In Glamorgan at night, a gentle breeze blew across the calm Dazzle Star Lake, creating ripples under the moonlight. At this moment, the entire vast Dazzle Star Lake was peaceful, except for the majestic Church in the center of the lake, where bright Lights still shone and strict Church guards stood watch.
At this moment, on a secluded bank of Dazzle Star Lake, a figure stood in the Shadow. It was a Sister wearing a common Sister's habit with short brown hair. He was the fake Sister, Gray, who had recently arrived in Glamorgan.
Sister Gray, standing in the woods by the lake shore, looked around as if waiting for something. After he waited for several minutes, threads of Scarlet blood mist suddenly appeared in the surrounding air. These blood mist gradually thickened, finally gathering in front of'Sister Gray', condensing into a tall female form. Finally, Gothsmore's figure slowly emerged from the Shadow.
"My Lady Witch..."
Seeing Gothsmore appear,'Sister Gray' bowed respectfully. Gothsmore, after seeing this, didn't show much reaction, but spoke directly.
"It seems you couldn't fool that Fanatics Sister..."
"I'm very sorry, My Lady Witch, I have tried my best to persuade the target. Although she does have some interest in this area, she still hasn't agreed directly. It seems she doesn't fully trust us yet. After all, in terms of identity, we are just the advance party."
Listening to Gothsmore's words,'Sister Gray' responded with a slightly panicked expression. Gothsmore didn't show any sign of anger. After glancing at the Church in the center of the lake, she continued.
"It seems that famous Sister is essentially still a well-behaved girl who follows the rules. I thought after experiencing such a big event in Adus, she would be more courageous and ambitious... Tsk tsk, it's rare for me to misjudge someone..."
Gothsmore said this unhurriedly and leisurely. Listening to her words,'Sister Gray' continued to respond.
"Tomorrow, I will continue to persuade her. Please rest assured, My Lady Witch, I won't disappoint you next time."
"Next time? No need. You can just go back afterwards. You don't need to contact that Sister anymore. If you fail to fool her once and keep trying, it's easy to make her suspicious."
Gothsmore said this to'Sister Gray'. Listening to her words,'Sister Gray' couldn't help but be stunned, and then asked in confusion.
"If I go back, then that Sister..."
"Leave that Sister to me."
Gothsmore said this. Then, her face and body began to change simultaneously. Her face started to squirm and deform, and her body, which was up to 1.8 meters tall, also began to shrink at a visible speed. Finally, Gothsmore's face became another appearance, exactly the same as'Sister Gray' in front of her.
"Now, give me the identity you are currently portraying..." Gothsmore said to her subordinate in front of her again. Listening to her words,'Sister Gray' couldn't help but be startled, and then bowed and said respectfully.
"Yes, My Lady Witch."
...
The moon set, the sun rose, and the night dispersed. When the first ray of morning sunlight shone upon the surface of Dazzle Star Lake, a new day dawned upon Glamorgan.
As the citizens of the city awoke from their sleep and rose to welcome the day's work, several figures were walking side by side by Dazzle Star Lake. Upon closer inspection, these figures were all wearing Church-related attire. They were Vanya, the Holy Relic Patrol Officer, and'Sister Gray' from the Tivian Church advance party, as well as some accompanying personnel from both sides, including Gaspare.
"Good morning, Sister Gray, how did you rest last night?" Walking by the lake in the early morning, Vanya asked the Sister beside her with concern, and the other party answered unhurriedly.
"Not bad, the environment here is much better than Tivian. The lake view is beautiful, and I rested very comfortably." Sister Gray... or rather, Gothsmore, who was wearing the appearance of Sister Gray, responded to Vanya like this, with a shallow smile on her face. She looked genuinely appreciative of the pleasant scenery here, with no trace of anything unnatural.
"Yes, I think so too. We've felt very good during these two days staying in Glamorgan, and for a moment, we didn't want to leave. But unfortunately, after you send the report back and the follow-up team arrives, we won't have a reason to stay here anymore. The pilgrimage journey still has to continue."
Vanya responded to Gothsmore like this. Listening to Vanya's words, Gothsmore continued to respond with a calm expression.
"Sister Vanya, are you already thinking about continuing the pilgrimage? Wouldn't it be too regrettable to miss such an important ceremony? Have you reconsidered what I said yesterday afternoon?"
"What you said yesterday afternoon..." Listening to Gothsmore's words, Vanya recalled for a moment, and then continued to speak.
"Yesterday afternoon, Sister Gray, you said that I could participate in the Consecration Ceremony, and even take on the key position of High Priest... This feels a bit too sudden. I am just temporarily guarding this Church now, waiting to witness the Consecration Ceremony after the handover. Although I have thought about participating in the ceremony, at most I would just assist a little. I haven't thought about conducting the ceremony as the High Priest."
Vanya responded like this, while Gothsmore continued to speak with a smile.
"Sister Vanya is the most dazzling rising star in the Church in recent years, and currently the most important figure in Prit, besides Cardinal Francesco. In terms of identity, no one is more suitable than you to be the High Priest of the Consecration Ceremony. It just so happens that this important heretical Church was discovered by you, Sister Vanya. Is there perhaps a deeper meaning in this, guided by fate?"
"This, this... The work of the High Priest cannot be determined by identity, right? Regarding the Consecration Ceremony, I've only heard of it before. Although I've always been curious about this ceremony, I have no idea how to perform it. Before becoming a Holy Relic Patrol Officer, I worked in the Historical Scripture Department. I'm not professional in ritual ceremonies and rarely involved in such work."
With a slightly awkward smile, Vanya said to Gothsmore. Her meaning was simple: she didn't know how to perform the Consecration Ceremony, as it wasn't her area of expertise.
"It's okay if you don't know how to perform it, we can teach you on the spot."
Gothsmore continued to say to Vanya unhurriedly. Listening to her words, Vanya couldn't help but be slightly stunned, and then said somewhat incredulously.
"Teach me on the spot... That won't be enough time, will it?"
"There's enough time. Although the Consecration Ceremony is not small in scale and takes a little longer, most of the ritual content is simple and repetitive. The overall ritual process is not difficult. If you, Sister Vanya, want to learn, we can guide you. I think you won't need much time to learn it. The key is whether you have the intention."
Gothsmore continued speaking to Vanya. Listening to her words, Vanya hesitated for a moment, and then slowly spoke.
"So... I can directly learn the Consecration Ceremony? But even if I learn the ceremony, Tivian will agree to my participation as the High Priest?"
"Sister Vanya, you might not know this, but regarding the selection of the High Priest, we don't have to follow Tivian's arrangements too much because our advance party has a deeper understanding of this heretical ruin. We have significant advisory power over the specific process of the Consecration Ceremony afterward, which includes the choice of the High Priest. In our opinion, no one here is more suitable than you to serve as the High Priest for this ceremony."
Gothsmore said this to Vanya, and upon hearing her words, a hint of hesitation began to show on Vanya's face.
"Ah, is that so..."
Seeing Vanya's appearance, Gothsmore immediately pressed on, continuing to speak.
"Sister Vanya is the pride of our Prit diocese. It is my wish, as well as the wish of many other servants of the Lord in the diocese, to have Sister Vanya conduct an important Consecration Ceremony in Prit. This will increase the influence of our diocese. At the same time, your pilgrimage experience, Sister Vanya, will gain a unique event, which will also be helpful for your future path in the saint church. Therefore, Sister Vanya, you are the best candidate for the High Priest of this Consecration this time."
Looking at Vanya in front of her, Gothsmore continued to speak. At the same time, a barely noticeable Shadow flickered in her pupils, and immediately the hypnotic ability belonging to the Scarlet Blood Darkness Path was released. Silently, Gothsmore completed the suggestion on Vanya.
"Hmm... Sister Gray, what you said does make sense. This Consecration Ceremony is an opportunity for both me and the Prit diocese. It would be a shame to waste it. I accept your proposal and will try to preside over this important ceremony..."
After being influenced by the invisible suggestion, Vanya was finally persuaded and spoke with determination. Listening to Vanya's words, Gothsmore continued to speak with a smile.
"That's great. I'll go back and inform the others about this later so they can prepare to teach the ceremony. We can start practicing this afternoon. The official ceremony needs to wait until the subsequent main force arrives, but before that, we can rehearse in the ruins in the center of the lake. Once we are familiar with it, we can directly begin the official ceremony as soon as the follow-up arrives."
Gothsmore said this to Vanya, and upon hearing her words, Gaspare, who was originally following beside them, couldn't help but speak.
"Sister Vanya, you haven't had experience performing such an important ceremony before, right? Can short-term training really be effective? If a mistake occurs during the official ceremony, the impact would be bad..."
Gaspare said this worriedly, and the one who responded to him was still Gothsmore.
"This knight is worrying too much. Under our training, there will be no problems with the final ceremony. Since you have followed Sister Vanya through a lot, you should have confidence in her..."
Gothsmore said this. In her words, she once again activated the ability of suggestion. After the Scarlet suggestion, Gaspare was startled, and then nodded and spoke.
"Hmm... What you said does make sense. We should indeed have confidence in Sister Vanya..."
Gaspare said this. Looking at the key members of the pilgrimage team stepping onto the path she had arranged, the smile on her lips couldn't help but show a hint of wickedness.
...
Meanwhile, within the hidden space behind the Mirror Lake surface of Dazzle Star Lake, Dorothy was suspended in the colorless space, looking down at the huge Mirror Lake below, peering at the scene in the present world. Her gaze was currently fixed on the Sister beside Vanya. Dorothy clearly knew that beneath the Sister's ordinary skin, a horrifying extraordinary existence was hidden.
"I didn't expect that, in order to ensure the success rate, the big figure would personally step in..."
Looking at Gothsmore, who was disguised as Sister Gray, Dorothy murmured softly. Currently, the Eight-Pointed Nest is steadily advancing its conspiracy, and Dorothy herself is also slowly acting according to her established plan. Both the Eight-Pointed Nest's conspiracy and Dorothy's plan are about to reach their final stage.
"It seems it's time to make the final arrangements..."
Overlooking the scene in the present world below, Dorothy murmured like this. As she spoke, she reached into her clothes, fumbled for a while, and then took out something.
It was, surprisingly, a well-crafted small owl figurine.
...
In the afternoon, by Dazzle Star Lake in Glamorgan.
Vanya, wearing a white Sister's habit, was sitting on a bench by the lake at this moment, holding a document in her hand, with obvious confusion on her face. Beside Vanya at this time, Gothsmore, disguised as Sister Gray, was standing still, looking at Vanya not far away with a seemingly unchanging smile.
"What... is written on this paper? Sister Gray? Could this be the method for performing the Consecration Ceremony?"
Vanya looked at the document paper given to her by Gothsmore not long ago, looking at the messy pile of letters on it that couldn't form words, and couldn't help but speak in confusion, while the other party immediately replied.
"This is the incantation of the High Priest for the Consecration Ceremony. It is one of the key points of the entire ceremony. Sister Vanya, please be sure to firmly memorize all the incantations on this."
"Incantation? Memorize? But... I can't understand any of the words on this. This isn't Prit language, is it? How do I memorize it?"
Vanya said to Gothsmore in confusion, and Gothsmore also immediately replied.
"Yes, these are not Prit language characters... In fact, they are not characters from any country. These are phonetic notations, phonetic notations to assist your spelling."
"Phonetic notations? So these are all phonetic symbols? But what I see them spelling is not Prit language, is it? Could the incantation for this Consecration Ceremony be recorded in the language of another country?"
Vanya continued to ask questions, while Gothsmore continued to respond with a calm expression.
"In the Consecration Ceremony, the High Priest's incantation is a very important element. Due to Spirit Sight, we cannot directly tell you the incantation for the Consecration Ceremony, Sister Vanya. It contains Spirit Sight, and once you understand the meaning within the incantation, you will be affected by Spirit Sight."
"Currently, our time is limited, and we don't have the extra time to wait for you to slowly dispel the Spirit Sight according to the normal procedure. We can only use some other methods to allow you to quickly grasp the incantation."
"The incantation on this document paper is recorded in ancient Prit language, only the phonetic symbols are recorded, not the characters. Therefore, Sister Vanya, you can master the pronunciation of the entire incantation using these phonetic symbols without fully understanding the meaning of the incantation."
"The erosion of Spirit Sight is based on understanding. Therefore, as long as you, Sister Vanya, do not understand the specific meaning of the incantation, you can avoid the harm of Spirit Sight to yourself. In this Consecration Ceremony, the incantation only needs to be recited silently. You don't need to understand the meaning of the incantation to allow the entire ceremony to proceed smoothly."
"I don't need to... understand the meaning of the incantation?"
Listening to Gothsmore's words, Dorothy silently pondered.
...