"So this is the real clue?"
Wright looked at Holmes in astonishment, then grinned.
"You've got it, Holmes. So you had a countermeasure prepared all along."
"Quiet. I'm going to start cracking it; you keep watch."
Holmes spread the three pieces of parchment flat on the table, his brain beginning to operate at high speed.
These three passages seemed to be biblical citations; he found the corresponding verses in his Mind Palace:
[Ps 71:19] Psalm 71:19: 'Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, you who have done great things. Who is like you, God?' — Keywords: Righteousness / Highest / Symbol.
[Gn 6:16] Genesis 6:16: 'Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.' — Keywords: Side / World / Layer.
[Heb 8:13] Hebrews 8:13: 'By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.' — Keywords: New Covenant / Old Covenant / Decay.
These three citations seemed to point to the four worlds concept of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life: Assiah (World of Matter), Yetzirah (World of Formation), Beriah (World of Creation), and Atziluth (World of Divinity).
Holmes opened his eyes abruptly. He quickly took out the pencil and notepad he carried with him and began writing down the deduction process at high speed. The precise structure of the code began to disintegrate and reorganize under the blade of his logic.
Time ticked by, second by second. Occasionally, the sound of deliberately muffled footsteps came from the corridor outside, each time making Wright's heart jump to his throat.
There was a slight tapping sound from next door, but Holmes ignored it, his pencil scratching across the paper with a rustling sound.
At midnight, everything was silent; even the mountain wind seemed to have stopped its wailing.
Holmes stopped writing. Beads of sweat had seeped onto his forehead, but his eyes were startlingly bright. The notepad in front of him was already filled with dense inferences and decoding drafts.
"Page one," his voice was low and clear, breaking the dead silence, "Symbolism."
"The code points to the correspondence of the most important symbols in the ritual."
"Fresh water symbolizes wine, wine symbolizes blood, blood symbolizes the flesh, burning symbolizes the soul, soul symbolizes divinity, and divinity symbolizes immortality."
"The Sword represents material strength and courage; the Coin represents worldly wealth and the power it brings; the Crown represents inherent rights and wisdom; and the Cup represents life and the desire for its continuation. Pursuing one necessitates sacrificing another."
"Sulfur symbolizes the sun and the masculine; Mercury symbolizes the moon and the feminine. They are the most incompatible of existences; to choose one is to forsake the other."
"The Circle symbolizes rejection. To enter the circle, one must be in harmony with the world inside it."
Wright looked blank: "What are you talking about?"
Holmes paused, then pointed to the second piece of parchment.
"Page two, the layers of the world."
"Assiah layer: The World of Matter, the foundation of everything, and also the layer where humanity lives."
"Yetzirah layer: The World of Formation, the crucible of sacrifice and dedication, where souls are forged."
"Beriah layer: The World of Creation, where spirit and soul transform to form all things in the world."
"Atziluth layer: The World of Divinity, the world where the so-called angels, demons, and even gods reside."
"To enter and utilize the power of a certain layer, one must understand and crack its secrets."
Wright remained blank: "Huh?"
"Page three," Holmes's voice carried a hint of icy chill, "The Covenant of the Dead."
"The core of the core. It describes the essence of the ritual: The Chosen One makes a covenant with an angel. When the specific time arrives, the Chosen One's soul leaves the body, and the angel's soul enters it. The angel's soul spreads God's way on earth, expelling the unrighteous from its body, letting the angel's soul fill it."
"This is by no means divine; it describes the process of a vessel being possessed by the will of an evil god!"
Holmes pushed the notes in front of Wright: "The key point: the core of the ritual is in a secret chamber below the Theological Seminary. The hidden entrance should be in the chapel."
"The ritual has a triple structure, corresponding to the three Kabbalistic worlds (Assiah, Yetzirah, Beriah). Breaking it requires the corresponding symbols."
"And the completion of the Covenant of the Dead requires the so-called Chosen One, who is actually a vessel to carry the evil god's will."
"Catherine is the vessel they have chosen."
Wright was dumbfounded by Holmes's analysis.
"You could analyze so much in such a short time?"
"It's obvious."
"Why is the ritual a triple structure? Isn't there another layer?"
"Atziluth is the World of Divinity, the place where their so-called Lord resides. Naturally, it's not something they can touch, so it's three layers."
"Then when is the specific time?"
"I'm not sure, but I think it should be soon. Otherwise, they wouldn't be in such a hurry to keep us... no, to keep Catherine."
"Then how do we get out?"
Wright looked at the locked door, then at the steep back window.
"Climbing out is too dangerous, and Catherine and Watson have already been taken away by them."
"No need to climb out the window."
Holmes cast his gaze toward the wall. He walked to the wall adjacent to the next room, curled his fingers, and tapped on the wall with his knuckles in a specific rhythm.
Tap... tap-tap... tap-tap-tap...
After a few seconds of suffocating wait, a faint but clear answering tap came from next door: tap-tap (received).
Holmes immediately continued tapping, passing simple information: "Secret chamber entrance in the chapel. Create a distraction, follow the plan, rendezvous."
The room next door was silent for a moment, then replied: "Received. Be careful."
Holmes turned to Wright: "Watson will find a way to create an opportunity to escape and divert their attention. We need to go to the chapel immediately."
"How do you know Watson is next door? Shouldn't he be in the infirmary taking care of Catherine?"
"He and Catherine were separated by Claire, so he came to rendezvous with us. While I was decoding the cipher, he contacted me using Morse code."
Just then, a burst of hurried, panicked footsteps and shouting suddenly came from outside the door, seemingly from deep within the dormitory area.
"Fire! Someone help put out the fire! The utility room is smoking!"
The terrified voice of a young orderly pierced the silence of the night.
Immediately following were more chaotic footsteps, shouts, and the sound of doors being kicked open.
The chaos had begun! Watson had succeeded!
The monitor outside the door was clearly startled by this sudden chaos, and the footsteps quickly moved away.
A flash of brilliance shone in Holmes's eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, he walked quickly to the door and took a small, hook-like metal tool from the inner pocket of his trench coat.
He inserted it into the keyhole, his fingers moving steadily and precisely a few times.
"Click."
With a soft sound, the lock clicked open. Holmes pulled the door open; the corridor was filled with a faint smell of smoke and the commotion coming from afar.
"Go!" he whispered, slipping out, with Wright following closely behind.
The two blended into the shadows, following the route in their memory, avoiding the main passage, and using the shadows of pillars and corners to sneak quickly toward the chapel.
The smell of smoke in the air became increasingly distinct, and the chaos in the distance provided them with excellent cover.
Soon, they reached the side door connecting the dormitory area and the chapel. Holmes gently pushed it open a crack.
The inside of the chapel was dim, with only the candlelight on the altar flickering, illuminating the empty choir stalls and the huge stained glass windows.
The chaos did not seem to have reached here yet, but a deeper, oppressive silence shrouded the entire space, as if it were the calm before a storm.
Holmes's gaze instantly locked onto the huge "Good Shepherd" tapestry behind the altar. The tiny runes on the edge of the tapestry that he had noticed before now seemed to be emitting a faint, dark red glow in the dim candlelight!