"May Rhyo's wind always surround you," Bishop Corry said with a gentle smile, looking at the young girl in front of him with her eyes closed. He then slowly reached out, gently stroking the back of her head. "May sickness, plague, and nightmares never touch you."

The girl's expression had been uneasy, pained, as if she was caught in some terrible nightmare.

But under Bishop Corry's gentle touch, her face gradually relaxed into a peaceful state.

Seeing this, the noblewoman who had been anxiously waiting beside them grew emotional. "Your Grace, Your Grace, my daughter..."

Bishop Corry held up his other hand to gesture for silence and said softly, "There is no need to rush, is there?"

The noblewoman nodded repeatedly, immediately closing her mouth. What she did not notice was a black worm crawling out of the girl's head, making its way onto Bishop Corry's right hand, and then disappearing into his skin, as if it had found its way home.

Soon, the girl's expression became completely calm. After Bishop Corry withdrew his hand, she slowly opened her eyes, as if waking from a long, tormenting nightmare, her expression still dazed. "Where... am I?"

"Don't think too much," Bishop Corry said with a smile. "You were just having a bad dream, but now it has ended. It is time to embrace a new life and let go of the pain of the past."

The girl nodded somewhat blankly, and the noblewoman immediately stepped forward, hugging her daughter with tears in her voice. "Darling, you're finally alright."

Seeing that his task was complete, Bishop Corry stood up, preparing to leave.

But after taking just a couple of steps, the noblewoman rushed over again. "Your Grace, Your Grace!"

Bishop Corry turned, only to be hugged by the noblewoman. "I... I truly do not know how to thank you!"

Faced with the noblewoman's sudden gesture, Bishop Corry did not panic or lose composure. He seemed accustomed to such reactions, gently patting her back in a soothing manner. "There, there, madam. Who says you have not thanked me? The offerings you have given are more than enough to demonstrate your devotion to our Lord. How could I, in good conscience, watch one of His followers suffer from nightmares?"

"I... I know, but that alone is not enough—it does not fully convey my gratitude." The noblewoman lifted her tear-streaked face, her eyes holding a strange allure. "You cannot imagine the effort, the time I have spent trying to cure my daughter's mysterious illness. You know, after my husband's death, the entire weight of our family fell upon my shoulders. My daughter is my greatest hope. Without your help, I truly... I truly... I do not know how to express my gratitude."

As she spoke, her gaze lingered meaningfully.

"Truly, I would do anything for my daughter."

Bishop Corry merely smiled.

After spending more time comforting the noblewoman and her daughter, Bishop Corry watched them leave, the noblewoman still poised and elegant. His face remained smiling until their figures disappeared from sight. Once they were gone, however, his smile vanished instantly, leaving his expression cold.

He took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the areas where the noblewoman had touched him, including his robes. He seemed intent on ensuring that not even a trace of her remained.

Before long, a young boy with fair skin and delicate features approached Bishop Corry, speaking respectfully. "Your Grace, the Knight Captain contacted you with Sacred Fire ten minutes ago."

Bishop Corry raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised, but he did not say much. He merely nodded. "I understand."

The boy nodded and was about to leave when Bishop Corry called him back.

The bishop approached the boy, slowly extending his hand to caress the boy's cheek, as if admiring a work of art. "Truly... beautiful."

The boy remained silent, standing still.

After about a minute, Bishop Corry withdrew his hand. "Alright, you may go."

The boy then left.

Bishop Corry returned to his room and walked over to his desk.

Next to the desk stood a two-meter-tall statue.

The statue had pure white wings, a sacred expression, and... no gender.

This was the statue of Rhyo.

The statue depicted Rhyo with its hands extended forward, a small blue flame burning in its palms.

Bishop Corry reached out, placing his fingers into the flame, extinguishing it and revealing a small piece of parchment.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

He unfolded it, revealing strange characters.

The characters didn’t last long, fading like ashes in the wind, but Bishop Corry remembered them all and transcribed them.

He sat back at his desk, opening his notebook, and began deciphering the characters.

As he did so, his brow furrowed.

When the message was finally decoded, he looked at the words, his expression complicated. He muttered, "Two fingers? How could that be?"

After a moment of shock, Bishop Corry carefully reread Kelser's message and understood.

Kelser had said, "There is a possibility of two fingers," but it was uncertain. He reported that Lugi, who had taken the finger, was now missing two fingers—the left middle finger and the right thumb.

It was possible there were two fingers, but it could also be a diversion left by whoever took the fingers.

The only certainty was that at least one of them was real.

The black-market dealer had sold the real thing, otherwise the Wildfire Cult wouldn't have been involved.

But was it Lugi who took the finger?

Bishop Corry was a bit surprised. He knew Lugi well enough—he was about to retire, and they had corresponded recently. Lugi had no reason to get involved with something so dangerous.

Then again, it was Visah'Su’s body part—anyone might go mad over it.

The priority now was to find out where the finger had gone. The Wildfire Cult had gotten involved, and the secret was out. If they didn’t contain the finger soon, things would only get worse.

In Bishop Corry's opinion, the likelihood of two fingers appearing at the same time was very low. It was almost certainly a diversion to confuse them.

This also meant that whoever took the finger knew a lot about Visah'Su’s body parts.

There were still many of Visah'Su’s parts scattered across the world. That wasn’t a secret—any drunkard in a tavern could tell you that.

But the secret lay in which parts were lost.

The gods had not randomly dealt with Visah'Su's body. They hadn’t just divided and sealed the parts—they sealed Visah'Su's power too.

Each part carried some aspect of Visah'Su’s former abilities and... his rules.

This information was highly classified, even among the major faiths.

Bishop Corry took an unnamed book bound with chains from the bookshelf. He ran his hand over its spine, channeling the power of Rhyo into it.

With a click, the chains released, revealing the book’s contents to Bishop Corry.

This book had been compiled by the Four Faiths, with contributions from the Four Holy Gods themselves in its early days. It held the power of the gods, and those lacking in mental fortitude could lose their sanity with just one glance.

The book was meant to record the various "Forbidden Artifacts" that had appeared in the world.

These artifacts had caused trouble throughout history—sometimes natural disasters, other times human tragedy. Each appearance brought bloodshed.

Some of these "Forbidden Artifacts" had been contained by the Four Faiths, while others remained unaccounted for—some possibly in the hands of the Major Cults, others among common folk. Regardless, the Four Churches were obliged to contain and seal them if they appeared.

The artifacts varied greatly, and each had a different degree of power. The less harmful ones could confuse a few people, while the more dangerous ones could throw an entire city-state into chaos. The churches categorized them by their danger levels, placing the weaker ones at the beginning of the book and the stronger ones later.

The most dangerous hundred artifacts were listed on the last ten pages of the book.

All of Visah'Su’s body parts were among the top hundred Forbidden Artifacts.

Relying on memory, Bishop Corry turned to the third-to-last page. There, the two missing fingers of Visah'Su were recorded.

[Forbidden Artifact No. 29 - Visah'Su’s Finger (Left Middle Finger)]

[Forbidden Artifact No. 24 - Visah'Su’s Finger (Right Thumb)]

For artifacts in the top hundred, containment required extreme caution, with different preparations depending on their characteristics.

For example, these two fingers held completely different properties and rules.

“[Forbidden Artifact No. 29 - Visah'Su’s Finger (Left Middle Finger)]: Last seen in the year 201, when a wandering poet used it to snap his fingers and disrupt the Archpriest of the Lyra Church’s divine spell, ‘Heavenly Strings.’ The cost was the poet’s body turning to ash, after which the finger was lost. It is speculated that this finger holds the [Termination] rule, which can interrupt any spell, including divine magic, and cancel any spellcaster’s buffs. However, it has no additional offensive capability and causes irreversible physical harm to the user.”

“[Forbidden Artifact No. 24 - Visah'Su’s Finger (Right Thumb)]: Last seen in the year 178, used by a cultist from the Shadow Cult. The cultist conducted two experiments in different taverns on the same street. In one tavern, he gave a thumbs-up (pointing upwards) to the patrons, and in the other, he gave a thumbs-down. The results were drastically different. Those given a thumbs-up were encouraged, leading to successful, prosperous lives. Those given a thumbs-down fell into deep depression and committed suicide within a month. It is speculated that this finger holds the [Disturbance] rule, capable of easily manipulating emotions without using magic or divine power. The price on the user is unknown. As noted in 188, all the patrons who received positive encouragement eventually died within the following decade—they pushed their spirits to the limit, but their bodies couldn’t keep up, and most died from overwork.”

Bishop Corry had read these descriptions countless times, and each time, he couldn't help but marvel at their power, wondering what kind of being Visah'Su had been when he was alive.

No wonder even the gods had joined forces to kill him.

Just reading about these powers in the ancient book made one long for them.

...It seemed he was getting sidetracked.

Bishop Corry was going through the book to better find the finger. He was certain that whoever took the finger must know a lot about Visah'Su’s body parts because of how deliberate the misinformation was.

The two fingers had different properties and powers, requiring different approaches. The middle finger could interrupt spells, but had no attack power, so physical means were best. The thumb disturbed minds and spirits, requiring mental and spiritual defenses.

The smokescreen thrown by the thief made it hard to prepare adequately.

That was why Kelser had urgently contacted Bishop Corry using Sacred Fire.

Because Bishop Corry possessed something that could solve this conundrum—Visah'Su’s left eye, also known as the “Eye of Truth.”

“Only a body part can best deal with another body part.” Bishop Corry chuckled, touching his left eye, which seemed to glimmer with a strange light.

Whether it was the middle finger or the thumb, I will reclaim it, Bishop Corry thought.

Just before closing the ancient book, Bishop Corry instinctively glanced at the final page. It contained only one sentence.

“[Forbidden Artifact 000 - Visah'Su’s Soul: Is he truly dead?]”

With a snap, the book closed, chains wrapping around it once more.

The words he had just seen seemed to vanish as if they had never been.