After Dorothy confirmed her prayer point, the dialog box-like interface suddenly vanished. Then, the surroundings experienced a peculiar change.
In the previously calm and quiet room, a small whirlwind suddenly arose out of nowhere. The once-flickering candles were extinguished instantly, their swirling smoke dispersed. The outer circle of the ash-drawn ritual array was blown into a perfectly spiraling pattern. Dorothy’s cloak rustled audibly, yet the "Revelation" symbol at the center of the ritual array remained untouched.
The sudden wind lasted only a moment before ceasing entirely. By the time it stopped, the candles were extinguished, the incense no longer burned, and the ash-drawn ritual array was scattered. Kneeling in the center, Dorothy slowly stood up. Her gaze was now clear, her thoughts tranquil and sharp.
“So this is what it means to be Beyonder?”
Looking at her hands, Dorothy murmured softly. She could distinctly feel the changes within herself.
Dorothy now felt an unprecedented clarity in her thoughts. Her focus could be effortlessly concentrated or dispersed, and her mental strength had significantly increased. She felt refreshed, her mind sharper than ever before.
“This is the path of ‘Revelation’—an Apprentice-rank Beyonder known as the ‘Cognizer.’ Compared to the ‘Chalice,’ which strengthens vitality and the body, ‘Revelation’ enhances mental and cognitive abilities...”
Following her ascension, Dorothy felt as though she had been enlightened about her current rank and its associated abilities.
“Now, I can try a few experiments...”
After spending half a day meticulously erasing all traces of the ritual, a tired Dorothy wiped the sweat from her forehead, silently complaining to herself.
“Phew... the first thing I do after becoming Beyonder is manual labor... This ‘Cognizer’ ability does absolutely nothing for physical stamina…”
Having thoroughly cleaned the ritual site, Dorothy quickly left the small hut. After walking a kilometer to a fishing spot by the river and arriving out of breath, she finally boarded a carriage and returned to the city of Igwynt.
Through the carriage window, Dorothy watched the bustling pedestrians and colorful advertisements lining the streets. When the carriage stopped in front of a bookstore, she disembarked and entered directly, picking up a thick book on tap dance. She found a quiet, secluded spot to sit down.
Dorothy read quietly, her demeanor natural and unremarkable, blending in with the other patrons in the bookstore—except for her astonishing speed in flipping pages.
For each densely written page, Dorothy glanced over it several times in quick succession before moving on. To a casual observer, it looked as if she were flipping through the book absentmindedly. In reality, she had thoroughly absorbed every word. This was one of her Beyonder abilities.
As a "Cognizer," Dorothy possessed superhuman mental acuity and focus, which translated into remarkable learning capabilities. She could read at lightning speed, greatly compressing the time needed to acquire knowledge, and easily comprehend complex content.
In just thirty minutes, Dorothy finished the entire book. Closing her eyes briefly, she recalled its contents in precise detail, almost word for word. Remarkably, she could also vividly recall the advertisements and passersby she had seen through the carriage window earlier—down to the smallest gestures, facial expressions, or the individual hairs on a dog’s coat. It was as if she could replay ultra-high-definition video footage in her mind at will.
This powerful short-term memory was another gift of being a "Cognizer." For up to half a day, Dorothy could recall every detail of her experiences with absolute clarity. After this period, the memories gradually faded unless she chose to focus on preserving them for the long term.
“This feels like a straight-up academic superpower...” Dorothy murmured.
Placing the book back on the shelf, she left the bookstore and boarded another carriage, heading toward the docks.
The bustling docks reeked of brine and fish, but Dorothy pulled her hood tighter and pressed on. She made her way through the crowds to a secluded warehouse, stopping before a rented storage unit. Unlocking the door, she stepped inside and locked it behind her.
Her gaze fell on several long crates in the center of the space. Unlocking one of them, she activated the Corpse Marionette Ring on her finger.
Moments later, a familiar figure lifted the lid of the "coffin-like" crate and rose to his feet. It was Edrick, long unseen.
After evading the pursuit of the Crimson Eucharist by diving into the river, Dorothy had manipulated Edrick’s corpse to swim to the riverbed and anchor itself to abandoned machinery with pre-prepared hooks, preventing it from floating away. The next evening, under the cover of darkness, she returned to retrieve him, even having him crawl along the riverbed upstream to an isolated mudflat before bringing him ashore.
She had kept Edrick because, at the time, he was the only corpse she could control. Losing him would have been inconvenient for any future plans. Now, Dorothy was here to experiment with her abilities.
Looking at the pale, expressionless Edrick, Dorothy raised her hand. With a thought, she infused one point of "Revelation" spirituality into the Corpse Marionette Ring.
Immediately, Dorothy felt her mental connection with the ring deepen. The spiritual thread linking her to Edrick grew noticeably stronger.
With another thought, Edrick began to move. He jumped in place and started performing tap dance moves—just as Dorothy had learned from the book earlier.
In the silent, dim space, Edrick danced, his feet moving in rhythm and his body leaping gracefully. The sound of his shoes echoed throughout the room. His movements were fluid, resembling those of a living person rather than a corpse.
Next, at Dorothy’s command, Edrick transitioned to other routines. He performed a full set of "Call of the Times" radio gymnastics, flipped forward and backward, imitated the mischievous antics of the Monkey King, and executed a flawless Thomas flair spin. Each act was more challenging than the last.
Finally, Dorothy instructed Edrick to stand straight before her.
Smiling softly, she whispered, “Hello, Mr. Grandi.”
Edrick’s expression shifted slightly, and he knelt on one knee before Dorothy, placing a hand over his chest as he replied, “At your service, Miss Mayschoss.”