When night fell, or what Lea assumed was night in this timeless mirror prison, she felt the familiar pull.

  The summons to the weekly meeting.

  Impossible... she thought... I'm not even conscious, how can I—

  The mirror world dissolved. And suddenly she stood in the monochrome library, surrounded by bck and white shelves stretching into infinity.

  Before she could process what happened, something smmed into her.

  Arms wrapped around her. Golden hair pressed against her shoulder. And Dawn was hugging her fiercely, her shoulders shaking.

  "You idiot!!", Dawn whispered, voice thick with tears she was barely holding back, "You complete and utter idiot!!!"

  Lea stood frozen, too shocked to respond. Dawn never showed emotion like this, never broke composure. Never—

  "I thought you weren't going to wake up!" Dawn continued, pulling back just enough to look at Lea's face. Her eyes were puffy, "Your body's stable, but you won't wake up, and the doctors don't know why and—"

  She stopped, taking a shuddering breath, "Don't ever do that to me again."

  "I...", Lea's voice worked here, at least, "I didn't know if I'd even be able to come to the meeting—"

  "Congratutions, my dear Avenger~"

  Lady Keter's voice cut through the moment, light and pyful as always. She sat in her seat of honor, smiling that enigmatic smile.

  "You've reached the Fourth Step. Welcome to the foundation of the Path of Divinity.", her luminous gaze swept over Lea's transformed appearance, "How beautifully you've changed. The marks of touching cosmic w suit you."

  Dawn's arms tightened around Lea protectively, as if Lady Keter's words were a threat.

  And perhaps, in a way, they were.

  Lea looked between them, Dawn's fierce protectiveness, Lady Keter's detached amusement, and realized that regardless of whether her body was conscious, she was very much here.

  "Anyway, I'll talk to you ter about what you need to do privately. For now, what did you all do this week?", she said with such casualness it was uncomfortable.

  Rasputin coughed, "I am making my way to the port, my church had decreed a divine duty to unite Lady Pain's Crown with Her Divine Kingdom's worldly manifestation in the New World."

  Zorro widens his eyes a bit, realizing he would be able to meet another Argonaut.

  "I can show you around.", he said, tugging his hood slightly.

  "Ah, though I wouldn't recommend it.", the Bishop refused with an apologetic tone, "If the Saintess, the leader of this expedition, sees anyone strange, she would go straight for the kill."

  Saintess Olivier was a famous person, the Oracle that delivers the words of a god time and time again. And Zorro - Jim, who had accidentally stepped into a holy site... the Saintess would kill him instantly.

  "What is... the Church of Sacrifice's intention?", Dawn asked.

  "The Saintess said Lady Pain's child will come to this world and bright about salvation.", he spoke with slight reverence.

  To that, Lady Keter scoffed, turning everyone's attention to her.

  "Really, now...", her eyes moved over to Lea, "Dantes, I think I have your destination in mind."

  "What are—"

  Lea was cut off by Dawn, "What are you tempting her this time?!"

  "I just think that Dantes should visit a once-in-a-lifetime event. And you, too, should come.", it was a casual suggestion.

  "There is a war going on, for gods' sake! My country is in the middle of being dragged into it!! There is no time for witnessing a divine miracle!!", she yelled back.

  Beyond just Dawn's friend, Lea was now a demigod. Someone who would be invaluable in the war against Zankur.

  "And I can't do anything right now.", Lea added, "I am conscious but can't move my body, stuck in a world made of mirrors."

  "Your subconscious.", Lady Keter corrected, "Once your body fully heals, you may feel some disconnection from your body, moving slower than you expected, that is merely perception. Your cognition speed is faster, but your body can't keep up with it."

  The power of the Fourth Step, along with Silence, was called Deep Dive. She can dive into the unconscious world, manifested to Lea as a world of mirrors.

  "Law of Unconscious is what you are trying to obtain."

  Everyone recoiled from the information, feeling headaches and madness creeping in.

  "Shall I tell you a story?", a book appeared in her hand titled 'Charlotte'.

  Charlotte the Heretic, the Mother of Mysticism, the one who introduced the mystical side of the world to civilization. Tainting this pnet forevermore.

  "Have you ever wondered why and how she found out about the Attributes?"

  "Because she met a Jester."

  A Jester? Everyone wondered.

  "A Jester made from starlight, revealing the truth about this world. So with the help of the jester, in her birthpce on the ndmass between the two continents now called Australia, she began to write and experiment on people of her country."

  "Millions upon millions died to find just the right sylbles for each Honorific Title, one word at a time. Then millions more to find the rituals for each Path."

  Lea widens her eyes, thinking of a particur Path, "So that means... the Log for Salvation... she managed to kill the Origin of All Suffering?"

  Lady Keter left her with an ambiguous smile, then continued.

  "Then, after using up all the people, the Heretic went to the main continent and experimented there. Luckily, she had gotten all the Honorific Names, so she moved more discreetly, and when she finished the entire collection, she scattered it all across the world in the form of indestructible pages."

  "Indestructible pages...", Dawn began to think, "Are they truly indestructible?"

  "The most bullshit Attribute combination of all, Memory and Void."

  For the first time, they heard so much grudge and frustration from Lady Keter. As if that specific combination brought up a dark past... so they stayed quiet, letting her continue.

  "Once Charlotte had gotten enough information, she decided to challenge the gods and the entire world."

  That was a dramatic turn from a serial mass murderer to a delusional sociopath...

  A mere human cannot fight all the gods—

  "And the result was a draw."

  "Wait, what?!", Dawn excimed, smming the table, "SHE FOUGHT THE WORLD TO A DRAW?!"

  Everyone was shocked by this revetion.

  "What combination of Paths did she get?", Rasputin asked.

  "Judgement, Salvation, and Exchange.", she answered, "A combination that doesn't correte to any Law, just one that is completely normal yet efficient."

  Judgement is the most busted Path with its high attack power and meshes well with all other Paths. Salvation is the most broken with its Miracle Creation, which can be reguted by Exchange. Simple and effective, worthy of the woman who cursed the world.

  "Now, what lesson have you learned from the story of the Heretic?"

  The silence stretched across the monochrome library as everyone processed what Lady Keter had revealed.

  Finally, Rasputin spoke first, his voice carrying the careful tone of someone navigating dangerous theological waters.

  "If Charlotte fought the world to a draw... what happened to her? Where is she now?"

  Lady Keter's smile remained enigmatic, "The Heretic could still be hidden somewhere in this world. Or perhaps she's dead. Or perhaps she transcended existence entirely."

  She paused, letting that sink in for dramatic effect, "I'll reveal the truth once one of you reaches the Seventh Step, or when I feel like it. Until then, consider it motivation to keep climbing."

  Dawn was next, her analytical mind working through the implications of mass experimentation and systematic genocide. It was... inhuman, a monster.

  "What drove her to do it? To kill millions of her own people, to spread that suffering across the world? Was it ambition? Some grand vision?"

  Lady Keter's expression shifted, something more... amused, as if recalling a good memory.

  She said while caressing the book, "Pure, distilled spite for the gods and the world itself. Charlotte the Heretic looked at divinity and decided she hated it. Looked at the natural order and chose to defile it."

  She leaned forward slightly, "Someone who commits that level of atrocity, who sacrifices millions to achieve their goals, that person shouldn't be considered normal by any metric. She was brilliant, yes. But fundamentally, she was driven by malice so deep it reshaped reality."

  "Yet at the same time, she was more human than anyone in this world. She did as she wanted, did whatever she liked without bounds."

  like a child.

  The weight of that answer settled over them like a shroud. And the hint of admiration in her voice made them shudder, wondering what Lady Keter truly thought of The Heretic.

  Zorro leaned forward next, his hood shadowing his face.

  "The Jester made of starlight... You said it revealed the truth about this world to Charlotte. Was it from outside this world? What was it, exactly?"

  Lady Keter's smile returned, sharp as broken gss.

  "The Jester is a god with authority over the Law of Order itself. An alien god who descended upon this world. As for why it helped the Heretic... well, I'll leave that up to interpretation. Perhaps it wanted chaos, or to test this world's resilience. Perhaps it simply found Charlotte amusing."

  "A god of Order... helping someone create mystical chaos?", Rasputin frowned, "That seems contradictory."

  "Order can be maintained through many means.", Lady Keter replied cryptically. "Sometimes the best way to establish a new order is to thoroughly destroy the old."

  Lea's turn came st. Her golden eyes met Lady Keter's luminous gaze directly, and she asked the question that had been burning in her mind since the story began.

  "You said Charlotte's combination didn't correte to any Law, that it was 'completely normal yet efficient'. She didn't walk on the Path to Divinity...", she paused, her voice steadying. "Why doesn't she want that?"

  The library seemed to hold its breath.

  Lady Keter's expression became unreadable. She studied Lea for a long moment, then smiled, but this smile was different.

  "That is a question that touches on information reserved for the Seventh Step, or my mood. I cannot answer it fully without breaking fundamental rules even I must follow."

  "But—"

  "However, I will say this, the Path of Divinity is called a 'path' for a reason.", Lady Keter interrupted, her tone shifting to something more pedagogical, "But roads are not the only way to reach a destination. Some people... climb mountains. Some dig tunnels. Some build bridges across impossible chasms."

  She leaned back in her seat of honor.

  "Charlotte proved that she could've become a god herself, but she didn't. Why? Perhaps she was just that spiteful.", Lady Keter's smile widened, "That remains a matter of perspective."

  Lady Keter stood from her seat of honor, her silver light brightening.

  "But that's enough questions for tonight. You all have urgent matters to attend to.", she waved her hand dismissively. "Go deal with your respective crises. We'll reconvene next week, assuming you all survive."

  The library began to shimmer, preparing to release them.

  And then it was just Lea and Lady Keter.

  The goddess settled back into her seat, studying Lea with those unreadable starry eyes. She noticed it, the subtle change in her gaze...

  She was looking at Lea differently, with more emotions, still detached but less than before. She remembered what Auger said before...

  Lady Keter only truly sees her as herself from this moment. As if all other humans are worthless, unable to move on.

  "Now then...", the Lady of the Library smiled, "Let's discuss your Fifth Step."

  Lea's golden eyes met hers steadily, "I just reached the Fourth Step. I'm still unconscious in the real world. Don't you think it's a bit early—"

  "Preparation is never premature.", Lady Keter interrupted, "The Fifth Step of the Path of Divinity is simpler than the Fourth in concept, though far more dangerous in execution."

  She summoned a book, bnk pages that began filling themselves with silver text as she spoke.

  "You must find and enter the Divine Domain of Unconscious."

  Lea blinked, "Divine Domain?"

  "A pce where a cosmic Law has physical manifestation. Where the abstract becomes tangible." Lady Keter snapped her finger, "The Law of Unconscious has such a domain in this world. And you must find it."

  "How am I supposed to—"

  "Normally, you'd have to search for years. Decades, even. Most who walk the Path of Divinity spend entire lifetimes hunting for their corresponding Divine Domain.", she rested her head on her hands, looking beautiful yet also endearing, "But luckily for you, I know exactly where it is."

  She gestured, and a map materialized in the air—continents, oceans, markers.

  "At the bottom of the sea, West of Australia.", Lady Keter's finger pointed to a specific location, "Approximately three thousand meters below the surface. In a trench that shouldn't exist according to conventional geography."

  Lea stared at the map, "Three thousand meters underwater. How am I supposed to reach that?"

  "That's your problem to solve, my dear Avenger~", Lady Keter said cheerfully, "Though I suggest acquiring equipment or abilities that allow deep-sea diving, or finding someone with appropriate Paths, Water, perhaps, or you could try holding your breath for a very, very long time."

  "This isn't funny—"

  "I never said it was.", Lady Keter's expression became serious, "The Fifth Step is where many who walk the Path of Divinity die. Not from the ritual itself, but from the journey to reach the Divine Domain. The world protects these pces instinctively. Reality itself resists mortals approaching cosmic Laws too directly."

  She closed the book with a soft thump.

  "You'll face challenges. Mystical guardians. Environmental hazards. Your own psyche turning against you as you approach a Law that governs unconscious thought.", her gaze was steady, "But if you succeed, if you reach the Divine Domain and perform the ritual there... you'll take another step toward true godhood."

  Lea processed this, "What's the ritual?"

  "Reaching that pce is the ritual, ask Gandalf for tips.", the dy said casually.

  "How encouraging...", Lea muttered.

  "I'm not here to encourage you. I'm here to provide information.", Lady Keter leaned forward, "But I will say this, your transformation at the Fourth Step, the scales and golden features you now carry, those will help - you're no longer purely mortal. The Divine Domain will recognize that. It won't kill you on sight."

  "Just ter, then..."

  "Precisely.", Lady Keter's smile widened, "Now, any other questions before I send you back to your mirror prison?"

  Lea hesitated, "The faceless figure I saw in the forest. Before Miss Mashhith pulled me back. Was that—"

  "The Law of Unconscious itself," Lady Keter confirmed, "Or rather, a manifestation of it. You don't really need to worry; these things are rather harmless if you don't actively seek them out."

  The library began to dissolve around Lea.

  "One more thing, Dantes.", Lady Keter's voice followed her, "Don't rush this. You're Fourth Step now, but Fifth Step is a different magnitude entirely. So prepare thoroughly, train with your new abilities, because once you descend into that trench..."

  Her tone carried a genuine warning, "There's no guarantee what comes back up will be you."

  Then darkness.

  Lea found herself back in the mirror world, the infinite reflections staring at her with golden eyes.

  But now she had a destination.

  Three thousand meters below the ocean, west of Australia - the Divine Domain of Unconscious.

  Her next step toward divinity.

  And possibly, her grave.