In the dimly lit living room of Green Shade Town No. 17, Dorothy sits by the fireplace, carefully reviewing the gains and losses from her recent dealings with the Nether Coffin Order.
As usual, Dorothy begins by calculating the costs. The operation against the Nether Coffin Order, starting from Kapak’s plea for help to the final transaction near Gale Fortress, spanned about half a month. Dorothy tallies up all the expenses incurred during this period.
At the beginning, in the New Jacques Port warehouse, Dorothy used about forty minutes of living marionette and three Devouring Sigils to help Kapak escape and move the goods. Each Devouring Sigil costs 1 point of Chalice, and the living marionette costs 1 point of Chalice for every twenty minutes, totaling 5 points of Chalice. This was a significant expenditure.
Aside from Chalice, Dorothy also spent Shadow spirituality. After Larena and her group discovered the missing goods, they attempted three divinations. Dorothy used 3 points of Shadow to block these divinations. Overall, the Shadow expenditure wasn’t too high.
Beyond spirituality, the biggest expense in this series of actions was money. Dorothy spent 500 pounds buying goods from the merchant Marx, another 100 pounds on explosives and parts for assembling a timer from the black market, and 300 pounds to have Beverly install a hidden compartment in the box. Additionally, the frequent use of the White Craftsmen’s Guild telegraph for communication with the Nether Coffin Order cost around 100 pounds. In total, Dorothy spent about 1,000 pounds on this operation. Her previous savings were 2,350 pounds, so this operation nearly halved her funds.
“Ugh… Selling forty-plus crates of premium New Continent tobacco for 500 pounds is a bit of a loss. The black market explosives costing 100 pounds is understandable… But the prices for anything involving that shady merchant are outrageous! A few telegrams cost 100 pounds, and a few hours of labor to install a hidden compartment cost 300 pounds. What kind of nonsense is that!”
As Dorothy calculates the expenses, she can’t help but complain internally. Normally, such minor carpentry work, even if done by the best carpenter in the city, would cost only a few coins. But with Beverly, it was 300 pounds—enough to buy a house! If it weren’t for the need to make the hidden compartment flawless, Dorothy would never have spent so much on Beverly.
“Sigh… I’ve spent a lot of spirituality and money… especially money. Lately, spending thousands of pounds on the holy symbol feels like pouring water. If it weren’t for the money I made by speculating on Revelation storage prices from the Eight-Spired Nest, I wouldn’t know where to get the funds for these expenses. But thankfully, the gains are substantial… These costs can be fully compensated…”
Dorothy murmurs to herself, then turns her attention to her spoils. The most important item is the emblem of the King of the Underworld. Obtaining this item means another piece of her advancement ritual is in place, which is the most crucial point.
Next is the money. Dorothy gave Nephthys 1,000 pounds as a reward, leaving her with 5,000 pounds. The money she spent earlier has almost all been recovered. Then there’s the spirituality. The three mystical texts should yield a decent amount of spirituality.Thinking this, Dorothy looks at the three different books on her desk. Extracting spirituality has always been a key part of sorting through spoils.
Without delay, Dorothy picks up the three mystical texts and leans back on the sofa. Using the light from the gas lamp on the coffee table and the fireplace, she begins to read through the texts with her speed-reading ability.
After spending over half an hour, Dorothy finishes reading all three texts. She places them back on the coffee table, closes her eyes, and begins to organize the contents in her mind.
…
Earlier, in the telegrams, Dorothy had asked Larena to provide mystical texts related to the King of the Underworld, and Larena complied. Two of the three texts are about the King of the Underworld: one titled "Song of the Traitorous Dead" and the other "The Immortality of the Soul."
"The Immortality of the Soul" seems to be the work of a Beyonder who studied the undead and gradually developed admiration for the King of the Underworld. The content is mostly praise and admiration. The author praises the immortality of the King of the Underworld and the undead, lamenting the fragility of living beings and expressing a desire to become undead.
In the book, the author, who studies the undead, discovers that not all humans become undead after death. Only under certain conditions do souls remain in the world as ghosts.
The author finds that after death, the soul immediately seeps into a hidden layer of the world, sinking deeper and deeper until it disappears completely from the surface world. However, this process is not irreversible. In many cases, these souls return to the surface world as undead.
There are several reasons for this, but the main ones are two: first, the intense emotions of the deceased—whether hatred or love—cause them to linger in the world as ghosts. Second, mystical influences, such as those from Beyonders, mystical items, or even inexplicable mystical forces, can cause the deceased to remain as ghosts.
The book has annotations describing this phenomenon as "sinking."
The author fears the unknown destination of the soul after sinking into the hidden layer of the world. Doubting his own willpower to resist sinking, he seeks mystical means to ensure he becomes undead after death. Thus, he prays to the King of the Underworld, asking the god of the dead to grant him the blessing to return from sinking and become undead. Even as an undead, he does not want to face the unknown after sinking.
“O Lord of the Undead! Immortal King of the Dead! I beseech you to grant me your blessing! The blessing to struggle and swim in the realm of death! I beg for your protection, that I may forever avoid the unknown abyss!”
…
“This guy… would rather become undead than face the unknown. It feels similar to the attitude of an author from a previous mystical text I read. Are there many such people in the Nether Coffin Order? Those who prefer to become undead… Speaking of which, the one who cursed Nephthys’ family was an ancient undead, right? So undead Beyonders must exist…”
“Also… the description of the soul’s condition after death in this text is quite interesting. After death, the soul sinks into the hidden layer of the world… Strong willpower and mystical forces can bring the soul back… So where do these sinking souls ultimately go?”
Dorothy ponders as she reviews "The Immortality of the Soul." The concept of sinking reminds her of the Great Soul worshipped by the indigenous people of the New Continent. In the shamanic beliefs of the New Continent, the Great Soul is the final destination of all souls after death.
“I wonder if this Great Soul truly exists? If it does, what is its nature? Is it related to this so-called sinking? Is it similar to other gods? What is its connection to the King of the Underworld? There’s too little information to make a judgment…”
Dorothy thinks to herself, then shifts her attention to the second mystical text, "Song of the Traitorous Dead."
…
"Song of the Traitorous Dead" is also about the King of the Underworld. It is a collection of hymns praising the god. According to the introduction, among the indigenous tribes of the North Ufiga Desert, some tribes with death-worshipping customs revere a symbolic, abstract god of the dead, who is essentially the King of the Underworld. This text compiles the oral hymns of these tribes.
In these hymns, the King of the Underworld is more of a “God of the Dead” than a “God of Death.” In the praises, the King of the Underworld is referred to as the "Traitorous Dead." The verses contain many contradictory descriptions, with some lines stating that He is the first undead in the world and thus the god of all undead.
“Father of the Dead! You are the first to return! The immortal first undead! You bring death yet defile it! You control death yet betray it! You are the defiler of life, the traitor to death!”
…
“Bringing death yet defiling it… controlling death yet betraying it… These are quite contradictory statements. What does it mean to betray death?”
“Also… this text claims that the King of the Underworld is the first to return, the first undead… Does this mean He was the first to return from sinking into the hidden layer? If so, then was the King of the Underworld once a living being who experienced death? As the first to return from sinking, is His act of defiling and betraying death referring to this return?”
Dorothy ponders these questions. Through these two texts, she has gained some understanding of the King of the Underworld. After reflecting on these two texts, she turns her attention to the third one, which introduces a new deity.
…
The third mystical text is rather peculiar. It has no title or author, and its origins are unknown. Although it looks like a book, upon opening it, Dorothy finds that the cover contains a folded piece of parchment. When she unfolds it, she sees a bizarre image.
At first glance, the parchment depicts a black, standing skeleton. But upon closer inspection, the skeleton is not drawn but written.
Yes, a written skeleton! The parchment is covered in tiny black sentences, densely and systematically arranged to form the image of a black skeleton. It looks quite eerie.
Looking closely, the sentences forming the skeleton are in various languages and handwriting, as if written by different people. Some of the languages Dorothy recognizes, but most she doesn’t. Among the recognizable ones, the sentences are all extremely malicious curses, filled with hatred and wishing terrible fates upon their targets. The targets of these curses vary, but all are wished to suffer a miserable end.
Thus, the parchment depicts a black skeleton entirely composed of words of curse. On the back corner of the parchment, there is a note:
“Servant of the King of the Underworld… Bound Curse Black Skeleton…”
…
“Bound Curse Black Skeleton… Could this be the branch deity of the Curse Path?”
Recalling the terrifying image on the parchment, Dorothy wonders. Looking at the black skeleton formed by words of curse, she tries to determine its identity.
“Servant of the King of the Underworld… Does this mean this being serves the King of the Underworld? If the King of the Underworld is the Pure-Color Deity similar to the Mother of Chalice, then this Bound Curse Black Skeleton is like the Gluttonous Wolf, a branch deity… In the Silence domain, besides the King of the Underworld, there are other gods…”
“Since the Nether Coffin Order has Curse Path, this Bound Curse Black Skeleton must be one of their objects of worship. I wonder if there are other gods in the other branch of Silence…”
Dorothy thinks to herself. By now, she has gone through the contents of all three mystical texts in her mind. It’s time to extract the spirituality.
In the end, Dorothy extracts 3 points of Silence and 1 point of Revelation from "The Immortality of the Soul," 4 points of Silence and 2 points of Revelation from "Song of the Traitorous Dead," and 2 points of Silence, 1 point of Shadow, and 1 point of Revelation from the Bound Curse Black Skeleton’s parchment.
Combining these with her previous expenditures, Dorothy’s current spirituality is as follows:
- Chalice: 10
- Stone: 14
- Shadow: 6
- Lantern: 4
- Silence: 23
- Revelation: 30
As for cash, Dorothy now has 6,350 pounds left.
“Hmm… Not too bad. Money and spirituality aren’t too lacking. The only issue is that I spent 5 points of Chalice, which hurts a bit. Once Vania finishes reading the mystical texts sent by the Wolf Blood Society and gives them to me, I’ll recover some Chalice… Ugh… The Living Marionette is too energy-consuming. I hope it becomes more efficient after I advance…”
“Another thing to note is that I extracted 1 point of Shadow from the Bound Curse Black Skeleton’s parchment. Does this mean the Bound Curse Black Skeleton is a branch deity primarily of Silence with Shadow as an auxiliary aspect? The Curse Path that Larena specializes in must have Shadow as its auxiliary spirituality… I wonder if the Nether Coffin Order has other branches, and if those branches have any gods at their apex…”
Sitting on the sofa, Dorothy strokes her chin thoughtfully, then looks at the mystical texts on the coffee table.
“I’ve finished reading these three texts. I’ll give them to Nephthys next. Once she finishes reading these and her grandfather’s notes, she should have enough spirituality to advance to Black Earth rank. I hope the ritual isn’t too complicated.”
After organizing everything, Dorothy puts the money and mystical texts into her magic box, then stretches with a big yawn.
“ Yawn~ Time to sleep. I’ve been busy with the Nether Coffin Order these past few days and haven’t rested well… I need to recover for a bit. In a couple of days, I’ll have to meet the family…”
Yawning, Dorothy murmurs to herself, then glances at an envelope on the other side of the coffee table.
Picking up the envelope, Dorothy casually opens it and sees the familiar handwriting of Gregor. The letter begins with lively words:
“Hey, Dorothy! You’ll never guess where I am now! I’m in Tivian! We’re in the same city! Surprised? Excited? You must be eager to meet your big brother, right…?”
With a calm expression, Dorothy reads the letter she received this afternoon. Just from the tone of the writing, she can imagine how excited Gregor must have been when he wrote it.
“So, he’s free to contact me now… That means his advancement is complete… It’s about time I meet him, since he’s been in Tivian for so long.”