Chapter 12: The Wheel of Fate
Funis followed Chescia through a long corridor, arriving at the end where the witch was slowly pushing open a double door carved from walnut wood.
This was a place Funis had never visited before.
Chescia had restricted her movements to specific areas within their hideout. In the presence of a Third Sequence Transcendent, clever little tricks were useless—Funis’s best option was obedience.
She remembered Chescia often bringing the society’s witches here for meetings or discussions.
Before being defeated and transformed into a witch, when she was still Sera Fred, she had fought against the witches of the Black Rose Society, capturing several and sending them to the Church’s prison.
Since then, Funis had never seen those witches again. Perhaps the Generosity Court had healed them, or perhaps the Temperance Court had executed them. At the time, Funis had never cared what became of them.
She had always believed the Church was in the right.
That everything she had done was noble and valuable.
Now Funis knew that the founder of the Black Rose Society was, in fact, Chescia. Like other dangerous and fearsome witch organizations, the Black Rose Society was also led by a long-lived, ancient, and powerful witch.
But did Chescia truly care about the fates of the witches in her society? Or, as she had once said herself, did she see the girls who trusted her merely as tools and means to an end?
If it were the former, then Chescia probably bore at least some resentment toward Funis.
After all, it was she who had personally taken Chescia’s sisters away.
Even with these thoughts, Funis couldn’t say she regretted it. Even after becoming a witch herself, her view of witches hadn’t changed—they were threats, dangers that needed to be eradicated completely.
While Funis’s thoughts spiraled, Chescia finally pushed the doors fully open.
Beyond was a spacious tea room. A rectangular moon-oak table carved with ornate patterns stood at the center, high-backed chairs neatly arranged along both sides. An extravagant crystal chandelier hung overhead, while red velvet curtains draped over the glass doors leading to the balcony.
Funis poured tea for both herself and Chescia.
She had returned to her initial cold elegance. After tidying her dress and smoothing her long hair, her every gesture exuded cultivated grace, like a true lady.
Brewing tea was among her regular duties over the past year. Previously, it had been in the bedroom or office for herself and Chescia; now, the location had simply changed to this tea room.
Funis originally had no habit or fondness for black tea—her former work and identity clashed with such behavior.
But ever since one day when she fainted from dehydration, she no longer rejected any sweet drink. Black tea with milk and sugar had, in a sense, become a necessity for her.
“You mentioned the advancement ritual... Is the Witch Path’s advancement also reliant on potions and ceremonies?”
Funis sat demurely with her legs to the side beside Chescia, her fair hands gently pressing down the edge of her snowy dress—her movements fluid and natural, the result of Chescia’s strict etiquette training now etched into her muscle memory.
“Of course. A witch is essentially an alternate form of Transcendent,” Chescia said, tearing open a sugar packet. “The Whispers potion and the Fourteen Paths’ Ninth Sequence foundational potions serve similar functions.”
“Letting a substance infused with Transcendent traits merge with the body to alter the user’s physical form and nature,” Funis softly recited the textbook knowledge from memory.
“That’s the first step to becoming a Transcendent. The untainted and pure Ninth Sequence is the starting point, a blank sheet without any ink,” Chescia nodded. “You once reached the fourth sequence ‘Legion Commander’ of the Temperance Path—surely the Church taught you these basics.”
The Sequences of the Transcendent Paths were numbered from high to low. The smaller the number, the stronger the Transcendent. Advancement required consuming the corresponding potion in a formal ritual.
People often referred to Sequences and Paths by their potion names. For example, Sera Fred had advanced from the Fifth to the Fourth Sequence by consuming the “Legion Commander” potion provided by the Temperance Court.
Forcing oneself to consume incompatible potions from a different Path or Sequence typically ended in disaster—mutations, insanity, blood vessel ruptures...
Sometimes, a swift and simple death was the easiest release.
Chescia was right.
Funis knew these fundamentals by heart. Before becoming a Transcendent through Church-provided potions, one had to master this knowledge. Every Transcendent was expected to.
But now, Funis had lost her original body and the Temperance Path.
She had become a newborn witch, starting at the Ninth Sequence of the Witch Path.
This was entirely unfamiliar territory. Despite having fought many witches, the inner workings of the Witch Path remained an unknown world to her—one she urgently needed to study and understand.
Fortunately, an ancient and authoritative witch sat before her.
Unfortunately, that same witch was also the one who had turned her into this.
“Miss Witch, may I ask—” Resisting the urge to drown her teacup in milk, Funis raised her eyes and softly inquired, “What makes the Witch Path special? Why have I never heard the name of any of its potions?”
“Based on your experience, which Path would you say I belong to as a Transcendent?” Chescia stirred her tea with a spoon, countering with a question.
Funis paused.
“Rapid plant growth—that’s a trait of the Lust Path’s Seventh Sequence, ‘Florist’. The strange blood avatar—I’ve heard that’s from the Pride Path’s Third Sequence, ‘Crimson Monarch’...” the silver-haired girl counted on her fingers, honest in her assessment. “So Miss Witch, unless you randomly survived by recklessly taking potions during your advancement, I would say this is mostly impossible.”
“You really do know a lot about other Paths’ Transcendent traits,” Chescia paused her teacup midair, visibly surprised. “But your instincts aren’t wrong. I do possess the Transcendent traits of both ‘Florist’ and ‘Crimson Monarch’, despite them being from entirely different Paths and Sequences.”
“Is that related to the uniqueness of the Witch Path?” Funis asked again.
Her petite body leaned forward slightly, the silver bells by her horns gently chiming.
She sat obediently, her luxuriously groomed silver hair gleaming. Her pristine ceremonial dress, long socks, and intricate accessories made her look exquisite.
Curious, and unknowingly a little coquettish.
This lovely doll with pale violet watery eyes seemed inherently lovable, piercing the composure of Chescia, who had always pretended to be indifferent but harbored a natural fondness for cute things.
“Ahem.”
A tactical cough.
She picked up her half-finished teacup, only to set it back on the porcelain saucer.
Chescia struggled to maintain the image of a teacher and elder, sitting upright, trying to appear dignified and dependable.
“You must’ve heard that witches are cursed by both angels and demons. The Witch Path exists outside the Seven Virtue Paths and the Seven Sin Paths.”
“Yes, Miss Witch,” Funis nodded obediently. “Please tell me the reason. I’ve always been confused by it.”
She had always been a diligent learner—whether as Sera or Funis. Showing respect and eagerness to learn from her mentor was instinctive.
Which hit Chescia’s softest spot perfectly.
The witch nearly gave up all explanations then and there, wanting only to pick up this crystal-like girl and toy with her until she drooled and rolled her eyes.
But after living several hundred years, she had at least some self-control.
Chescia resisted.
Barely.
She exhaled deeply, then explained to Funis:
“That’s because each advancement in the Witch Path lacks clear direction. Even if two Ninth Sequence witches consume the same potion and perform the same ritual, they may advance to completely different Eighth Sequence Paths—”
Chescia paused.
“Witch advancement is varied and unpredictable. In your next advancement, you will randomly draw one of the existing Fourteen Paths as your advancement route and gain all the Transcendent traits of that Sequence.”
“It’s as if an invisible hand draws lots for your fate. This is undeniably a blasphemy and destruction of the current angelic and demonic faith systems,” she said softly.
“That’s why witches are considered the cancer of the world.”