If she refused to accept the past, she would remain trapped in it; if she refused to acknowledge her desires, she would remain swept along by them.
Dorothea began to grasp something.
This was the essence of ascension: a change from within.
"I've completed my ascension," she said softly.
Vanessa's and Flora's eyes immediately widened.
"Completed it? That easily... all right, it wasn't actually easy."
"Were you really in the [Rationality] state that whole time just now?"
A restrained smile appeared on Dorothea's face. She raised her slender neck like a crow with her tail held high:
"Yes! I did it! I accepted myself, faced my past, and faced my desires!"
"What are your desires? Cooking for everyone? Gaining authority over the canteen?" Vanessa frowned at Dorothea.
"What nonsense are you talking about!"
Dorothea shouted in annoyance.
She felt that her cooking merely tasted ordinary. These believers were all spreading rumors and stirring up trouble, making it sound so awful.
One could only say that facing oneself had its limits, too. Dorothea had merely faced the self she believed herself to be.
"Since you've completed the ascension ritual, let's start preparing the sacrifice."
As Vanessa spoke, she deftly began drawing ritual runes.
In front of the Difference Engine, Elliot rubbed his hands together eagerly.
Although he planned to funnel resources into Vanessa, Dorothea was a Core Believer, after all. He certainly had to bring her up to middle rank first.
They currently had to deliberately exclude her whenever they discussed topics involving [Secret History], which was rather inconvenient.
The entire upper echelon of the Church needed to reach middle rank at the very least, or things would indeed be troublesome.
And of Dorothea and Elsa, one was currently the Cult Leader and the other oversaw logistics. They were unquestionably Core