As Tris chanted, the gems around her successively made cracking sounds, shattering into powder that floated upward.
They flickered with red, blue, green, or brilliant light, quickly converging into a torrent that surged toward the candle flame upon the altar.
At the same time, the burnt remnants of hair in the cauldron joined this procession.
The flame suddenly expanded, intertwining together and growing ever darker, like an "illusory door" leading to other worlds.
Tris immediately felt the surrounding temperature plummet, as if countless dangers were seeping out from within that mass of fire.
A sentence flashed through her mind in an instant—a warning from Gehrman Sparrow:
"Be careful of 'Mr. Door.'"
As expected of someone who has a messenger of that caliber... His understanding of "Mr. Door," his grasp of what I intend—both may be far deeper and more precise than I imagined... Tris slowly drew a breath, patiently awaiting what would follow.
In the span of a single blink, she felt the void within the room grow much "thinner." In many places, shadowy figures flickered, as though a vast number of indescribable, bizarre, and dangerous creatures lurked behind.
The dark, expanding flame slowly began to rotate, transforming into a massive, profound vortex tinged with crimson.
As the vortex spun, an ethereal yet soul-piercing voice finally rose from its depths:
"...Chik?"
The moment she heard that voice, the veins at Tris's temples throbbed violently, her head feeling as though countless steel needles had been driven into it, frantically stabbing and stirring.
Her black hair rose on its own without any wind, each strand growing slightly thicker, while the skin on her face turned transparent, veins bulging out one after another, dense and interwoven like a spider's web.
With tremendous effort, Tris finally gained control of herself, hearing that voice—one capable of gradually pushing most Beyonders toward losing control—chuckle lowly:
"It seems you're one of Chik's blessed..."
"Back when we viewed the second 'Blasphemy Slate' together... and were able to surpass Sequence 1... the ones still alive today... should only be the 'Artisan,' Chik, and myself..."
Tris paid no heed to Mr. Door's lament, her expression barely concealing its distortion as she spoke:
"Honorable Mr. Door, I have something I wish to ask you."
"Go ahead... The years lost in darkness, trapped within the storm, have been dreadfully tedious... It's rare for someone to chat with me..." From within the slowly rotating, deep vortex, that terrifying voice responded without much change.
The muscles on Tris's face twitched involuntarily several times. She still couldn't quite adapt to that voice, which could well be called the ravings of an evil god.
It took her several seconds to steady herself before she spoke:
"...I want to know if there are any unconventional methods to enter the nine secret mausoleums that the 'Blood Emperor' Tudor originally built for his advancement to 'Black Emperor.'"
From an unknown location, across the infinite void, Mr. Door's voice carried a drifting, ethereal laugh:
"Originally it was for this matter...
"This is not difficult... I will give you a symbol... You gather the blood of Beyonders from different
As this existence spoke, the dark vortex separated into numerous tongues of flame, assembling in mid-air to form a rather complex symbol.
It looked like doors, one after another, layered in a disordered fashion from largest to smallest, without end.
Triss endured the pain, as if her spirit body were being torn apart, and committed the symbol to memory, then sought confirmation:
"Must all twenty-two Beyonders'
"For each Pathway, only one Beyonders' blood is needed, regardless of their Sequence?
"Approximately how much blood is needed for each Pathway?"
Mr. Door continued to answer in that same, murmuring, delirious state:
"Yes... not too much... a small vial will suffice... ensure you can finish tracing that symbol..."
Although Triss's features were twisted in pain, upon receiving this crucial intelligence, she couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth curve upward in this moment, revealing a slight smile.
Combined with her overall expression, it looked extremely bizarre, making her seem like a madwoman.
Having achieved her primary goal, Triss, in order to ensure smooth cooperation with Gehrman Sparrow later, spoke up again:
"The Abraham family wishes to know how to break free from the ancient curse upon them."
The dark vortex was silent for several seconds before speaking with a sigh: