Inside the guestroom of the inn, Dorothy sat in a chair, earnestly reading the booklet in her hands, her thoughts churning as she processed the information written within.
"Six types of spirituality… is that it?"
Light, Shadow, Stone, Chalice, Silence, Revelation… According to the booklet, all things in this world possess spirituality, and that spirituality is divided into these six attributes. The concepts represented by these six types of spirituality are somewhat abstract, and their names lack consistency. The booklet only provided a brief introduction to each.
Based on what the booklet said, embarking on the beyonder path requires the accumulation of spirituality. Since there are six types of spirituality, does that mean there are six corresponding paths?
The booklet contained a great deal of praise for the spirituality of the "Chalice." Could this mean that the organization it referred to had chosen the "Chalice" path?
In fact, Dorothy had already encountered terms like "Blood Chalice" and "Chalice" in Edrick’s letters before, though she hadn’t understood their significance at the time. She had assumed they were some unique slogans of the organization. Thus, when forging the letter to the Serenity Bureau, Dorothy had deliberately included references to the "Chalice," hoping to draw the Bureau’s attention.
Now, it seemed that the so-called "Chalice" was of paramount importance to the organization—perhaps even the source of their mystical powers.
With this in mind, Dorothy continued reading the booklet on the table. After the explanation of spirituality, she pressed on.
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To embark on the realm of beyond, one must first choose from the six types of spirituality. Absorbing a single type of spirituality is the first step for anyone seeking ascension. Of course, don’t assume that the Beyonder Paths in the realm of beyond are limited to just six. It’s simply that, at the beginning, there are only six options. What comes after is not something for you to consider at this stage. Without a doubt, our society is rooted in the "Chalice." By joining us, you too must absorb the spirituality of the "Chalice." You may wonder: where can the spirituality of the "Chalice" be found? But as I mentioned earlier, spirituality exists in all things—everything visible and invisible, every "object" and even every "event" contains spirituality, differing only in abundance.
The spirituality of the "Chalice" is no exception. The "Chalice" resides in life itself, in you and me, in birds, beasts, and fish. It is in the blood! It is in the flesh! Behold, the "Chalice" is everywhere! It is all around you!
At this point, you might think the spirituality of the "Chalice" is easy to obtain, abundant and readily available. But I must warn you: the spirituality of the "Chalice" in ordinary animal blood and flesh is sparse, crude, and difficult to digest. Its absorption is extremely inefficient. Only we, the apex of all living creatures—human beings—possess rich, pure, and refined spirituality of the "Chalice" in our blood and flesh! That is a taste both unforgettable and unparalleled!
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At this passage, Dorothy abruptly closed the booklet in her hands, her breathing slightly labored. Her gaze fell on the faint Chalice-shaped imprint on the book’s cover, her expression extremely grave.
Dorothy was still processing what she had just read. After a moment, she reopened the booklet and examined it again. The booklet didn’t contain any detailed methods for achieving the beyond. Every page was filled with slanted, scribbled words repeating the phrase "Praise the Blood Chalice."
Dorothy couldn’t make sense of it. After scrutinizing it for a long while, she finally discerned the true meaning hidden between the lines: the entire booklet was about "eating people."
Yes, in the most biological sense: cannibalism.
After the preface, the remaining content of the booklet detailed how to extract the spirituality of the "Chalice" from human blood and flesh. To put it simply, it was a guide to cannibalism.
How to kill? How to prepare the body? How to eat? How to drain the blood? How to carve the flesh? How to debone? Which parts of the body are richest in spirituality? Which parts are spiritually deficient? It even included supplementary materials for preparation…
Despite its small size, the booklet was packed with information. It even contained numerous illustrations, which made Dorothy feel utterly nauseated as she read.
This was, without a doubt, a cannibalistic cult.
At this point, Dorothy finally had a rough understanding of the mysterious organization and the so-called spirituality of the "Chalice." She couldn’t help but feel an immense sense of relief that she hadn’t been captured by Edrick back then.
Although she still didn’t know what purpose the organization had in mind for her, it was clear that falling into the hands of such a cannibalistic cult would have guaranteed a grim fate.
“Phew… It seems this world is far more dangerous than I had previously imagined…” Dorothy murmured with a sigh. She was beginning to understand why the government of this world needed an agency like the Serenity Bureau. Such cannibalistic cults were outright anti-human terrorist organizations!
The so-called spirituality of the "Chalice" was indeed bloody and horrifying. Dorothy wondered if there were other groups pursuing the "Chalice" in this world, and if so, whether they also resorted to cannibalism. Were there people or organizations pursuing the other types of spirituality as well?
Suppressing her revulsion, Dorothy began skimming through the cannibalistic booklet in her hands. Near the end, she came across a few passages written specifically for Edrick.
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By now… you should have a general understanding of our great path, right? You must already be eager to join us, but don’t rush. For someone like you, who possesses mystic artifact, holds a certain social status, and has successfully completed an important trial for the organization, we have an additional reward for you, as promised earlier.
Open the small box inside the chest; the reward is in there.
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Dorothy froze for a moment upon reading this, then turned her gaze to the wooden box still sitting inside the chest. After some deliberation, she brought the box in front of her and opened it.
What she saw inside made Dorothy take a sharp breath.
Inside the box was a sealed glass vial, small in size. The vial was filled with a dark red liquid, and within the liquid floated three severed adult human fingers, neatly cut.
“Scourge…”
Dorothy whispered softly, her gaze shifting to a note lying beside the glass vial. She picked it up and began to read. The note contained an explanation of the contents of the vial.
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These three fingers are the product of a profound ritual. Each finger contains the concentrated spirituality of the ’Chalice’ extracted from three adult humans. They are a rare, high-density spiritual resource.
Consume all of them, and the spirituality of the ’Chalice’ within you will reach the required level. Then, come to Igwynt to find us. We will conduct the promotion ritual for you, allowing you to advance to the initial stage of the ’Chalice’ pathway—the ’Thirster’. This will mark your entry into the beyond, your transformation into an ’Apprentice,’ and your official initiation as one of us…
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After reading the note, Dorothy fell silent. She then turned her gaze to the glass vial in the box, staring at the human fingers soaked in the dark red liquid.
"If I eat all three of these… I can step into the beyond?"
Dorothy thought to herself, her reflection staring back at her from the surface of the glass vial.