Night had fallen in Yadith, capital of Addus, in inland North Ufiga. In the small garden behind the hall of what was once the Temple of Revelation Runes—now called Light-Prayer Cathedral—Muhtar, the highest representative of the Savior’s Advent Sect in Addus, stood gazing solemnly at the bright moon above. Just then, a young cleric from the Savior’s Advent Sect came hurrying over. Upon reaching Muhtar’s side, he bowed deeply, then spoke with reverence. “Your Excellency… you’ve finally resolved to take action?” His eyes shimmered with excitement. Muhtar, his expression cool and composed, answered calmly. “More or less. Until now, I still held a glimmer of hope for Shadi—hoping he would remember his promise and not be seduced by power, returning to our Lord’s radiance. But from what happened tonight, it’s clear Shadi remains oblivious to his own downfall…” Muhtar’s words were tinged with regret. The young cleric’s gaze hardened, and he responded. “Shadi wants to keep playing both sides—thinks he can continue fooling us. But we can’t put up with his disgusting act anymore. He’s a faithless traitor! A traitor like that is worthless to keep around!” The young cleric spoke with unwavering finality. Muhtar remained unfazed, replying slowly. “I’ve already given Shadi enough chances. If he still refuses to repent by now, so be it. Since he won’t choose a side, we’ll choose for him. “Haller, starting now, tighten surveillance of those heretic envoys. Don’t let them slip out of Yadith by any means. Tell the Holy Guards to stay on constant alert for battle. “Tomorrow’s the third and final round of negotiations. Once that ends, we’ll launch a strike on the heretic delegation, and see whether Shadi protects them. If he does, subdue him immediately and let our people take over every function of Yadith. Yes, he does have one powerful ancient wraith as a trump card—annoying, but hardly a real threat. “With the revolutionary army under Shadi, we can simply demand they surrender their authority. If they refuse, then we act by force. As for the heretic envoys, we needn’t spare any. Apart from their leading nun, who should ideally be captured to face a public burning at the stake, the rest can be executed… “The results we achieved in Addus weren’t easily won. Now that this nation has returned to our Lord’s radiance, we cannot let it fall back into the hands of heresy. We must eliminate every possibility of compromise with the heretics, lest another Shadi arises in the future.” Still standing in place, Muhtar calmly relayed these instructions to Haller. Hearing Muhtar, Haller’s eyes glowed with fanatic zeal. After listening intently, he responded fervently. “Understood, Your Excellency… though, in my opinion, if we’re making a move, why not just deal with Shadi, too, and take over the revolutionary army outright? That man clearly won’t let us control him.” Haller spoke plainly. Muhtar paused slightly before continuing. “Shadi does deserve to die… but not just yet. He’s very well-regarded among Addus’s revolutionary troops. If he were killed here in Yadith, everyone in the revolutionary army across other cities—where our influence is weaker—would know we were responsible. They might break away from us entirely or even side with the heretics. For now, Shadi still can’t die. At least not until we extend our hold deeper into the revolutionary army. “This time, we won’t target Shadi. We’ll only force him to take a stand. If the heretic envoys are wiped out in Yadith, the Church can never accept him again, and his illusions will be shattered. Then he’ll have no choice but to stay aboard our ship. Once we’ve tightened our grip on the revolutionary army and consolidated control of Addus, it won’t be too late to dispose of him…” With both hands folded behind him, Muhtar stared into the distant darkness as he murmured these words. Haller mulled it over, nodded, and answered. “I see, Your Excellency. I’ll go make arrangements immediately!” After speaking, Haller bowed again to Muhtar and swiftly withdrew, leaving Muhtar alone under the night sky. Once Haller left, Muhtar looked around at the empty garden. He let out a faint, cold snort and strode off. He never realized that, all the while, a sharp gaze had been fixed on him from just a short distance away—and despite being a Crimson-rank Lantern Beyonder, he remained utterly oblivious to it. Inside the Temple of Revelation Runes’ hidden realm, Dorothy stood quietly in the illusory garden, her attention focused on the direction in which Muhtar departed. Ever since Muhtar returned to the temple, Dorothy had kept close watch on him from within the concealed space, gathering information normally unreachable. She heard his entire conversation with Haller, and now she fully understood his intentions—realizing Vania, and indeed she herself, were both in imminent danger. “This is bad… The Savior’s Advent crowd is so short on patience they’re ready to tear off the mask entirely. To force the revolutionary army onto their side, they plan to attack the Church’s envoy delegation here in Yadith. These people are insane!” Her heart sank. She had never expected the Savior’s Advent Sect to be so extreme. Actually killing Church envoys was a step far beyond merely hiring mercenary bandits—like they had done before—to frighten off or repel the delegation. Now, they intended to take direct action, right here in Yadith, to eradicate the Church’s representatives. The diplomatic consequences would be dire, sure to provoke a Church military intervention. It was practically inviting war upon Addus, dragging the entire revolutionary army into self-destructive martyrdom. “I assumed that if they really did want to harm the Church envoys, they’d stall for time or prepare more discreetly. But no, they’re going right for it, not even considering the fallout. I can’t believe how reckless they are…” “Such lunatics… absolutely irrational,” Dorothy muttered. Confronted with these zealots who refused to play by normal rules, much of her earlier speculation was rendered moot. She needed to find a way to respond. “From what they’ve planned, the entire delegation is under their surveillance now, with a Crimson-rank Lantern Beyonder right here in Yadith. Escaping unnoticed is impossible. But if we don’t escape… then once they do make their move, a frontal clash becomes inevitable. “The Savior’s Advent side in Yadith includes plenty of White Ash and Black Earth-rank Beyonders, plus a Crimson-rank Muhtar. Vania’s guards may be formidable, but that means little against Crimson-level power. Even if I join forces with Nephthys, we still have no chance in a head-on confrontation. It won’t matter whether we ambush or face them openly; we’ll lose under this absolute power disparity. Frowning deeply, Dorothy racked her brain for a plan. They were forced into a direct conflict with the Savior’s Advent Sect in Yadith, but she held no illusions about victory given the huge gap in strength. In Dorothy’s view, they couldn’t succeed alone—they needed allies. The only potential ally, however, was Shadi, who had remained on the fence so far. “But right now, Shadi isn’t exactly our ally. We’ll have to find a way to win him over.” With that in mind, Dorothy again closed her eyes and began praying, tapping into her information channel. She contacted Vania—who was still at the palace’s negotiation hall—to pass on what she had learned. … Night blanketed Yadith’s royal palace, where the second round of negotiations was drawing to a close. With the Savior’s Advent representatives having quit midway, the outcome was obviously fruitless. Absent one entire faction, only the Church’s side and the revolutionary army’s side remained, exchanging opinions that led nowhere. Seated at the wide round table in the negotiation hall, Vania quietly listened to the revolutionary army speaker, keeping her expression focused. Right then, Dorothy’s familiar voice resounded inside her mind. Hearing what Dorothy had to say, Vania’s eyes widened slightly. “The Savior’s Advent folks… they really mean to do this… How…” Struggling to hide her shock, she calmly finished listening to Dorothy’s mental message. Her face turned somber, and she cast her gaze toward the far side of the large table, where Shadi—the revolutionary leader in full military attire—sat. Time passed, with the Church and the revolutionary army grimly persisting through this doomed negotiation until the second round ended. As they concluded, following standard protocol, everyone rose to depart. Yet Vania stepped over to Shadi. Her action drew curious glances, but she proceeded until she stood next to him. “Sister Vania, is something the matter?” Shadi asked, a little puzzled. “Did you have something else you wanted to say that didn’t come up earlier?” “This isn’t about the negotiation,” Vania replied forthrightly. “I’ll be leaving Yadith soon, and I’d like to take this opportunity to offer you a few gifts.” With courtesy, Vania addressed Shadi. He paused, then smiled. “Heh… Sister Vania, you’ve already brought us plenty of valuable supplies on your visit. That was a tremendous gift in itself. Now you want to give even more? We hardly know how to repay you…” “Mr. Shadi, you’re too kind. The supplies we brought were merely part of our duty as servants of the Lord, not really a grand gift. The item I wish to give you this time isn’t like that—it’s just a small memento. And rather than calling it a present to the revolutionary army, it’s more like a gift to you personally.” Vania continued politely, and Shadi, upon hearing her words, appeared somewhat surprised. “For me?” “Yes. Please accept this.” With that, Vania pulled out a brand-new book and handed it to Shadi. He glanced at the cover and discovered it was a popular collection of folk stories from the main continent, titled Peter’s Story Collection. “This is…” “As you can see, it’s just a well-known folk-tale anthology from where we come from. It features many classic stories, and reading them may give you deeper insight into the main continent. After all, mutual understanding is the basis of reaching any shared ground.” Wearing a faint smile, Vania explained, and Shadi paused a moment before smiling back and tucking away the volume. “I see. Well then, I’ll accept it. I’ll look it over when I get back,” he said cordially, taking the storybook she’d given him. Some onlookers were puzzled by Vania’s gesture, while others formed their own hypotheses. Peter’s Story Collection—though seemingly just a folk-tale anthology—actually contained numerous religious themes woven into its many folk tales. A large portion of these stories revolved around legends of the Three Saints. While the Holy Mount might not officially recognize most of them, they remained widely circulated and influential. Many commoners encountered such stories before ever reading the official Radiance scriptures. Observing Vania’s actions, some present suspected she was subtly spreading the Three Saints’ teachings, given that handing out actual scriptures would be too conspicuous. … Later that night, beyond the royal palace on the streets of Addus, Shadi rode in a carriage back to his residence. Inside the carriage, by the glow of its lamp, he leafed through the thick story collection, wearing a trace of perplexity. “Setut, can you tell if there’s anything unusual about this book?” 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂 Gazing at it, Shadi spoke aloud, seeking insight from his ancient wraith companion. But this time, unlike usual, Setut did not respond immediately. Shadi frowned slightly. “Setut?” When Setut failed to answer right away, Shadi grew more puzzled and called out again. Finally, the spirit manifested in the air—a mummified visage whose gaunt face somehow seemed solemn. Shadi immediately asked: “What’s wrong, Setut?” “It’s nothing… It’s just that, during the negotiations, I seemed to hear thunder outside…” Setut said in a heavy voice. Hearing that, Shadi furrowed his brow further. “Thunder? I think I did hear something like that… Is there a problem?” “It didn’t look like the sort of weather for thunder. And the direction of that sound was over there… which makes me think…” Setut mumbled, apparently turning something over in its mind. Shadi pressed on, confused. “Think what? Did something occur to you?” “Mm… I suppose so. It might be nothing, and I could be overthinking…” Setut continued, half-finished thoughts tumbling from its mouth, leaving Shadi more baffled. Abruptly, Setut changed the subject: “Anyway, never mind that. Why were you calling me just now?” “I called you because I wanted you to examine this book. Sister Vania just gave it to me—said it was specifically for me. It feels a bit odd, so I was hoping you could check it out.” With that, Shadi lifted the story collection he had received from Vania. Setut’s ghostly gaze fell upon the seemingly ordinary volume, its ghost-light eyes beginning a slow, meticulous inspection.