Southwest outskirts of Tivian, on a dark forest road.
Two majestic horses pull a black carriage forward at a gallop. Inside the carriage, Dorothy holds the emblems of the Pure-Color Deities, which she has prepared for her upcoming advancement. Among the five emblems, one stands out—a paper emblem she crafted herself, representing the Revelation path.
Unlike the other four emblems, this paper emblem, folded from a book page, is Dorothy’s own creation. The idea of making her own Revelation holy symbol came to her when she couldn’t figure out where to obtain one. It was a stroke of ingenuity born out of necessity.
Dorothy’s journey to collect the holy symbols had been a progression from easy to difficult. Initially, she obtained the Lantern and Stone holy symbols, as their corresponding organizations were relatively cooperative and accessible with money. The Chalice and Silence holy symbols were harder to acquire, requiring more effort and cunning, but Dorothy eventually secured them.
However, the Shadow holy symbol proved to be a far greater challenge. There were no accessible organizations or channels to obtain it. Dorothy had to rely on subtle clues and painstakingly trace its whereabouts, which took considerable time and effort.
If the Shadow holy symbol was difficult, the Revelation holy symbol was even more so. Like the Shadow path, the Revelation path had no accessible organizations or channels. While the Shadow path at least had the Mirror Moon Goddess as a significant clue, the Revelation path offered almost no leads. Dorothy was at a loss as to where to even begin searching.
Faced with this dilemma, Dorothy began to brainstorm solutions. The paper emblem she now held was the result of one of her more unconventional ideas.
From early on, Dorothy had been pondering the nature of the system she called the "Interface." She had cataloged its functions: purging cognitive poison, exchanging knowledge, receiving prayers, establishing information channels, defending against divination, and more.
Through her observations, Dorothy realized that the system’s functions were all related to information, which is the primary expression of Revelation spirituality. This suggested that the system was deeply connected to the Revelation path.
Additionally, the system could sense divine presence. When Dorothy did something that attracted the attention of a divine being, the system would alert her, indicating its sensitivity to divinity.The system’s ability to purge cognitive poison and extract spirituality, as well as its sensitivity to divine presence, suggested that it was intrinsically linked to this world, rather than being an entirely foreign entity like Dorothy herself.
The system could receive prayers, was sensitive to divinity, had a deep connection to this world, and was highly related to Revelation spirituality.
Dorothy synthesized these traits and concluded that her system might be connected to the mysterious and long-vanished Revelation deity.
Realizing this, Dorothy conducted an experiment: she prayed to herself, using the system to imbue an object with the significance of a holy symbol.
Holy symbols are symbols of deities, crafted by believers and imbued with meaning by the deity. What makes something a holy symbol is ultimately up to the deity.
Dorothy reasoned that if the system truly had the qualities of the Revelation deity, she might be able to create her own Revelation holy symbol.
With this idea in mind, Dorothy began her experiment. She bought a few children’s craft books from a nearby store, quickly learned the techniques, and folded a paper emblem from a torn page. She then placed the emblem on a table and prayed to the system, declaring it a holy symbol.
What happened next was fascinating. After her prayer, Dorothy used her spiritual vision to inspect the paper emblem and found that it now bore a faint trace of Revelation spirituality, identical to the traces on the other emblems she had collected.
This trace of pure Revelation spirituality indicated that the emblem had been imbued with significance by a Pure-Color Revelation deity.
Dorothy had created her own holy symbol.
From that moment on, Dorothy always carried five emblems. The sixth emblem she needed for her advancement was the Shadow emblem.
“My deduction was correct... This system, which has been with me since I arrived in this world, is deeply connected to the Revelation deity. The truth behind this system may be the truth behind the Revelation deity, and the truth behind the Revelation deity may be the key to my transmigration.”
“It seems my arrival in this world wasn’t without reason. It looks like I have another goal now: to uncover why I was brought to this world. From what I can see, exploring this path is also exploring the Revelation path, which coincidentally aligns with my current goal of advancement.”
“It seems my exploration of the Revelation path isn’t just about gaining power but also about uncovering the truth behind my transmigration.”
“Now, this exploration is about to reach a new level. It’s time to advance to White Ash…”
In the swaying carriage, Dorothy looks at the five emblems in her hand, especially the Revelation emblem she crafted herself, and quickly reflects on these thoughts. After a brief moment of reminiscence, she clenches the five emblems in her hand and turns her gaze to the dark sky outside the window.
There, she can sense the final piece of her advancement puzzle—the Shadow emblem—being carried by a bird-shaped marionette, flying toward her at full speed. However, its speed is worryingly slow.
“Too slow... Compared to that old man, my bird marionette is far too slow. It’s going to be overtaken before it can reach me…”
Through the spiritual thread, Dorothy senses the bird marionette flying toward her in the sky. She frowns, her expression grim.
Due to the iron grate in the underground chamber’s ventilation shaft, her bird marionette couldn’t deliver the emblem in time. Now, the final emblem she needs for her advancement is still en route, and at this speed, it won’t make it in time.
“What should I do? How can I make the bird marionette fly faster? If this keeps up, I’ll be caught before I can get the emblem…”
Dorothy anxiously ponders this in her mind. Meanwhile, high in the sky, the Priest of Fangs, flying at incredible speed, is closing in on Dorothy’s bird marionette.
…
The Priest of Fangs spreads his dark wings, soaring through the night sky. His gaze is fixed ahead, as if he can see the invisible thread connecting him to his target.
Following the guidance of the spiritual thread, the Priest of Fangs flies swiftly toward the source of the thread. In just a few minutes, he will confront the puppeteer who once manipulated this thread.
Suddenly, during his flight, the Priest of Fangs notices something. With his exceptional night vision, he spots a bird flying in the same direction, struggling to keep up.
Without hesitation, the Priest of Fangs descends rapidly, diving toward the bird. In a matter of moments, he closes the distance and hovers above the bird.
Dorothy, sensing the Priest of Fangs’s approach, immediately controls the bird marionette to dive sharply, attempting to evade him. As the bird nears the ground, it drops the emblem it was carrying. However, even this maneuver fails to save it. The Priest of Fangs swiftly catches up, reaches out, and grabs the flapping bird in his hand.
Without a word, the Priest of Fangs crushes the bird marionette in his grip, scattering its remains to the ground. He then flaps his wings, rapidly gaining altitude, and continues his high-speed flight toward Dorothy.
This casual act of his effectively dashes Dorothy’s hopes of obtaining the emblem.
…
“This is bad…”
In the carriage, Dorothy feels the connection to the bird marionette snap. Her face pales further. She was ready to advance immediately, but now, missing one emblem, she can’t complete the ritual.
“I wasted too much time dismantling that iron grate... Why did Barrett install such a sturdy grate in the ventilation shaft? Was he trying to keep out some super rat?”
Realizing that the emblem won’t arrive in time, Dorothy feels a surge of frustration. However, she quickly calms herself, forcing her mind to refocus.
“Take a deep breath... Now’s not the time to complain or dwell on unrelated matters. The key is to solve the problem... Think about it, what other methods can I use to solve this? How can I advance without that emblem…”
Dorothy closes her eyes, massaging her temples as she delves into her memories, searching for a solution. As a Scholar, she rapidly sifts through her vast knowledge, hoping to find a crucial piece of information.
Then, as she recalls the first time she saw the Shadow emblem, her eyes snap open.
The first time Dorothy saw the Shadow emblem, it looked strangely familiar. Now, upon closer reflection, she realizes why: she has been carrying something very similar all along.
Dorothy extends her left hand and gazes at her index finger, where she wears the Concealment Ring, the only memento left by her mother.
The Concealment Ring is simple in design: a ring with a crescent moon engraved on its surface.
Dorothy had never paid much attention to it before, but now, upon closer inspection, she notices that the crescent moon on the Concealment Ring is identical to the one on the Shadow emblem.
This isn’t just a superficial resemblance. As a Scholar, Dorothy’s memory and information processing abilities allow her to compare the crescent moon on the ring with the one on the emblem in her mind. She finds that the two are identical in every detail—the patterns, the curvature, the proportions. The margin of error is negligible.
Crescent moon motifs are common in Shadow-related mystical items, but they usually have slight variations. The crescent moons on the emblem and the ring, however, are so identical that they seem to have been produced on the same assembly line.
Dorothy had studied holy symbols extensively in her search for the Shadow emblem. She once read a secular book on the holy symbols of the Radiance Church, which mentioned that holy symbols are more about meaning than form. While individual symbols are the basic form, they are often incorporated into other items for aesthetic reasons, such as crowns, necklaces, gloves, canes, and even rings.
Dorothy’s Concealment Ring, left by her mother, might very well be a Shadow holy symbol incorporated into a ring.
The Shadow holy symbol Dorothy had worked so hard to find might have been on her person all along. What she thought would be the last holy symbol she obtained might actually have been her first.
Long before the soul from another world and the Revelation system merged with the dying remnants of Dorothy Mayschoss, a simple farm girl, this Shadow holy symbol, left by her mysterious mother, had already been with her.
“Heh… my mysterious mother… after all this effort, it turns out the key was with me all along… What a strange feeling…”
Dorothy gazes at the Concealment Ring on her finger, shaking her head with a bitter smile. If she had known this earlier, she wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble or taken so many risks.
“You’ve saved my life, Mom… It seems our family has some connection to the Lady of the Lake. So, what was your true identity? Whatever it was… Gregor walking the Shadow path might have been the right choice after all…”
Dorothy continues to thank her mother, whom she has no memory of. Then, she signals the coachman marionette to stop the carriage and steps out.
Outside the carriage, Dorothy removes the Concealment Ring and places it in her right hand alongside the other five emblems. At this moment, Dorothy’s six holy symbols are truly "complete." The final piece of her advancement puzzle has finally fallen into place.
Now, it is time for the ritual.