On a winter night in Tivian, the cold wind howls, and the chill bites deep. On this final night of the year, the citizens of Tivian are either gathered around warm hearths at home, celebrating the holiday, or out on the streets participating in various New Year’s activities. The festive atmosphere spreads from homes to the streets, and everything is enveloped in a peaceful ambiance.
On a street in East Tivian, New Year’s decorations hang on both sides of the road. Under the glow of streetlights, the cold night is dotted with light snowflakes. At this hour, most of Tivian’s citizens are either at home with their families or attending New Year’s events elsewhere, leaving the streets almost empty and eerily quiet.
"Ha... it’s so cold..."
At a crossroads, Nephthys, dressed in a woman’s overcoat, exhales a puff of white breath and rubs her hands together. Looking at the desolate intersection before her, she speaks with a tone of exhaustion that she can’t quite hide.
"Still... no luck? We’ve been walking for so long. Has your cat spirit still not sensed anything?"
She turns to Kapak beside her and asks. Kapak pauses for a moment, then speaks into the air.
"Lord Soulwhisker, can you sense any trace of Sado nearby?"
As soon as Kapak finishes speaking, a translucent lynx with strange patterns on its body gradually materializes beside him. It circles Kapak once, twitches its whiskers, and then hovers in the air, silently shaking its head, indicating that it hasn’t sensed anything in the area.
Soulwhisker, the lynx, is a wild spirit born from the environment of the New Continent. The shamans of the New Continent’s shamanic tradition have various contracts with these spirits, allowing them to summon and harness their powers.
Soulwhisker is particularly adept at sensing the soul fluctuations of others. Before Kapak left, his teacher, Uta, summoned Soulwhisker and recorded the soul signature of Sado, instructing Kapak to bring Soulwhisker to Tivian to find Sado. As long as Sado is within a certain range of Soulwhisker, the spirit can detect his presence.Kapak arrived in Tivian this afternoon and immediately began searching for Sado with Soulwhisker and Nephthys. They’ve been traversing the city’s streets and corners, hoping to get close enough to Sado’s location for Soulwhisker to sense him. But so far, they’ve had no luck.
"Miss Thief, Lord Soulwhisker says Sado isn’t in this area either."
After observing Soulwhisker’s response, Kapak relays the message to Nephthys. Hearing this, Nephthys can’t help but feel disheartened.
"Sigh... still nothing? We’ve searched so many places, and there’s still no trace of him..."
Leaning against a wall, Nephthys speaks with a tone of frustration. Looking at the cold, silent streets of the winter night, she can’t help but feel a sense of melancholy.
“This is the first time, isn’t it? Not spending New Year’s Eve by the warm hearth at home with my parents, not watching a performance at the theater, but instead running around the streets looking for someone. Is this how members of secret societies spend their holidays?”
Nephthys thinks to herself. Since this afternoon, she and Kapak have been running around Tivian for hours. Now, cold and exhausted, she longs for the warmth of her home’s fireplace.
"If Sado isn’t in this area, we’ll have to move on, Miss Thief. Time is of the essence. Let’s hurry."
With a serious expression, Kapak speaks to Nephthys, who is leaning against the wall, catching her breath. As a native of the New Continent’s wilderness and a former hunter in his tribe, Kapak’s strength and stamina are clearly superior to those of Nephthys, a city girl from a wealthy family. Even after hours of searching, he shows no signs of fatigue and is ready to move on to the next location. Nephthys, however, raises a hand to stop him.
"Wait... wait a minute. Wandering around aimlessly like this isn’t going to work. Tivian is huge. We might not even cover a single district in one night... If we keep searching like this, it could take days to find Sado."
Breathing out white puffs of air, Nephthys speaks to Kapak while leaning against the wall. Kapak hesitates, then responds with a troubled expression.
"But... if we don’t search like this, what else can we do? Lord Soulwhisker can only sense Sado’s soul fluctuations when we’re close to him. If we don’t keep moving, we won’t have any other way to find him."
Kapak spreads his hands as he speaks. Since Sado disappeared, his whereabouts have been shielded by some kind of anti-divination system, making it impossible to track him. Dorothy had tried to divine his location but failed, leading her to believe that the mastermind behind Sado’s disappearance must be behind this.
So, for now, the only way Kapak and Nephthys can find Sado is by relying on Soulwhisker to track his soul fluctuations. However, based on their current results, this method doesn’t seem very efficient.
"I know... but, given the current situation, your Lord Soulwhisker’s detection range is quite limited."
Nephthys says, casting a slightly skeptical glance at the lynx spirit beside Kapak. Earlier, she had already learned that Soulwhisker’s detection range for soul fluctuations is only about 200 meters. A radius of 200 meters is far too small for a city as large as Tivian.
"There’s nothing we can do about that. Lord Soulwhisker is a wild spirit from our homeland. Wild spirits are born from the fusion of specific environments and spirits. When they leave their native environment, their abilities are greatly diminished. Under normal circumstances, Lord Soulwhisker’s detection range would be much larger..."
Hearing Nephthys’ words, Kapak scratches his head as he looks at Soulwhisker. Although Soulwhisker doesn’t understand the Pritt language they’re speaking, it seems to sense Nephthys’ skeptical gaze and looks at her with a hint of displeasure.
"So... it’s not performing at its full capacity?"
After hearing Kapak’s explanation, Nephthys murmurs thoughtfully. Realizing that Soulwhisker’s abilities are currently weakened, she suddenly has an idea.
In her mind, Nephthys recalls the Davis Notes she recently finished reading. In it, it’s mentioned that practitioners of the Possession Path have the ability to allow spirits to exert greater power through their bodies.
"That’s it... maybe we can do this!"
Clapping her hands together, Nephthys exclaims as if she’s had an epiphany. She then turns her eager gaze toward Soulwhisker, who is floating beside Kapak. The lynx spirit is startled by her intense look and leaps into the air, hiding behind Kapak.
"Uh... Miss Thief, what are you..."
"I’ve thought of a way to increase our search efficiency! Mr. Kapak, can you ask Lord Soulwhisker to cooperate with me? Let it possess my body and not resist my will while I act!"
Nephthys says with a gleam in her eyes. Kapak looks puzzled after hearing her words and asks.
"You mean... have Lord Soulwhisker possess your body and not resist your control? Why?"
"There’s no time to explain in detail right now. Just know that I have a ritual that requires Lord Soulwhisker’s cooperation. If it works, I might be able to enhance its abilities and help us find Sado more effectively."
With a serious expression, Nephthys speaks directly to Kapak. Although Kapak is still confused, he nods in agreement.
"A ritual that can enhance Lord Soulwhisker’s abilities? Hmm... if that’s the case, then I’ll ask for you."
After saying this, Kapak turns to the floating lynx spirit and speaks to it in Spirit Tongue. Nephthys, who doesn’t understand Spirit Tongue, watches eagerly. However, her heart sinks when she sees Soulwhisker shake its head vigorously after hearing Kapak’s words.
"Uh... I’m sorry, Miss Thief. Lord Soulwhisker says it doesn’t want to comply with the request of someone who disrespects it... It seems to have sensed your earlier doubts about its abilities and is now a bit upset."
After finishing his conversation with Soulwhisker, Kapak awkwardly relays the message to Nephthys. Hearing this, Nephthys is momentarily stunned.
"What... it’s mad at me?"
Nephthys looks at Soulwhisker in disbelief. She hadn’t expected the wild spirit to be so sensitive, picking up on the skepticism in her earlier gaze and reacting with such pettiness.
"Well... you could say that. According to my teacher, Wild Spirits are highly respected in both our tribal culture and the shamanic Beyonder system. So, many of them can be quite temperamental."
Kapak explains with a shrug. Hearing this, Nephthys’ expression darkens. After a moment of silence, she forces a smile and speaks to Soulwhisker.
"Lord Soulwhisker, I apologize for my earlier disrespect. I... I wasn’t aware of your traditions, so I unintentionally offended you. But now I understand my mistake. Please be magnanimous and forgive me."
Bowing slightly, Nephthys speaks sincerely to the lynx spirit. However, Soulwhisker doesn’t seem to accept her apology, turning its head away and ignoring her.
"Ah... this..."
Seeing Soulwhisker’s reaction, Nephthys is momentarily at a loss. She then turns to Kapak and continues.
"Mr. Kapak, could you please translate my words to Lord Soulwhisker? Tell it that I didn’t mean to offend it."
Nephthys asks Kapak, who responds with a helpless expression.
"I’m afraid even if I translate your words, it won’t make much difference. In fact, even if you hadn’t offended Lord Soulwhisker, it probably wouldn’t have listened to you. Wild spirits generally only interact with us shamans, and even we have to prepare offerings as a bargaining chip to ask for their help. If you want Lord Soulwhisker to assist you, you’ll need to prepare an offering first."
"An offering? What kind of offering?"
Hearing Kapak’s response, Nephthys asks in confusion. Kapak then explains further.
"Generally, the offerings we give to wild spirits are bone fragments obtained from funerals, which contain traces of Silence spirituality. If you have something like that, Miss Thief, offering it to Lord Soulwhisker might work."
Kapak explains, and after hearing his words, Nephthys immediately thinks of one thing: spiritual storage items.
“Bone fragments with Silence spirituality? That sounds like a Silence spiritual storage item! Miss Dorothy once said that all types of spirituality can be sealed into objects with great effort, creating spiritual storage items. This offering sounds like the same thing!”
Nephthys thinks to herself. Realizing that what the lynx spirit wants is likely a Silence spiritual storage item, she begins to consider how to obtain one.
After some thought, just as Nephthys is about to contact Dorothy to ask if she has any, she suddenly notices that the street scene before her looks familiar.
“This is…”
Following her memory, Nephthys looks up and sees a tall building across the intersection.
Due to the New Year’s Eve, many shops on the street have already closed early. However, the building in Nephthys’ sight remains open, its doors wide and lights on, standing out prominently. Above the entrance, a sign illuminated by lights spells out the name: Golden Covenant Bank.
"Even on New Year’s Eve... these guys haven’t closed for the holiday."
Looking at the bank still operating on New Year’s Eve, Nephthys thinks to herself. She’s been here before—a few months ago, when she helped Dorothy purchase a mystical text. She knows what this place is for.
"Mr. Kapak, please wait here for a moment. I’m going to buy something and will be back soon."
Nephthys says to Kapak, then turns and walks toward the bank, leaving Kapak standing there in confusion.
"Buy something? What can you buy at this hour?"
With a puzzled expression, Kapak waits silently. After about half an hour, he finally sees Nephthys walking back quickly from across the street.
"Miss Thief, what did you buy?"
Seeing Nephthys return, Kapak asks directly. Nephthys doesn’t answer immediately but instead opens her hand to reveal three ordinary-looking iron coins.
The moment Kapak sees the coins, Soulwhisker, who had been lazily lounging beside him, suddenly perks up, its eyes widening as it pounces toward the coins. Nephthys quickly closes her hand, causing Soulwhisker to miss.
Looking at Soulwhisker, who is now staring eagerly at her clenched fist, Nephthys smiles and says.
"Well then... Lord Soulwhisker, now you’ll agree to help me, won’t you?"
Nephthys speaks to Soulwhisker, who, though it doesn’t fully understand her words, seems to grasp her meaning. It nods repeatedly, its eyes fixed on Nephthys’ closed hand.
…
East Tivian, in a deserted park flowerbed on a cold night.
Nephthys and Kapak stand in the park, with Nephthys using a stick to draw a complex ritual circle on the muddy ground. Kapak watches with curiosity.
"Miss Thief, is this the ritual circle you mentioned? It looks a bit like the ones my teacher uses."
Kapak comments as he observes the circle, which includes symbols of closed eyes. Nephthys continues drawing as she responds.
"Is that so? Maybe it’s because both your teacher and I are practitioners of the Silence Pathways. It’s natural for our ritual circles to have similarities."
"The Silence Pathways? It seems that besides shamans... there are many different types of spirit practitioners on the mainland..."
Kapak muses, then looks at Soulwhisker, who is on the ground, happily licking the three iron coins with a look of contentment. He turns to Nephthys and says.
"By the way, I didn’t expect you to acquire such high-quality offerings for Lord Soulwhisker so quickly. Mainland Beyonders are really convenient. You can just buy things like this with money..."
Kapak remarks, but Nephthys can’t help but inwardly complain.
“Convenient, yes, but also ridiculously expensive. These three things cost me over 900 pounds. Those guys said they were charging extra for operating during the New Year, but everywhere else is having sales and discounts for the holiday! Only you would raise prices so much... No wonder Miss Dorothy always calls them profiteers…”
Gritting her teeth, Nephthys silently mourns her wallet while continuing to draw the ritual circle. If it weren’t for the 1,000 pounds she earned from participating in Dorothy’s activities earlier, she wouldn’t have been able to afford the "cat food" for Soulwhisker.
Finally, Nephthys finishes drawing the ritual circle. She tosses the stick aside and looks at Soulwhisker, who is still licking the coins.
"Lord Soulwhisker, I’ve offered my tribute. Now it’s time for you to fulfill your promise."
Hearing Nephthys’ words, Soulwhisker pauses its licking and looks at her. After Kapak translates, it slowly floats up and moves toward the ritual circle.
Now that Nephthys has found a suitable spirit and her spirituality is fully charged, she is finally ready to begin the ritual to officially advance to the Black Earth rank as a Soulbinder.