Glamorne was one of the major cities in southwestern Pritt and the capital of Handshire, located in a wide mountain basin and serving as the transportation hub of the county.
Due to the mountainous terrain that dominated the southwest of Pritt’s main island, Handshire was also mostly mountainous. The only large plain in the entire county was the basin where Glamorne sat. The land here was primarily used for cultivation, with agriculture and light industry as its pillar sectors. Thanks to its proximity to Lake Starbind—the largest lake in southwestern Pritt—it also had some fisheries output.
Though Glamorne was the largest city in Handshire, its total population was vastly different compared to a true metropolis like Tivian. The relatively small population and the lack of heavy industry made its environment quite pleasant compared to most other cities in Pritt—even the surrounding rivers and lakes showed little pollution.
During the day, birds soared across a sky of deep blue. Within Glamorne’s quiet streets, a few carriages occasionally passed by. Inside a street-side café, Dorothy was seated, slowly savoring a cup of the local specialty coffee. Across the table from her sat Nephthys, her face showing a clear trace of concern. She looked at Dorothy, who was calmly enjoying her drink, and finally spoke up.
“What… Miss Dorothy, you mean to say those people from the Eight-Spired Nest are already here? They got here before us?”
“Yes… That lake beside the city is shrouded in spiritual blood mist at night. The mist is extremely thin—most people wouldn’t notice it with the naked eye after dark, unless they use mystical means to detect it.
“I’ve seen this kind of blood mist before—during the Barrett assassination case at the beginning of the year. I briefly clashed with a Crimson-rank member of the Eight-Spired Nest back then, and he had this exact ability.”
After taking a sip and setting her cup down, Dorothy answered calmly. Hearing this, Nephthys’s expression grew even more serious. She muttered in a grave tone.
“A Crimson-rank of the Eight-Spired Nest… this is bad. Miss Dorothy, it seems we really were a step too late—they’ve beaten us to it.”
“I’d already expected the Eight-Spired Nest to move faster than us. After all, their influence spans across Pritt—it’s normal that they’d secure their position faster. But there’s no need to panic. Being ahead of us doesn’t mean they’ve won. As long as they haven’t found the Temple of the Moon yet, we still have a chance.”
Hearing this, Nephthys paused slightly, then asked again.
“So… Miss Dorothy, you’re saying those Eight-Spired people haven’t found the temple yet?”
“That’s right. I’ve been observing Lake Starbind for two nights now. Both nights, the Eight-Spired Nest’s blood mist appeared over the lake. If they’d already succeeded, they wouldn’t be wasting spirituality like this—they’d have packed up and left by now.”
As Dorothy explained, Nephthys blinked and asked further:
“The blood mist appeared both nights… meaning they’re using it to monitor the lake while searching for the temple at the same time?”
“Exactly. That blood mist is essentially the transformed blood of a Crimson-rank Beyonder from the Eight-Spired Nest—it’s part of their body. If you come into contact with it, that Crimson will immediately be alerted. The mist can even seep into the body of an enemy and interfere internally.”
Dorothy patiently explained, and Nephthys’s expression darkened further.
“To be able to cover an entire lake with blood mist for surveillance… that’s really similar to what we encountered in Moncarlo. But if all of Lake Starbind is being shrouded in mist… how much blood does that Crimson even have?”
Worried, Nephthys voiced her thoughts. Dorothy raised an eyebrow slightly, as if something had occurred to her.
The blood mist created by the Crimson-rank of the Eight-Spired Nest shared many similarities with the spiritual mist produced by Edward, the Crimson-rank Water Elementalist—both were difficult to detect, capable of sensing everything within their range, and could disrupt internal states once inhaled.
But there were fundamental differences. The mist from the Crimson-rank Water Elementalist was essentially ordinary moisture imbued with spirituality, while the blood mist of the Crimson-rank Blood Shade was literally part of the Beyonder’s own body. In terms of sensitivity and manipulation precision, blood mist held the edge—but in coverage range and overall quantity, the Water Elementalist’s mist had the advantage. And from what Dorothy had seen of the Priest of Fangs, the blood mist likely had more specialized functions than water vapor.
“No matter how I look at it, the amount of blood mist the Eight-Spired Nest can produce should be far smaller than what a Crimson-rank Water Elementalist like Edward can generate. One converts ambient moisture into mist—the other has to release their own blood and vaporize it into the air. So logically, the scale of blood mist should be much smaller than that of Edward’s spiritual mist.”
“But the reality is… the scale of the blood mist the Eight-Spired Nest has been releasing each night is astonishing—enough to cover the entire surface of Lake Starbind. Even if the blood content in the air is relatively thin, the lake is enormous—bigger than the entire Glamorne city area. Even considering that a Crimson-rank Blood Shade may have an unusual amount of blood, can they really produce this much mist?”
With this thought, a bad feeling arose in Dorothy’s heart. The scale of the blood mist far exceeded her expectations—comparable to the mist Edward once released over Moncarlo.
“No matter how I look at it, a single Crimson-rank Blood Shade creating this much mist feels excessive. Could it be that the Eight-Spired Nest has already set up a ritual in Glamorne to amplify their powers? But they received intel about Glamorne at the same time I did—they couldn’t have arrived much earlier than me. Could they really have had enough time to deploy a ritual of that scale?
“Or maybe… the number of Crimson-rank Beyonders from Eight-Spired Nest who came to Glamorne… isn’t just one?”
That was the thought that arose in Dorothy’s heart. And the moment she realized this possibility, her expression darkened, and she froze in place for a moment. Seeing this change in Dorothy, Nephthys asked.
“What’s wrong, Miss Dorothy? Is there something serious?”
“Ah… nothing for now. I just thought of some unpleasant possibilities, but I don’t have any concrete evidence yet.”
Dorothy responded calmly to Nephthys’s concern, then shifted the topic and looked at her.
“In any case, our goal now is to find the temple before the Eight-Spired Nest does. The clues to its location most likely lie within those riddle-like prayers. Since they’ve chosen to seal off the lake at night, it means they also believe that Glahomir’s Mirror refers to Lake Starbind—the same conclusion I came to. If we can decipher the rest of the prayer’s content, we might be able to locate the temple.”
“Oh, right—Senior Nephthys, you’ve been gathering intel in the city these past two days too, haven’t you? Any findings?”
Nephthys, clearly prepared, nodded.
“Actually, I was just about to tell you. I’ve also been looking for clues related to those riddle-prayers recently. Since I knew you were already investigating in the city, I deliberately chose more remote areas to search. In a small town south of Glamorne, I made a discovery.”
“A small town? What did you find?”
Dorothy asked with interest.
“In an abandoned old house on the outskirts of that town, I found an earthbound spirit—an old man’s ghost, bound to this world because he never gave up waiting for his son who left for work and never returned. Because he wasn’t harming anyone, no official Beyonder came to deal with him. I learned about him through local supernatural rumors. He was born over a hundred years ago and lived his whole life near Glamorne, so he knows this area well. I offered to help him pass on, in exchange for some information.”
“Oh… a ghost born in this region a century ago? That’s interesting. What did you learn from him?”
Dorothy’s interest grew, and Nephthys continued.
“I broke down the contents of the riddle-prayer and asked him about each part—things like the Crescent-Blade Gate and the Longbow Gate meant nothing to him. But when I mentioned Glahomir’s Mirror, he immediately pointed to Lake Starbind. He said the lake used to be commonly known as Mirror Lake.”
“In addition to that, he mentioned one other important clue—‘the Silver Summit.’ According to the ghost, there’s a mountain near Lake Starbind called Mount Hollow Silver. Supposedly it once had a silver mine, but it was completely mined out before he was even born, though the tunnels into the mountain were left behind.”
“When he was a child, people would still enter the old mine to look for leftover silver ore to sell. Some said you could even find crafted silverware on the mountain if you were lucky. But the mine was extremely dangerous, and many treasure-hunters died in accidents. Eventually, the local government sealed the mine to prevent further deaths. After that, the mountain was renamed ‘Mount Lakeview’ because its summit had a great view of Lake Starbind.”
Nephthys laid out her findings, gathered through spiritual communication. Hearing her explanation, Dorothy’s expression shifted slightly with interest as she mentally recalled the map of the area around Lake Starbind.
“Mount Lakeview, huh…”
…
Lake Starbind, known as Glamorne’s Mirror, bordered the city on one side, with the other three sides enclosed by a ring of mountains. Among the various hills surrounding the lake, Mount Lakeview was undoubtedly one of the most prominent.
Located to the west of the lake, Mount Lakeview was among the taller peaks in the area. Despite its height, its gentle slope on one side made it easy to climb. Coupled with its relative proximity to the city, its summit became a popular spot for viewing the lake. After its mining function was abandoned and the tunnels sealed, it was repurposed as a scenic area for both locals and visiting tourists—hence the name change to Mount Lakeview.
In the afternoon, beneath a sky of clear blue and drifting clouds, many well-dressed citizens were gathered atop the wooden observation deck at the summit. Enjoying the fresh breeze, they gazed out over the vast and stunning lake. Most were clearly from the more affluent class, visiting with family to enjoy leisure time together. Around the platform, small vendors sold snacks and trinkets to the sightseers.
Among these spectators, one of Dorothy’s corpse marionettes was mingling with the crowd. From her position on the lakeshore, Dorothy was using the marionette’s vision to survey Lake Starbind from the summit of Mount Lakeview. Watching the shimmering waves stretch across the surface, she fell into thought.
“So this… is the so-called ‘Silver Summit’ mentioned in the prayer? Indeed… from here, nearly the entire lake is visible—it really is the perfect viewing point.”
“Though I’ve found the Silver Summit, there’s still no clue about the other parts. From this vantage, the lake is beautiful—but there’s nothing unusual. No signs of an ‘Shadowless Gate’ or a ‘Crescent-Blade Gate.’ Nothing resembling a gate at all…”
Dorothy mused silently as she shifted her focus back to the lake in front of her real body, gazing out at the calm waters.
“Over the past two days, I’ve made a bunch of fish corpse marionettes using catches from the local fish markets. During the day, I’ve had them search underwater in Lake Starbind. But I’ve found nothing—the lakebed is just sand and aquatic plants. Sure, there are some sunken antique silver items, but none show signs of spirituality. They’re all ordinary objects.”
Dorothy had once thought the Temple of the Moon might be sunken beneath the lake. But after combing the bottom thoroughly these past two days and finding nothing, she was forced to abandon that hypothesis.
“There are no clues outside the lake… and none inside it either. Could it be that the secret of the Temple of the Moon can only be revealed at night? But… the Eight-Spired Nest completely locks down the lake at night. How am I supposed to search for anything under their surveillance?”
Touching her chin, Dorothy sat on the lakeside grass, deep in thought. It was obvious—the Mirror Moon Goddess, as the Queen of the Night Sky and a deity of Shadow, whose symbolism revolved around night and the moon, would naturally have a temple more closely tied to the nighttime.
To truly uncover the temple’s secrets, Dorothy would need to search Lake Starbind by night. But the Eight-Spired Nest had come to the same conclusion—and they had already begun their nightly operations.
If Dorothy couldn’t break through their nighttime lockdown of the lake, continuing her investigation would become exceedingly difficult.