The service hall was packed with dozens of congregants.

When a man in a white robe stepped up onto the pulpit, they all bowed in worship at once. A few soft sobs floated through the air.

The man in the center motioned with his hand, and a woman with bright red horn-rimmed glasses came forward carrying a tray of goblets. A white cloth covered each cup, but as she moved, the blue liquid sloshed beneath. That had to be what Roy was looking for.

“Let us bring forward Congregant Kim Hojin,” the robed man intoned.

Kim Hojin? Bi flinched, recalling the memory she’d read. But when someone stepped forward, it wasn’t Hojin’s face. She let out a quiet sigh of relief.

The man on the pulpit received the goblet with both hands and, when he drank, the assembled crowd erupted in cheers.

“Behold! Another faithful servant is born!” the man cried, lifting the congregant’s hand.

‘These crazy cultists actually call people “servants” now,’ Bi thought.

From this angle, it was hard to see the source of the blue potion. As soon as Bi withdrew her hand from the statue, Roy pounced with a hopeful expression.

“How was it? Did you find anything?”

“No.”

Roy’s face fell at her answer. She looked so dejected—like a drenched kitten—that Bi, feeling a pang of pity, blurted out, “...So I have to try again. To see another memory, I have to let go and grab it again.”

And so came Blasphemy Attempt No. 2.

This time, Bi saw a different scene: an empty service hall and a man entering it. At first she thought he wore the cult leader’s robe, but it was actually a lab coat. He dashed in and vanished to the left.

‘Wasn’t that end of the pulpit blocked by a wall?’ she wondered. There hadn’t seemed to be space for a person to slip through. She watched a little longer, but nothing else remarkable happened.

Bi removed her hand from the statue and looked toward where the man had gone.

“Well? Did you see anything? What’s over there?” Roy asked.

“Yeah.”

She hadn’t noticed before, but now she saw an unusually large pillar at the left side. The structure looked odd. Bi pointed to it.

“A person went that way and then just disappeared.”

“Disappeared? Like a stairway down to the basement?”

“Basement? This building has a basement?”

Roy nodded. “I saw a hidden elevator on the fifth floor. Someone was coming up from below.”

So somewhere behind that pillar was a hidden passage down.

“But I didn’t see the potion you mentioned,” Bi said.

“Really? Then look again.”

“This isn’t enough.”

“Then what do we need to see it?”

“Well... the goblets were covered with a white handkerchief.”

“A handkerchief?”

Roy’s eyes lit up as though he’d remembered something. He sprang to his feet and dashed to the pulpit. When he’d ripped the cult statue off, he’d caught a glimpse of lace cloth. Reaching under the lectern, he grabbed the white cloth.

Flutter—

He waved it in the air, as if asking, Does this work? Bi’s eyes widened in excitement. Roy dashed back to her side.

“Here—quick, look.”

He handed her the handkerchief. Bi closed her eyes. She saw a hand opening a lid, then blue liquid pouring into a beaker. Test tubes and lab equipment filled the background—this had been a laboratory. As the hand reached to cover the goblet again, a door opened and bright light washed over the table. A voice spoke.

“We need to bring Elder Kwon up to the fifth floor.”

“Understood. Bring him up.”

“Yes, sir.”

The cloth was replaced over the goblet, and an empty bottle sat on the table: Power Ping. Only then did Bi recall seeing it at the church’s back entrance. That bone-chilling name—so that was the potion. The memory ended there.

Opening her eyes, Bi declared, “Fifth floor. It’s on the fifth floor!”

From their conversation, it was clear they meant that blue potion.

“Fifth floor? Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I heard them say to bring it up to the fifth floor.”

✧

The fifth floor—where the Sky Garden was supposed to be. Roy had been there moments ago and come back down. Typical cult nonsense, storing both corpses and potion in the same place. Then again, what else could you expect from people who’ve abandoned their humanity?

‘But there didn’t seem to be anywhere to store it...’

Maybe in the refrigerators? Temperature matters for a potion, so that made sense. It wasn’t mere coincidence they’d found it first. The wasteland had spoon-fed him the clue about the awaken-potion, but Roy had spat it out unthinkingly. What a waste—if he’d guessed the fridge right away, Galbi could’ve come in sooner. No choice but to move now.

“Let’s go. Get that thing.”

“Are you insane? That’s theft.”

Bi dropped the cult statue with a thud.

Thud—

“You’re crazy,” Roy said.

Bi’s eyes widened in sudden alarm, and she snatched the statue back up. Roy, scanning the area, pointed in silence toward the Sky Garden’s doorway.

“Less talk, follow me.”

“Christ... this feels so wrong...”

Grumbling, Bi tucked the statue under her arm like a petty thief. Satisfied, Roy peeked outside to ensure no one was around, then quietly opened the door. Bi trailed right behind him.

Stealthily on tiptoe, they climbed the stairs. Wrapped in the handkerchief, Bi carried the golden statue at her side and felt a thrill of mischief.

“You really should choose your friends wisely...” Bi muttered.

“Shut up.”

Roy shot her a sharp glare, then continued upward, scanning for others. At this point, they should’ve run into someone, but the place was eerily empty.

‘Are they all in the basement?’

It was fortunate they’d reached their destination unmolested—but things had gone too smoothly. Arriving on the fifth floor, Roy felt relief; Bi frowned at the chain looped around the doorknob.

“It’s locked.”

“No it’s not.”

Roy immediately undid the chain, and Bi’s eyes grew round with astonishment.

“What are you, exactly?”

She was starting to wonder what Roy’s true rank was—no F-rank would pull this off. With a clatter, the chain fell to the floor and echoed down the silent corridor.

“Let’s go in. But first, one thing.”

“Now what?”

“Inside, don’t touch anything.”

Bi might open a fridge and scream—he couldn’t risk that.

“You want me to find it? Do you even know what it looks like?”

“Just describe it. I’ll find it.”

Sacrificing himself for his friend’s peace of mind—what a good friend. Bi rolled her eyes.

“Fine.”

Stepping inside, they found a space anything °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° but a garden. Machines lined the walls in rows. Bi cocked her head.

“What is this? They said garden.”

“I don’t know. It’s always something with cults,” Roy replied dismissively, to stop her curiosity.

“So what does it look like?”

“I saw it in big boxes. They were moving them in crates.”

“Boxes?”

Roy looked around. There wasn’t really room for crates here. He moved toward the refrigerators, and Bi spoke up belatedly.

“And they were in brown glass bottles.”

“Ah—now I know. ...Huh?”

Roy paused mid-step. The Sommelier’s instincts had flared.

“You don’t know? Like those Vita 700 bottles.”

“Vita 700?”

Roy turned to her in surprise. He’d just seen something similar in the storeroom.

“Is the name...?”

“Power Ping.”

Roy’s face turned stern.

“Why are you only saying that now?”

“What the—! Are you crazy? Why’re you yelling at me? You want to die?”

Startled, Bi clamped a hand over his mouth. But Roy shrugged her off, and the B-rank Awakener Bi couldn’t hold on more than three seconds—she collapsed. Bi, thinking Roy was only F-rank, was shocked.

“?!?”

“Seriously—why did you wait so long to tell me?” Bi sputtered once she recovered.

“I—when did you ask?”

“If you had that clue, you should’ve said so. Then we wouldn’t have climbed all the way up here.”

“I told you it’s definitely here! I heard them say fifth floor—besides, why are you so strong—”

“No, I saw it in the storeroom first: Power Ping stacked box after box.”

“...Huh?”

Bi realized something was very wrong. She started to snap back—

Weeeng—

A mechanical hum sounded from inside. The elevator was operating.

“What is that? What’s making that noise?”

“This is maddening.”

Roy swept his bangs back and yanked Bi’s wrist roughly.

“Hey, what is it?”

He shoved Bi out the door, slammed it, and locked it instantly.

Knock knock knock!

“What the hell’s wrong with you?! What are you doing? Why am I outside?” Bi hissed in near-silence through the crack.

“Did you forget we agreed to split up if things go bad? Use this time to run, you idiot.”

“Hey...!”

As Bi reached to pound on the door again, the elevator dinged cheerily. It had arrived.