The undead soldiers, surprisingly rational, all withdrew into the fortress after their ambush squad was annihilated. They refused to emerge again. Every drone sent into the fortress was shot down—only a few managed to return with partial footage. Catherine couldn't confirm if the undead had a leader, but they had to rely on that limited data to draft an assault plan.
Fortunately, the city map Jacob had previously mentioned was found.
It was a pentagonal object with a lens, designed to project a map onto the floor using sunlight from the aperture at the top of the observation tower. This device had been crafted by jewelers personally recruited by Jacob. From Byzantium all the way to Siberia, the wealth Jacob collected—and the gifts from the Byzantine emperor—allowed him to be extravagantly generous. Creating a gemstone projection tool was nothing to him. The Sisterhood operatives hadn't originally planned to search for it, but Jonah, Lara's teammate, got lost while out hunting with locals and stumbled upon the artifact by chance.
As one of the few survivors of the Dragon's Triangle, Jonah's luck was practically maxed out.
Apart from suffering minor injuries from scattered Trinity stragglers, Jonah was fine. Jacob even took the opportunity to show Lara his alchemical skills. Since his followers were too few to retake Kitezh, he'd spent the last thousand years honing his alchemy. Now, he could perform basic alchemical healing with ease. Treating life-threatening wounds was no problem for him. If he had to once again use alchemy to resurrect soldiers, there would be no risk of failure.
Jacob also led Lara and the now-recovered Jonah through the city's astronomical facilities. Located beneath the observation tower and accessed through a hidden tunnel, the passage had been abandoned by the Immortal City when they began moving equipment. It had also served as a blockade to keep the undead from leaving the city—it had been sealed centuries ago and was only now reopened.
The two modern visitors were shocked to discover a scale model of the solar system, built with extraordinary precision, long before the heliocentric theory was ever proposed. It could even be used to adjust calendars. The explanation was obvious: Solomon, with his knowledge of time travel, must have passed this knowledge to Jacob, who then taught it to his people.
But when Mongols invaded Kitezh, many scholars perished along with the rebelling undead army, and countless priceless books were buried beneath the mountains forever. Jacob's plans to educate his people were destroyed. The Byzantine warship Lara had seen earlier was buried beneath the city, once floating in a lake formed by snowmelt. During the Mongol siege, the undead used Greek fire to blast the glaciers, submerging the ship under an avalanche of ice.
The village's only remaining knowledge came from what Jacob had slowly accumulated over the centuries—not much, but enough. Unfortunately, disheartened by the past, Jacob had never imposed strict learning programs. As a result, few villagers were truly educated. The last scholar gave up on faith and left to help build the Soviet Union.
The precise solar system model shuddered slightly, and from the vent beneath it came a gust of air so cold it could freeze lungs. Before anyone could respond, Lara's radio crackled with Catherine's voice.
She reported that after nearly three days of work, the engineering team had finished their tasks and breached the fortress gates. The path into the heart of Kitezh was now open.
Jacob made no comment on the Sisterhood's brutal methods, and Lara held her tongue as well. He said the true owner of this city wasn't him—it was Solomon, who remained far away in Oxfordshire. The city had been built for him. Such loyal words earned Jacob the respect of the Sisterhood. They even invited Sophia to join the exploration team and promised her safety. There were spare suits of unmarked power armor aboard the transport—originally meant for spare parts, but Catherine generously lent one to Sophia.
Catherine led the way, idly swinging her chainsaw sword.
She had already confirmed with Jacob: there were no cannons or heavy weapons in Kitezh. Only ballistae might pose a threat to weak points in the power armor. So the Sisterhood pulled fresh recruits from the task of chasing down Trinity remnants and sent them on this mission. Lyudmila and Liliya were both excited and nervous—not only would they be encountering supernatural phenomena mentioned in school but never seen firsthand, but they'd also heard that the Sovereign himself would fight alongside them.
The Sovereign had just released a briefing that detailed the nature of the Divine Source. It was a lesser derivative of the Philosopher's Stone, mentioned countless times in their alchemy classes, and shared traits with natural tinctures and first-honey flowers. It was less potent than the red serum used to create the Sisterhood's artificial humans. As they advanced, Liliya—strong in alchemy—chattered excitedly over comms about the advanced concepts she'd read in the library. They were all from Solomon's own textbooks. Unlike traditional alchemical texts full of metaphors and diagrams, Solomon's books were clear and precise, explaining even ancient symbolic language. Reading them felt like studying a chemistry manual. No mysticism—just formulas and principles. Dull, but enlightening.
She couldn't wait to see the Divine Source with her own eyes.
And maybe—just maybe—she'd get to help analyze it later, she thought.
Lyudmila, on the other hand, was fed up with Liliya's constant rambling. Her interests were focused entirely on combat. She loved swordsmanship as much as Liliya loved alchemy. That's why she'd chosen electives in anatomy and physics and completed the advanced sword training camp, hoping one day to rival Catherine.
It was an ambitious goal.
Artificial humans had alchemical hearts, magically cultivated bio-flesh, bones made of indestructible enchanted alloy, and hyper-efficient energy systems. Their reflexes were superhuman. And while the power armor's feedback system didn't boost reflexes directly, only the most disciplined trainees could hope to match an artificial human in skill.
She knocked her knuckles on Liliya's helmet.
"Focus, squirt," she said. "We haven't run into anything yet. They could be massing."
"I'm sure the ladies have thought of that," Liliya replied cheerfully. "Besides, we've got guns and a transport. The explosive rounds can shred anything, and your chainsaw sword can slice through old armor like butter. No matter how many enemies show up, I know you'll protect me."
"Shut it! We don't even know if the Ladies will back us up…"
"Sorry I'm late, Catherine," said Solomon.
He didn't bring the Holy Sword. Instead, two twin blades forged by Rodin hung at his waist, giving him an easygoing air. But the bloodstains on his knuckles and the scent of violence that clung to him betrayed the fact that his lateness wasn't quite so casual.
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