The chapel's prayer hall remained as dim as ever, with only a few beams of light seeping through the holes in the walls, like stars scattered across the night sky. Caine settled into a quiet corner, removed his tall hat, and began praying with the demeanor of a devout believer. He briefly mentioned that Rosel had already been resurrected in the final mausoleum, but focused primarily on the contamination of the "Primordial Moon," emphasizing that the Emperor had deliberately halted the Black Emperor's path toward achieving "Uniqueness" and the return of his three Sequence-1 extraordinary traits—specifically to prevent the "Red Moon" from being born into the real world. As he concluded his prayer, Caine highlighted the potential risks posed by the "Card of Desecration" and expressed concern regarding the current whereabouts of the "Mother" and "Moon" cards. In fact, Roscel had only mentioned caution regarding the "Mother" path, not the "Moon" path. Yet, Caine knew that both the "Earth" and "Moon" paths had once belonged to the fallen Mother Goddess, so he chose to emphasize the "Moon" path as a matter of prudence—this was also his primary concern regarding the Earth Mother Goddess Lilith. Compared to most of the twenty-two paths, the high-ranking extraordinary beings of the "Farmers" and "Moon" paths possessed a distinct advantage: they did not need to fear the awakening of their primordial essence within themselves, nor did they fear experiencing personality fragmentation when approaching the depths. This was because their extraordinary traits did not stem directly from the primordial source and thus lacked the corresponding spiritual imprints. Should anyone enter the depths—into the "Chaos Sea"—they would inevitably encounter contamination, though the extent and manifestation of this contamination would vary. This advantage likely accounted for Lilith, the bloodline progenitor, being more exceptional among the ancient deities in earlier times, as she did not need to expend significant energy countering the original awakening will. At that time, the intangible barrier protecting the world remained sufficiently robust, effectively shielding celestial primordial entities such as the "Fallen Mother Goddess" from exerting substantial influence within. However, over time, this advantage gradually transformed into a problem. As the subterranean pollution weakened and the intangible barrier grew increasingly fragile, fissures began to appear. Under these conditions, Lilith, the "Mother Goddess of the Earth," found herself in progressively more difficult circumstances, as she faced an ever more powerful and formidable incursion by the "Fallen Mother Goddesses"—a situation in which the already-deceased primordial creator clearly fell short of the living "Fallen Mother Goddesses." Given the influence of the outer deities beyond the sequence over their own respective paths, Crane believed absolutely no oversight could be permitted in such matters. After praying, he waited an additional five minutes, ensuring there was no response, before standing up, donning the tall hat of a wandering magician, and slowly stepping out of this church belonging to the night. To him, this was primarily a matter of fulfilling his duty; as for what the "Goddess of Night" intended to do or whether she would remind him of anything, he had no influence whatsoever. In short, Crane could only temporarily trust that the "Goddess of Night" understood the distinction between urgency and routine. Bekland, South District of the Bridge, Harvest Church. Emlyn White stepped down from his own carriage, glanced at the sun partially obscured by clouds and light mist, and donned a half-high silk hat. As he walked toward the church entrance, he gently rotated the ring on his left hand, seemingly signaling his identity. The ring was translucent, as if crafted from pale amber, with a blood-red gemstone set at its apex—the very reward Emlyn had received long ago, "Lilith's Ring." Since becoming a half-god, Emlyn had been able to partially suppress the "hematophagy" inherent in the ring; each day, by drinking the blood of three human donors, he no longer suffered its adverse effects. To underscore his unique status as a descendant of the ancient lineage, he now wore the ring consistently. Upon entering the Harvest Church, Emlyn automatically removed his hat. At that moment, Casimir, Ones, and other Bekland bloodline members who had been waiting for Bishop Utravsky to begin his sermon rose up, gazing at the floor of the aisle and speaking softly, "Good morning, Count." Emlyn looked ahead and gave a barely perceptible nod. "Has Mirtral not arrived yet?" "Count Mirzal has arranged a small chapel at home," said Oneas simply. Emlyn didn't comment on this gesture, but as he walked forward, he added casually, "Yet when Mass is celebrated, you'll still need to come here." He glanced around before continuing, "Where is Bishop Utravsky?" "Bishop Utravsky is waiting behind, and the Church envoy has arrived," Oneas responded to Emlyn's question, maintaining a respectful demeanor. The Church envoy... Emlyn turned the delicate rose-colored ring on his left hand and walked toward the back of the chapel. Soon, he found Utravsky Father and the Church envoy—dark-haired, with wavy hair, high nose, and deep features, waiting in the reading room. "This is Bishop Loreto," Utravsky introduced to Emlyn. Standing by the window, he almost blocked most of the light. "Good morning, Your Grace," Emlyn replied in the style of the Great Church. Loretto chuckled, speaking in a slightly awkward form of Ruin: "Call me no 'Your Grace'—though you're not the Archbishop, you hold the status of one. From today on, you are the cleric in charge of the House of Blood affairs in Beckland, a Senior Subdeacon." Before Emlyn could process this news, Loretto continued: "I came to Beckland at the behest of the Holy See, to personally inform you of certain matters that require attention within the Church." "Please go on," Emlyn said, holding back his inner satisfaction and maintaining a courteous tone. Loretto's expression immediately grew serious: "First and foremost, without exception, any clergy member or devotee of the Mother Goddess who claims to have received divine revelation has actually been influenced by the Devil. Should anyone report such a matter to you, or if you yourself receive a revelation, you must promptly inform Bishop Utzalowski and report it to the Church." "The priest hadn't mentioned this before... This request sounds strange, as if questioning something. Emlin furrowed his brows and glanced at the Ultravaski priest by the window, saying, 'The bishop never mentioned anything about this at all.' Before he could finish, Emlin suddenly felt as though he were blaming Ultravaski, yet couldn't think of a better way to put it. Almost simultaneously, he understood the oddity in the bishop's earlier words: He was telling everyone that the Mother Goddess they sensed might not be the true Mother Goddess at all. It was as if to say that a significant portion of the primordial revelations received by our houseblood lineage were false—originating from the Devil or a demonic deity. Emlin's expression grew more serious, striving to maintain composure. At that moment, Lorèto smiled calmly, unperturbed, saying, 'Ultravaski didn't tell you because he didn't know himself.' " The priest didn't know... in that instant, Emlin found himself somewhat sympathetic toward Bishop Utravský, sensing that as a man from Fsaq—a later convert to the clerical life—he had been subtly or openly excluded by the other members of the earthly Church. Noticing the shift in his gaze, Loreto added, "That's because he is a divine favored one; he need not worry about the temptations of demons and infernal deities." Utravský nodded in agreement, speaking calmly, "The revelations of the Mother Goddess are found within His sacred texts, enshrined in those doctrines; everything else is mere heresy." Emlin felt a slight sense of curiosity, yet found no pressing questions to raise, so he simply murmured, "Hmm," and turned to Loreto, "What is the second point to keep in mind?" Loreto resumed his serious expression: "Should you receive a divine prophecy, do not accept it blindly—seek immediate confirmation from Bishop Utravský." "Why?" Emlin grew even more puzzled. This was almost telling him that the only ones who would respond to him were the devils or demons. Loreto carefully chose his words and explained in detail: "There are many evil beings in this world who impersonate divine entities, seduce clergy, and deceive the faithful. Since our Mother Earth Church is primarily centered on matters of life, we have been particularly affected—more so than other churches—so that people frequently stray from the path, attempting forbidden life experiments and gradually falling into decline. To counter this trend, we have long since reorganized the Church under the guidance of the Mother Goddess, establishing two major systems: the Gifted and the Blessed." The Gifted and the Blessed... Emlyn's knowledge of the Earth Church came mainly from the sacred texts and certain scriptures, and he found himself momentarily bewildered. He had never taken the initiative to ask Father Utravský about the Earth Church. Loretto glanced at Emlin and nodded slightly. "The 'divinely favored' are those clergy within the paths of 'Earth' and 'Moon' who have been blessed by the Mother Goddess; the 'divinely touched' are those from outside these paths, touched by the Mother Goddess. The latter are less influenced by devils and evil deities, and thus can help us discern the authenticity of the prophecies. Under this condition, even a papal decree must be co-signed by at least one divinely touched individual—otherwise, it may be considered invalid." As he spoke, Loretto produced a document and unfolded it for Emlin's inspection. The main contents included what he had just described, particularly his appointment as envoy. At the end of the document, several names were listed side by side. The first belonged to the Earth Church's papal representative, Mother Roland. The rest were names Emlin did not recognize, except the last one, which he could barely make out—Father Utravski. The priest's handwriting was truly difficult to read... While murmuring this to himself, Emlin found himself deeply puzzled about the two systems—Divine Grace and Divine Favor. Why were the Favor-bearers less susceptible to temptations from the evil gods or demons? Why could they discern the authenticity of prophecies, while the Grace-bearers could not? In the span of a thought, Emlin noticed a subtle detail: none of the Favor-bearers belonged to the "Earth" or "Moon" paths! So perhaps the issue wasn't with the Grace-bearers at all, but with these two paths themselves? Emlin had a growing sense that his own observation might just be the truth.