Hate Me, Witch!

“Golden Dawn.”

Sylvia looked at the emblem of this ancient transcendent society and furrowed her brows slightly.

She had always felt a subconscious resistance and aversion toward this secretive group, possibly harboring more than one ancient Demigod.

After all, the tragedies of her childhood had all stemmed from the Ancient Gods, the path to godhood, and cults... So even though she now held half of Twilight’s divine authority and could step onto the divine path at any moment, Sylvia chose instead to walk the path of the Throne.

More importantly, according to what Isadella had mentioned earlier... everything that happened in Ceylan might also have a murky connection with Golden Dawn.

Though in this rewritten history, everything about Ceylan and the Borgia family may have been torn to pieces and scrambled beyond recognition... the legends and Demigods within Golden Dawn were naturally capable of seeing through what had been altered.

"Golden Dawn. I still don’t know what they want from me by sending this letter."

Xia Ya stared at the letter shimmering with starlight, falling deep into thought.

He didn’t know much about Golden Dawn either—just that it was a mysterious organization, probably scheming something, the kind of high-level behind-the-scenes faction with ancient clout and ominous vibes.

“They already sent a letter to my doorstep. Ignoring it forever won’t solve anything.”

“Avoidance doesn’t solve the problem, it just gets rid of you.”

Xia Ya was never the type to sit and wait for death. When facing a potential threat or unknowns, he always leaned toward striking first.

That said, he wasn’t going to just rip the envelope open like a fool either.

Golden Dawn was ancient and full of mystery. If they sent a Legendary just to deliver the letter, and a Demigod had to retrieve the body… who's to say this letter wasn’t like a cursed relic, some kind of “Nailed Curse Scroll” that would hex him the moment he opened it?

Sure, he was immortal and Sylvia was with him—but still, best not to get casually slapped with a tracking curse or something. No need to take stupid risks.

“At the root of it, I need more intel on them.”

“Not just Golden Dawn’s motives—I need to start gathering info about the Empire and Her Majesty too. I’m stumbling around blind right now and that’s just not gonna cut it.”

Being immortal didn’t mean he was invincible. Charging into the unknown with zero info or prep was basically throwing himself to the wolves.

He used to leave intel gathering to the Empire’s Secret Intelligence Division or the Shadow Council.

But now that the Empire was in shambles, the SID was probably toast too.

As for the Shadow Council… the Queen of the Night had been acting weird toward him lately, and after his time inside the Historical Echo of Aisgania, Xia Ya had some theories of his own. Enough to make him reluctant to approach them.

“I can’t keep relying on other factions to gather intel for me.”

“This kind of prep work—I need to be self-sufficient. Only then can I feel secure.”

With that in mind, Xia Ya focused his mental energy on the azure blue system screen in his mind, and the item info displayed there.

——

【Knowledge Grail】

【Rarity: Purple】

【Type: Holy Relic】

【Price: 170 units】

【Description: A forbidden artifact created at the dawn of arcana and knowledge, in an attempt to replicate the ‘Black Grail.’】

【Speak the invocation “O Grail, O Grail” to activate. It will answer any one question posed by the user. However, it obeys the law of equivalent exchange—the user must offer secret knowledge of equal value, or answer one of the Grail’s questions in front of a witness.】

【Note: “O Grail, O Grail, I’ve got a question—where’s the enemy jungler gonna gank next? If you can’t answer that, I’m giving this deal a big fat zero.”】

【You have purchased the “Knowledge Grail,” consuming 170 units of Sands of Time. Remaining Sands of Time: 40】

【You have obtained the “Knowledge Grail.”】

——

As Xia Ya’s thoughts shifted—

In the next instant, a small, pristine white grail slowly materialized in the palm of his hand.

This was a pre-planned redemption from his Sands of Time stash.

In terms of combat power, Xia Ya was already strong enough.

With his Black Knight mech form alone, he was like a short-duration Legendary-tier. Not to mention his immortality and the powerful magitech construct he hadn’t even used yet.

Using more Sands of Time just to boost combat stats would’ve had diminishing returns.

So, all he needed was to save some for skill proficiency and new abilities. The rest? Best spent on rare rule-type transcendent items or forbidden relics.

And a relic like this—one that could directly gather intel—was undoubtedly the best option.

Dim, eerie light pulsed around the grail’s surface, along with an aura of ancient mystery.

Ailora didn’t even flinch. She was long used to Xia Ya’s pants-pocket miracles, and had long since stopped being surprised at whatever bizarre stuff he pulled out of his spatial pocket.

Sylvia, on the other hand, was clearly intrigued. Her eyes landed on the grail, and light gold script flickered into being in midair.

“The Knowledge Grail?”

Xia Ya looked at the witch beside him. “Hey, Baobao Sylvia, you recognize it?”

Baobao… So that means, I’m Xia Ya’s precious treasure? His darling?

Sylvia’s body gave a tiny shiver.

She had heard that nickname plenty of times when she was in lemon-cat mode, but this was the first time Brother Xia Ya had said it aloud to her face.

Still, she quickly tucked away her joy, brushed her silver-blue hair behind her ear, and nodded.

“I discovered fragments of information when I traced the River of Time during my Throne ascension.”

“In the Old Era shrouded by historical fog, there existed a relic known as the ‘Black Grail.’”

“Its origin is untraceable, but legend says it was an omnipotent wish-granting machine that could fulfill any desire.”

“However, after being corrupted by an ancient being from beyond the stars, the Black Grail became twisted. It still grants wishes, but the method of fulfillment becomes dangerously warped.”

“For example, if I wished to be the strongest person in a village, it might not make me stronger—instead, it could kill everyone in the village stronger than me, turning them into black sludge.”

Sylvia’s eyes rested on the pristine white grail.

“The original Black Grail quickly vanished into the mists of time, becoming impossible to locate.”

“But many powerful figures in later generations tried to recreate it—attempting to make a miracle artifact that could grant any wish. Most of them failed.”

“The most successful replica was the Knowledge Grail.”

“It doesn’t have the omnipotence of the original Black Grail—it can only answer questions. But its side effects are drastically reduced.”

“In a way, to possess omniscience—the knowledge of all things—is already a form of omnipotence.”

“It’s said to be a relic left behind by the original Eight-Page Mages who founded the Black Tower, at the birth of the wizard profession and the first spark of arcana.”

“Forged using the soul crystals of more than ten primal sages of arcana, its significance goes far beyond that of an ordinary relic.”

“It is the embodiment of the earliest mages’ yearning for truth—their desire for arcana, their pursuit of the world’s laws and knowledge.”

The pale golden script paused slowly in midair.

“But just like so many buried histories, this relic should’ve been lost as well—buried deep in the annals of time and nearly impossible to find.”

“Moreover, the invocation to activate the Knowledge Grail was also long forgotten.”

“Even if someone were to acquire it now, without knowing the activation chant, they wouldn’t be able to use it... I remember that Xia Ya’s teacher was one of the Eight Pages of the Black Tower. Maybe there’s still a record left there.”

Xia Ya replied casually, “Oh, the chant? It’s probably ‘O Grail, O Grail.’”

From Sylvia’s words, Xia Ya confirmed one of his long-standing suspicions—

That the items and relics in the Sands of Time store weren’t system originals, but things that had actually existed on the Western Continent at some point and were simply lost to history.

With that, the system didn’t seem quite so untraceable anymore.

Meanwhile—

In an instant—

Sylvia’s gaze locked onto the pure white Knowledge Grail.

She didn’t care how Xia Ya had gotten the grail, nor how he knew its activation chant.

Since it was Xia Ya’s secret, she’d help him keep it.

Sylvia had no intention of prying and annoying him over it.

However—

Her gaze sharpened slightly.

Now that she knew the Knowledge Grail’s activation chant,

At this very moment, Sylvia indeed had a question she very much wanted to confirm.

In the next instant:

“O Grail, O Grail, is Xia Ya still a virgin?”

“O Grail, O Grail, has he ever exchanged bodily fluids with anyone other than me?”

The light golden text appeared at the exact same time as Ailora’s cool-toned voice.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Then—

The pure white Knowledge Grail suddenly radiated a blinding light.

Next—

“He is a virgin.”

“He has not.”

Two short lines appeared on the surface of the grail.

After lingering a moment, the grail suddenly began to flicker as if it had discovered something.

“The Contracted of the Storm Anchor… and a Throne-tier powerhouse of the New Era… only asked these two practically identical questions?!”

The Knowledge Grail seemed to get excited—even its writing speed visibly increased.

Then the next line of text appeared:

“First respondent.”

It drew an arrow pointing to Sylvia.

The grail swayed cheerfully for a moment, and then new glowing words emerged:

“Please answer…”

“In the third hidden chamber on the sixth floor of the castle—take the hallway and turn left—within the third-dimensional pocket of the Plane of Eternal Slumber, an annex of the White Tower… what exactly did you do there?”

The moment she saw that question—

The Argent Witch’s expression turned utterly, irreparably stiff.