"Akasha Monodrama?!", Lea suddenly smmed the table, making everyone focus on her.

  She was startled and lowered her head, becoming gloomy.

  Zorro quickly read the mood and spoke softly, "I am sorry for what happened to you..."

  Lea meekly nodded, then she responded, "They recently came to my hometown and destroyed it... I am the only survivor."

  After a moment of silence, Rasputin stroked his imaginary beard, which he only had stubble on, and thoughtfully spoke, "This terrorist organization tends to leave a single survivor; we at the Church of Sacrifice specuted they want to spread their name."

  So I am just a stepping stone for these maniacs?! Lea felt her heart beating faster, fury rising inside her body.

  "What... is their purpose for these wanton sughter...?", Lea asked, barely keeping herself calm.

  Zorro and Rasputin turned to Lady Keter, who was messing with a rectangur device with a bright screen, smiling and quietly chuckling as she swiped it up and down.

  What a weird god... Lea said inwardly.

  Noticing the stares, Lady Keter put away the device and spoke in an amused tone, "They are trying to awaken a god."

  Lea instantly thought of Lady Keter, but the Lady of the Library noticed her thoughts and chuckled, "Child, I am not the god that organization is trying to awaken. As you can see, I am wide awake."

  Lea lowered her head, feeling embarrassed for jumping to a conclusion quickly.

  Being in a talkative mood, Lady Keter crossed her arms, "I know who that organization is trying to awaken, but that knowledge is only avaible if any one of you goes past the Seventh Step."

  Hearing that, the first person to cry in despair was Bathory. The Path of Erudition is full of pain and madness, but in a different sense from other Paths.

  Rasputin sighed, "Being a Pathstrider following Lady Pain might get me killed one day...", he looked at Zorro, sending a hopeful gaze at the adventurer.

  Zorro noticed and waved his hands, "No, no! Being a Trailbzer is far more dangerous!!"

  "Which Path is the Trailbzer?", Lea asked, wanting to know more about this Path.

  "It's a combination of Destiny and Fate.", he happily replied, "Uncovering new paths, mapping out uncharted nd, finding ancient secrets! I can go anywhere I want and have a decent amount of protection from—"

  Lady Keter interrupted him, "This is the freest Path one can take; they can do whatever they want and fast enough to escape any troublesome situation."

  "They can be faster than the speed of light, but coming with that, they are stuck in a world devoided of light and form."

  The price to be faster than the speed of light... Lea thought about those words. She nodded to herself, understanding that all Paths have...

  "They all bance out...", she muttered.

  Hearing this, everyone turned to Lady Keter, who was amused. Lea was bewildered, wondering what was happening.

  "Attributes are not banced; there is a reason why Equilibrium is an Attribute. Judgement, for example, even with only the First Step, one can detect emotions and lies. For someone who isn't hellbent on revenge, it is really good. However, your fire of revenge will only burn brighter, consuming your existence."

  Lea felt a chill hearing those words. Once again, she lowered her head. From what she hears, it can be deduced that Judgement doesn't have many side effects, but the ones it had were fatal to her.

  So in the end, she decided in her heart to become a Pathstrider of Order, or perhaps one of Malediction.

  "We are almost out of time.", Lady Keter spoke, "Do any of you have questions for me?"

  This must be about the offerings earlier... Lea thought, looking at them curiously.

  "Yes, Lady Keter.", Bathory spoke first, "I would like to know if you have any idea for my ritual?"

  "With your main pursuit being machinery, how about creating a computation device?", the Lady stated with a calm expression.

  "Computation device... I see.", Bathory's eyes lit up, gaining an insight into her current predicament.

  Lea silently cheered for her, both being women.

  "I would like you to continue our swordsmanship lesson, My Lady.", Zorro spoke next.

  Lady Keter nodded, "You'll stay behind after this gathering."

  "Thank you, Lady Keter!", he cheered.

  Finally, it was Rasputin's turn, "Lady Keter, I wish to know where the Log about Order is in your Library."

  Lady Keter thought for a moment, "Northwest, section 35, bottom shelf."

  "Thank you, Lady Keter.", he bowed deeply.

  Lady Keter swept her eyes over all the members, smiling. Her gaze stopped at Lea, making the cleric shiver.

  "You are free to enter this pce whenever you like, but you have to offer me something as per the w of exchange. Be sure to chant my Honorific Title."

  "The gathering today ends here. Thank you, everyone, for coming.", she cpped her hands.

  Everything in front of Lea vanished in the blink of an eye, and she returned to her temporary room. She checked her watch, seeing that thirty minutes had passed from the moment she entered.

  Sighing, she y back down on her bed, closing her eyes and falling asleep in an instant. Those thirty minutes were too much for her to handle; she is mentally exhausted.

  Plus, tomorrow is her big day. When her hunt finally begins.

  =0=0=

  Princess Dawn Ryteline of the Ryte Kingdom opened her eyes. Her crimson red hair fell over, covering her eyes.

  In front of her table was a gss bottle full of silver pills. These are energy pills, made of chemicals that could keep one awake for days without sleep, one of the products that can only be obtained by buying from the Church of Sacrifice.

  She opened the bottle, took out four pills, and swallowed them. Despite being advertised as capable of bypassing biological resistance and immunity, Dawn somehow built up resistance to this drug.

  She sighed and took a pencil, beginning to draft up a design.

  Dawn Ryteline of the Ryteline Kingdom, the prodigy who abandoned the throne in the pursuit of knowledge and progression. Earning herself the Title of Mother of the Future.

  Countless drafts and proposals revolutionized the Ayzare Continent, even impacting the neighboring Renlou Empire.

  But all of those were not enough to satisfy the ritual for the Fourth Step of Erudition, so she must draft up something to make the world advance faster.

  Looking outside the window, toward the twin moons of this world. One shines a pale yellow, the other one is metallic with a single red dot in the center, glowing brightly.

  That metallic moon was her goal. Her golden amber eyes stare at it, reaching her hand out as if grasping the celestial entity.

  =0=0=

  The priest in a bck and red robe opened his eyes. Eric Fraymen looked at the bottles on his p, carefully picking them up and pcing them to the side. He stood up from his meditating position.

  Being a priest of Lady Pain, his body was robust; his muscles bulged out from movements alone. His cold blue eyes swept around, checking if there was any abnormality.

  This was his meditation room as well as office, yet it was bare with only a simple desk in front of him.

  "So the Lady of the Library invited someone from the Three Rings.", he huffed, csping his hands in a prayer position, "Lady Pain, although she belongs to an opposing religion, I pray for her safety."

  =0=0=

  Jim Remore woke up, and he immediately checked his surroundings. In his eyes, the red strings of fate and the blue strings of destiny are visible. Doing this dozens of times, he knows how to interact with them and how to observe them.

  Seeing all of the strings connected to him were stable, he got down from the trees where his campfire was. Throwing in some sticks to keep the fire burning.

  His body was tired after receiving the sword lessons from Lady Keter, so after setting up some protective boundaries, he went to sleep.

  =0=0=

  Inside the bck and white library, Lady Keter was sipping on a cup of tea.

  "It seems like this one wasn't it.", she spoke while focusing on the book in her hands, "Isn't that right, Mashhith?"

  On the other side of the table was a... Creature, something dark and evil in the shape of a human. A void that would corrupt and consume all.

  It smiled.