Chapter 555

Chapter 409 Transmission

North Coast of Conquer Sea, Navaha.

In a hotel during late night, Dorothy, freshly bathed and dressed in her pajamas, was drying her hair by the fire pit. Just moments ago, the soft prayer that used to linger in her ears suddenly came to an abrupt stop, leaving Dorothy slightly furrowed and filled with confusion.

As a clergyman raised with religious education since childhood, Vania possessed a high level of faith discipline. Whenever she had free time, she would perform daily worship rituals according to the traditions of the Radiant Church, with the morning and evening prayers being crucial components. Vania adhered to these two daily prayers punctually, her timing seldom deviating.

Previously, Vania’s prayers were directed toward the Three Saints of Radiance, but ever since she encountered Akka and received the divine revelation for her salvation, her daily prayers underwent subtle changes. Due to a shift in her innermost beliefs, the “Lord” she referred to in her prayers was no longer the Three Saints of Radiance.

In each of Vania’s prayers, while the content remained largely unchanged, her reverence now praised Akka—the one who granted her the divine revelation and saved her life. This transformation was quite gradual, so much so that even Vania herself hadn’t fully recognized it. In the past, she would specify a particular saint during her prayers, but now, she uniformly referred to “the Lord” in a more generalized manner.

Dorothy was acutely aware of Vania’s subconscious shift, more so than Vania herself, because Akka was, in essence, linked to her and the System; Dorothy could hear every prayer Vania uttered.

Concerning Vania’s frequent prayers, Dorothy could have easily muted the sound if she found it annoying. However, she deemed it too cumbersome to toggle mute every day, worried that she might forget to turn it back on, thereby missing some of Vania’s vital prayers in case of emergencies.

Moreover, Dorothy considered Vania’s prayer voice to be quite pleasant. Although the content was somewhat repetitive, Vania’s tone was remarkably beautiful. Perhaps influenced by the church’s internal music, when Vania poured her emotions into her prayers, her voice occasionally sounded as if she were singing. Dorothy enjoyed it, so she only lowered the volume slightly, using the prayer sound as a reminder of the time.

Vania prayed twice daily, morning and evening, at nearly the same times each day for several months. Thus, Dorothy had become extremely accustomed to it. However, the sudden discontinuation of the prayer was a first for her.

“Hmm… Vania’s prayer… how did it just stop suddenly? There were intermittent breaks before, and I could hear her tiredness in her voice… Did she fall asleep during her prayer?”

“It’s my first time seeing Vania sleep while praying… Usually, she’s very focused and concentrated while praying, but she suddenly fell asleep today… Is she really that tired lately?”

Sitting by the fire pit, Dorothy placed her towel beside her and pondered, speculating that Vania might have fallen asleep during her prayer due to fatigue. However, upon further reflection, she realized that Vania hadn’t been particularly busy recently.

“Vania is currently on a pilgrimage, essentially on a government-funded trip, and she has no tasks… The day before yesterday, when the Order of the Holy Ceremony Knights fought Costa at the port, the damage was minimal. Their medical team could handle it without involving Vania… I didn’t assign any tasks to her either… In this situation, would Vania really fall asleep during her prayer because of fatigue?”

Dorothy continued reflecting. Although she found Vania’s sudden sleep during prayer surprising, it hadn’t yet raised any suspicion. After all, it was late night, and feeling drowsy could easily lead to one dozing off.

“However… it’s still late winter to early spring, and the weather is quite cold. If Vania sleeps like this, she might catch a cold. Moreover, if she were praying in a church or public place, dozing off like this isn’t ideal; not only might she get her belongings stolen, but it could lead to someone taking advantage of her.”

Contemplating this, Dorothy, adhering to the notion that one should sleep well in a bed, prepared to wake Vania, given how inappropriate it was to sleep in public in such cold weather.

Then, Dorothy lightly touched Vania’s Puppet Mark to try and wake her. However, upon doing so, Vania did not awaken. After repeating this process a couple of times, Dorothy sensed that something was amiss.

“Hmm? Strange… Is she really that deeply asleep?”

Sensing something was off, Dorothy’s brow furrowed. She then decided to employ other methods to awaken Vania. Using the Puppet Mark to control the sleeping Vania, she made her open her eyes and, through Vania’s perspective, surveyed her surroundings in the church before prompting Vania to raise a hand and pinch her own face.

However, even then, Vania still did not wake up. Dorothy, controlling Vania’s body, could sense that her consciousness was still deeply asleep, raising immediate alarm in Dorothy’s heart as she began to associate it with a specific phenomenon.

“This is… Deep Sleep?! Vania has actually fallen into a deep sleep!”

Dorothy exclaimed in shock; she was no stranger to Vania’s current state. Just a few months ago, Gregor experienced a similar phenomenon on the train to Tivyán, where he had been drugged by the Eight Pinnacle Nest, entering a state of deep sleep akin to a dead person—impossible to wake. Vania now appeared in the same disoriented state, entirely ensnared in a profound sleep that was hard to interrupt.

Seeing Vania in this condition, Dorothy’s expression grew increasingly grave, for she understood that this complete inability to awaken was not a normal sleep state. It was a form of slumber facilitated by extraordinary factors, not something one could casually enter.

And now, Vania had inexplicably fallen into this deep sleep state, indicating something must have happened.

This was extraordinary interference!

“Why did Vania suddenly enter this deep sleep? Who is targeting her? The Eight Pinnacle Nest? Could they be attempting to replace Vania just as they did with Gregor? And infiltrate the church?”

“No… wait, if the Eight Pinnacle Nest were to execute a replacement, it would have to be in a private setting like a train carriage. Currently, Vania is in a church, surrounded by many people engaged in evening prayers; a replacement wouldn’t be feasible… This must not be the Eight Pinnacle Nest at work…”

“But if it’s not the Eight Pinnacle Nest, then who is targeting Vania? Why have they put her in deep sleep?”

Faced with the unfolding situation, Dorothy resolved to understand Vania’s specific circumstances in her heart, pondering whether Vania had provoked someone during the day and why she would be targeted.