Finally, Dorian stopped beside the letter.
He bent down, reached out his right palm, and with slightly trembling fingers, pinched the edge of the paper and picked it up.
This time, Dorian went through it very carefully, word by word, from the beginning, sometimes in a daze, sometimes confused, sometimes doubtful, and sometimes in pain.
The letter Fors sent was short; he read it twice in just three minutes, then fell into a long silence.
Sunlight streamed in through the window and fell on the overturned table.
Dorian Gray Abraham's lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.
He quickly rubbed his right thumb and forefinger together through the paper, causing the letter to ignite with a crimson flame.
After doing all this, Dorian packed his belongings, disguised himself, and left the rented house, going to another place under the identity he had prepared.
Once settled, he sat down at his desk, gazing at the brass ornament, lost in thought.
As the sunlight grew sparser and dimmer, Dorian's eyelids twitched, and he let out a long, slow sigh.
He then spread out the letter paper, picked up the pen, and wrote as he pondered:
"... I'm so glad to see you've digested the ' Scribe ' Potion in just a few months. This means you really might become Demigod..."
"... These are the key points of the ' Traveler ' Acting as I understand them, but you must remember that everyone's personality is different, Acting there will always be some differences in practice. You can't completely copy them... This doesn't mean that other people's Acting points are Error, but rather that they might cause you great internal conflict and affect your mental state... Sometimes, making some appropriate adjustments might slow down the absorption of the Potion, but that would be more beneficial to you. You must remember that Acting is just a tool, not the master..."
"I look forward to the day when you have fully digested the ' Traveler ' Potion. I will prepare the necessary materials and a gift for you."
"... I'm very interested in what that gentleman mentioned about the curse of the Abraham Family... I think you should have already realized that I have some knowledge of this subject, otherwise you wouldn't keep asking me about it..."
"I hope you can do some further research..."
After writing his reply, Dorian Gray Abraham closed his eyes briefly and quickly folded the paper.
January 1351, the New Year in Backlund was much quieter than in previous years.
In the basement of a house in the West Borough, a few candles flickered with yellowish flames, illuminating the altar, chairs, and round table placed around it.
At the edge of the light, in the darkest place, a figure appeared and disappeared, sometimes swaying, sometimes stretching, a thin layer with no thickness, like a shadow that had come to life.
Suddenly, the figure spoke in a low voice:
"You arrived earlier than I expected."
Beside the candle, in the brightest part of the firelight, a figure quickly emerged.
This was a man, dressed in a mysterious black robe, with slightly curly brown hair, each strand stiff, and deep, unfathomable eyes that seemed to hold countless secrets.
He is none other than Botis, the " Saint of Secrets," one of the five great Saint of the Aurora Order.
Botis smiled and said:
"Distance is not a problem for me."
He then pulled up a chair and sat down, speaking to the long, narrow shadow:
"Has the matter been thoroughly investigated? Have any unusual circumstances been discovered?"
The shadow, almost blending into the darkness, answered in a low voice:
"No problem."
"Really?" Botis instinctively doubted the certainty of the answer. " Kisma, could this be a trap?"
The Aurora Order's " Dark Saint " Kisma slowly shook his head and said:
"The target was very cautious and definitely did not expose themselves intentionally."
"If she hadn't been seeking cursed items from ancient Evil Spirit, we would never have suspected her possible connection to the Abraham Family."
" The Saint of Secrets," Botis, seemed to be pondering as he spoke:
" Ancient Evil Spirit artifact, one of the main materials for the ' Scribe.' I remember the Abraham Family did indeed have extra Asman's Brain... Ha, unwilling to directly provide the ' Scribe's ' Beyonder Characteristic, preferring to put them to some tests, that's certainly the Abraham ' style. Simply put, it's a lack of trust."
" The Dark Saint " Kisma didn't echo Botis's words, and continued to speak to himself:
"Even though she was seeking the main ingredients for the ' Scribe ' Potion, we didn't initially notice anything wrong, since not every believer understands the relevant mystical knowledge. But she was still asking questions related to the ' Apprentice ' and Abraham."
"She is very cautious in this regard. The circle of Beyonder want to buy materials and the circle of Beyonder ask questions are not the same. Different things are handled in different circles. Moreover, sometimes she will hire other party participants in advance to help her make the request."
"If it weren't for the fact that we have people in several of these circles who eventually pieced together the information, we wouldn't have noticed her."
" The Saint of Secrets," Botis, nodded slightly, then asked:
"Why didn't you just take action directly instead of calling me over?"
Within the shadows, darkness shifted, and a low, slow reply came:
"The situation in Backlund is getting increasingly tense. The ' Nighthawks,' ' Mandated Punishers,' and ' Machinery Hivemind ' squads are carrying out round after round of sweeping, and we are being watched very closely."
"If I were to handle this matter, everything would be fine as long as nothing unexpected happens. But if something unexpected does happen, I don't have a ' Secrets Sorcerer ' to Grazing, and I might not be able to escape in time."
"Besides, aren't you the one most interested in the Abraham Family?"
Botis chuckled and said:
"I have absolutely no interest in them; I just want them all to die."
"To ensure my own safety, the most important thing is to nip revenge in the bud; that's my philosophy."
As they spoke, the " Saint of Secrets " took out a crystal ball from a hidden pouch in his black robe.
The crystal ball was neither clear nor transparent, as if it had been filled with the deep Evernight.
As Botis stroked his hand and moved his lips, sparkling glimmers appeared within the strange crystal ball.
Like specks of stardust, they slowly rotated, forming a complex scene.
"It's acceptable..." Botis glanced at the crystal ball he was holding in his right hand and nodded slightly.
He immediately looked toward the "ghostly figure":
Tell me more specific information.
Upon learning that there would be a gathering of Beyonder from a certain circle that evening, and that the target might appear, " The Saint of Secrets " Botis stood up and said to " The Dark Saint " Kisma:
I need to make some preparations in advance.
As soon as he finished speaking, he opened his right hand, lifted it slightly, and then closed his five fingers.
The area where he was located instantly Distortion and disappeared.
The candles, firelight, round table, and chairs that were originally there have also disappeared, leaving only the floor tiles and ceiling.
After a while, the shadows shifted, and everything returned to normal.
" The Saint of Secrets " Botis was no different from before, but the figure of " The Dark Saint " Kisma had unknowingly emerged from the darkness.
He looked at Botis and said in a deep voice:
"Your caution exceeds the necessary limits."
"But that's not a bad thing. I hope to resolve the problem before anyone notices," Botis replied with a smile. "You come along too. Stay in the shadows and assist me. Don't show yourself directly. If you notice anything unusual, leave immediately."
"... Alright." " The Dark Saint " Kisma slowly stepped out of the shadows.
He looked very young, with outstanding features, but his face seemed to be shrouded in a faint, dark veil.
As Kisma approached Botis, he faintly heard a series of illusory chewing, gnawing, and digesting sounds coming from who-knows-where, and sensed an undisguised malice and hunger.
This sent a chill down his spine, even though he was Demigod.
The " Dark Saint " froze for a second, his gaze turning to Botis's face with a mixture of astonishment and surprise.
Botis curled his lips into a slightly cruel smile.
A few seconds later, one of them used " Teleportation " and the other blended into the shadows, leaving the house one after the other.
At the border of the East Backlund East Borough and the Bridge Borough, in a dilapidated apartment building, there were several rooms on the ground floor that had been converted from a budget hotel.
When Botis emerged from the Spirit World, the gathering of Beyonder was still two or three hours away, and no one had yet arrived.
He looked around, taking in the rows of chairs and the haphazardly arranged long tables.
After carefully observing the surroundings, Botis walked to a corner and pulled at the air with his right hand as if tugging at a curtain.
The area was then shrouded in shadow, Distortion, and then disappeared.
Because it originally contained no objects and lacked any objective markers of measurement, no one would notice that a space was missing. They would only feel that the distance between the wall and themselves seemed a little closer, but upon closer inspection, everything appeared normal.
This is the " Secrets Sorcerer's" " Spatial Concealment "!
They can use this ability to divide a place into two parts, hiding one part so that it can only be entered through a specific "door".
At this moment, in the area that had been cut off and hidden, the room still existed normally, with floor tiles, a ceiling, and a cockroach frantically crawling by.
The cockroach charged all the way to the dividing line, only to be blocked by the deep, endless darkness.
After looking around, " The Saint of Secrets " Botis's gaze settled on a transparent vortex in mid-air.
This is a "door".
Every hidden space must have a "door".
Botis thought for a moment, then reached into the hidden pocket of his black robe, took out a mirror, and set it in the position of the "door".
The mirror Distortion for a moment, quickly reflecting the scene outside:
The chairs and long tables were scattered haphazardly, and the room was empty.
And so, through this mirror, Botis began to monitor the gathering place of the Beyonder.
Time ticked by, and the Beyonder, disguised in various ways to conceal their identities, arrived one after another.
One of the figures, wearing a hood, habitually chose a corner by the window, took out a palm-sized notebook with a patina-green cover, and casually flipped through a few pages, seemingly reviewing the key points for the upcoming questions or checking whether he was adequately prepared.
Behind her to the side, there was an ordinary mirror embedded in the wall.
P. S.: There will be an extra update at 7 PM tonight!