"The Crown of Emmanuel, huh…"
On a small boat along a canal in Adria, Dorothy softly murmured upon hearing the boatman’s words, her gaze fixed on the dazzling reflections atop the grand cathedral ahead.
Dorothy was familiar with the name Emmanuel. During her "studies" at Royal Crown University, Dorothy had spent most of her time immersed in the extensive mundane archives, greatly expanding her understanding of this world. Among those late-night readings was the secular history of Ivengard.
Emmanuel was an ancient king of Ivengard, the founder of the current ruling Pure Flow Dynasty, remembered as "King of Bestowed Light," Emmanuel.
In secular history, centuries ago, King Leo "the Arrogant," the last ruler of the Whirlpool Dynasty, had openly invaded the northern Theocratic states, sparking the Muddy Current War. Ultimately, the Theocratic alliance invaded Ivengard in retaliation, and Leo was defeated and killed.
At that time, Emmanuel, a distant relative of the royal family and Duke of Adria, had opposed Leo’s rule, assisting the Theocratic alliance in overthrowing him. Due to his merits, Emmanuel was crowned the new King of Ivengard by decree of the Holy Mount, inaugurating the Pure Flow Dynasty. The title "King of Bestowed Light" carried the meaning "bestowed by the Lord’s Radiance."
Of course, Dorothy, who had studied mystical texts, clearly knew the hidden truths behind this secular history. The Whirlpool Dynasty under Leo had been highly corrupted by the Abyssal Church. At that time, the Abyssal Church’s influence had rapidly expanded, with even public worship of the Abyssal Serpent spreading throughout Ivengard. This war was essentially a holy war initiated directly by the church, cleansing Ivengard of heretics.
"So that’s something that belonged to King Emmanuel. I almost forgot; this is Adria, once Emmanuel’s domain," Dorothy quickly recalled in her mind, before having her accompanying parent corpse marionette address the boatman. Realizing that his passenger had some knowledge, the boatman enthusiastically began to explain.
"Oh, the guest knows our place was once the domain of King Emmanuel. Few people these days know history... Although the royal family now resides in Pezhi, they originally came from here. The crown atop that cathedral is the best proof."
As he rowed, the boatman pointed towards the shining crown on the cathedral and continued:"The Crown of Bestowed Light... it was sent by the Holy Mount when King Emmanuel formally announced his rebellion against King Leo, acknowledging him as Ivengard’s true hero. After defeating Leo, Emmanuel had to formally travel to Pezhi to wear Ivengard’s royal crown.
"Before leaving, the people of Adria, reluctant to part with their wise lord, asked Emmanuel to leave the Crown of Bestowed Light behind to commemorate his leadership. Since then, it has remained preserved at Pure Flow Cathedral and has become Adria’s greatest treasure."
The boatman spoke with evident pride. Dorothy nodded inwardly, understanding now why the crown emitted such powerful Lantern spirituality.
...
Afterward, Dorothy and her corpse marionette disembarked from the small boat at a waterway beside the wide plaza in front of Pure Flow Cathedral. After paying the boatman, they found a nearby hotel to store their luggage. After settling the parent corpse marionette, Dorothy exited the hotel alone.
She moved swiftly along the embankment, crossing an arched bridge and stepping out of the dense, waterway-lined residential area onto a spacious plaza.
The entire plaza was paved with pristine white stones, centered around an imposing obelisk. Not far beyond stood the grand Pure Flow Cathedral, with countless visitors entering and exiting its wide-open doors.
Dorothy approached cautiously, activating her spiritual vision and closely monitoring the Shadow spirituality consumed by her Concealment Ring.
As she drew closer to the cathedral, the Lantern spirituality from the Crown of Emmanuel became increasingly intense, and the consumption rate of her Concealment Ring subtly rose. Calculating based on this increase, Dorothy quickly gauged the powerful detection capacity of the Crown of Emmanuel.
Overall, as an Illuminating Beacon, the crown was extremely efficient in detecting spiritual traces. Dorothy estimated that within about twenty meters of the cathedral’s periphery, its detection capability matched that of a standard Illuminating Beacon. Even closer, its efficiency tripled or quadrupled.
“Its mystical detection is alarmingly efficient. Maintaining such a powerful detection continuously must consume enormous Lantern spirituality… Or perhaps this crown has incredibly efficient spiritual utilization?”
Observing the crown glinting beneath the sunlight, Dorothy considered silently. Its powerful detection could even discern internal spirituality within a Beyonder who emitted no external spiritual traces.
Having gauged the crown’s efficiency, Dorothy continued cautiously, choosing an angle that allowed her to approach while a spire blocked direct illumination, conserving her Shadow.
Shortly thereafter, Dorothy reached the Pure Flow Cathedral’s edge, safe from detection due to the crown’s blind spot. Finally, blending seamlessly with other visitors, she entered the church.
Entering the Pure Flow Cathedral, Dorothy didn’t encounter the typical expansive worship hall seen in other churches but instead a large reception desk, where tickets had to be purchased from an attendant before visitors could proceed further.
Indeed, the Pure Flow Cathedral had long since ceased functioning as a church, having been converted into a museum several centuries ago. Dorothy had initially found it strange when Beverly mentioned "Pure Flow Cathedral Museum," wondering how a place could simultaneously be both a church and a museum. Her conversation with the boatman-guide earlier had provided the answer.
Originally, Pure Flow Cathedral was a cathedral for worship by the people of Adria. After Emmanuel left his crown here to soothe the longing of Adria’s people, it was kept inside Pure Flow Cathedral.
Over the following years, the increasing number of visitors who came to view the Crown of Emmanuel gradually began to interfere with regular religious activities. Thus, the city government of Adria and the church authorities decided to build a new cathedral elsewhere for normal religious ceremonies, dedicating Pure Flow Cathedral solely to exhibiting the Crown of Emmanuel. Over time, as numerous collectors sought to have their own collections displayed alongside the Crown of Emmanuel, they continuously donated items to the Pure Flow Cathedral. Consequently, the collection expanded significantly, eventually turning the cathedral into a dedicated museum, making it one of Adria’s most famous tourist attractions.
After purchasing her ticket, Dorothy entered Pure Flow Cathedral to explore. The interior was quite spacious, having undergone several expansions to accommodate the ever-increasing number of exhibits. With a visitor’s guidebook in hand, Dorothy navigated through various exhibition halls, examining the precious items displayed in glass cabinets.
These items originated from diverse sources—ranging from local and international artifacts to finely crafted artistic objects. However, in Dorothy’s eyes, these exhibits for ordinary visitors had little value. Though genuinely historical items, they displayed no spiritual traces in her spiritual vision, meaning they were merely mundane.
Surveying these exhibitions, Dorothy fell into deep contemplation.
"Azam’s divination artifact is undoubtedly a mystical item. Yet, if Azam donated it to Pure Flow Cathedral for exhibition, it would have likely been detected immediately by the Crown of Emmanuel. Even if it somehow avoided detection during transportation, the church staff would likely discover it during inspections. This means that typically, this museum would be the least suitable place to exhibit mystical items.
"Yet, Azam chose this location regardless, suggesting he was confident the artifact would remain undiscovered by the church."
Walking through the exhibition halls, Dorothy pondered deeply about Azam’s artifact. She concluded there was only one reason the artifact might remain undetected—it must currently lack mystical properties.
"Beverly mentioned that the artifact requires a three-year interval between uses. Thus, during its cooldown, it would appear completely mundane, revealing no mystical traits until it recovered. It’s similar to my Marionette Mark, which remains ordinary until activated, undetectable by even the Illuminating Beacon until I use it."
Touching her wrist thoughtfully, Dorothy reasoned that Azam donated the artifact to Pure Flow Cathedral precisely because it was church territory, deterring Garib from taking rash actions. During the period when Azam’s powers declined due to a curse and Garib’s surveillance, he couldn’t guarantee his survival. Thus, donating the most important artifact here served a dual purpose.
"Azam’s plan likely was that if he escaped, he could reclaim the artifact by identifying himself as the donor. If he didn’t survive, the artifact would remain here, hidden until the cooldown ended three years later, at which point the church would discover and secure it—preferable to it falling into Garib’s hands."
Dorothy continued wandering through the exhibition halls, aware that the artifact she sought was among countless others, yet currently lacked any discernible mystical qualities, making it impossible to identify through supernatural means.
"Azam kept the artifact’s details secret, so there’s no way to pinpoint its identity now. I’ll need to wait until the cooldown fully expires, at which point the artifact will regain its mysticism and become detectable. But then, will I find it first, or will the church discover it before me?"
Lost in thought, Dorothy soon reached a wide-open doorway, pausing as a dazzling light from within struck her.
Dorothy stopped abruptly, peering into the vast domed room beyond. The dome was adorned with splendid religious murals; beneath it lay luxurious carpets encircling numerous exhibition cases. At the dome’s very center shone a familiar radiant glow—the reflection she’d noticed outside earlier.
This glow was from the gemstone on the Crown of Emmanuel, positioned at the apex of the dome. A direct opening in the dome allowed the Crown of Emmanuel, secured atop the church, to illuminate this spacious chamber, effectively serving as its ceiling lamp.
"Damn... The crown’s illumination actually extends indoors? What kind of design is this..."
Dorothy cursed inwardly. Quickly stepping away from the doorway to avoid the light, she realized that to ordinary visitors, the Crown of Emmanuel merely reflected sunlight. However, through Dorothy’s spiritual vision, it continuously emitted a dangerous detection aura.
Standing beside the domed chamber, Dorothy—who had just dodged the detection glows—glanced down at the guide booklet in her hands. Quickly scanning the map, she soon located the name and description of the room.
[The Crown Chamber: A domed hall specifically designed to house the Crown of Emmanuel. The Crown is mounted at the apex of the dome, connecting the interior and exterior, and thus appears as radiant as the sun itself inside the hall. Only artifacts of utmost value and significance are permitted to share an exhibition space with the Crown of Emmanuel.]
“So this is the Crown Chamber specially built for displaying the Crown of Emmanuel… No wonder…”
Reading this description, Dorothy nodded inwardly with newfound understanding. However, a sudden thought sprang into her mind.
“Wait—if Azam’s goal in donating the divination artifact to Pure Flow Cathedral was to ensure that if he died, it would inevitably fall into the Church’s hands, thus forever denying Garib any chance to obtain it… then he must’ve ensured the artifact would be immediately discovered once its cooldown expired. If the divination artifact had been displayed anywhere else in the cathedral, even after its cooldown was over, it might not be discovered immediately—after all, the Church’s personnel likely wouldn’t be constantly using spirituality to inspect every ordinary artifact.
“Therefore… if Azam wanted the divination artifact to be detected right away once its cooldown ended, it must be placed under continuous spiritual scrutiny. And the only place that fits such a condition… would be inside the Crown Chamber itself!
“If the artifact is indeed being exhibited here together with the Crown of Emmanuel, the very moment its cooldown ends, the Crown would immediately reveal its mystical nature!”
Realizing this, Dorothy’s gaze towards the wooden door in front of her grew somewhat heated.
At this very moment, on the opposite side of the Crown Chamber, by another entrance, stood two men wearing trench coats. They were similarly keeping to the edges of the doorway, cautiously avoiding the detection glows, while quietly observing the contents of the Crown Chamber.