Chapter 500 : Thunderous Shift

Gazing at the map spread across her desk, Dorothy’s eyes were filled with a rare trace of alarm. She hadn’t expected that she would find a map in this mystical text that so greatly diverged from reality. What was going on with this one-third-larger Main Continent than the present-day version?

Although the map in this mystical text was very simplistic, with rough and blurry lines and lacking many details, the general outlines were drawn accurately. Aside from the eastern edge of the Main Continent, no other parts of the map had any significant distortion when compared to modern maps. Dorothy was thus able to confirm that the artist didn’t simply make a mistake—the map was deliberately drawn this way.

The illustration was a copy of a mural from the Imperial era of the previous epoch. The fact that the Third Epoch map depicted significantly more landmass than current ones—what could that mean?

Filled with doubt, Dorothy pondered over the map. Her thoughts turned to something she once saw near the Mirror Moon Altar, deep in the ruins beneath King’s Campus. There, she had seen a message left behind by a priest of the Mirror Moon Goddess. It said... they had to leave Pritt due to a certain agreement and were headed somewhere far away—a place in the east.

“The east... a vast landmass added to the eastern portion of the Third Epoch map... and a mass migration of the Mirror Moon clergy to a distant land. What exactly lies over there?”

As she thought, Dorothy looked out the window toward the eastern horizon, her mind flooded with speculation. After a long moment of contemplation, she finally turned her attention back to the mystical text.

“Feels like… I’ve stumbled on quite a few startling secrets this time. But for now, these secrets don’t hold immediate value for me. What really matters is the spirituality.”

With that thought, Dorothy began extracting spirituality from the text she had just read. From this, she gained a total of 10 spirituality: 5 Lantern, 3 Shadow, and 2 Revelation.

Sitting in her chair, Dorothy paused slightly after finishing the extraction, then focused on the types of spirituality she had just received. From this one mystical text, she had drawn both Lantern and Shadow — two opposing types — confirming a suspicion she’d had earlier.

“So it’s true... The scimitar in the image symbolizes Shadow. And the deity in the sun wheel wields symbols of two opposing spiritualities. Could this be an attempt to wield both contradictory powers at once?

“And in the writings of Summer Tree about the Goddess of Abundance, I extracted a small amount of Stone too. The situations are quite similar. Could it be that the Goddess of Abundance was also seeking the power of Stone? Then what about the King of the Underworld? Why were the Pure-Color Deities of the Third Epoch suddenly interested in spiritualities opposite to their own?”

For a moment, Dorothy speculated about the intentions of the Third Epoch’s Pure-Color Deities — why they would develop an interest in spiritualities contrary to their nature. She considered whether this might be linked to the current decline in Pure-Color faiths. But lacking sufficient information to draw reliable conclusions, she set the matter aside and resumed her spirituality extractions.

Next, she extracted spirituality from the information obtained in the Temple of Revelation Runes — specifically the full advancement method to the Crimson rank — which gave her a large boost: 4 points in every spirituality type.

Then, Dorothy tallied her expenditures during the battle with Muhtar. Thanks to the temple’s spiritual reserves, she had unleashed countless lightning strikes, but since the Roaring Fury Path required no personal spirituality to cast, it had cost her nothing. Most of her expenditure had gone to using Chalice to stabilize her condition and transfer injuries, plus the Shadow in her ring had been completely depleted.

Dorothy had used 1 point of Chalice for Devouring Sigil, 7 points of Chalice to transfer her severely ruptured tenfold chest wound, and lost 5 points of Shadow from the ring, which now needed recharging.

After calculating gains and losses, her current spirituality pool stood at 24 Chalice, 12 Stone, 22 Shadow, 25 Lantern, 25 Silence, and 50 Revelation.

“That’s quite a windfall… Especially Lantern — I barely had a handful before, and now I’ve jumped up to 25! No doubt this is the reward for taking down a Crimson-rank Lantern. I really got what I lacked...

“And now, except for Stone, I’ve basically met all the requirements for advancement. That’s faster than I expected. As for Stone, I don’t need to worry — the Temple of Revelation Runes’ library is right there. Although most of it is written in ancient Ufigan, there should be enough accessible texts in Universal Script that contain cognitive poison. I’ll patch up the Stone requirement then.”

So she reasoned. The temple’s library was mostly recorded in the ancient Ufigan language, and only a small part was in Universal Script. Much of it remained inaccessible due to restricted permissions. To find what she needed would take time and searching.

“Anyway, I won’t be leaving Yadith for the next few days. I’ll just find another chance to go back and look through it.”

With that settled, Dorothy turned to the matter of dividing the loot. This victory had been the result of joint effort, so the spoils needed to be shared.

After some consideration, she decided to give the Sun Eye-Stone and the Floating Spirit Amulet to Vania. The Sun Eye Stone could only be used by Lantern Beyonders, so it was a natural fit. The Hovering Spirit Amulet, on the other hand, was intended to boost Vania’s movement techniques — since Vania could quickly accumulate the needed spirituality using her book-reading method.

As for Muhtar’s empty magic box, Dorothy decided to give it to Shadi. Although the item was valuable, she already had a better one and had no further need of it. The Soul-Needle Ring, suited for melee use by Silence Beyonders, was best given to Nephthys. Dorothy kept the Soul Contract Scroll, the remaining sigils, and the mystical texts for herself.

After completing her sorting, Dorothy packed up everything from her desk, then stood up and walked to the balcony. As she gazed at the city of Yadith — once choked with smoke but now slowly returning to peace — she knew that Shadi had taken control of the situation. The chaos in Yadith was over.

"The situation in Yadith has settled, but the overall fate of Addus remains uncertain. The next few days will determine how that revolutionary leader plays his hand..."

Gazing out at the city ahead, Dorothy murmured to herself. She knew full well, that once today’s events in Yadith spread, it would stir waves—not just across Addus, but the world.

…

Over the following days, word of Yadith’s sudden upheaval spread rapidly across Addus—via the mouths of traveling merchants and wanderers, telegraphs between distant relatives, encrypted missives of spies, and secret communications within mystical societies.

In just two or three days, everyone across Addus, from commoners to revolutionary commanders and even remnants of the Baruch regime, heard of a shocking event.

Among commoners, rumors abounded: a sudden storm blanketed the skies of Yadith, thunder roared for hours, lightning crashed without pause. Frightened, civilians hid in their homes, terrified they might be struck. Oddly, though, the strikes seemed to only target the royal palace and the cathedral district—no bolts landed elsewhere. Some began to wonder: had the revolutionary officers or the roaming Salvationist preachers been struck down by divine judgment?

And once the storm ended, revolutionary troops resumed patrols to maintain order—but the once-ubiquitous preachers of the Savior’s Advent Sect were nowhere to be seen.

To the populace, it seemed divine retribution had selectively struck—not the entire revolutionary army, but only those Salvationists. Some even speculated it wasn’t the Three Saints who had brought down this judgment, but an ancient god named Heaven’s Arbiter. Supposedly, many near the Light-Prayer Cathedral had heard thunderous proclamations condemning the Salvationists for desecrating a sacred temple once devoted to the Arbiter.

While gossip circulated endlessly among the common folk, military garrisons of the revolutionary army received much clearer reports: this was no act of the Three Saints. The thunderstorm had been summoned by a priestess claiming service to the Heaven’s Arbiter—an ancient deity. It was she who had unleashed the overwhelming divine storm that eradicated the Salvationist forces entrenched in Yadith.

Of those stationed in Yadith, from ordinary believers to elite Beyonder commanders, almost none survived. Most astonishing of all—the Salvationist high leader of Addus, the powerful Crimson-rank Beyonder Muhtar, had perished in the storm!

The news of Muhtar’s death hit Addus like a lightning bolt. Revolutionary officers—Salvationist-aligned or loyal to Shadi—were equally stunned. This was a Crimson rank after all! A being of immense power and longevity, fundamentally beyond lower ranks. A cornerstone of national strength—gone, just like that?

The mysticism world of Addus plunged into an uproar—not just shocked at Muhtar’s death, but at how he died. Struck down by thunder summoned by a priestess of a long-lost god? Most couldn’t believe it. They suspected a plot by the Radiance Church or Shadi himself. But the overwhelming evidence from Yadith made it hard to deny: Muhtar and his faction had truly been wiped out by the Heaven’s Arbiter’s cabal, as punishment for defiling the deity’s temple.

Muhtar’s sudden death created chaos especially within Salvationist elements embedded across Addus. Without leadership, their ranks fell into disarray.

Had Muhtar died at the hands of Shadi or the Church, they’d have a clear target for revenge. Someone could rally Salvationist forces to retaliate and plunge the revolution into civil war. In time, the Salvationist Central Authority might send someone new to Addus to consolidate power and challenge Shadi.

But the reality was harder to act upon: Muhtar had died by lightning, summoned by an unknown priestess of a forgotten god. It left regional Salvationists completely stunned. Their leader was dead—yet not at the hands of any known rival—and that left them paralyzed.

Shadi, meanwhile, had done a masterful job keeping the truth quiet. He downplayed his fallout with Muhtar, claimed that the Salvationist leader died due to divine wrath after desecrating the Arbiter’s temple. The endless thunder, he said, was proof. It had nothing to do with him.

In the Battle of Baruch Royal Palace, thanks to Dorothy’s use of the city’s defense system—her Eye of the Sky and endless lightning strikes—not a single Salvationist soldier survived. With no outside witnesses and all involved factions dead or silenced, no one knew what truly happened. Ordinary citizens heard nothing beyond thunder. They didn’t even realize a large-scale internal battle had occurred in the palace.

Shadi used this obscurity well. Muhtar had kept his coup plans secret even from most of his loyalists. Not even his elite fighters knew until the last moment. From the outside, Shadi and Muhtar seemed merely strained—not on the verge of war. So Shadi’s version of events—divine retribution, not assassination—carried weight. After all, who could claim to control divine thunder?

And crucially, Shadi’s public response to Muhtar’s death sealed the narrative. In his public statement to all revolutionary cells across Addus, Shadi expressed deep grief at Muhtar’s loss. He called it a tragic disaster—the revolution had lost one of its guiding lights.

He went further. In the days that followed, he organized a grand memorial for Muhtar in Yadith. Shadi personally attended, delivering a heartfelt eulogy. He honored Muhtar as a comrade-in-arms who had fought beside him to topple the Baruch monarchy, as a warrior and revolutionary. He vowed to carry on Muhtar’s legacy and lead Addus toward their shared vision of the future.

The ceremony was grand. Church delegates, revolutionary officers, and the citizens of Yadith all attended. Even Dorothy dropped by to enjoy the festivities—sitting at the kids’ table.

Shadi’s show of respect confused many Salvationists in the revolution. Perhaps Muhtar really had died by divine retribution. Perhaps Shadi would carry on his dream of a Salvationist-led Addus after all.

As the ceremony continued, Shadi sent trusted messengers to all regional Salvationist units. Their message? The central Salvationist leadership in Yadith had been wiped out in a tragic accident—new appointments were needed. These envoys delivered orders to high-ranking field officers across Addus, calling them to Yadith to fill the empty positions.

To each, Shadi whispered the same thing: "Many commanders have their eyes on the power Muhtar left behind. Get to Yadith first, and you’ll get the best piece of the pie. Others will try to delay you—but don’t be fooled."

He also subtly warned them of an external threat: the Salvationist Central Authority. According to Shadi, they were planning to send someone from outside to take over Muhtar’s place. "But we’re Addusians!" he said. "Why should we hand over our revolution to outsiders? We worship the same Lord—so why should the northern Salvationists rule over us? Why should we become their dogs?"

Thus began Shadi’s next phase—cementing power while his rivals reeled.

Shadi subtly hinted to all regional Salvationist commanders across the country: though Muhtar’s death was tragic, it also marked an opportunity—an opportunity for the Salvationists of Addus to finally seize control for themselves. This was a chance to shake off the grasp of the Salvationist Central Authority and establish an Addus-led Salvationist church.

This suggestion lit a fire in the hearts of countless local Salvationist commanders—especially those born and raised in Addus who had long been suppressed or sidelined by officials parachuted in from the Central Authority. These local officers, who made up the majority within the Salvationist ranks, were now all eyeing the massive power vacuum left behind by Muhtar’s death, each one hoping to become the new leader of Addus’s Salvationist faction.

Of course, not all were so easily swayed. A few Salvationist commanders saw through the ruse, expressing deep doubts about Shadi’s narrative—some even suspected Shadi himself had a hand in Muhtar’s death. Refusing to accept the summons to Yadith, a few of these commanders took it a step further: they used spiritual mediums to summon the souls of their fallen allies—Muhtar’s close subordinates who had perished in the thunderstorm.

From these departed spirits, they learned the truth of what had transpired in the palace: Shadi had indeed been involved in Muhtar’s death.

Outraged, they began contacting other regional Salvationist commanders, attempting to unite them in opposition and expose the truth. But Shadi had anticipated this. He immediately counterattacked by accusing those dissenting commanders of being agents of the Salvationist Central Authority—traitors working to prevent the people of Addus from founding their own church. He branded them collaborators with the north, enemies of Addus.

As accusations flew back and forth, the Salvationist forces within the Addus Revolutionary Army were thrown into utter confusion and internal chaos.

Through a combination of flattery, division, and deceit, Shadi effectively and bloodlessly dismantled the Salvationist faction’s vast power base within the revolution. At the same time, a secret telegram was dispatched from the envoy delegation in Yadith to Holy Mount.

That telegram recorded the so-called "truth" behind what would later be known as the historic event: “The Lightning Judgment of Addus.”