Outside the West Gate of King’s Campus, Green Shade Town.
At noon, in a private room on the second floor of a teahouse in Green Shade Town, Dorothy and Nephthys sat facing each other across a table. Dorothy was leisurely sipping black tea, while Nephthys looked somewhat nervous.
"Miss Dorothy, is the society you and Mr. Brandon belong to called the Rose Cross Order?"
"Indeed, the Rose Cross Order. That is what we are called. We are more secretive than ordinary secret societies, and very few people know of our existence. Senior Nephthys, you are now one of those few."
As she drank her tea, Dorothy pointed at Nephthys with her finger. Nephthys was slightly taken aback, then spoke with a serious expression.
"More secretive than ordinary secret societies... very few people know of it... Miss Dorothy, why are you telling such a secret name to an outsider like me?"
"No, no, you are not an outsider. Ever since Brandon saved you, you have been unable to stay out of this. You are already connected to the Rose Cross Order.”
"You want to use our power to fight against the Eight-Spired Nest, don’t you? If you want to fight them more effectively, we need your closer cooperation. That’s why I came to see you."
Dorothy interrupted Nephthys. Hearing Dorothy’s words, Nephthys was momentarily stunned, then murmured.
"From our preliminary investigation yesterday, dealing with the Eight-Spired Nest’s influence in the school is a bit troublesome. We’ve encountered some obstacles, and the best way to break through them right now is you, Senior Nephthys," Dorothy continued, leaving Nephthys in shock.
"Didn’t you tell Brandon? That man called Thorn Velvet, he controls the members of your original society through his collection of books. The more of his eight books you read, the more you gain his trust. Reading more of his books even allows you to enter the inner circle that ordinary members cannot access.”
"Now, let me ask you, is there a long corridor full of spider webs separating the inner and outer areas?"
Dorothy asked Nephthys, who nodded in response.
"Yes, that’s right. There is indeed a very dirty corridor with lots of spider webs between the inner and outer areas, and it seems like it’s never been cleaned.”
"The so-called inner area was originally the president’s office, storage room, and underground library of our Scholarly Society of Mystical Knowledge. But ever since Thorn Velvet took control of the society, those places have become off-limits to ordinary members. Only he, his external associates, and members who have read more than four books and are thoroughly influenced can enter."
Nephthys recalled, and after hearing her words, Dorothy nodded slowly, then said, "Good. Now we need you to read all four books to gain access to the inner area. I remember Brandon said you’ve already read two, so you just need to read two more, right?"
Hearing Dorothy’s words, Nephthys was slightly startled, then immediately responded.
"No, Miss Dorothy, didn’t Mr. Brandon tell you? Reading that guy’s books makes you abnormal, slowly falling under his control. I was fine before because of the necklace my grandfather left me, but now that the necklace is broken, I can’t read those books anymore."
Seeing Nephthys’s anxious expression, Dorothy smiled slightly, then continued.
"I know Thorn Velvet’s books are problematic. Of course, I wouldn’t let you read them without any protection. In fact, the Rose Cross Order has methods to help others resist such influences. We can help you resist the cognitive poison in Thorn Velvet’s books..."
"Cognitive poison..."
"It’s the poison of knowledge, something present in all mystical knowledge. In Beyonder’s journey, it’s something you must guard against. Of course, some people use the properties of cognitive poison to achieve hidden purposes. Thorn Velvet’s books contain such things.”
"On ordinary secret books... or mystical texts, you can feel something is wrong shortly after starting to read them. Continuing to read will cause severe reactions. But Thorn Velvet probably split one mystical text into eight parts for you to read, diluting the cognitive poison and reducing the reaction, subtly influencing you without your notice."
Dorothy explained briefly to Nephthys, who nodded thoughtfully after hearing it. She remembered how seniors in the Scholarly Society would warn her about which books to read and which to avoid. If a book felt strange, she had to stop reading immediately. Now it seemed that was the effect of cognitive poison.
"So, according to what you just said, the Rose Cross Order has methods to resist cognitive poison, meaning you can protect me from the influence of Thorn Velvet’s books? Like my grandfather’s necklace?"
Nephthys asked, and Dorothy nodded, then took out a book from her small bag. The cover showed it was a history book of Pritt.
"Take this. On the title page of this book, there is an Honorific Name. After reading a bit of Thorn Velvet’s books, silently pray to that name, and the accumulated cognitive poison will be cleansed under that being’s grace. Then you can continue reading safely."
Dorothy explained to Nephthys, who accepted the history book and, with a mix of curiosity and confusion, opened it. On the title page, she indeed saw a handwritten passage and couldn’t help but read it aloud.
"The Great Aka, Recorder of All Things..."
"You can silently recite it in your heart, no need to say it out loud."
Dorothy interrupted Nephthys, who looked up in surprise and said, "Miss Dorothy, you said this is an Honorific Name... the name refers to, could it be..."
"Shh... about the existence this name refers to, you don’t need to know too much for now. Just pray for protection when the time comes."
Dorothy put a finger to her lips and spoke mysteriously. Startled by Dorothy’s gesture, Nephthys closed her mouth and nodded slightly, saying nothing more.
Though silent, Nephthys’s heart was already stirring with waves.
“That Honorific Name just now... those adjectives... they must refer to a deity, right? Only a true deity could deserve such words. So, was the research of our former society correct? Besides the Three Saints and the Savior, there are many other deities hidden in this world? Were they the evil gods and demons expelled by the Savior? Or do they have some other origin?”
“This Rose Cross Order actually worships a hidden deity, and I can even pray to this deity for protection... My God, this is truly unbelievable…”
Nephthys thought in disbelief, and at that moment, Dorothy spoke again with a warning.
"We hope you can finish reading the remaining two books within six days and gain access to the inner area. Can you do that?"
"Uh... two books in six days? That should be fine. Thorn Velvet’s books aren’t too thick, each about two hundred pages. If I focus, I should be able to finish them within six days."
Nephthys responded, and Dorothy breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing her answer.
“Phew... it seems there’s still time.”
"Alright, Senior Nephthys, that’s the main point of this conversation. I hope you can work hard after you return. Whether Thorn Velvet can be overthrown depends on you."
Dorothy spoke solemnly to Nephthys, who nodded seriously.
"Yes, I will do my best."
"Alright, it’s time to part now, but before that, I’d like to see the necklace your grandfather left you, the one that’s broken."
Dorothy continued, looking at Nephthys. She wanted to check if there was any lingering spirituality in Nephthys’s necklace, to see if it could still be of some use. Last time she saw the necklace was through the vision of the corpse marionette Brandon, but corpse marionettes lack spiritual vision and couldn’t detect it.
"The necklace? Just a moment..."
With that, Nephthys rummaged through her bag and soon pulled out a handkerchief. Placing it on the table and opening it, she revealed a pile of shattered golden fragments to Dorothy.
Dorothy activated her spiritual vision and looked at the fragments, but saw no trace of spirituality. It was clear that all the stored spirituality had been depleted.
“No way... there’s really no spirituality left. Nephthys only read two severely diluted mystical texts, and it drained all the spirituality from this? This mystical item is really too weak.”
Looking at the golden fragments, Dorothy thought to herself. In her view, this should have been a mystical item capable of resisting cognitive poison, but it was destroyed due to spiritual depletion. However, the cognitive poison in Thorn’s two books couldn’t have been that much, could it? Enough to drain the necklace’s spirituality?
After pondering for a moment, Dorothy turned to Nephthys and asked.
"Did your grandfather give you this necklace personally? When did he give it to you? How is your grandfather now?"
"My grandparents passed away a long time ago. My grandfather gave me this necklace when I was a child."
As she spoke, Nephthys began to recall. After a moment, she continued.
"I remember being very mischievous as a child, always sneaking into my grandfather’s collection room to play and look at the North Ufiga artifacts. Once, while looking at those artifacts, I suddenly felt dizzy and fainted for no reason. I was unconscious for a long time before waking up.”
"After I woke up, my grandfather was extremely anxious and full of guilt. He warned me never to enter the collection room again. But I loved looking at those artifacts, so I kept crying. Eventually, my grandfather reluctantly gave me this necklace, telling me that if I ever wanted to enter the collection room again, I had to wear it. After wearing it, I never fainted again in the collection room.”
"After my grandfather passed away, I continued to wear it as a memento. Until a few months ago, when I was reading Thorn Velvet’s books, it suddenly shattered."
Nephthys finished speaking and sat quietly. Listening to her words, Dorothy, who had been staring at the necklace, furrowed her brows, deep in thought.