at Jane with rounded eyes. They really couldn't believe that a human could sneak inside a place this far.

"Master … she is precious—"

"What? You want to eat it?" cut the Lingga on one of the giants there. His eyes seemed to be full of lust, wanting to tear Jane apart and swallow her little body. "No, I'm the one who found this fugitive."

Lingga then floated, flapped its invisible clear wings, and flew towards the center of the Star Lake. The man then smirked, "Let me give you human flesh as an opening for this ritual ... Ma Queen," he muttered, making all the creatures there mute.

Jane couldn't react at all. Her body went limp. She really wanted to jump straight into Star Lake, but not in this state.

Everyone already knows her identity. She never expected that she would meet Lingga so soon and that the man would be able to realize her existence in such a short time. Now that everyone knew who Jane was, they knew so much about Jane's disguise that she automatically had to change her appearance again.

That was if she survived death tonight.

The moon still shone so brightly and beautifully regardless of the fear that now creeps into Jane's soul. The girl closed her eyes, without caring about Lingga who was now looking at her with happy eyes and without caring about all the hungry stares of the creatures around him.

The Queen may already be aware of its existence.

She would obviously fail to get hold of the lens given that all of its purposes had now been revealed.

She must be dead.

Jane was absolutely certain that this time, no one would be able to save her.

"Opening for the Ritual of Death," Lingga mumbled casually as the hand that had been clutching Jane's neck for a long time now let go, and made the girl fall, plunged into the Lake of Stars.

Or maybe it's more like … a starless lake.

A pitch-black lake, a lake whose interior could not be seen and even light could not penetrate.

A lake that drags anyone into it. A lake that has black water that is dense and thick like mud.

The lake... which they used to think of as the Queen's Mouth.