Secret at the Church is mission 68 in Crimson Desert's main story, tucked into Chapter 5 (Guest Unbidden) under the Black and White sub-chapter. It follows directly after Bloodwind, takes place entirely in Demeniss, and gates your progress behind two puzzles that aren't particularly intuitive if you're seeing them blind.
Quest overview and requirements
Here's what you need to know before starting.
The official description from Pearl Abyss: the sacred relic fitted into the stone pagoda disengages a hidden mechanism, sending a tremor through the earth and awakening the Spire of Soaring. That's what you're unlocking.
Orphanage door triggers cutscene
Objective 1: How do you gather information at the orphanage?
The quest starts with a search zone around the orphanage, which sits near the church in Demeniss. You're looking for a small house facing a flower garden where Abbess Marina lives.
The trigger is a door on the north side of the courtyard. Interact with it to start a cutscene where a woman explains the relic situation. Once the dialogue ends, your map updates and the next step activates.
Objective 2: How do you find the church's relic?
This is where most players get stuck. The relic isn't inside the church.
Walk south from the orphanage toward the church. Behind the church in the yard, there's a crypt entrance. Go inside and climb down the ladder. On the left side of the church's main entrance, there's a small shack at the far end with stairs leading to the basement.
Once you're down there, you'll see a puzzle box on the altar. Solve it to grab the Dagger of Radiance.
How do you solve the relic puzzle (puzzle box)?
The puzzle requires lighting up all blocks by pressing four corner buttons in a specific order. The solution:
- Press the lower right box
- Press the upper left box
- Press the lower left box
- Press the upper right box
This uses the same mechanic as the Gate to the Otherworld quest earlier in the game. Selecting a tile moves all tiles connected to it horizontally and vertically, and you can only press tiles that are currently raised.
Once all symbols light up, the box opens and you can take the Dagger of Radiance.
Objective 3: How do you activate the Pillar of Radiance?
With the Dagger of Radiance, head back to the Pillar of Radiance between the church and orphanage where the quest began.
On PlayStation, aim at the pillar with L1/LB and interact with Square/X. On PC, use focus mode to get the interact prompt. Placing the Dagger of Radiance into the pedestal makes the pillar rise and reveals a disc puzzle.
How do you solve the Pillar of Radiance disc puzzle?
The disc puzzle asks you to rotate rings until they form an eye symbol. Use directional inputs to select which ring to spin and left/right to rotate it.
You only need to move the first and second outer rings. Rotate each ring and wait for it to light up before moving to the next one. The eye shape appears once both rings are correctly aligned.
What happens after completing Secret at the Church?
Solving the Pillar of Radiance puzzle completes the quest and moves the story forward. The Spire of Soaring awakens and the path toward the enemy opens. The next main quest is Toward the Nest (Spire of Soaring).
There's no listed reward, but this is a mandatory story checkpoint. Getting stuck here blocks all remaining Chapter 5 content.
For more Crimson Desert quest walkthroughs, boss strategies, and puzzle solutions, browse more guides over at GAMES.GG.