Late at night, in the northern mountainous region of Igwynt, inside Field Manor.
In a hidden corner above the chapel, Vania, who had been experiencing mental confusion due to the influence of cognitive poison, suddenly felt a moment of clarity. The unbearable stabbing pain in her mind diminished significantly, and the overwhelming thirst that had surged within her subsided.
“Huh… the effects of cognitive poison… they’re gone…?”
Still kneeling on the ground, Vania stared at her hands in bewilderment, unable to believe what had just happened.
“Gone? The cognitive poison that was affecting me just now is gone? Normally, after being exposed to cognitive poison, doesn’t it take a long time for it to wear off? Even though that song was short, the cognitive poison concentration in it was extremely high—yet it just vanished like that?!”
As a nun studying scriptures in the Radiance Church, Vania had some exposure to the mystical knowledges. She had received such knowledges before and knew from experience that even under protective measures, receiving them would inevitably lead to the accumulation of cognitive poison. When the accumulated poison approached the warning threshold, one had to stop listening or reading and spend ten days to half a month waiting for the poison’s influence to dissipate naturally before continuing. There was no known method to accelerate this process, making it incredibly time-consuming to fully comprehend a single mystical knowledge.
And yet, now, she had completely dispelled the high concentration of cognitive poison from the Song of the Lamb in an instant? And the only thing she did was… pray?!
“Did my prayer… No, did that deity named Akasha hear me? And then They protected me… shielding me from the cognitive poison? A deity who requires mystical knowledges as offerings, bestows knowledge, and can resist cognitive poison—is that Their divine authority? A power related to knowledge… then Their domain must be…”
After what had just transpired, Vania had some new speculations about this deity. But as a devout nun, she did not forget to express her gratitude.
"Praise be to my Lord… No… Praise be to the great Akasha. Thank you for shielding me from the taint of forbidden knowledges…” Beside Vania, Dorothy, who had also witnessed the event, nodded in thought. She had gained new insights into the capabilities of this system.
‘So it can also help others transform their spirituality? It seems like it can’t grant them complete immunity to cognitive poison like I have, but it allows them to rapidly digest it while accumulating their own spirituality. If I plan to recruit followers in the future, this could be incredibly useful. And now that Vania has already absorbed the spirituality of the Song of the Lamb…”
As she pondered, Dorothy patted Vania, who was still solemnly expressing her gratitude.
"Ah… Miss Dorothy, I almost forgot to thank you! Your advice to pray to Them was really effective. I didn’t expect that—" Vania began, only for Dorothy to cut her off with a wave of her hand.
"This is no time for long discussions. Their ritual is reaching its critical moment. I’m giving you something—get ready to act."
"Eh… Giving me something?" Vania asked in confusion.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side, Luer’s advancement ritual had reached its crucial phase.
At the edge of the magic circle surrounding Luer, seven children repeatedly chanted the Song of the Lamb. Their chorus echoed through the chapel, and the flames of the burning candles had, at some point, turned crimson, bathing the surroundings in a red glow. Moonlight streamed in through the windows, adding silvery highlights to the eerie hue.
"It’s time…"
Seated at the center of the circle, Luer murmured as he pulled a small piece of papyrus from his robes. The parchment was adorned with intricate symbols, and at its center were two spiritual symbols—Shadow and Revelation.
This was a sigil—a Dream Anchor Sigil. A rare and invaluable item, it was the key to the next step of Luer’s advancement ritual.
This Dream Anchor Sigil bore the coordinates of a dream cocoon—a dream cocoon belonging to a high-ranking figure in the church Luer had once served. Luer had once studied under this individual and, through great effort and flattery, had received a promise: during Luer’s advancement ritual, this figure would act as his guide.
And this sigil was the tangible form of that promise. By using it, Luer would enter the Dreamscape, find his former mentor, and have them officiate the ritual from within the dream.
…
At that moment, concealed in the shadows of the upper floor, Dorothy’s eyes widened.
"That’s… a sigil? The spiritual aura it radiates is… Shadow and Revelation… Could it be…?"
Struck by realization, Dorothy reached into her coat and retrieved a similar sigil she had taken from the Buck Mansion. Thanks to her passive appraisal ability, she could clearly perceive its spiritual meaning—Shadow and Revelation!
" As I thought! The one in his hand is also a Dream Anchor Sigil! The ritual hasn’t involved any other guiding object so far, so he must be trying to contact a guide… through a dream!"
Just as Vania had speculated earlier, in the mysticism world, summoning assistance from afar was often done through dreams!
Without hesitation, Dorothy pressed her sigil to her forehead. As the parchment burned away, she paid a price of one point of Shadow to activate it. Swiftly, she closed her eyes and entered the dream—moving even faster than Luer.
…
Inside the dream, Dorothy stood up from her bed in her apartment on Southern Sunflower Street. Without pause, she began chanting.
"In the name of Akatosh, I shall grow wings. With force, I will soar to the heavens; with balance, I shall pass through storms."
As the spell resonated, Dorothy’s dream body became enshrouded in a dense, golden-orange radiance. Segments of a colossal dragon’s spine extended outward, shattering the ceiling. Sturdy, rock-like scales swiftly formed across the growing frame.
Moments later, a massive, fifteen-to-sixteen-meter-long dragon, adorned with spiked horns and a barbed tail, stood atop the ruins of the building.
Dream Manifestation—Dragon.
With a mighty roar toward the blackened sky, Dorothy, in her draconic form, tore open a passage to the Dreamscape. Spreading her wings, she soared out of her dream cocoon and into the Dreamscape’s forest.
As soon as she emerged, she saw a hazy, ethereal doorway floating outside her dream cocoon. The door’s surface shimmered with layered light and distorted images, its destination unknown.
Dorothy knew this was the effect of the Dream Anchor Sigil. By using one, a portal to a fixed dream coordinate would appear outside her dream cocoon.
And the sigil she had used came from Buck, meaning its coordinates led directly to Buck’s mentor—Luer.
Without hesitation, Dorothy flapped her massive wings and propelled herself into the spectral doorway.
…
At the center of the ritual circle, Luer examined the sigil in his hands, memories of his "mentor" surfacing in his mind. After a brief moment of reflection, he pressed the sigil to his forehead, allowing it to burn away before closing his eyes and entering the dream.
Within the dream, he found himself standing on a vast plain under a blood-red moon. Slowly, he began to chant.
"Oh, Bloodshadow Wolf, grant me a powerful body, sharp claws, the speed to race across the plains, and the strength to hunt all lesser beings."
As he spoke, his dream body underwent a transformation. Red and black mist enveloped him, and when it dispersed, a towering, three-meter-long wolf with black fur and glowing crimson eyes stood in his place.
Dream Manifestation—Gargantuan Wolf.
Letting out a piercing howl, the wolf opened a pathway from his dream to the outer dream realm and leapt through.
Now, all that remained was to use the Dream Anchor Sigil’s portal to reach his mentor’s dream cocoon.
However, as Luer stepped out of his dream cocoon, he found himself facing something entirely unexpected.
Instead of the familiar ethereal doorway, a colossal shadow loomed before him.
"W-What is this…?"
Perched atop his dream cocoon, towering over the forest, was a massive, nightmarish form.
Vast black wings stirred tempests in the air. A massive, armored body, covered in obsidian scales like unbreakable stone, hovered above. Jagged spikes lined its form, shaping an apocalyptic silhouette unseen outside of ancient myths.
From beneath its wild, twisted horns, a pair of contemptuous eyes gazed down upon him.