A/N: as you all can tell I changed the name for the MC cause calling him The Ashen One every time is kinda weird for this World cause you know name are supposed to be something important in Lotm so for people that know his real meaning like Klein he is going to call him Ashes and for people who don't let just go with Ash black cause that the name the church gave him or if you guys don't like that let me know in the comments so I can just name him Ashen One.
"Is it 'The Fool'?"
In a room on the third floor of Saint Selena Church, Ash slowly opened his eyes and murmured, "I wonder if it can be burned. If so, that makes three..."
The Black Emperor, the Goddess of the Night, and The Fool.
He didn't know how many Lords of Cinder this world had, but it seemed there were quite a few.
After all, Dunn had mentioned the Seven Major Deities. Even if the Goddess of the Night was one of them, that still meant at least nine.
And from Dunn's tone, aside from the Hidden Sage who polluted Old Neil, there seemed to be other 'gods'.
So, they could probably be burned too.
With so much kindling, the future of this world looked promising.
Thinking this, Ash pushed open the door and left the room. He then walked through the corridor to another room, knocked on the door, and waited.
"Click!"
The door opened quickly, and Al looked surprised to see the man outside, "Is something wrong, Ash?"
"Yes."
Ash nodded solemnly, his expression serious.
"What is it?"
Al's expression also became serious, lowering his voice as he asked.
"What day is it today?"
Ash inquired.
"..."
Al's serious expression froze, then he replied, "Thursday, July 12th, Thursday."
"I see."
Ash nodded in understanding, realizing there were still four days left. He politely thanked Al and turned to leave, leaving Al bewildered.
He thought it was something important.
Turns out, it was just this?
"I thought he had something significant to tell me."
Al closed the door, turning around and muttering to himself.
"Maybe it's important to him."
Borgia took a chess piece from the table, moved it forward, and said, "Your move."
Al Harsen nodded, reached for his piece, then froze.
"Borgia!"
Al Harsen's expression became unusually serious, as if he had suddenly realized something, "Did you steal my chess piece?!"
"How could I!"
Borgia vehemently denied, his cold expression adding credibility to his words, "Your memory is really getting worse. I'm afraid you'll forget who I am soon."
"Sorry."
Al lowered his head apologetically. His memory was indeed bad.
But it couldn't be helped. Every Sleepless who stayed at Sequence Seven 'Nightmare' for too long had this problem.
Like him and Dunn.
"It's okay, let's continue."
Borgia discreetly slipped a chess piece under his seat, looking calm.
"Alright."
Al hesitated for a moment, feeling like he had forgotten something, but quickly pushed it aside and resumed playing chess.
Only halfway through the game, he suddenly jumped up.
"I remembered!"
Al slapped his thigh, suddenly enlightened, "I need to tell Dunn about the Acting Method!"
He had stayed at Sequence Seven for too long, and Dunn was even worse.
But with the Acting Method, they had a chance to progress further!
"Then go quickly."
Borgia also became serious, urging, "Hurry before you forget again."
"Right!"
Al knew there was no time to waste and immediately turned to leave.
Leaving Borgia alone.
"Am I really that bad?"
Borgia stared at the chessboard, deeply doubting herself.
Even after stealing a piece from the captain, why was she still at a disadvantage?
...
The next day, Klein, wearing his cheap old suit and carrying a black silver-tipped cane, entered the security company's doors.
He was about to ask Rosanne something when he saw Dunn waiting for him in the hall.
"Klein."
Dunn nodded slightly, signaling him to follow, "You're the last one. Come with me."
"What's going on?"
Klein felt puzzled but followed Dunn downstairs.
They walked down the winding stairs into the basement and took a left at the crossroads.
Soon, Klein saw a row of elegant gas lamps illuminating a hidden door.
Inside, the long tables had been moved, clearing the central area.
And at this moment, all the Beyonders of the 'Blackthorn Security Company' were there.
'Midnight Poet' Leonard Mitchell, Seeka tron.
'Sleepless' Royale Reideen, Kenley White.
And the corpse collector 'Frye'.
"What happened?"
Klein was initially startled, thinking something serious had happened.
But seeing that Dunn and the others didn't look too grim, he relaxed.
If there was an issue, it probably wasn't a bad one.
"The Cathedral has replied to my telegram,"
Dunn began slowly, meeting everyone's curious gazes, "One of the nine high-ranking deacons, Crestet Cesimir, is personally coming to Tingen. Until he arrives, Al's team will guard the Chanis Gate."
"And until then, we all need to stay here."
"Why?"
Klein couldn't help but ask, "Because of Old Neil?"
Did the Cathedral suspect their team was compromised because Old Neil was polluted?
"Not entirely."
Dunn gently shook his head, "Mainly because of me."
After a pause, Dunn continued, "I learned about the Acting Method from Al and included this information in the telegram to the Cathedral. They instructed that the Acting Method must be kept strictly confidential. Until Crestet arrives, I cannot leave to prevent further leaks."
"The Acting Method?"
Leonard and Klein's expressions turned peculiar, but they hid it well, unnoticed by others.
"So, Captain, why did you call us here?"
Klein asked cautiously, having already guessed.
"To leak the Acting Method."
Dunn glanced at him, then calmly added, "And to ensure it doesn't leak further, none of you can leave this room after I tell you."
Klein's eye twitched slightly. Was the captain exploiting a loophole? The high-ranking deacon was coming to ensure the captain couldn't leak it.
Yet the captain had gathered them to leak the 'Acting Method' beforehand.
"Listen carefully."
Dunn's expression was solemn, making everyone sit up straight.
"The key to potions is grasping them, but digestion."
"It's not about tapping powers, but Acting."
"And the potion names are not just symbols; they are concepts and the key to digestion!"
After saying all this, everyone fell into a contemplative silence, shocked.
Including Klein and Leonard, who pretended to be shocked to avoid suspicion.
After a pause, Dunn added, "And one more thing. We learned about the Acting Method last night."
"We?"
Klein asked with a peculiar expression, "So, Captain, who told us the Acting Method?"
"Ash."
Dunn looked at him and slowly spoke.
"Ash?"
Klein was skeptical.
He had just brought Ash above the gray fog yesterday, and today they learned the Acting Method.
But how did Ash know? Could it also be from Emperor Roselle's diary? No.
That didn't seem right.
The high-ranking deacon coming to Tingen to ensure the Acting Method didn't leak meant the Church knew about it too.
Maybe he learned it from the Church in Backlund? That would make sense.
After all, Ash was under the goddess's watch.
(End of this chapter)
50 Power stones = Extra Chapter