Tivian, the capital of the Pritt Kingdom, is also its largest city. The origin and center of the entire city is the Tivian Royal Palace. From the palace as the starting point, the entire city can be roughly divided into five major districts: east, south, west, north, and central.
Among these, the Hymn Cathedral is located at the edge of the northern district of Tivian. This area is the center of the Radiance Church’s Pritt Diocese, where the archbishop dispatched from the Holy Mount resides. It is the spiritual center of the entire Pritt Kingdom.
At the edge of Tivian’s northern district lies the cathedral district, centered around the Hymn Cathedral. This area is home to many church institutions, including monasteries, schools, consulates, tribunals, and more. There is also a dedicated residential area where a large number of church staff reside, including Vania.
In the dead of night, the entire cathedral district is still immersed in the sounds of evening prayers. The faint echoes of hymns can be heard from the towering cathedral, and the sound of the organ drifts through the evening breeze. The entire district is enveloped in a serene and sacred atmosphere.
Vania, having just finished her evening prayers, walks out of the cathedral. At this moment, she is chatting and laughing with other nuns as they descend the cathedral steps.
"Vania, Father Abel praised you today for being more focused and diligent in your recent prayers. I remember you used to stumble occasionally during the long chants, but now you’re so fluent. What’s your secret?"
As they walk down the stairs, one of the nuns asks Vania, who responds with a dry laugh.
"Haha... there’s no secret. I’ve just been spending more time practicing, that’s all. It’s nothing special."
"Really? Well, Vania, you really do seem more devout now. It seems that after witnessing Bishop Dietrich’s tomb, your faith has grown stronger."
"Well... I suppose so..."Vania responds somewhat awkwardly, thinking to herself that if she didn’t spend so much time practicing her prayers and focusing intently during them, she might accidentally mess up the words. If that happened in public, it would be a big problem.
"Vania, there’s still a little time left. Do you want to grab some supper at the cafeteria?"
"Ah, no thanks. I still need to go back and study. I’ll join you next time when I’m free. Goodbye~"
With that, Vania waves goodbye to the other nuns and quickly runs off into the distance. Watching her leave, the remaining nuns exchange curious glances.
"Vania... she seems to enjoy reading more than before. Is she really that diligent?"
"Who knows? Since she’s not coming, let’s go by ourselves. If we’re late, there won’t be anything left~"
...
After parting ways with her fellow nuns, Vania returns to her residence.
Unlike ordinary nuns, Vania lives in an apartment building within the residential area, with her own private apartment. Most nuns live in dormitories, but Vania’s status as an Apprentice-rank Beyonder and her position as a researcher at the Historical Scripture Department grant her this privilege.
Entering her apartment, Vania doesn’t immediately wash up and go to bed as she used to. Instead, she sits at her desk, unlocks a drawer with a key, and pulls out four books of varying thicknesses.
These books are mystical texts, part of Vania’s daily study routine. Among them are even heretical scriptures.
Vania picks up the four mystical texts and examines them closely. Two of them are Chalice mystical texts: The Voodoo Forest Expedition Log and The Wolf Ritual. These were spoils from the battle at Field Manor, where she and Dorothy had agreed to each take one and swap after reading.
At the time, Vania couldn’t carry the texts with her, so she left them and her other spoils with Dorothy for safekeeping. After finishing both books, Dorothy, true to their agreement, mailed Vania’s share to a secure address in Tivian after Vania returned.
As a researcher at the Historical Scripture Department, Vania is quite interested in these mystical texts. After receiving them, she began studying them, occasionally praying to Akasha to cleanse the accumulated cognitive poison. Being able to read mystical texts without worrying about cognitive poison is a unique experience for Vania.
By now, Vania has finished reading the two Chalice mystical texts obtained from Luer. Of the four texts, she has two left to read, both gifts from Aldrich.
"Tonight, I should be able to finish this one."
From the stack, Vania pulls out a yellow-covered mystical text and places it on the desk, returning the others to the drawer. She opens the book to her bookmark, indicating she’s nearly finished.
Vania has been reading this text for about a week. It’s titled The Solar Wheel and Radiance, a theoretical mystical text written by Saint Amanda of the Radiance Church. The book details Saint Amanda’s understanding of the Lantern spirituality, focusing on the connection between the Lantern and the sun. It posits that all Lantern spirituality in the world originates from the sun, which is the source of all Lantern spirituality. The text also analyzes the relationship between the Radiant Savior and the sun, proposing several possibilities.
Some theories suggest the sun is a creation of the Radiant Savior, while others propose the sun is the Radiant Savior’s divine body itself. There’s even a theory that the Radiant Savior might not have been so powerful initially but gained immense divine power from the sun, enabling the expulsion of evil gods and the end of the Dark Ages.
“Saint Amanda... she was truly bold. As a saint, she directly researched the deity she worshipped. If a lower-ranking clergy member had written such a book, they would have been sent to the Inquisition immediately…”
Vania thinks to herself as she reads.
After flipping through a few more pages, Vania finally finishes the third mystical text. Closing the book, she lets out a long sigh and, as usual, closes her eyes to pray, asking Akasha to cleanse her cognitive poison.
This time, she doesn’t need to be as tense as she is during prayers in the cathedral. She can relax and pray sincerely.
After finishing her prayer, Vania feels a rare clarity in her mind. With this refreshing feeling, she stretches and prepares to take a bath and go to bed.
However, at this moment, a familiar voice echoes in her mind.
"Great Aka, I have an important matter to discuss with Vania. Please have her use her book and pen to communicate with me."
Hearing this, Vania is momentarily stunned, then realizes.
“This... this is Miss Dorothy’s voice. She says she has something important to discuss. Is she using Aka to get me to pay attention to the holy scripture?”
Realizing this, Vania immediately sits back down at her desk, takes out her holy scripture, and flips to the page where she communicates with Dorothy. Sure enough, new words have appeared, and they are the familiar "Are you there?"
"It really is..."
Seeing the characters, Vania swallows hard. Generally, when Dorothy contacts her, it’s usually for some dangerous mission. Seeing Dorothy’s words again makes her a bit nervous.
“But Miss Dorothy is in Igwynt, and I’m back in Tivian. Surely nothing will involve me…”
Thinking this, Vania picks up her pen and writes in the holy scripture.
"I’m here, Miss Dorothy."
Soon, a reply appears on the holy scripture.
"That’s great, Sister Vania. Right now, at King’s Campus of Royal Crown University, an innocent female student is under threat from cultists. She also worships Aka and is our companion. I was wondering if you could go to King’s Campus and bring her to the city."
Seeing the new characters on the holy scripture, Vania is stunned. She can’t help but think to herself.
Then, after a moment, she quickly writes back.
"Miss Dorothy, aren’t you in Igwynt?"
"I received a new mission and came to Tivian over half a month ago. I’ve been a bit busy, so I’m sorry I didn’t contact you sooner. After this mission is over, I’ll treat you to a meal."
“I haven’t even agreed yet!”
Vania thinks to herself as she reads the text. She was about to refuse, but after seeing the words about the cultist threat and the student’s faith in Akasha, she sighs and writes back.
"I’m relatively close to King’s Campus. It won’t take long by carriage. Where is she on campus? While there are still carriages on the street, I’ll head out now."
"She’ll be waiting at Irrigation River Bridge. There might be danger, so it’s best to bring a weapon."
“There really might be danger…” Seeing Dorothy’s words, Vania’s heart tightens. But since it’s only a possibility, after some hesitation, she writes back.
"Understood. I’ll prepare now."
Vania writes her response, then stands up, crouches on the floor, and pulls out two items from under her bed: a rifle and a single-handed sword.
After wrapping the items in cloth, Vania opens her wardrobe, takes out a black robe, and drapes it over herself. She fastens the sword to her waist, slings the rifle over her back, and covers both with the robe. She then picks up the holy text from the desk, puts on her hood, and leaves her apartment.
Vania quickly exits the apartment building and takes a quiet path out of the cathedral district, arriving at a sparsely populated street where she hails a carriage. After boarding, she gives the driver the destination.
Thus, Vania rides the carriage toward King’s Campus in the distance.
Inside the carriage, Vania opens the holy scripture, wanting to discuss the mission further with Dorothy. However, when she flips it open, she finds new text already appearing.
"By the way, have you finished reading all the mystical texts you have?"
Seeing the words on the holy text, Vania doesn’t think much and immediately writes back.
"I’ve finished the two Chalice mystical texts you sent me. Of the two given by that gentleman, written by Saint Amanda, I’ve finished one."
“She’s finished the two Chalice texts? That’s good. If I remember correctly, The Voodoo Forest Expedition Log contains 3 points of Chalice, and The Wolf Ritual has 7 points. That means I’ve helped Vania extract 10 points of Chalice, which is more than enough for her to use Devouring Sigil. With Vania’s Laurent Swordsmanship combined with Devouring Sigil’s enhancements, she should be able to handle most Apprentice-rank opponents. Unless they’re all armed with guns, a dozen ordinary people wouldn’t be a threat.”
In the secret chamber, Dorothy thinks this as she reads Vania’s response on the logbook. Given Vania’s current capabilities, she should be able to handle Apprentice-rank opponents. Ordinary people, unless fully armed, wouldn’t pose a threat even in large numbers.
“To capture Nephthys, an ordinary person, they would usually send a few strong, ordinary minions. They wouldn’t even need to send an Apprentice.”
“But the Eight-Spired Nest doesn’t know Nephthys’s capabilities. Given tonight’s losses, they might retaliate by sending excessive force, possibly beyond what Vania can handle. To be safe, I need to give Vania more advantages.”
Sitting in the secret chamber, Dorothy carefully considers the situation above.
“Vania’s Soul Codex capacity should still have some room. She’s an Apprentice-rank Beyonder, so one set of swordsmanship shouldn’t fill her Soul Codex.”
Thinking this, Dorothy picks up her pen and begins writing on Vania’s communication page.
"Vania, now pray to Aka as I instruct..."
...
Royal Crown University, King’s Campus.
In the dead of night, a window in the girls’ dormitory opens, and a shadowy figure climbs out. The figure nimbly descends the building’s exterior, reaching the lawn below in no time. After glancing around, the figure quickly runs into a nearby grove.
There, several figures are waiting.
"Mr. Thorn Velvet, I’ve searched Boyle’s dorm. She’s not there. Only her roommate is sleeping."
The shadowy figure reports. It’s Eli, Thorn Velvet’s most devoted follower from the former Scholarly Society of Mystical Knowledge. Thanks to Thorn Velvet’s generous resources, Eli has become an Apprentice-rank Shader and is now one of Thorn Velvet’s few reliable subordinates.
"She’s not there? Hmph... it seems she got wind of something and fled in advance."
Hearing Eli’s report, Thorn Velvet snorts coldly. At this moment, Eli speaks up with concern.
"What should we do, Mr. Thorn Velvet? Are we just going to let that traitor Boyle escape?"
"She won’t escape. If she had taken the ’Dry Egg,’ she can’t run far."
With that, Thorn Velvet takes out a small box from his pocket, opens it, and a furry black spider crawls out.
"Anyone who consumes a Dry Egg is connected by an invisible thread to the Shadow Spider that laid it. She can’t escape our grasp."
Thorn Velvet whispers something to the spider in his hand, then places it on the ground.
The spider crawls out of Thorn Velvet’s hand, pauses for a moment, then quickly scuttles off in a direction. Thorn Velvet and his followers immediately follow.