Chapter 12: The Fragmented Scroll

Chapter 12: The Fragmented Scroll

Dorothy sat motionless in the dim lamplight, her eyes locked on the glass jar before her.

Three pale, severed human fingers floated quietly in the thick crimson liquid.

She didn’t look away. She didn’t move.

She simply stared—as still as a statue, as if her soul had frozen in time.

According to the note, these three fingers each held the spiritual essence of three full-grown adults.

Nine lives condensed into flesh.

If she ate them all, she’d have more than enough of the Chalice spirituality. All that would remain was to perform a simple ritual… and she’d step into the extraordinary.

She’d gain power.

And if I’m being honest with myself… I want it.

Of course I do.

She clenched her fists under the table.

Thrown unexpectedly into a strange new world, and stalked by a man-eating cult from the shadows—Dorothy’s heart had long been wrapped in a constant, suffocating fear.

The panic of being hunted.

The cold despair of falling into the abyss.

The terror of that moment of death… it was all still etched into her bones.

No matter how calm she looked on the outside, the memory of dying once never stopped haunting her.

And this world… was not kind.

It was eerie. Dangerous. And she had no safety net.

If only I had power… maybe I could feel safe again.

What human doesn’t yearn for the strength to control their own fate?

And for someone like her—someone who had already died once—that desire was no longer just a wish.

It was desperation.

So yes.

Of course she had gone out of her way to steal this "reward" from Eldrick’s stash.

Of course she had schemed and lied to get her hands on it.

She wanted what the letter had promised—the power to survive.

And now, it was right in front of her.

So simple.

All she had to do was break the seal, chew, and swallow.

Like unwrapping a late-night takeout meal.

Dorothy’s breath began to quicken.

Her hand slowly rose toward the jar.

Her fingers brushed the lid—

CLACK.

With a sharp sound, she snapped the lid of the box shut.

“...Ugh. Nope. Still disgusting.”

She exhaled deeply, pulling her hand back and shaking her head.

“I wouldn’t sleep for a week if I ate something like that. No thanks. I’ll find another way.”

She made up her mind.

It wasn’t easy.

The temptation had been real.

But Dorothy resisted it.

There has to be a line you don’t cross… even in a world like this.

Yes, power was tempting.

But the method—eating human remains—was something no amount of fear or desperation could justify.

She was still a person from a modern, civilized society.

Even if her surroundings had changed, her values hadn’t.

These were fingers from corpses now.

But what about later?

What if advancement required fresh meat?

No.

She would never allow herself to become a monster.

“It’s a shame,” she murmured, sighing as she flipped the note back and forth in her hand. “So close… but no thanks.”

As she casually turned the paper over, something unexpected caught her eye.

There was more writing on the back.

. . . . . . .

Ah, one last thing, Mr. Eldrick: remember that most extraordinary items come with drawbacks or conditions. That includes your “Corpse Marionette Ring

Once activated, the ring must be fed regularly with Chalice spirituality; it needs to be offered a proper sacrifice every six half-moons.

Based on the ring’s last known state, we estimate the next feeding is due this very month—likely on the 11th.

To avoid becoming the next offering yourself, make sure the ring is placed on your chosen sacrifice’s hand at precisely 3:00 AM on the 11th.

Fail to do so… and you’ll be the one devoured.

Once again, we sincerely welcome you to the Crimson Eucharist. We await you in Igwynt.

. . . . . . .

The moment Dorothy finished reading, her breath caught in her throat.

Her eyes snapped to the calendar and clock on the wall.

April 11th.

2:58 AM.

—Wait. What!?

Dorothy jolted upright, heart hammering in her chest.

Without wasting a second, she yanked the Corpse Marionette Ring off her finger—though it didn’t come off easily. She had to tug hard, and when it finally slipped free, she saw why.

A ring of tiny, sharp teeth had sprouted along the inner band.

Just like the note had warned…

The ring was growing hungry.

The time for sacrifice was near.

Sacrifice— I need to feed it something—fast! But where the hell am I supposed to find a sacrifice at this hour?!

Then it hit her.

Her eyes drifted toward the small box she had closed earlier.

The one with the fingers.

The note had said the ring consumed "Chalice" spirituality. And those fingers, soaked in red liquid, were saturated with exactly that.

Quickly, Dorothy popped open the box again, took out the sealed jar, and unscrewed the lid.

She used the provided tongs to carefully extract a single damp, cold human finger.

Maintaining her grip on the severed digit, she slowly slid the Corpse Marionette Ring onto it.

Then she waited.

Eyes flickering between the wall clock and the finger, she counted down the seconds.

3:00 AM.

Right on cue, the ring's teeth suddenly elongated into sharp fangs, plunging deep into the meat.

A moment later, a bloody red glow spread across the ring’s outer surface. The carved stick-figure glyphs began to move.

They joined hands.

They began to dance—around and around the ring like a ritualistic procession, their etched forms grotesquely animated.

And the finger?

It began to shrivel.

Its plumpness drained away as if sucked dry by some invisible force.

When it was done, the ring’s dancers came to a halt, frozen mid-motion.

Dorothy carefully removed the ring.

Where it had bitten into the flesh, the severed finger now bore a ring of precise, bloodless puncture wounds.

...Creepy.

She tossed the finger back into the jar and let out a relieved sigh.

Based on the note’s estimates, the ring needed enough Chalice spirituality to consume an entire person per offering.

And each of these fingers contained enough essence for three people.

“Looks like these things can work as portable batteries,” Dorothy muttered, almost impressed despite herself. “Gross... but convenient.”

It wasn’t ideal, but at least she didn’t have to go hunting for sacrifices every time the ring got hungry.

If she ever acquired another extraordinary item that relied on the "Chalice," she could use these preserved body parts to "charge" it as well.

At the very least… she’d salvaged some utility from the horrific leftovers.

But as the adrenaline faded, Dorothy’s mind drifted to something far more disturbing than the finger or the ring:

The Crimson Eucharist.

That damn organization… they didn’t even mention the ring’s hunger in their instructions until after the mission. After Eldrick passed the test.

If Eldrick had failed…

If he’d refused to cooperate…

He’d have died.

Eaten alive by the very ring he thought was his reward.

And the Crimson Eucharist?

They would have just swooped in afterward and claimed the ring for themselves, no blood on their hands.

“Bastards… they almost got me killed, too.”

Dorothy’s gaze settled on the ring lying innocently on the table.

She couldn’t help but shudder at how close she had come to unknowingly becoming its next meal.

With a sigh, she carefully packed the glass jar back into its box.

She glanced one last time through the grotesque, bloodstained pages of the little booklet before finally deciding to get some sleep.

But just as she turned to leave, a voice echoed in her mind.

“High-Spirituality Knowledge Detected: Fragment of The Art of Sacred Anatomy. Study is recommended…”

It was flat. Emotionless. A whisper that felt like it came from a thousand voices speaking in unison.

Dorothy froze.

That voice… I haven’t heard it in forever…

It was the mysterious “system” that had awakened in her mind the moment she arrived in this world.

So long had passed since its last message, she had almost forgotten it existed.

And now, suddenly—it spoke again.

All because of… this twisted little book?

Wait, this is… a fragment of a high-level spiritual text? “The Art of Sacred Anatomy”?

So… not just flesh. Even knowledge has spirituality in this world…?

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