As we back into the core proceedings of the Rite of Chord Bondage, before we had looked at the two main supervisors of this event. And they were the tribal king/chief and the tribal priest/priestess.
During the ceremony's proceedings, a candidate is expected to maintain behavior along their emotional tensity focus and their focus on themselves solely. This was to ensure the readiness if the candidate once they were ushered into the moon realm by the tribal priest or priestess. And how this happens is through phantom phasing. Which is when one's spiritual and mental manifestation ascends and manifests in the moon realm. A name given to the people by the Six in the Medayn Era with all but a simple explanation that will be given on wards as the story progresses. When one phantom phases they are killed halfway using a special dark short blade from a black stone called obsidian blight. Which has the ability to partially store the soul essence of anything it kills is pushed into. And so Grok and Rox gave the six the instructions to use the stone as a medium to activate what is called the Star Bridge.
Which is a passageway that is comprised of millions of stars steps that are actually and also known as soul caves. These are the souls of every living creature in Lowesia and so the Deity Brothers decided to clamp them together not as one but as a stronghold to firm a bridge way into the moon realm.
When a candidate happens to successfully enter the moon realm. Their faced with what's called the Six Soul Moons.
Which are: Ghost white, The Apathetic Moon. Red, The Furious Moon. Ocean blue, The Grieving Moon. Sun yellow, The Laughing Star. Rose, The Affectionate Moon. Obsidian purple, The Trembling Moon.
They indeed looked the moons spoke of in the legends told them. Like round stones that bore many pores and craters on it. But within swirled auras that truly mirrored what they embodied as they hovered above the candidate and the marble floor that stretched beneath candidate that held an ever-swaying cyan mist that mirrored something akin to another hidden mystery that was even greater than Lowesia itself. A world that existed between balance.
One the candidate stepped into the plane whose cyan marble floor screamed urgency and bronze pinkish sky signaled inevitability. They were expected to look up and sing the sing the simple hymn that called out to the Deity Brothers.
The hymn of recognition, "Oh great, balance~ bestow upon me function, oh great lit~ bestow upon me what lays in between," and as soon as one finished chant. The orbs would hum in unison for a long time and would gradually grow louder as more and more time passed on. And soon after, one of the orbs would glow with an intensity that would outshine the rest. And string would not long after shooting out of the glowing moon that seemingly looked like a true star in that moment and the string would latch on into the center of that candidate's chest. And suddenly, everything goes black as the candidate then feels nothing not even themselves, but they are cautioned not to wiry as this proved into the next stage of ritual as known as 'translucent nothingness,' which causes one's phantom body to be in a state where they quite literally existing in between existence and nothingness themselves.
Not long after, the candidate is to look at their feet until they feel a tingling sensation. And as soon as this happens, they must bow down immediately with upmost precision and speed. Why? Because the 'phantom idol' of one of the two Deity Brothers would appear right in front of them. And they were not supposed to gaze upon it. Not even a tremble was allowed because it would be a sign of disrespect and lack of focus while in there and hence becoming that second mistake of one that is made when in the moon realm. The first is being overwhelmed the amount of soul essence emitted by the star bridge which causes dizziness to those who cross it. And the second being any sign of misconduct within phantom plane, the initial domain of the Deity Brothers, Grox and Rox. But if a candidate does pass they move onto the final stage of the ritual, which is actually the simplest but most painful yet.
The final stage, the spiritual emo-stitch. Which are threads of the assigned heritage Chord like the fury Chord materializes into existence as a singular transparent finger made of light blue essence (soul essence) also materializes right after. A claw like finger that glows like a white dwarf star materializes on the finger nail as it then uses the tip of the claw to attach itself to the end if the string facing one's back as the bow not is submission but in accordance as the string the touches down on their back as their finger moves in printing a simple but unknown symbol on their very existence. Moving with grace and clarity the symbol os imprinted into the back of one's soul slowly and slowly as the divine searing pain quite literally etched into their very beings but a way to resist this pain that finds one even in the state of translucent nothingness is through maintaining constant emotional tensity. Which slightly but partially numbs out and relieves one of the pain that could even make the universe tremble a bit.
And once the finger is done and detached from them, they were up in the real world. Their bodies covered in a quite literal pool of sweat as they awaken with a strength that lets them stand and salute the supervisors with a bow of celebration and with a pain that lasts with them for eternity.
And so, the Rite of Chord Bondage has the following stages namely, The first stage, phantom phasing, The second stage, Mighty endurance, The third stage, hymn and praise to the Deity Brothers, The fourth stage, The state of translucent nothingness and Final stage, the Divine Signature.
Making them five stages in total, each harder than the last, and though the end result is both beneficial and sacrificially painful. At least a candidate can walk away with pride of the thousands that completed this ritual that was a hell of a sure-fire way to die as a complete nothingness. That could neither be remembered or bothering to existence itself.