South Tivian, Bishop’s Square.
On the chaotic New Year’s Eve, under the dark night sky, a simple spirit-summoning ritual was being conducted in a small alley near Bishop’s Square. However, an unexpected complication arose.
"Teacher, it seems you’re not the only one summoning this soul... There’s someone else also conducting a summoning ritual, calling for the same spirit, isn’t there?"
Looking at Nephthys, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, possessed by a fragment of Uta’s soul, Kapak asked. Nephthys nodded slowly and spoke in a hoarse, aged voice.
"Yes, I have already found the newly deceased soul of Barrett Despenser in the River of Shadows. However, when I found him, I noticed that he was being pulled by another force, attempting to bring him to a certain place in the mortal realm. This is a sign of being summoned by someone else."
With a cloudy gaze, Nephthys, possessed by Uta’s soul fragment, spoke slowly. Her words were heard by Brandon, one of Dorothy’s corpse marionettes, who was standing nearby. Dorothy, crouching by the street with her knees hugged, furrowed her brows.
“Barrett’s soul is being summoned by someone else? Who is conducting the ritual to summon his soul? The royal family or the Serenity Bureau? No... It probably isn’t them. They just received news of the royal assassination. They wouldn’t have had enough time to gather the necessary mediums and prepare Beyonders. This summoning targeting Barrett’s soul started before we did. The other party likely began summoning Barrett’s soul as soon as he died.”
“So... the summoner is probably from the Eight-Spired Nest. If their goal in assassinating Barrett was because his research on the Mirror Moon Statue touched on their secrets, then simply killing him wouldn’t be enough. They would need to destroy his soul as well. Otherwise, if the Serenity Bureau later summons Barrett’s soul and extracts key information about the Mirror Moon Statue from him, the Bureau would undoubtedly place greater emphasis on researching the statue. This would significantly reduce the effectiveness of the assassination.”
“Therefore, before assassinating Barrett, the Eight-Spired Nest must have prepared a summoning ritual targeting his soul in some location. As soon as Barrett died, they would begin the summoning. Once the soul was summoned, they could either seal it in a Soul Confinement Coffin or directly refine it, ensuring that the Serenity Bureau would have nothing to summon later. This way, their plan to completely silence Barrett would be successful.”
Crouching by the street, Dorothy frowned as she pondered. As a fairly large secret society, the Eight-Spired Nest undoubtedly had its own Silence-path Beyonders to provide summoning services. From the information Dorothy had obtained earlier from Kapak, she knew that Sado and his group had been tricked by an indigenous person named Banu into helping the Eight-Spired Nest carry out terrorist attacks. Banu had previously been identified as a member of the Nether Coffin Order, so the possibility of cooperation between the Eight-Spired Nest and the Nether Coffin Order in this matter was quite high. This meant that the Nether Coffin Order might also be providing summoning services to the Eight-Spired Nest.Based on this analysis, Dorothy concluded that this summoning was likely part of the Eight-Spired Nest’s follow-up plan to assassinate Duke Barrett. It had been carefully prepared and initiated immediately after Barrett’s death.
"Sir, may I ask what state Barrett’s soul is in now? If someone summoned him before us, will his soul be taken by them?"
Dorothy had Brandon ask Nephthys, who was possessed by Uta’s soul fragment. Nephthys took a deep breath and replied slowly.
"No... When a soul is being summoned by multiple parties simultaneously, it will follow the stronger pull, not the one who summoned it first. The strength of this pull is determined by two main factors: the relevance and completeness of the medium, and the quality of the summoner.”
"I can sense and analyze that the other summoning ritual targeting this soul is using a much more complete and powerful medium than what I’m using. However, the person conducting that ritual is, at best, an ordinary shaman in terms of ability. Compared to me, they are far inferior. So, at the moment, the pull we exert on the soul is balanced. They can’t summon the soul to their side, and I can’t summon it to mine.”
"If I were conducting this ritual in my true form, even with this limited medium, they wouldn’t be able to compete with me, a Great Shaman. Unfortunately, the one conducting the ritual now is just a young girl possessed by a fragment of my soul."
Uta, speaking through Nephthys, explained slowly. Hearing this, Dorothy felt a sense of relief, glad that Barrett’s soul hadn’t been irreversibly summoned by the Eight-Spired Nest. She then began to think about how to break the current stalemate.
"Sir, how can we overcome the other party and summon Barrett’s soul to our side?"
Dorothy had Brandon ask again. Uta, speaking through Nephthys, quickly replied.
"It’s simple. We just need to increase the strength of the pull. But we must act quickly. Although this fragment of my soul is of a higher rank than the other summoner, it is still just a fragment. I can’t maintain this stalemate for long."
Nephthys spoke, and after hearing her words, Dorothy began to seriously consider how to increase the strength of the pull. According to Uta’s earlier explanation, the strength of the pull in a summoning ritual is mainly determined by the medium and the summoner. Given the current situation, it would be difficult to improve the summoner’s side, so the only option was to enhance the medium.
Mediums are divided into physical mediums and information mediums. On the physical side, Dorothy had used Barrett’s freshly spilled blood, which, according to Kapak, was already an excellent physical medium. To improve it, they would likely need Barrett’s entire corpse, but that was impossible. Blue Weave Street No. 1 was already sealed off, and a large number of official Beyonders were about to arrive. Attempting to retrieve Barrett’s corpse now would be too risky.
Therefore, the best option was to obtain more informational mediums. Currently, Dorothy only knew Barrett’s name and time of death. If she could gather more information about him, she might be able to tip the balance in their favor.
But the question was... how could she obtain more information about Barrett?
Dorothy pondered this for a while, and soon, she had an idea. Crouching by the street, she closed her eyes and began to pray, contacting Vania.
…
Inside the chaotic hall of Blue Weave Street No. 1, Vania was directing her medical team and the remaining guards to clean up the scene and treat the severely injured but still living victims. Suddenly, she felt Dorothy’s voice echoing in her mind once again, and she paused for a moment.
“Miss Dorothy wants more information about Duke Barrett? It seems their work isn’t finished yet…”
Standing still, Vania thought to herself. However, she quickly regained her composure and began to act according to Dorothy’s suggestion.
"Everyone, are there any guards here who served Princess Isabella or Duke Barrett? I need to ask you some questions."
Vania spoke to the guards around her. The guards of the princess and the duke hadn’t been completely wiped out. Aside from the few bodyguards who were close to the explosion’s epicenter, many of the guards who were farther away or on different floors had only suffered severe injuries. Most of them were now gathered together, receiving treatment from Vania.
After Vania finished speaking, several of the injured guards lying on stretchers raised their hands and stated their affiliations. One of the bandaged guards, trembling, spoke up.
"Sister... what do you need to ask us?"
Hearing the injured guard’s words, Vania continued to explain.
"Well, since the church’s better-equipped medical team will be arriving soon, I need to prepare some preliminary work for their treatment. To better tailor the medication for each of you, I need to know some basic information about the injured, including Princess Isabella. This includes their names, ages, and medical histories.
"Additionally, since we will likely be assisting the Serenity Bureau in conducting preliminary examinations of the deceased, we also need to know some basic information about them. The deceased are mainly Duke Barrett and his close guards, as well as the princess’s personal guards. They are your colleagues and the people you served. To facilitate the follow-up work, please cooperate with us in providing this information."
Speaking in a gentle tone, Vania addressed the injured guards. Before the church and the Serenity Bureau’s main forces arrived, Vania was the medical leader and the highest official authority here. Thus, the injured guards of the duke and princess began to cooperate with her in registering the basic information of the injured and the deceased. Since Vania’s reasons were entirely justified, her actions didn’t raise any suspicions.
After all, it was perfectly normal for doctors to ask patients their names, ages, and medical conditions... and for forensic examiners to ask those close to the deceased about their specific physical conditions and ages.
In this way, Vania gathered information from the injured guards. Soon, she obtained a crucial piece of information about Duke Barrett from his guards: his age.
After collecting the age information, Vania immediately began to pray silently to Aka, sending the information she had gathered to Dorothy.
…
In the cold wind by the street, Dorothy, still crouching with her knees hugged, received Vania’s information and began to calculate, her teeth chattering.
"Barrett’s age is 64... Last year, on August 12th, he celebrated his 64th birthday. Today is the first day of the Radiant Calendar year 1360, so last year was 1359. Calculating backward, his birth date must be August 12th, 1295, in the Radiant Calendar..."
In the cold wind, Dorothy calculated Barrett’s birth date. This date was highly likely to be accurate, as based on the level of power Barrett had displayed, he wasn’t the type of Beyonder who could extend his lifespan significantly.
Given that he could be assassinated in this manner, Barrett’s rank as a Beyonder couldn’t have exceeded White Ash. Dorothy knew that the White Ash rank wasn’t capable of significantly extending one’s lifespan. Currently, the only age-defying beings Dorothy knew of were Aldrich, a disabled Gold-rank Beyonder, and Deer Skull, a Red Completion-rank Beyonder. There was also Beverly, an automaton of unknown strength.
Based on Dorothy’s current knowledge of the mysticism world, she could deduce that, barring any special methods, Beyonders below the White Ash rank likely didn’t live much longer than ordinary humans. However, once one reached the Red Completion rank, it seemed possible to live for hundreds of years. The leap from White Ash to Red Completion appeared to be a significant one.
After calculating the date, Dorothy quickly had Brandon inform Nephthys.
"Sir, I’ve obtained more informational mediums..."
In the alley, Brandon spoke to Nephthys, who was still possessed by Uta’s soul fragment. After hearing the new informational medium, Nephthys nodded slightly and raised her hand, beginning to chant the spirit-summoning incantation once more, using the new medium to strengthen the ritual. The effect was immediate.
"Good. The summoner who was competing with me can no longer resist my power. The soul has been successfully pulled toward me. Just wait a little longer, and he will soon manifest."
After finishing the new incantation, Nephthys spoke in her aged voice. Hearing her words, Dorothy breathed a sigh of relief and began to patiently wait for the result of the summoning.
After another three or four minutes, a cold wind blew through the alley, and a faint, translucent figure began to gradually materialize at the center of the summoning circle, becoming clearer and clearer.
Soon, the pale, semi-transparent spirit of Barrett appeared at the center of the circle. His face was expressionless, and he was dressed in the formal attire he had worn to the New Year’s banquet. His body was covered in deep cuts, and his neck bore a deep slash, just as it had at the moment of his death.
"I’ve summoned the spirit you asked for. If you have any questions, ask them now. I will use a command to make him answer. Don’t worry about him refusing to speak.”
"However, you should ask quickly. The summoner who was competing with me hasn’t given up. They’re still interfering, and I can’t maintain this for long with just a fragment of my soul."
Uta, speaking through Nephthys, said. Hearing this, Dorothy felt a surge of determination and had Brandon express his gratitude.
"Thank you, sir."
After expressing her thanks, Brandon turned to face Barrett’s spirit in the circle and asked.
"Duke Barrett, I heard you were researching the Mirror Moon Statue. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
Barrett’s spirit replied simply. Brandon then asked.
"How far along is your research? Have you made any significant discoveries?"
"Of course. Based on clues provided by the Serenity Bureau, I visited all the Mirror Moon Statues under their control. These statues, scattered across Pritt, deeply intrigued me. To investigate the relationship between these statues and Pritt, I entered the Moonmist Palace’s royal archives and searched through various documents. I first—"
"Wait, no need to go into too much detail. Just tell me one thing: Is the Mirror Moon Goddess a Pure-Color Deity of the Shadow domain? If so, do you have her holy symbol?"
Dorothy had Brandon interrupt Barrett’s spirit. When she saw that Barrett’s spirit was about to launch into an academic report, she realized that asking directly about his research results would lead to a lengthy explanation. She quickly stopped him and redirected the question to the key information she needed.
After all, Uta was only using a fragment of her soul to conduct the summoning, and the time was limited. Moreover, if Barrett directly discussed his research results, he would inevitably touch on knowledge containing cognitive poison. While Dorothy herself could handle it, Uta couldn’t.
After being interrupted and re-questioned, Barrett’s spirit paused for a moment before continuing to answer.
"In my research, I am almost certain that this goddess, who once held immense influence in Pritt, led a powerful Shadow-domain sect during the Third Epoch. This sect had a hierarchical structure similar to that of the Radiance Church, and the Mirror Moon Goddess was undoubtedly the main deity of the Shadow domain.”
"As for her holy symbol, I have also researched it. During an excavation of the Razor Mountain ruins, I unearthed an item suspected to be the holy symbol of the Mirror Moon Goddess. This item is currently in the research chamber of my estate."