Central Main Continent, Holy Mountain.
At the peak of the towering Holy Mountain, within the grand chapel of the Holy Mountain Church, a highly formal collective judgment was underway. At the apex of the immensely large Shining Light Church, six powerful and influential Cardinals were gathered here, jointly presiding over the trial of the white-robed Sister.
This trial was initiated by the Cardinal of the Court of Tribunal, Cardinal Klama. Initially, he was confident in this trial, believing that with irrefutable evidence, he could control the process and guide it towards the direction he desired, convicting the sinner he had identified. However... after the other Cardinals... especially the Cardinal of the Bureau of Secrets spoke, the situation of the trial began to deviate significantly from Klama's expectations.
"Saintess... Divine Oracle..."
Within the grand chapel, Klama, dressed in the luxurious robes of a Cardinal Archbishop, sat in his seat, gnashing his teeth and looking with a hint of ruthlessness towards Atcheri not far away, watching his petite colleague speak frankly.
"Don't be ridiculous. The saint church was founded a thousand years ago... The position of Cardinal of the Bureau of Secrets has changed hands many times, and I've never heard of a Saintess's Divine Oracle? Cardinal of the Bureau of Secrets, you're not trying to stubbornly protect this sinner Sister by making excuses, are you..."
"Don't forget, forging a Divine Oracle is a more serious felony than attacking a Cardinal!"
Klama questioned and warned Atcheri in this manner, while Atcheri sat in her seat and replied calmly.
"Unlike the Cardinal of Salvation, I have no vested interest with Sister Vanya. I have no reason to take the risk of stubbornly protecting her. I did indeed receive a Divine Oracle sufficient to prove Sister Vanya's sincerity."
"Furthermore, the fact that the Bureau of Secrets didn't have Divine Oracles before doesn't mean they won't now. Forging a Divine Oracle is indeed a serious crime in the saint church, but questioning a Divine Oracle out of thin air like you are doing won't result in much lighter Guilt..."
Slightly narrowing her eyes, Atcheri spoke slowly to Klama. Hearing Atcheri's words, Klama paused, then turned his head to look at Hilbert and Alberto, who had been sitting on the other side and had not yet expressed their opinions.
"Cardinal of Holy War... Cardinal of Foundation... Cardinal of Discipline... Do you also believe in this kind of Divine Oracle that has never had a precedent? Do you believe that within the saint church, besides the Holy See, there are others who can directly communicate with the Lord?"
Klama asked the other three Cardinal Archbishops directly in this manner, attempting to win them over to his side. Among them, Alberto, whose face was covered and whose features were indistinguishable, was the first to speak in a calm tone devoid of any ripple.
"The will of the divine is unfathomable. Since the Holy See originally agreed that the Bureau of Secrets would be independent of the general saint church and secretly worship the'Saintess', then the existence of the'Saintess' is recognized by the Holy See, and the'Saintess' is definitely present in the doctrines we have accepted, undeniable. Therefore, the possibility of the'Saintess' transmitting a message also exists... However, given that my understanding of the'Saintess' is not sufficient, it is better for me not to make a hasty judgment."
"However, regarding Sister Vanya's private contact with heretics, I think there is no need to pursue it too deeply. Currently, this Rose Cross has not shown clear cult characteristics. Secondly, it has not engaged in obvious missionary work... Defining them as an enemy religion is inappropriate, after all... they probably have the ancient 'enlightenment' originating from the First Dynasty as their backing."
Alberto spoke slowly in this manner. He acknowledged the existence of the Saintess, but did not explicitly confirm whether the Saintess had truly transmitted a message. His attitude in this reply already indicated that he did not want to take sides in this matter.
Seeing the neutral attitude that Alberto displayed, Klama's brows furrowed slightly, then he looked at Hilbert on the other side. At this moment, Hilbert, after stroking his chin and thinking for a while, slowly spoke.
"Whether the Saintess's Divine Oracle is true or false is difficult for us to distinguish, after all, besides the Holy See, no one understands the existence of the Saintess better than the Cardinal of the Bureau of Secrets."
"However... after Sister Vanya received the Saintess's Divine Oracle, she correctly used the Holy Staff and indeed summoned a very high level of divine intervention, turning around the dangerous situation in Tivian and preventing Prit from falling into the hands of the Pain Lady... From this beneficial outcome for both the mortal world and the saint church, I am inclined to believe that this Divine Oracle is true."
Hilbert spoke frankly in this manner, clearly expressing his intention to support Vanya in his words. Earlier, at the time of the Tivian crisis, it was precisely because he did not believe Vanya's warning and used the Holy Staff that the situation in Tivian drastically worsened. Combined with the result after Vanya used the Holy Staff, Hilbert believed Atcheri and Vanya.
After all, he had also tasted the bitter fruit of not believing before...
"Foolish..."
Listening to Hilbert's words, Klama's brows furrowed even more severely. He seemed somewhat surprised that Hilbert would directly take Vanya's side in this matter. Seeing the increasingly unfavorable situation at the scene, Klama finally looked at the emaciated ascetic monk sitting cross-legged on the chair beside him.
"What the Cardinal of Foundation said is reasonable... Since the Holy See allows the tradition of the Saintess faith in the Bureau of Secrets, then the Saintess definitely exists. The Holy See only claims to be the transmitter of the Three Saints' messages, and has never claimed to be the spokesperson of the Saintess, so the possibility of the Saintess bypassing the Holy See and directly giving Divine Oracles to others also exists... It's hard to say there is, and it's hard to say there isn't..."
"Therefore... regarding this entire incident, unless the Holy See makes a definitive statement, I do not want to express any opinion..."
Almost with his eyes closed, Marco sat cross-legged in his seat and spoke calmly in a hoarse voice. His attitude was also clear, which was the same as Alberto's, a noncommittal neutrality, not directly siding with Klama.
Seeing that Marco, who in the past was most likely to agree with his political views and stand on his side, now held this attitude, Klama's face instantly sank to the bottom. He stood there with a gloomy face, silent, and the hostility in his gaze towards Vanya contained a few hints of obvious annoyance.
Unlike Klama's gloom, Vanya, who was kneeling in the middle of the six Cardinals, listened to the speeches of the Cardinals around her, and her originally tense expression gradually relaxed. After hearing Marco's final statement, she even let out a slight sigh of relief. And on the other side, Amanda, sitting in her seat, saw the situation before her and a faint smile curled up at the corner of her mouth.
"It seems that all the Cardinals have more or less confirmed their thoughts. Why don't we start voting now to decide whether Sister Vanya is guilty and whether she should be punished..."
After Amanda's suggestion, Klama questioned Vanya a few more times, and Vanya answered calmly, showing no other flaws. After all the questioning was over, the Cardinals in the Cardinal Council began to vote together.
In the end, except for the Cardinal of Salvation, Amanda, whose authority was temporarily restricted and unable to vote because she had directly attacked Klama before, the other five Cardinals gave their judgment on Vanya. Among them, the Cardinal of Foundation, Alberto, and the Cardinal of Discipline, Marco, both chose to abstain and not express an opinion, while the Cardinal of the Bureau of Secrets, Atcheri, and the Cardinal of Holy War, Hilbert, both voted that Vanya was not guilty. Only the Cardinal of the Court of Tribunal, Klama, insisted that Vanya was guilty and should be severely punished.
Even excluding Amanda, the final vote was still two to one. This Cardinal Council had reached its final result; Vanya would not be held accountable for any crime. This result made Vanya unable to help but show a relaxed smile.
"Thanks to the Lord's grace, I am infinitely grateful..."
Vanya sincerely and truly bowed to the Cardinal Council around her. When she bowed to Klama, Vanya met his cold gaze directly.
Clearly, without Amanda's participation, this Cardinal Council still failed to successfully convict Vanya, which was something Klama had never expected before.
"Hmph..."
Finally, even before the official end of this Cardinal Council was announced, Klama, with a gloomy face, glanced around at his colleagues, let out a cold snort, and directly got up and left with a flick of his sleeve.
And looking at Klama's departing back, a hint of meaningful expression appeared in the eyes of both Amanda and Atcheri. On the other side, Marco, after sensing Klama's departure, also opened his eyes which had been closed, squinting and gazing at Klama's back for a few seconds before slowly closing them again and returning to his previous state similar to meditation.
...
Holy Mountain, the exclusive office area of the Court of Salvation within the Holy Mountain Grand Church, Amanda's Garden.
"Thank you for saving me again..." In the small garden filled with the chirping of birds and the fragrance of flowers, lush and vibrant, Vanya in white robes faced Amanda, who was sitting on the pavilion and had not yet removed her Cardinal robes, and said respectfully with a bow. And Amanda, with a slight sigh, slowly spoke.
"I didn't have the right to vote this time. If you want to thank someone... you should most thank the other Cardinals. Whether it's the abstaining Cardinal of Foundation and Cardinal of Discipline, or the supporting Cardinal of Holy War and Cardinal of the Bureau of Secrets, you owe them an opportunity to thank them individually... Especially the Cardinal of the Bureau of Secrets, if she hadn't been so persistent in testifying that the Divine Oracle was true this time, you wouldn't have gotten through so easily..."
Amanda said this to Vanya, and Vanya also nodded respectfully in reply.
"Vanya will not forget the kindness of the other Cardinals today. If there is an opportunity, I will definitely repay it in the future..."
"Repaying anything... is not necessary. The day you mastered the Holy Staff and turned around the situation in Tivian prevented us Cardinals from causing any major disaster during the period when the Holy See was not supervising the world. In a sense, we are the ones who owe you kindness. As for me, I don't ask you to repay anything later..." With a hint of focused and serious expression, Amanda looked at Vanya before her and continued.
"If I must ask you to repay something... I hope that Sister Vanya, you will always sincerely think for the saint church in the future. Although you walk on the edge of the Lord and other gods, I hope that ultimately, you will still lean towards the side of the Lord..."
With a hint of meaningful tone, Amanda spoke to Vanya in this manner. Hearing Amanda's words, Vanya paused slightly, then said seriously.
"Please rest assured, Captain, Vanya will not do anything that truly harms the saint church..." Vanya said to Amanda before her in a reassuring tone. Hearing Vanya's response, Amanda couldn't help but nod slightly, then continued to speak.
"But I didn't expect this time... The Saintess who usually exists as a symbol in the Bureau of Secrets would actually manifest and descend, nor did I expect that the Saintess recognized by the Holy See is actually the Night Sky Empress... The Rose Cross you contacted, in addition to being related to the faith of the Judge of Heaven... is actually also related to the Night Sea, which is the most surprising thing. So, what is the origin of this Rose Cross...?"
Amanda asked somewhat curiously, and Vanya before her also spoke frankly.
"Rose Cross... is indeed very mysterious. Although I have been in contact with them, I cannot truly glimpse their secrets. Even so... I can confirm that they are by no means an evil cult society. I can guarantee that their stance will absolutely not conflict with the Lord's righteousness. With their help, I have already saved countless living beings... They are absolutely not like what Captain Klama said, an evil cult..."
With a very certain tone, Vanya spoke frankly to Amanda, and Amanda, while picking up the tea on the stone table beside her and taking a sip, replied.
"As for the current situation, your judgment is not false... In terms of the general trend of the hidden world at present, there should not be a clear hostility between the saint church and the Rose. The Cardinal of the Court of Tribunal is also overly sensitive in this matter."
While sipping her tea, Amanda calmly expressed her opinion, and Vanya, after hearing Amanda's words, couldn't help but ponder slightly. After thinking for a while, she spoke again.
"Captain... Regarding the Cardinal of the Court of Tribunal, Vanya has some thoughts that she doesn't know if she should say..."
Vanya said this, and hearing Vanya's words, Amanda glanced at her, then continued.
"Just say it..."
"Yes, Captain... Regarding the recent events, I can feel some targeting from the Cardinal of the Court of Tribunal towards me. I know this is actually his duty and should be understood... But based on his current performance, isn't it a bit excessive? I always feel that the current Cardinal of the Court of Tribunal is somewhat... well, unreasonably insane..." While thinking, Vanya said to Amanda. Hearing Vanya's words, Amanda paused slightly, then replied.
"For the position of Cardinal of the Court of Tribunal, fanaticism is necessary, and questioning every detail is also necessary, and even being a bit insane is understandable... However, regardless of fanaticism and insanity, it should be based on loyalty to the saint church, loyalty to the Lord and the Holy See. And the current Klama seems to have begun to deviate from this direction; compared to being loyal to the saint church, he is more like being loyal to himself..."
"As the Cardinal of the Court of Tribunal, Klama should not lack such a broad perspective at this point."
Amanda expressed her opinion in a deep voice. Hearing Amanda's response, Vanya's expression froze, then she continued.
"The current Klama... In other words, Captain Klama wasn't like this before?"
After catching a hint in Amanda's words, Vanya asked curiously, and Amanda replied after some thought.
"Well... in my impression, although the current Klama was also very fanatical before, and often overly suspicious like a neurotic, always questioning various aspects, he was also very loyal to the Saint Church and the Holy See, possessing a basic sense of the big picture. At critical moments, he could still distinguish the priorities of things."
"In my initial impression of the Cardinal of Tribunal, although he was so fanatical that it was difficult to reason with him, and he always had different opinions from me and often initiated confrontations at the Cardinal Council, it wouldn't develop to the extent it is now, purely confronting for the sake of confrontation. It shouldn't have developed to the point of actively tacitly cooperating with cults for power games... The current Klama feels completely intoxicated by power, even starting to forget the essence of his own duties. This is a significant change from his past."
Amanda spoke to Vanya in a deep voice about her views on Klama, and Vanya, after listening, couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
"The former Cardinal of Tribunal... wasn't as extreme as he is now? Then, Madam, do you remember roughly when the Cardinal of Tribunal began to change significantly?"
"When did it start..." Listening to Vanya's question, Amanda began to recall and ponder, and after thinking for a while, her brows furrowed slightly.
"Strange... when did it start?"
With a hint of confusion, Amanda said this, then continued to delve deeper into her memories. Seeing Amanda's reaction, a look of confusion also appeared on Vanya's face.
...
East coast of Prit, Tivian.
In Tivian during the daytime, in a coffee shop on a street in a certain part of the North District, within a street-facing cubicle on the third floor, Dorothy, dressed in a white shirt, a small bow tie, and a high-waisted black skirt, was sitting here, drinking coffee while enjoying the street view.
After savoring her drink, Dorothy withdrew her gaze from the street and looked at the seat opposite her. Sitting there at this moment was a blonde girl about her age, wearing a dark short trench coat and a tilted hat. She was currently smiling and looking at Dorothy.
"How is it... How does it feel in the upper circles of Tivian these past few days? Are you used to it? How does it compare to Igwinte?" With a calm expression, Dorothy spoke directly to the girl in front of her, and the girl named Anna tilted her head and thought for a moment before speaking frankly.
"Well... it feels alright, Teacher. The upper circles of Tivian are much larger than Igwinte's, and everyone's status is higher... more ceremonial and bureaucratic, and social interactions are more obsequious and extravagant... Even small gatherings have a lot of pomp, and in terms of scale, they are completely incomparable to those in Igwinte."
"As for the social gatherings of those nobles, I've only attended one or two that felt relatively important recently, but because Tivian is still in a special period right now, with many Royal Family members still under house arrest and investigation, everyone participating is quite reserved and nervous, completely unable to relax."
"How should I put it? Those nobles are less there for socializing and entertainment and more for gathering information. Many people are afraid that the Church's investigation will spread to them, so although the gathering is large, the overall atmosphere is not comfortable at all. The atmosphere is far worse than the ones I attended in Igwinte; there was rarely a focal point throughout the entire gathering..."
Anna put a finger to her chin, thinking as she spoke to Dorothy, and Dorothy, after listening, continued to comment directly.
"Then I guess... that rare 'focal point' must be yourself..."
"Ah... well, pretty much..." Listening to Dorothy's words, Anna smiled, then continued.
"After all, to the nobles of Tivian right now, I am just too mysterious. They cannot understand how a mere Viscount can often be by the King of Soul's side helping him handle affairs, and even offer opinions to people from the Bureau of Secrets. They don't know why I am in this position, but they believe I can provide them with the inside information they urgently need... so at those gatherings, they naturally surrounded me. To be honest, dealing with them is much more troublesome than dealing with the people from Igwinte..."
Anna responded to Dorothy in this way, interspersed with a subtle sigh. Dorothy, after hearing this, also continued to speak.
"After all, you are still openly a Viscount right now, and it's not easy to directly offend some people of high status, but it doesn't matter. Once you pass the official investiture ceremony and become a publicly acknowledged Duke, you won't even need to pay attention to many people." Dorothy said this, then took another sip of coffee, and continued.
"Oh, right, when exactly is your investiture ceremony scheduled?"
"Well... according to His Majesty's wishes, it should be after the new King's coronation ceremony. After all, His Majesty won't be here for long. For the entire Prit, the new King's ascension is the most important matter, and everything else needs to be postponed." Anna responded directly to Dorothy. Dorothy nodded slightly after listening, then looked at her student in front of her and continued.
"Then, as for the choice of the new King, Charles IV should have made a decision."
Dorothy said to Anna with a hint of solemnity, and Anna also responded respectfully.
"Yes, His Majesty finally adopted your suggestion, Teacher, and decided to establish Princess Isabel as the Queen. Although this does not comply with Prit's inheritance law, His Majesty still wants to follow the will of the Night Sky Empress's envoy more."
"Is that so..." Listening to Anna's words, Dorothy nodded slightly. She had indeed conveyed her opinion to Charles IV through Anna before, and she didn't expect Charles IV to adopt it so readily.
The reason Dorothy suggested Isabel inherit the throne was that the main host of the Nether Moon ritual back then was Isabel, who was possessed by the spirits of past Kings of the Wind Letter Dynasty. After performing such a high-level divine descent ritual with so many previous secret-keeping monarchs, Isabel's legal connection to Prit was already very strong. Even after deducting the legal value lost due to violating the inheritance law, Isabel's legal claim to the throne after completing the ritual was still far greater than any of her siblings.
If Dorothy wanted to use Prit's legal power to cause trouble in the future, then letting Isabel inherit the throne was the most correct choice. With her as the node, Dorothy could utilize Prit's legal power to a greater extent. Therefore, Dorothy suggested that Charles IV establish Isabel as his successor.
Although according to the inheritance law, Isabel's qualification to inherit the throne is insufficient, and the princess herself has not been trained to be a queen and lacks administrative experience, her ascension will inevitably lead to political instability in Prit. However, as long as there is the support of the Church, the overall situation can be stabilized. With an Extraordinary like Anna as her assistant, even with less administrative experience, she can still control the overall situation. On the civilian level, since Isabel herself has the best reputation among the Royal Family, she is the least worrying.
Therefore, if Isabel inherits the throne, the main uncertain factor lies with the Church. However, given Dorothy's current influence in the Cardinal Council, it is not too difficult to get them to acknowledge her.
'Unconsciously, I have become a figure of importance who can influence the succession of a great king...'"
Sitting in her seat, Dorothy thought with emotion in her heart, and at this moment, Anna continued.
"Oh, right, there is one more thing, which is that His Majesty wants you, Teacher, to attend Isabel's coronation ceremony and crown her. What are your thoughts on this..."
Anna asked Dorothy in this way. Hearing Anna's words, Dorothy couldn't help but pause. She obviously hadn't expected Charles IV to have such an idea.
'Let me crown the new King? It actually seems to make sense. The essence of a coronation is a ceremony symbolizing the divine right of kings. If Isabel is the new monarch, then in their eyes, it is completely reasonable for me, as the Night Sky Empress's envoy, to represent 'God.'
After listening to Anna's words, Dorothy was silent for a moment. After some thought, she then smiled and spoke frankly.
"Let's skip the public coronation ceremony. That's the Light Church's job, and I don't want to steal it. If there's a non-public, secret ceremony, I can certainly attend."
Dorothy responded in this way. Regardless, on the surface, Prit is still a Shining Light Church country. The public coronation ceremony must definitely be handled by people from the Light Church. If she were to take over, it would be purely and deliberately going against the Church, which doesn't fit Dorothy's style.
Besides, Dorothy currently has no plans for such a public appearance.
...
After meeting with Anna, having a simple exchange, and understanding the situation with each other, Dorothy bid her farewell, left the coffee shop, and came to the bustling street.
On the street, Dorothy boarded her carriage, and under the guidance of the Corpse Puppet coachman, it drove in the direction of home.
Inside the carriage, Dorothy took out her magic box, and then took out the "wen hai hang zhi" from it. After briefly flipping through it, she turned to a contact page. On this page was a string of somewhat crooked and distorted Prit text.
"Respected Scholar, I have asked Teacher about your previous question. According to his response... the location of the Wilderness Sacrifice is not impossible to borrow. He is willing to go to the nearest Wilderness Sacrifice altar and communicate with the Great Shaman there. Given that you have eliminated the traitor of the Wizard Spirit Teachings before, the difficulty for you to obtain the qualification to borrow it should not be very high..."
Dorothy looked at the text appearing on the page in front of her. This was written by Kapak, her contact in the New World, from the native Tupa Tribe. Dorothy had previously communicated with Kapak and his teacher, Utar Shaman, regarding Neff's promotion ritual, and now she had received a preliminary response.
'Is it possible to borrow the ritual site of the Wilderness Sacrifice? That would be perfect... This can be considered the reward for eliminating Chabakunka back then, which is great...'"
Looking at Kapak's response on the page, Dorothy nodded while thinking in her heart, and then she continued to look down at the following content.
"In addition, Teacher Uta also responded to the other steps required for the ritual you mentioned. He said that it is very difficult to control the will of a thousand spirits with one body. This is a very high challenge to the strength of the controller's will, and it is almost impossible to complete with just one person. However, he can find some special Wilderness Spirits to assist, but these Wilderness Spirits are unwilling to go to distant places, so the ritual participant needs to come here."
"Also, Teacher Uta said that it is very dangerous for a living soul to go deep into the Netherworld alone. If one is not careful, they will unknowingly embark on a journey from which they cannot return due to the call of the great soul. It is very difficult to come back on one's own, and he does not have any good suggestions in this regard."
Kapak's handwriting was on the page in front of Dorothy. After reading it, Dorothy sighed softly, then thought in her heart.
'The Thousand Spirits ritual can be assisted by special Wilderness Spirits? That's great... But according to Uta, the Netherworld ritual can only rely more on Neff herself. With Senior Neff's willpower... can she complete this ritual without help? Or would she dare to take such a life-threatening risk and descend into the Netherworld alone?'
Dorothy thought in her heart in this way. Although Naifnis seemed quite bold in many incidents, that was because she knew that Dorothy was always supporting her from behind. This time, she would be going deep into the Netherworld in soul form, and Dorothy would find it difficult to give her much support. It was even a question of whether she would dare to go. Dorothy understood that her Senior Neff lacked motivation in various aspects unless there was something urgent forcing her.
'All in all, it's definitely not wrong to let Neff go to the New World first. At least let her complete the Resonance ritual and the Thousand Spirits ritual first. As for the last Netherworld ritual, it can be postponed until there is an opportunity later.'
Just like that, Dorothy thought in her heart, and then began to arrange Naifnis's trip to the New World.
Dorothy was not in a hurry to contact Neff immediately to inform her of Kapak's response, because Dorothy knew that Naifnis also had things she needed to do at this time.
...
A sparsely populated row of apartment suites in a certain suburb of North Tivian.
Deep inside the apartment, in a spacious room, a chilling air was currently permeating every corner of the room. In the dim room, only a few faint green soul fires floated in the air, burning, illuminating the entire enclosed room in a bleak, cold light.
On the floor of the room, a complex "Silence" ritual array was currently drawn. Above the array, the undead spirit of a foreign warrior in armor, the former King Rahman of North Wu Adus, was slowly floating. At the edge of the array, a girl in a gray robe was sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed, concentrating.
The undead spirit above the array was Rahman, the former King of North Wu Adus, and in front of him, Naifnis was sitting there, concentrating on performing this ritual, the ritual of sending the soul back.
During the previous events, in order to understand Prit's past story, Dorothy had Uta use spirit channeling to send Rahman's undead to Tivian, where Neff received him through a ritual. Now, what Neff is doing is cooperating with Uta in the New World to send Rahman's soul back again. After all, the environment there is more suitable for the deceased.
This soul-sending ritual should have been performed earlier, but previously, Naifnis overloaded her abilities by relying on the minyin zunzhan. At the same time, she performed bloodline channeling with Uta and Rahman, summoning the past kings of the Prit Wind Letter Dynasty from the great soul. This Scarlet Tier level operation completely drained all of Naifnis's Spirituality in one go, and also left her in a very weak state for a while. Only after many days have passed since the event did she recover enough to perform the ritual to send Rahman back.
Uta's soul is only at the Chalk level, and coupled with the fact that he is also a Seer, he can easily return on his own. Rahman, as a spirit at the Scarlet level, is not a Seer himself, so assisting with rituals at both ends of the channeling is necessary.
Sitting before the magic circle, Naifnis concentrated as she chanted the incantation. As her mysterious incantation echoed through the space, the magic circle for the channeling ritual gradually emitted a cool, faint light, which then became brighter. Rahman's already semi-transparent figure also began to gradually increase in transparency, becoming more and more blurred.
"Go…"
Finally, after the last incantation was chanted, Naifnis dramatically stimulated her own Spirituality. Then, the magic circle in the room suddenly lit up with dazzling brilliance, and Rahman seemed to rapidly disappear within this light.
Just then, the light emanating from the magic circle suddenly dimmed, and the faint ghost fires floating in the space abruptly extinguished. The magic circle instantly returned to its original state, the entire ritual abruptly interrupted. Rahman's soul still floated above the magic circle, showing no signs of being sent away.
"What's going on? Did the ritual fail?"
Observing the situation around him, Rahman examined his surroundings and then himself. He then asked Naifnis directly with a questioning tone. Naifnis sat frozen in place for two seconds before slowly replying.
"Uh… it seems like it failed… What happened? Did something go wrong somewhere?"
Naifnis said, expressing her confusion. She then stood up and paced around the magic circle, meticulously inspecting the circle and the entire ritual site as she walked, trying to find the problem.
"That's strange… It seems like nothing is wrong anywhere… Why did the ritual suddenly fail? Oh, right, why don't you help me take a look? I might have carelessly missed something…"
After inspecting the area and finding nothing wrong, Neff scratched her head in confusion and said. Having no other options, she asked Rahman to also help inspect her ritual. Rahman smiled helplessly, then floated down from the magic circle and helped Neff inspect her ritual. However, after inspecting for a long time, he also found no errors.
"The ritual setup is correct… The magic circle is also drawn correctly… There should be no problem on your end. Perhaps something went wrong on Utar Shaman's side?"
After inspecting everything around him, Rahman analyzed the situation for Neff. Upon hearing Rahman say that she hadn't made any mistakes in the setup, she felt slightly relieved. This soul-sending ritual is bidirectional; she had to perform it on her end, and Uta had to synchronize on his end. If there was no problem on her side, the problem must be on Uta's side.
After confirming that her ritual was fine, Neff closed her eyes and, through prayer to Aka, sent a message to Dorothy, hoping that Dorothy would relay the information to Kapak's side.
'This soul-sending ritual actually had a problem?'
Dorothy, who was currently in the carriage, was slightly startled after receiving the communication through the information channel from Neff. After thinking back, she felt this was the first time she had seen this channeling ritual go wrong. However, she didn't think too much about it at the moment. Instead, she directly followed Neff's request and quickly contacted Kapak in the New World through the information channel, asking him and Uta to check if their ritual on their end had any problems.
After completing the relay and notification, Dorothy sat in her original spot and waited. After waiting for several minutes, she finally received the reply sent back from the New World.
No problem, everything is normal! In Kapak's response, Uta's channeling ritual had no abnormalities. He himself was slightly angry at Dorothy's questioning, feeling that Dorothy was doubting his ability.
"Teacher said he has been a Shaman for decades, and there have never been any procedural or setup problems with various rituals. If there were any problems, it must be on Thief Miss's side."
Kapak's words echoed in Dorothy's mind, causing her to slightly furrow her brows in confusion. She then directly informed Neff of Kapak's response, which greatly surprised Neff.
"What… they said there's no problem on that side either? That's strange, why did this ritual fail then?" In the dim room, after listening to Dorothy's words in her mind, Neff couldn't help but speak with great confusion. Rahman, who was beside her and heard Neff's words, also looked somewhat solemn.
"Miss Dorothy, I can guarantee that my ritual here also has no problems. Mr. Rahman and I checked it together. You can suspect me of being careless and missing something, but you can't suspect Mr. Rahman, can you? If you don't believe me, you can also check it yourself from my perspective."
Raising one hand, Neff said directly to Dorothy in her mind. Dorothy paused for a moment and then replied to Neff.
"Alright, then I'll take a look…"
Then, Dorothy began to examine the situation at Neff's ritual site through Neff's vision. Dorothy had the relevant knowledge, and after inspecting for a long time, she indeed found no abnormalities in the setup. Afterwards, Neff proactively showed Dorothy the memory of her performing the ritual earlier. Dorothy also couldn't find any flaws in the ritual process.
"This is strange. Everything is correct, so why did the ritual fail?" Facing this problem, Dorothy couldn't help but stroke her chin and ponder in her mind. While pondering, she also asked Neff about some other details, and Neff answered each question directly and without any issues.
Dorothy checked step by step, but found no problems. Just as she thought that perhaps something was wrong with the Netherworld itself that affected the ritual, she suddenly thought of a seemingly basic point and then asked Neff directly in her mind.
"Oh, right, Senior Neff, do you have enough Spirituality for the ritual?"
"Spirituality, of course I have enough… Huh…"
Listening to Dorothy's words, Neff originally replied as a matter of course. However, after answering halfway, as if realizing something, she suddenly froze for a moment, her whole body still. She quickly patted herself, checking. After checking, a look of extreme embarrassment appeared on her face.
"Uh… huh… this… this… it really seems to be… a Spirituality problem… My Spirituality, it seems to be a bit short…
"Ah… Miss Dorothy, I'm sorry! How could I make such a basic mistake! I forgot such a fundamental point!"
With an extremely embarrassed tone, Neff stammered to Dorothy. At the end of her words, unable to hold back any longer, she covered her face in shame and shook her head. She couldn't believe she would make such a basic mistake.
Neff's actions just now were like a driver trying to start a car that wouldn't start no matter what, inspecting every part of the car comprehensively for a long time and finding no faults, even sending the car back to the manufacturer for inspection and finding no abnormalities, and finally, after being reminded by someone, discovering that the reason the car wouldn't move was that it had no fuel.
"Phew… this is really…"
Facing Neff's low-level mistake, Dorothy was speechless for a moment. She knew Neff was sometimes careless, but she didn't expect her to be this careless this time. Given her situation, the thought of her completing a Netherworld ritual on her own was simply unimaginable.
"Senior Neff, it's not that I'm scolding you… how could you forget something like this? Besides, you've rested for so many days, your Spirituality should be enough, right? Why would it still be short? Did you consume Spirituality somewhere else again?"
Slightly rubbing her forehead, she said directly to Neff. Neff, who was currently so embarrassed she wanted to find a hole to crawl into, also responded somewhat anxiously.
"This… I don't know why I suddenly forgot such a basic thing. I never had this situation before, this is my own Spirituality, I shouldn't be unclear about it…
"And also! According to the time, after my weakness ended, my Spirituality today should have recovered to the level required for this ritual… I don't understand why it suddenly decreased. According to the recovery rate, this shouldn't happen…
"In addition, I can guarantee that I haven't used even a tiny bit of my ability in the past few days! I may not be attentive when doing things, but I am absolutely attentive when resting! It's impossible for me to use Spirituality strenuously while resting, please believe me on this, Miss Dorothy! If you don't believe me, I'll show you my memories!"
At the end of her words, Neff directly raised one hand, puffed out her chest, and guaranteed with a serious tone. Listening to Neff's words, Dorothy's expression couldn't help but become serious, and the look of blame she had for Neff disappeared.
'Yes… no matter how careless she is, she shouldn't be unclear about her own Spirituality status. According to the time, Neff's Spirituality should indeed have recovered enough to perform the ritual by now… But now she's inexplicably short of Spirituality and doesn't even know it… Why is that?'
Sitting in the carriage seat, Dorothy couldn't help but fall into deep thought again.
...
Central Continent, summit of Holy Mountain.
Within the vast Holy Mountain Cathedral, which was as large as a town, in the area of the Court of Tribunal, there was a tall room supported by several marble pillars.
This room was laid with exquisite carpets, and the surroundings were decorated with many stone statues of solemn-faced clergy holding scriptures and hammers. On the ceiling of the room, a large religious painting was depicted; a male angel with wings on his back and a solemn expression held a scale in one hand and a long-handled hammer in the other, sweeping away the many mortals below. In their panic, the mortals' bodies were shattered, and various monsters escaped from the broken bodies.
On one side of the room, on a tall desk resembling a courtroom judgment table, Cardinal Klama was writing on the papers on the desk with a hint of anger in his expression. In front of him, countless documents were piled up, and on the large bookshelf behind him, layers upon layers of books and archives were stacked.
Klama was diligently reading and writing something at his desk. Suddenly, he stopped his pen as if he had come across something noteworthy. He then picked up a document and examined it. Among the densely written words on the document, a frontal portrait of a Sister could be seen – it was Vanya.
Holding the document in his hand, Klama remained silent for a while. Then, with a cold snort, he placed his pen on the desk, held the document, stood up from his original position, and walked to the window. After examining it for a couple of more glances, he rolled up the document, put it away on his person, and quickly walked to the door of his office, opened it, and walked out.
After Klama left, the vast space returned to complete silence. This silence did not last long before a black shadow rose from the shadows in the corner of the room, gradually condensing into a human form in the space. After the black shadow gained color, Atcherly's petite figure appeared in the room.
Standing in her colleague's office, Atcherly silently stared at the door Klama had left through for two seconds, then turned her gaze to other parts of the room, finally settling on the piles of documents on Klama's desk and the large bookshelf behind it.