The next week, on Monday, Lea was transferred to the Rue Cathedral in Ein, a small city in the Renlou Empire, belonging to the Warshen Region.

  She was sitting across from the priest of the Church of the Three Rings, a middle-aged man with a kind yet solemn smile.

  After being transferred here by the Crimson Temprs, Lea stayed alone in a temporary room while the church discussed what to do with her. After a few days of thinking, she had made up her mind.

  For revenge, she would plunge into the dangerous world of mystery. This made her seek out the priest, Aragin, to find a way to be a Pathstrider.

  And in the priest's office.

  "Do you truly want to become a Pathstrider?", he asked her with a grave tone, as if seeing someone voluntarily walking toward their own death.

  "Yes.", she agreed without hesitation, "I've lost everything... what else is better for a dead man other than to fulfill her st wish?"

  With a self-depricating smile, Lea bowed her head, "Please!! I am willing to offer my life, even for a single chance to deal a blow at the Akasha Monodrama!!"

  After a heated moment, Lea calmed herself down, looking down ashamed of her previous outburst.

  "I am willing to do anything. For the sake of the Lord and His followers, I am... ready to become a hunting dog for the church."

  After a moment, the priest smiled benevolently, "The Lord taught us to be kind and loving to all, he did not teach us hate yet does not forbid it, as hatred is a part of humans, of us."

  He drew a circle clockwise three times on his chest, and Lea followed after a moment. Then they both prayed.

  "The Three in OneThe Light of Salvation and BanceThey who Reigns over Order."

  Both of them csped their hands in reverence and calmness, speaking at the same time, "Praise the Lord."

  After a brief prayer, Aragin looks at Lea.

  "It is the mission of the Church to guide His followers, so they do not stray from the right path.", he pced his hand on her head, "We will guide your anger, so it shall never be directed at His followers."

  Lea nodded without speaking. She was already twenty-five, yet with gentle grace, Aragin made her feel as if it was the first time she had entered the church. But bitterness soon took over, making her clench her fists.

  "Alright... but I want you to read the overview of the world you are about to enter.", with a heavy heart, he took out two sheets of paper and gave them to Lea, "These are the selected information about the world of mysticism. Read it and decide if you truly want to follow through."

  Lea nodded, and her eyes widened instantly at the first name she saw on the first page.

  "Charlotte...? Charlotte the Heretic?", she trembled slightly.

  "She is also known as the Mother of Mysticism on the other side.", Aragin expined with reluctance, as if that name and the monikers disgusted him, "A figure many revered and feared. But thankfully, she is dead."

  Lea knew who Charlotte was; she was a prominent figure in the church's bible, not just the Church of the Three Rings, but also other churches' holy Bibles mentioned her, solidifying her existence in history during the year 88 of the Third Era - Era of Mysticism.

  The Church of the Three Rings said that she once challenged the Lord but failed, running away with her life. As revenge, she turned an entire country into a nd of chalk, where every life was frozen still like a diorama. This pce was real as that country is currently a part of the Renlou Empire. But to the secur world, she was known as the Mother of Mysticism.

  Mother of Mysticism... Lea thought about that title. Finding it baffling, the Heretic, made to be hated by the world, is revered as the one who revealed the secrets of the world.

  She began reading the first page.

  'Paths are the fundamental Attributes of existence; to grasp them means to step into another world full of danger. Those who dare to step into this world are called Pathstriders.'

  This is the basic information Lea knew as a cleric, but she was surprised that this was a quote from The Heretic. Then she read further.

  'There are a total of 142 Paths one can take, but it is recommended to walk on the 14 Neutral Paths, if they are weaklings, as their First Step.'

  Step? This new world whirled in her mind for a bit before reading further.

  'Steps are the advancements of Pathstriders. The First Step will redefine who the Pathstrider is, ying out the fate from that moment onward. From then, one could choose other Paths, slightly tilting the fate of the First Step.'

  This... the First Step is a huge and important choice... Lea instinctively leaned back. Did she truly want to walk on the Path of Judgement? Sealing her fate from the get-go?

  She shook her head and continued reading.

  'To become a Pathstrider, one must complete a Ritual and chant the Honorific Title corresponding to that Path. Of course, the Rituals will be increasingly harder the more Steps one takes, up to the Seventh Step.''And more importantly, if one fails to advance or is unable to endure the changes, dying is the best outcome, or they would become Horrors.'

  "Father... what happens after the Seventh Step and what are Horrors?"

  She checked the back side of the paper, finding nothing. Her gaze turned toward the priest.

  "After the Seventh Step... I don't know.", he shook his head, "That information is forbidden to know at my level. But Horrors on the other hand..."

  He looks straight at her, "That will be one of the things you deal with as a Pathstrider of the church. They are Pathstriders who failed to advance and became monsters. The Heretic described these monsters as looking horrifying, so she simply called them Horror."

  Leaning forward, he continued, "The Horrors can wield an enhanced version of the Paths they used to hold, and they've lost their sanity. But... from some reports I read, the original personality remained and was even conscious, witnessing themselves transformed into monsters, killing those they love and feeling the agony of the transformation."

  This is the price for daring to enter the mystical side of the world... Lea thought. She truly realized why Charlotte deserved the moniker of Heretic; it was she who brought this side of the world to light.

  Besides risking her life for a lofty goal, she also must battle the madness that comes with becoming a Pathstrider. Her face darkened as she put down the first sheet.

  The second sheet contained all 14 "Neutral Paths":

  Order, Judgement, Equilibrium, Correction, Destiny, Retribution, Memory, Exchange, Erudition, Acceleration, Creation, Validation, Regression, and Tribution.

  Only the first three are highlighted, as they are the Paths the Church had a good grasp on; the rest were... kinda iffy. Especially ones like Regression and Tribution.

  "Why are Regression and Tribution put at the bottom?", she asked.

  "Tribution, because it caused fate to put you on a road full of trials, the next deadlier than the st, it has the highest mortality rate. As for Regression... there isn't a lot of information about it as those who walked on this Path rarely advance past the Third Step, but even then, they are just stronger than the average person by a margin, unable to compete with the other Paths.", he shook his head.

  Mostly due to the ck of understanding of the meaning of the name, the Church of the Three Rings was unable to dig deeper into this matter. Of course, there is no shortage of madmen in the world, but The Heretic was a mad genius of a lifetime; only she could've figured out the mysteries of the world.

  After some thinking, Lea looked at Aragin, "Father, do we have a comprehensive list of all the Paths?"

  Hearing her question, he shook his head, "Not at all, and due to the experimentation logs being scattered, we are unable to know all of the Paths."

  Logs... Lea lingered on this word and furrowed her brows; there is a nagging feeling pushing her...

  "What are these logs called?", she asked again.

  "The 'Secret of Life'. There are a hundred and forty-three of these journals if the records are correct, with one log holding all the combinations possible.", he looked to the side, "This is the most I can say without breaching clearance."

  The Secret of Life... that woman was reading a full book... Lea thought back to that dream of the void. It made her skin crawl.

  "Alright...", she bowed, "Thank you for your time. I still have some thinking to do..."

  Aragin nodded. Both of them drew a circle three times clockwise on their chest.

  "Praise the Lord.", both said solemnly.

  I need to figure out who she is...

  With that thought, Lea left the office to seek out duties she could do in the cathedral. Even with vengeance burning in her heart, she was still a pious servant of the Lord.