Inside the apartment, Dorothy watched the words she had written swim into the vast "Literary Sea" and vanish without a trace. Shrugging her shoulders, she mused curiously.
"Who would’ve thought the words I write could end up swimming into other books? This opens up some possibilities. If I can control how these words move, perhaps I could use this as a communication tool. It’s not needed right now, but it might come in handy someday."
With that thought, Dorothy closed the “Literary Sea Logbook” on her desk, resolving to study it further when she had the chance.
"But come to think of it, is it really okay for the word I just wrote to have wandered off like that? What if someone happens to see it while reading their book..."
Worried momentarily about the runaway word, Dorothy quickly reassured herself.
"Even if someone sees it, it doesn’t matter. It’s not like they can trace it back to me."
Feeling more at ease, Dorothy carefully put away the “Literary Sea Logbook.” After going through everything she had obtained from the Serenity Bureau, she began reading the newly acquired mystical book, “The Hymns to the Mother of the Chalice.”
“The Hymns to the Mother of the Chalice” was a poetry collection and not very lengthy. As a Cognizer, Dorothy read through it quickly. Her impression of the collection was that a third of it was macabre, another third was explicit, and the rest was an unsettling mix of both.
After finishing the poems, Dorothy gained some insight into the "Mother of the Chalice," a goddess associated with fertility, procreation, life, flesh, and desire—a pure manifestation of the "Chalice." Interestingly, the collection also mentioned another deity, "The Gluttonous Wolf."
According to the poems, the Gluttonous Wolf was a wolf-like deity and the Mother of the Chalice’s most robust offspring. Known as "The Eternally Famished Beast," "King of the Hunt," and "God of Gluttony," this deity was associated with hunting, devouring, gluttony, and wild nature. Unlike the Mother of the Chalice, the Gluttonous Wolf wasn’t as singularly tied to the Chalice’s domain.Although the poems primarily focused on the Mother of the Chalice, the portions about the Gluttonous Wolf were heavily annotated. Considering the habits of the Crimson Eucharist, Dorothy speculated that they likely worshiped the Gluttonous Wolf more fervently, as its dominion over gluttony and consumption aligned closely with their interests.
After reading “The Hymns to the Mother of the Chalice,” Dorothy had a basic understanding of the deities in the domain of the Chalice. Rather than using the last knowledge exchange opportunity, she opted to extract the spirituality from the book for future use.
The book contained 4 points of Chalice spirituality and 2 points of Revelation.
Currently, Dorothy’s spirituality inventory was 12 points of Chalice, 2 points of Shadow, 1 point of Stone, 1 point of Silence, and 8 points of Revelation
Of the 8 Revelation points, 5 were "blue-bar" (natural recovery), which had been completely depleted earlier but would gradually regenerate.
Regarding Shadow, Dorothy originally had 4 points, but 2 had been used to charge Edrick’s Concealment Ring. The ring’s spirituality was later depleted entirely during Elena’s Lantern detection.
Aside from her personal spirituality reserves, Dorothy’s storage items contained 5 points of Lantern, 1 point of Stone, 2 points of Shadow, and 1 point of Chalice.
However, stored spirituality was less convenient than her personal reserves, often requiring rituals to utilize.
Next, Dorothy began recharging her mystical items. She used the last segment of a severed finger to recharge her overused Corpse Marionette Ring. Then, she used two Shadow-imbued coins to recharge the Concealment Ring, depleting a significant portion of her stored spirituality. Now, her reserves contained only 4 points of Lantern and 1 point of Stone.
Summarizing her status, In her personal reserves she owned 12 points of Chalice, 2 points of Shadow, 1 point of Stone, 1 point of Silence, and 8 points of Revelation. Meanwhile, her external storage reserves contained 5 points of Lantern and 1 point of Stone. Additionally she had monetary asset amounted 335 pounds.
Lastly, Dorothy noted that after her promotion, her spirituality capacity had increased. She could now store up to 20 points in each category, excluding her inherent blue-bar spirituality.
Currently, her Revelation (progress bar) was at 3 points. To advance further, she needed to accumulate at least 20 points, leaving her 17 points short.
"Sigh... It feels like I still have a long way to go."
After a sigh, Dorothy packed away the mystical items on her desk, heading to the washroom to take a bath. She planned to rest, enjoy a solo outing for some good food and leisure, and then return to sleep.
Dorothy didn’t consider inviting Gregor, knowing he probably wouldn’t be back tonight. She wanted to make the most of her free time.
…
Evening, beneath the Cypress Fir Tower, at the Igwynt’s Serenity Bureau.
Though it was after hours, the Igwynt’s Serenity Bureau was bustling with activity. Hunters and clerks hurried about, their footsteps echoing alongside the constant sound of scribbling.
The two major incidents in Igwynt that morning had left every Bureau member swamped. While the culprits remained at large, the staff worked tirelessly, their complaints and gossip occasionally filling the air. Some employees, during brief breaks, glanced curiously toward an unoccupied desk near the heavily guarded Sealed Vault.
Passing by the reinforced doors of the archive, a weary Gregor made his way to the director’s office. Hearing faint sobbing from another office, he glanced in and saw Mrs. Ada wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
"You tell me... How could that scoundrel do this? His father was a hero! He got his position here because of his father’s achievements. We’ve never wronged him, not even once! And now he’s disgraced his father’s name! Brandon’s hard-earned honor, ruined by that brat! Holy Mother... What did Brandon do to deserve such a son?"
Amidst her sobbing, Ada added bitterly, "I must be getting old... If this were years ago, I would’ve shot him dead myself!"
Colleagues tried to console her, urging her to stay calm and avoid straining herself. Watching this, Gregor sighed in relief and continued to the director’s office.
Knocking softly, he heard a voice from inside.
"Come in."
Entering, Gregor saw James seated at his desk.
"Mr. James, is Mrs. Ada going to be alright?"
Gregor asked with concern. James sighed deeply before answering.
"Brandon’s father—Old Brandon—was Ada’s colleague and a fellow Hunter. He was an outstanding team leader who solved numerous major cases and dismantled many evil cults. He even saved Ada’s life. Old Brandon was a hero from our Igwynt Branch Bureau, eventually promoted to headquarters."
After a pause, James continued, "But his uprightness made him many enemies. Ultimately, he was betrayed by a traitor, captured, and tortured to death by his former foes."
Hearing this, Gregor was taken aback. "Old Brandon was betrayed by a traitor?"
"Yes. That’s why Ada is so devastated by young Brandon’s defection. I suspected we might have a traitor in the Bureau, but I never imagined it would be him. If I’d been here this morning, that boy wouldn’t have left alive."
James’s eyes flashed with a sharp, murderous intent, causing Gregor to instinctively step back. He suddenly remembered that James, like Old Brandon, had once been a Hunter.
After composing himself, Gregor reported to James, "Director, we’ve made preliminary findings regarding Brandon’s case after this afternoon’s investigation."