The Witch's Anguish

The morning light, filtering through the slightly cracked glass window, fell upon a flawless, beautiful body. The warmth stirred the maiden's form, adding to her deep morning slumber.

However, this artistic scene didn't last long. With a slight sound, the sleeping maiden suddenly sat up in bed, her eyes, like still water, fixed on the window. Only when she saw the black cat did she finally relax a little.

"While the 'benefits' you've shown are quite pleasing to the eye, I won't pay any extra for them." The words spoken by the black cat instantly shattered its cuteness. Triss casually grabbed a shirt from the bed and put it on, saying somewhat coldly:

"I thought you weren't coming."

"How could I not? I'm always serious about transactions." The black cat jumped onto the maiden's bed, raised a paw, and waved it seriously. It was a cute gesture, but Triss found it exceptionally detestable.

"The goods are here. What about the information?" Triss took out two tin boxes and several packets of herbal powder from under the bed. The black cat stepped forward and inspected them one by one before nodding.

"Yegor Einhorn, Admiral of the Forsaken Empire's Navy, and also an Iron-Blooded Knight of Sequence IV. By the way, the Hunter Pathway is a sequence controlled by the Einhorn and Soren families. So, if you want to hunt an Iron-Blooded Knight in the future and Yegor is already dead, you can target these two families. Personally, I still recommend Soren, after all, Einhorn is part of the Forsaken Empire's royal family."

"Then you're giving me a demigod from the Einhorn family..." Triss wasn't particularly interested in the information the black cat provided. Or rather, she wasn't in a hurry to inquire about demigods just yet.

Instead, she was more concerned about—

"What about the information you said was closely related to me? Why is the Sorceress Cult so keen on training men to become witches?"

"It's simple. Because they want to approach the Primal... Well, a deity's name shouldn't be spoken lightly. In short, you need to understand that the True God the Assassin Pathway points to ascended after transforming from male to female. As the apex of this sequence, it naturally influences the pathway from top to bottom. This means that if a woman takes the Assassin Potion, the difficulty of digestion and the chance of losing control are far higher than for men."

The black cat paced slowly as it spoke. Triss froze, because beyond its literal meaning, the cat's words seemed to contain a massive bombshell—

"True Gods also drink Sequence Potions?"

"Of course. Didn't you know that the True God level is also called [Sequence Zero]? Why is it that sequences with True Gods usually don't have a Sequence I? Because the potion a True God needs is three Sequence I Extraordinary characteristics!"

The black cat fearlessly dropped bombshell after bombshell. Triss was momentarily dazed, but she quickly suppressed the shock of learning such a secret and refocused herself.

"So, what do you mean when you say I'm the Sorceress Cult's most proud creation?"

"Do you know who has the fastest sequence advancement?" the black cat asked, not directly answering Triss's question.

"Those who happen to fit the profession targeted by the Acting Method?" Triss didn't intend to play games with the black cat, knowing it would eventually provide the answer. She didn't waste time thinking and gave a relatively plausible answer.

"Close, but that's just one sequence." The black cat shook its head slightly, placing a paw on the box containing the extraordinary materials. "Those who advance sequences most easily are often people who are similar to the top-tier existence of that sequence. This is because any sequence is influenced from top to bottom by its apex. Just like I said, under the Primal's influence, men digest Assassin Potions more easily. Similarly, the more you resemble the True God of this sequence, the easier it will be for you to digest the potion."

"So, you mean... I'm very similar to the Primal?" Triss said softly, then frowned.

"Is there a problem with that?"

"That's right. It seems you still have your sanity." The black cat looked pleased and extended a few claws from its front paws. "What's the most crucial secret of the Acting Method?"

"..."

Triss didn't answer, because she had no idea.

"It seems they didn't tell you?" The black cat grinned, revealing a rather chilling smile. "Then allow me to supplement your education. The core secret of the Acting Method can be summed up in one sentence: You are just acting!"

"I... am just acting?" Triss vaguely recalled the black cat saying something similar when it commented on her acting as a witch. So, it was hinting at this back then?

But...

"What's the connection?" Triss asked, though she vaguely sensed something.

"Because if you get too deep into the role, it won't be you digesting the potion, but the potion digesting you. Your personality will increasingly resemble the person you're portraying, and then..."

"Eventually overlap with the True God? That's why you said the more similar someone is to the True God, the easier it is to digest the potion and advance their sequence?" Triss felt a prickle of fear. Although she didn't fully grasp the key issue, the mere fact that her personality could be influenced was terrifying enough.

If she hadn't known this secret, would she have gradually gotten too into character while acting, been influenced by the potion, and ended up completely seeing herself as a woman?

"That's the idea." The black cat nodded, waved its paws a few times, and then its expression suddenly changed. It spoke in a far more sinister tone than before:

"However, more importantly, when you become similar enough to the True God, you will become the best vessel for their descent into reality."

"Boom!"

Triss felt like her brain was about to boil.

Becoming a vessel for a god's descent?

Was this the Sorceress Cult's purpose in cultivating her?

She didn't even need to imagine what would happen if a True God descended upon her. Even the mental imprint of a Sequence IX potion could cause an Extraordinary to completely lose control. How could a True God's mental descent onto her body possibly have a good outcome?

She took two steps forward, staring intently at the black cat. Just as she was about to speak, the black cat broke the mood by saying, "What? You want to snatch it back now that the transaction is complete?"

"Who wants to snatch your things!" Triss took a deep breath, trying to salvage the ruined atmosphere, but she failed. Helplessly, she simply asked:

"Tell me, why are you telling me all this? Every word you've said today is worth far more than a Sequence IX potion."

"I'm always serious about transactions," the black cat replied sternly. Triss frowned.

"I don't think selling gold for the price of stones is a sign of seriousness."

"No, I mean, the value of that sentence is not comparable to a Sequence IX potion."