That night was... exhirating...

  Lea did not get a wink of sleep for two days now, still high on adrenaline from that very night. Just with that, she felt her ritual being almost complete... it is just that easy...

  Being a Vilin is so simple... she thought to herself.

  But adrenaline could only hold up for so long— she colpsed on her bed, sleeping soundly.

  ...

  And she was awoken by the whisper of a scream. Lea jolted up, finding herself at the long table in the library. Everyone was staring at her. Rasputin was here today; he had completed his ritual.

  "Uh... I'm sorry!!", she sat straight up, earning ughter from the people around her, except for Lady Keter, who looked unamused.

  "Since Dantes has awakened, let us begin today's session.", the dy announced.

  "Lady Keter, I had encountered Sincir...", Zorro reported first, "She offered me some advice to pursue the True Ritual for Destiny."

  Sincir... Lea gritted her teeth. Not forgetting the scars inflicted upon her. But there is a piece of information Zorro gave that intrigued her...

  True Ritual... there are different Rituals for a Path.

  Lea waited, gncing at Bathory, who was also eager to ask.

  "Although this might be rude of me, Lady Keter. But would you mind telling me the difference between the ritual you offered and the True Ritual?"

  Zorro was nervous, shifting around in his seat uncomfortably. Lady Keter merely stares at him for a moment...

  "The speed beyond light and the power to manipute destiny and fate, or the power to change destiny alone. Between those two, what would you choose?", she smiled, speaking cryptically, "Follow me, or follow the Heretic. That is your choice."

  "I... will need time to think.", he bowed, "Thank you for your insight, Lady Keter."

  With Zorro's matter done, Lady Keter turned to Rasputin, eyes narrowing, "I see that you have completed your Fourth Step. Congratutions on becoming a Knightmare."

  He pced his left hand on his chest, offering a bow, "It is all thanks to Lady Keter and my Lady."

  Although it is considered rude to gods by offering gratitude to many at the same time, in this Fourth Era, nobody would truly bat an eye. Only those zealots, like Lea, would take offense to it.

  But since it wasn't about her Lord, she let it slide.

  "Although... I was sent across the continent, everything is alright now.", from his tone, it was quite an awkward story.

  Nobody wants to ask him further.

  The Lady's eyes turned to Lea, who stiffened at the gaze alone.

  Lea doesn't really have anything to report; her ritual was going smoothly, more so than she thought. She racked her brain for a question...

  Then she remembered the unique weapon she wanted to buy in Lacrosa... she was curious if she could make something simir.

  "How can I make an object carrying the powers of the Paths?", was her question.

  Lady Keter gnced at Bathory, "You expin it to her."

  Bathory smiled and turned excitedly at Lea, "Okay! The process is quite complicated— ah, I should start with seastones!!"

  "Seastone?", Lea tilted her head.

  The Erudite nodded, "Yup!! They are crystal-like rocks covering the entire seabed, pretty much unlimited in quantity. These stones have the unique property of carrying Paths not unlike us Pathstriders. By pcing the stones near a Pathstrider when they perform their ascension rituals, or channeling a Path's power, they gain the unique property of that Path!!"

  "Why are they called seastone?", it was hard for Lea to understand. If these "stones" look like crystal, why not call them sea crystals?

  "Ah, the name date back to the First Era, the name just stuck around, don't need to worry at all!!", she was still excited, kept on answering every question with a schor's enthusiasm, "Shame the Depth Church have the exclusive rights and ability to obtain it."

  The Depth Church... the official face for the followers of the God of Water. Lea, being from another religion, unconsciously looked down on this. Due to it not having a rigid religious structure, loose and x like water itself.

  It was surprising how such a pce is an economic powerhouse, essential to the mystical world. Lea suspected that the emblems also use seastones in their creation.

  "Memory and Creation are used to create the photocopier! But my dream is to create something completely independent of the mystical world!", she proudly procimed.

  That was quite a tall dream, but she was the mind behind the logic of the steam engine, after all. So maybe... she would be the one to create technology independent of the mystical world.

  After some time, Lea asked again, "Ah, and... I want to ask about what Zorro was talking about earlier, about the Unique Ritual and True Ritual? What is it all about?"

  "If the conditions are right, like the right combination of Attributes or personal aptitude. The Fourth Step and above can be different.", Lady Keter expined, snapping an apple in half, "If you choose the Unique Ritual... then you shall walk The Path of Divinity."

  Divinity...

  That word echoes through everyone's presence. Particurly Rasputin and Bathory, because they chose to not walk this Path. But clearly, Zorro was different.

  His resolve just became firmer.

  "Can I... defeat Sincir... if I walk The Path of Divinity?", Lea asked, her eyes filled with desire.

  In response to those eyes, Lady Keter merely chuckled, "If you help in the awakening of that God, that person will stop on their own."

  "But are you going to?", a smile formed on her face.

  Lea closed her eyes for a moment. This is a big decision, although it might be too early to decide... the voices in her head whispered, for her completion, for her to obtain absolute power... for her revenge.

  "Yes...", she answered softly.

  "Then you must listen to my instructions carefully.", that was the end of her time with Lea.

  Then she turned to Bathory, "Do you have what I asked for?"

  The princess nodded, "Yes."

  She pced a stack of paper onto the table. An unseen force distributed them to each of the members of the Argonauts.

  "A list of all known gods, when they appeared, and their domain.", Bathory said with a proud smile.

  Lea picked the first list off...

  The Three Rings, a composite deity made of three different gods merged together, whose domains are Order, Equilibrium, and Judgement. Said to appear in the First Era, possibly before the Bckout that erased all history before that time. Depicted as three intertwined golden rings with angelic golden wings made of light. The religious symbol is the three intertwined rings.

  The Blood God, the God of War and Honor, whose domain is Decimation, Contract, and Bloom. There is a fun tidbit about this god, which is that they are also the God of Agriculture. Records date back to the beginning of the Second Era, when many gods ascended. The most common depiction of them is either an anthromorphic boar with a crown, or a warrior wearing a boar skin. Their emblem is a drop of blood with two tusks on the side.

  The God of Water, ruling over oceans, rivers, kes, rain, and everything reted to water, is under their domain of Roar, Storm, Surge, and, of course, Water. Records date back to the First Era, making them one of the first ever gods. Interestingly, there is no set depiction of this god, none at all. Bathory wrote that because of the vast difference the worshippers occupy - sailors, boatmen, fishermen, and clergy - people can just use something water-reted as use it to worship. The Depth Church, at least, bears the official symbol of a sea serpent biting its own tail.

  The God of Wisdom, the first god on this list, Bathory clearly used 'He', the first god to have a gender. Worshipped by academics and the main church-cum-academy, the Academy of Infinity, which ruled over Erudition, Truth, and Crity. Records about this god date back to the beginning of the First Era, but interestingly enough, His worship almost went extinct and only resurged in the Third Era. Depicted as a robed old man always carrying a tome, shackled to his hands. The symbol representing this deity is a paper crane.

  The Goddess of Madness, an evil-sounding deity, but 'Her' worship is about self-improvement and saving others, whose domains are Madness, Evolution, and Salvation. Records about this goddess are scarce; even the Church of Sacrifice only has a little more information than the average person. The oldest record only dates back to the Second Era - and that was only a small appearance in a novel popur at the time. Depicted as a woman wearing a crown of thorns, or a crucified woman bound by thorns. And going along with them, 'Her' symbol being a urel made of thorns with a cross in the middle.

  The Sacred Fme, one of the oldest gods, whose appearance and presence are confirmed to date back to before the Bckout. They are also known as the God of Fire and Justice, whose domains are Fire, Judgement, Retribution, and Surge. Their current appearance is an ever-burning fire in the capital of Renlou, but Bathory also included the "Giant of Light" Zorro talked about before. A fming eye is their symbol.

  And the st of the mainstream gods, the Light Seeker, whose followers are vagrants and adventurers, and uniquely, they don't have a church, only the Adventurer's Guild as the main concentration of worshipers. The God of Adventure has Revetion, Light, Gze, and Crity as their domains. Like the Goddess of Madness, this god's records are scarce, but most schors believe they appear around the middle of the Second Era. Depicted as a heavily clothed adventurer or a bard with a lute on their back, a trend still popur with adventurers these days. This god possesses no official symbol, but the Adventurer's Guild uses three crossing swords as their symbol.

  The next sheet was about the unorthodox gods, which includes the evil gods, new gods, and some unclear ones.

  The Goddess of Fortune, which Bathory believed to not be a single god but a collection of myths about luck and fortune, was attributed to different Pathstriders or legends with the power to manipute luck. There are no concrete records about such a vague figure, and depiction varies between regions and countries, including a bck cat, a naked woman, a golden fish, and more.

  The Tome of Light, which appears before people seeking vast knowledge, gives out half-truths, teasing people to the point of driving people insane. It is known in the mystical world as the God of Light, whose domains include Light, Veil, Obscurity, and Revetion. The first recorded appearance of this deity or object is in the middle of the Third Era, driving everyone from a now destroyed academy insane, resulting in the destruction of an entire nation. Like its name, the Tome of Light appears as a book that glows radiantly like a second sun.

  The Steam Bat, the patron deity of the Nation of the Forsaken, the God of Wealth and Commerce, appearing at the beginning of the Second Era, gave sves and the oppressed knowledge to rise and fight against their oppressor. From its name, its domains are Order and Exchange. Appearing as a mechanical bat covered in golden pipes, Bathory noted that people could sometimes see it perch on the tallest tower of Lacrosa. Lea had seen the symbol of the Steam Bat before in Lacrosa, the golden bat.

  The Maker, the God of Theatric and Degeneration, the most prolific evil god who ascended during the Third Era, likely by using the Path of Divinity. His life was well documented, a director from a travelling troupe that seeks to corrupt the youth and create a new world order, obtaining the domains of Creation, Degradation, Corruption, and Transfiguration. There was also a photo of him, which to Lea honestly looked completely distrustful and sketchy, his depiction as a god, a businessman always smiling, but have a bck hole in his face.

  And the Chalk Princess, the Goddess of Technology, said to ascend at the end of the Third Era. Being the newest god, it is unclear which domain the goddess has. Bathory specuted it to be something to do with Creation or Erudition, maybe both. There is also a theory she noted down that the Chalk Princess might be Charlotte the Heretic, due to their connection with chalk. And there is a sketch of the goddess, a woman with her face bnked out, wearing a trench coat and a silver crown, which invokes a sense of serenity in Lea...

  "Lady Keter, may I ask.", Bathory spoke up, "Which of these gods do you think is the most important?"

  Lady Keter tapped the table twice before answering, "The Goddess of Madness is the most important, followed by The Sacred Fme, then the Three Rings."

  That earned a chuckle from Rasputin and a grumble from Lea.

  "A question for a question.", the dy spoke again, "Why didn't you include me or..."

  "You taught me before, respectable Lady Keter...", Bathory refused to answer, "Knowledge is poison and understanding is insanity."

  "You remember well.", Lady Keter nodded, "I shall give you knowledge about my domains."

  "Do you want to share it with everyone?"

  "Yes.", she answered.

  From thin air, a manifestation of four hourgsses overpping each other to create an eight-pointed symbol.

  "Time...?", Bathory stares in awe and horror

  It was the symbol for Time, something outside of the established 142 Paths. Something completely different...

  "We still have time, you can talk amongst yourselves.", she brushed the symbol away, smiling as if teasing them.

  Daring them to ask for more.