In No. 17 of Green Shade Town on the northern outskirts of Tivian, Dorothy sat on her living room sofa, her expression focused as she flipped through a newly purchased mystical text from Beverly. She was reading through the secrets of this world's past. Compared to the previous volume, The City of Mountain Furnaces, which had a relatively detailed archaeological narrative, the current book—A Field Study of the Voodoo Forest Civilization—was far vaguer in its contents. Perhaps due to translation issues, much of the text was filled with obscure meanings and ambiguous descriptions. It was a struggle for Dorothy to make sense of it, painstakingly deciphering what she could. According to the mystical text, when the Empire’s colonial forces were conquering and developing South Ufiga, they discovered numerous ruins belonging to a nonhuman Second Epoch civilization. These ruins were centered around the vast, miasma-filled Voodoo Forest and scattered widely across South Ufiga. Through a series of excavations, the Empire confirmed that these ruins belonged to a flourishing race from the Second Epoch known as the Elves. The elves were said to revere nature, live harmoniously with the forest, and establish their settlements in places full of vitality. The gods they worshipped were translated as the “Mother of Earth,” “Sacred Tree Goddess,” and “Goddess of the Great Sea”… among which, “Sacred Tree Goddess” was their most commonly used title. They believed towering ancient trees to be earthly symbols of the goddess and offered them their worship. The elves structured their entire belief system around the worship of these ancient trees. The largest among them stood at the heart of the forest that would later be called the Voodoo Forest during the Third Epoch. According to legend, this massive oak tree pierced the heavens, with a canopy so vast it shaded the skies. It could be seen from even the furthest edges of South Ufiga. Known as the World Tree, it was believed to be the direct incarnation of the elven goddess, and the capital of their civilization was built upon and around this tree. The text stated that the World Tree was the center of elven civilization, and other cities were similarly built around enormous ancient trees—though not as grand as the World Tree, they were still colossal. These tree-centric cities spanned across South Ufiga and even extended beyond its borders. The author of the mystical text speculated that the other massive trees were likely offspring of the World Tree, propagated from its seeds. “A civilization built around the World Tree? Interesting... Seems like there were a lot of nonhuman intelligent civilizations active during the Second Epoch. First there were the harpies, then dwarves and mermen, and now elves… The Second Epoch truly was a time of flourishing diversity. But why is it that now, in the present day, hardly any of them remain? Even with war, extinction on this scale seems excessive. “And this elven faith… their Sacred Tree Goddess feels reminiscent of the deity associated with the Chalice. Their tree-worship also feels remarkably similar to the Goddess of Abundance’s worship found on Summer Tree Island. There’s also a massive tree on that island, and their term for the Goddess of Abundance includes ‘Mother of Earth.’ Could it be that the Goddess of Abundance and the Sacred Tree Goddess of the elves are one and the same? “And speaking of giant trees—there’s also the one in the Sanctuary of the Holy Mother in Ivengard’s Glacier Valley, where the Redemption Cathedral sits within an inner realm. Could all these ancient trees be descendants of the Second Epoch’s World Tree? It seems ancient tree totems were once a defining trait of the Chalice. Compared to the current flesh-based practices, early Chalice faith may have been far more rooted in nature worship… “And now, South Ufiga is under the control of the Afterbirth Cult, primarily the Filth Coven. In a way, the present-day influence of the Chalice overlaps with the territories once ruled by the elves during the Second Epoch.” Reading this mystical text, Dorothy analyzed and reflected in her mind. Once she finished it, she extracted its spirituality. The result was 4 points of Chalice, 2 points of Revelation, and—due to references to the title “Mother of Earth”—a small bonus amount of Stone, similar to what she had gained from her findings on Summer Tree Island. The fourth mystical text she read had a similar type of paper and handwriting as the previous one, likely written and translated by the same people. However, this one lacked a title or cover. Upon casually flipping through it, Dorothy quickly realized it was a supplementary manuscript to the field study. This handwritten addendum continued documenting archaeological research into the elven civilization of South Ufiga. This time, the imperial team split into two groups. One continued toward the heart of South Ufiga—the presumed location of the World Tree according to elven records. The other team headed for the periphery of the rainforest, near the expansive grasslands of East Ufiga. The reason for the latter group’s detour was the discovery of countless abandoned transport carts and sunken boats along elven roads and canals. These vehicles, filled with decayed supplies, were astonishing in number and all headed in one direction. The imperial archaeologists speculated there must have been a major elven city in that direction and decided to investigate. This supplementary text was written by that exploratory team. However, when they arrived at their destination, they didn’t find a grand city—but rather, a battlefield. They discovered the ruins of several elven settlements, seemingly destroyed in war, alongside remains of defensive fortifications. According to their analysis, these settlements had been destroyed by intense conflict. The elves had apparently fought ferociously here during the Second Epoch. The massive supplies found in the roads and canals turned out to be military logistics. By examining the remnants of the elven defensive lines, they deduced the enemies likely came from the grasslands of East Ufiga. Giant claw marks were found on the shattered fortifications—marks left by something monstrously large. In several fallen cities and breached fortifications, they also discovered murals painted in a totemic style. These murals depicted all kinds of beast-like monsters slaughtering and devouring elves. The creatures were all part-human, part-beast—some half-man half-lion, others half-man half-tiger, or half-wolf, or half-crocodile… These beastmen were likely the enemies of the elves. And the murals, carved into the honored temples of the elven cities, seemed to declare their victory to future generations. Later on, as the imperial archaeological team planned to further explore the grasslands in search of the elves' enemies, they were abruptly ordered to cease their investigation. Imperial authorities, accompanied by clergy from the Abundance Church, arrived and seized control of the operation. The archaeological records were handed over to them. The author of the manuscript noted with frustration that the Abundance Goddess clergy would be continuing the research in their place and that they were to return immediately. Dorothy could see the dissatisfaction seeping through the lines of the writing. “War… Just like the dwarves, the elves also waged war? Unlike the dwarves who fought unknown enemies from beneath, the elves' enemies came from the grasslands. Judging by the evidence, their enemies took on beast-like forms… “Could this be related to the Beast Path? Did the Beast Path already exist during the Second Epoch? Was the Gluttonous Wolf present back then? Did the Sacred Tree Goddess of the elves not possess the entire Chalice path? What’s the connection between her, the Abundance Goddess of the Third Epoch, and the current Mother of Chalice in the Fourth? Are they different entities inheriting the same divine seat over time? Or…” Reading the manuscript, Dorothy furrowed her brow in thought. She had already gathered a great deal about the inheritance of Chalice power, but she still couldn’t piece together a full, coherent narrative about it. The elven goddess of the Second Epoch, the Abundance Goddess of the Third, the Mother of Chalice in the Fourth, the Holy Mother of the Church, and a slew of other hybridized subordinate deities of the Chalice path… They all seemed interconnected—yet everything remained ambiguous. This ambiguity deeply frustrated Dorothy in her search for truth. Shaking her head, Dorothy decided to stop untangling the connections between the various Chalice deities for now. Instead, she extracted the spirituality from the text, gaining 4 Chalice and 2 Revelation points. Having finished the manuscript, Dorothy set it aside. Then she reached for the fifth and final mystical text on the tea table. This one had a black cover and appeared to be in slightly better condition than the previous ones, though it was relatively thin. Dorothy picked up this mystical text and soon saw the title on its cover: Beyond the Shadow Sea. Like the others, it was a translated mystical text originating from the Third Epoch. Unlike the previous four archaeological records, this one was written in poetic form. The author, who claimed to live in a land rich in the arts—“the Garden of Flowers”—compiled these poems from tales collected along the coasts of his homeland, gathering numerous local fishermen's legends. The poems mainly spoke of a mysterious, shadow-shrouded Island of Shadows located across the sea. In the poems, the island was perpetually cloaked in darkness, with no sun—only the moon visible. It was home to many strange nocturnal plants and animals. The most terrifying of these was a giant spider species called the Night Spiders. According to the poems, these spider creatures gathered by the shore, using their silk threads to catch fish—and even fishing boats. Many explorers who rashly landed on the island were devoured by them. Some Night Spiders, as described in the poems, possessed high intelligence and could speak human languages. These types had the upper bodies of humans and the lower halves of spiders. Rather than devour humans outright, they preferred to deceive and manipulate them with cunning and guile. Once a person became entangled with these monsters, it rarely ended well. The only chance of rescue lay in the help of another intelligent species on the island: the fairies. In the poems, fishermen who sailed near the island often encountered strange phenomena. Items would mysteriously vanish from the ship, crew members would suffer odd misfortunes—like suddenly losing their pants or falling over for no reason. Fishermen believed these were the fairies’ pranks, punishing those who approached the Island of Shadows. One could avoid their mischief only by offering proper tribute. Although mischievous, the fairies were said to aid humans if they were pleased with the offerings. They could even rescue people from the clutches of the Night Spiders. However, fairies were far rarer than spiders, and encounters with them were even more difficult to come by. The Third Epoch poet who compiled these tales was fascinated by them. Enthralled, he made repeated attempts to prove the legends true, even trying to locate the Island of Shadows himself. But after years of effort, he came up empty-handed. The Night Spiders and fairies seemed to exist only in folklore. Neither he nor any other fisherman had ever seen them in person. From ancient times to the present, they remained nothing more than legend. In the mystical text, Dorothy read how the author had sailed out countless times in search of the island—but never found it. Across the sea from the region where these legends were told lay not some fabled land, but a vital part of the Empire’s territory: the Province of Prittania. “So this is… a poetic collection of Third Epoch legends? And the setting of the legends… could it be the coastline of Falano, directly across the sea from Pritt? If that’s the case, does the Strait between these two nations hide this so-called Island of Shadows? Or could it be that Pritt itself is the legendary island? “The events described may not have occurred in the Third Epoch at all—perhaps they belong to the Second. And clearly, the legend involves the Shadow path. Could it be that in the Second Epoch, Pritt was inhabited by two intelligent species—the Night Spiders and the fairies? “So Pritt’s connection to Shadow may stretch all the way back to the Second Epoch… And this Night Spider species… could it be related to the Spider Queen of the Eight-Spired Nest?” Dorothy’s thoughts deepened as she studied the mystical text. It now seemed the connection between the Spider Queen and Pritt was far closer than she had previously imagined. As for whether the Mirror Moon Goddess was still the main deity of the Shadow path in the Second Epoch—that remained uncertain, especially since this poetic text didn’t mention anything about religious beliefs on the Island of Shadows. After pondering for a while, Dorothy closed the text and extracted its spirituality. This mystical text yielded 5 Shadow and 2 Revelation. Tallying up all the readings, Dorothy's current spirituality reserves were at 38 Chalice, 14 Stone, 19 Shadow, 19 Lantern, 18 Silence, and 56 Revelation. She had successfully replenished several of her most frequently used types—Chalice, Stone, and Shadow. The five mystical texts she read had cost her roughly 2000 pounds in total. Previously, after returning a rented divine artifact to the Guild, she had received a deposit refund. Combined with her personal savings and the manuscript fees she’d earned over the past half year as a writer, Dorothy still had a comfortable amount of money to work with. After finishing the last mystical text, Dorothy yawned and stretched deeply. She then gazed out the window and murmured to herself. “Mm… Everything’s ready now. Time to depart.”