In the darkness of night, the Desert Arrow train sped swiftly across the wilds of North Ufiga, pressing northward without rest. By this point, the train was already nearing its final destination—Kankdal Port on the Northern Sea coast. Before long, it would complete its journey from Yadith and return to where it had departed.
Inside the brightly lit train, within one of its cars, Gaspare lay partially reclining on a bed, his upper body wrapped in various bandages beneath a clerical robe. His expression carried a hint of fatigue as he extended one hand toward the side table. The bandage on this hand had been removed, revealing a hideous wound underneath.
Beside him, Vania, dressed in her white nun’s habit, sat calmly. She held her hand above Gaspare’s wound, and as a faint glow emerged from her palm, the injury on Gaspare’s arm began to heal—visibly and steadily. In just a short while, only a small scar remained.
"Alright, the wound on your right hand is mostly healed. I’ll apply some more medication, and if we treat it again the day after tomorrow, it should be fully cured. Until then, try not to move too much. The same goes for your other injuries," Vania said softly, her tone no different from a doctor in a hospital.
Gaspare, listening, replied with a slight grumble, “Tch… What a troublesome wound. Even the powers of the Holy Mother Path couldn’t heal it quickly. Those heretics were clearly prepared.”
"If they were targeting us specifically, they naturally would account for the power of the Holy Mother. I’ve heard of poisons that can weaken healing abilities before, but this is the first time I’ve seen it. Handling it is far trickier than I expected… If my skills were a little better, maybe I could have saved more people."
Picking up from his complaint, Vania responded with quiet reflection. During the Lightning Judgmentincident, many of the weapons wielded by the armed heretics who stormed the palace were coated with a strange spiritual poison. Though it didn’t inflict serious bodily harm, it greatly reduced the effectiveness of healing—particularly that of the Holy Mother Path.
“Sister Vania, you really shouldn’t blame yourself. These heretics have been opposing the Church for centuries—they’ve naturally developed countermeasures. This Shadowrot poison is one of them. It originated with some very old Shadow societies and somehow ended up in their hands.
“Honestly, when I realized that all of my major wounds had been inflicted by Shadowrot, I thought I was a goner. I didn’t expect your medical skills outside your healing gifts to be so refined… You actually brought me back.”
Gaspare looked at the now re-bandaged wound on his arm and couldn’t help but offer praise. Vania, however, responded modestly.“It was nothing. Just basic first-aid knowledge. I used to work in the Mystical Injuries Department at a hospital in Pritt, so I’m familiar with some basic medical treatment.”
“Hah… You’re being too modest, Sister. I’ve seen Holy Mother healers who dabble in medicine, but I’ve never met one as skilled as you.”
Gaspare continued to praise her. And he wasn’t wrong. Due to the widespread use of the Shadowrot poison, many of the envoy guard’s injuries couldn’t be treated by spiritual healing alone. In such cases, mundane medical skill became crucial.
That very afternoon, after Vania had regained consciousness, she immediately began treating the wounded survivors of the palace battle. Nearly half of the seven or eight surviving guards bore wounds from the poison. Despite just having woken up, Vania immediately went to work, performing surgeries and combining medical treatment with her spiritual abilities to save lives.
Due to the poison’s effects, her healing power was greatly weakened. She had to precisely assess the condition of each wounded guard, prioritize the most critical injuries, and use her limited powers sparingly but effectively—all while keeping the patient stable. This required not just extraordinary ability, but also deep medical understanding.
Thanks to Aka’s guidance, Vania’s knowledge of medicine far surpassed that of most Holy Mother Path Beyonders. It was through this expertise that she saved many of the envoy’s guards, all of whom were profoundly grateful.
However, even with her best efforts, the Shadowrot slowed their recovery significantly. Unlike typical injuries that could be quickly healed with spirituality, these would require the poison to gradually wear off over two weeks before full healing was possible.
“I never imagined I’d not only survive this… but live to see Sister Vania truly bring peace to Addus. I may have misjudged you before, and I might have been disrespectful during the journey. For that, I apologize,” Gaspare said with a sigh.
Having finished the treatment, Vania packed up her medical kit and responded politely.
"It was just luck… You really don’t need to apologize, Brother Gaspare. You fulfilled your duty faithfully and fought to the end. I should be the one thanking you… Please get some rest. I’ll be going now.”
With that, she picked up her kit and turned to leave. Gaspare hesitated briefly, then called out one last reminder.
"Sister Vania, with the escort force so depleted, the train’s security is much weaker than before. If any villains strike, it’ll be dangerous—please be cautious."
Vania paused for a moment at the door, then replied with a small nod.
“Thank you for the reminder. But our train will reach Kankdal tomorrow morning, and we’re already in safe territory. There’s no need to worry too much.”
After speaking, she exited the compartment. Visiting a few more cars with seriously injured passengers, she provided their daily treatment before stepping out of the last car with a long sigh. Then she turned to a guard leaning in the hallway—not too badly wounded, just a bit of bandaging on the wrist—and said,
“Brother Cidd, please keep an eye on your comrades and make sure none of them walk around carelessly. Of everyone, you’re the least injured—please take care of the others.”
“Er… Ah, yes, Sister Vania. I’ll make sure to do my part,” Cidd replied after a startled pause.
Vania nodded and left the scene, disappearing down the corridor with her medical kit in hand.
Watching her go, Cidd’s gaze briefly flashed with resentment. He gave a cold snort and muttered to himself:
“I’m the least injured? Hmph… What’s that supposed to mean? Is she implying I didn’t fight hard enough for her like the others? Now that she’s a little famous, she expects everyone to risk their lives for her? Dream on…”
Clutching his bandaged wrist, Cidd turned and walked away. In his heart—as in those of several others—their view of Sister Vania had begun to shift.
…
After completing the day’s healing tasks, Vania left the infirmary car and headed back to her own. As she passed through the bar car, a sudden urge prompted her to order a glass of juice. She sat at one of the dining tables, sipping slowly while gazing out the window at the dark, desolate nightscape. As she contemplated her imminent return to Kankdal and the official end of her journey to Yadith, a wave of emotion washed over her.
“I never would have thought that this trip to Yadith would actually end in a successful peace agreement. I had only hoped to make it back safely… and yet, I really did bring peace to Addus. What an unexpected blessing...
“And this blessing… I owe it all to Miss Dorothea and the Rose Cross Order behind her. I truly never imagined the Rose Cross would be connected to ancient North Ufiga divine beliefs—that they would be capable of channeling the power of a fallen ancient god like the Heaven’s Arbiter…
“The Heaven’s Arbiter… Said to be the ancient god of thunder and enlightenment in North Ufiga. If the Rose Cross Order can tap into Their power, could that mean there’s some connection between the Heaven’s Arbiter and Aka? Now many know that thunder is the element symbolizing Revelation, so could the Heaven’s Arbiter be, like the Holy Son, a subordinate elemental deity? If the Arbiter is a subordinate god… then the one he serves… would be the Lord of Revelation. Could that Lord be Aka?”
Staring out into the night, Vania contemplated silently, only to suddenly realize that speculating about the gods in this way felt irreverent. A little flustered, she quickly began offering silent prayers of repentance to Aka in her heart.
After a few moments of contrition, Vania realized that this wasn’t really the right place for prayer. So she resolved to finish her juice, return to her compartment, and complete her repentance there—along with her evening devotions.
Vania rose and left the bar car. What she didn’t notice was that as she exited, a pair of eyes had been watching her—quietly, intently—from behind the bar counter, hidden among the train staff.
…
"That’s the last of today’s treatments…"
Sitting in her private car, Dorothy confirmed through various vision points that Vania had safely returned to her compartment. She breathed a sigh of relief and began calling back several of the corpse marionettes she had scattered throughout the train for surveillance.
Since Vania’s escort had suffered heavy losses during the battle at the Baruch Royal Palace, both their reconnaissance and protection capabilities had significantly weakened. Thus, Dorothy had stepped up her own vigilance during the return journey, carefully watching for any threats inside or outside the train. After all, in the eyes of many, Vania had become a high-value target, and another assassination attempt—like the one on their way to Yadith—was far from impossible.
So over the past two days, Dorothy had been relying on corpse marionettes to safeguard the train. Fortunately, no dangerous incidents had occurred so far.
"By tomorrow morning, we’ll arrive in Kankdal. We’re now officially outside of Addus’s borders and beyond the Savior’s Advent reach—it’s finally safe…
"Phew… Feeling a little sleepy now too. Time for a proper night’s rest. Once we reach the station tomorrow, I’ll treat myself to a good meal."
Stretching lazily, Dorothy got up from her seat, changed into her sleepwear, and lay down with a yawn. Snuggling under the covers, she drifted off as she always did—listening to Vania’s soft prayers in the distance.
Even asleep, Dorothy didn’t completely let her guard down. Inside her lucid dream, she maintained control over a few corpse marionettes to monitor the train’s condition. Though her awareness wasn’t as sharp as when she was awake, any major disturbances aboard would immediately jolt her back to consciousness. Thankfully… tonight, nothing of the sort occurred.
…
Time passed steadily. The night deepened. The Desert Arrow continued its smooth journey forward, encountering no abnormalities on the way.
Suddenly, the train began to slow down. A night watchman, one of the wounded guards, leaned out to check the situation and saw an illuminated station ahead. It appeared they were stopping for water and coal resupply. Relaxing, he dismissed any suspicions and went back to his duties.
Sure enough, once the train had slowed enough, it stopped at the station platform. The crew disembarked and began coordinating with the station workers, transferring pre-prepared supplies onto the train.
During a conversation between one Desert Arrow crew member and the station manager, the crewman noticed something odd about the manager’s gestures and phrasing. The peculiar signals raised his guard.
"We’ve got another batch of wine to load. It’s in there. Bring a few people with you and come grab it."
"Alright. Let me take a look first."
The crewman nodded, picked a few helpers, and followed the manager inside. In one of the station rooms, they saw several large crates sitting on the floor.
Upon seeing the crates, the crew hesitated for a moment. One of them walked up and circled the boxes, then approached a specific one and opened it. Inside were rows of bottles—wine, just as claimed.
Reaching into the crate, the crewman fished between the bottles and pulled out a small booklet. The cover bore a white sunwheel emblem, beneath which was a phrase written in North Ufigan script: "Holy is the Lord." (T/N: It kinda doesn’t make sense but it is what it is)
"What is this…"
"Don’t worry about what it is. Just get it onboard. Everything you need to know is inside.
"Everything goes down tomorrow morning—at the welcoming ceremony when the train arrives in Kankdal Station. Succeed no matter what. Even if you fail… follow the contingency plans inside and salvage what you can."