502 Messenger Ritual
Anthony stared at the altar, the flickering candlelight casting shadows on his face. He voiced his concerns and uncertainties about having their own messenger.
His knowledge of mysticism hinted that messengers were a rare occurrence. Only Beyonders of specific pathways at a certain Sequence or high-level Beyonders with godhood possessed these special contracted creatures, accessible at any time and summoned by others.
Franca, grinning, reassured him, “Other Beyonders might not cut it, but we still have a chance.
“There are three prerequisites for possessing a messenger. First, you need to understand spirit world creatures, knowing which ones can be used as messengers. You must grasp their characteristics and devise incantations for precise summoning. Second, the spirit world creature must be willing to respond to the summoning and not reject signing a contract to become your messenger. Third, you need a unique undead contract and a deity to bear witness, restraining both parties and clarifying their responsibilities.
“See, there aren’t any restrictions on pathways and Sequences among these three. There are only hidden restrictions, but there are ways to bypass them.
“For ordinary Beyonders, the first requirement is the toughest. Usually, they lack a deep understanding of spirit world creatures. Summoning one might make them tremble with fear, afraid the incantation could lead to a monster that could harm their family. With time, they might rely on their predecessors’ experiences to accumulate reliable summoning incantations, but most have nothing to do with a messenger.
“We’re different. As members of the Tarot Club, we have Madam Magician, an expert in spirit world creatures. Ciel has a pile of information on them. Madam Magician selected 30 spirit world creatures suitable for being a messenger, some with a desire to serve as a Mid-Sequence Beyonder’s messenger. This allows us to skip the greatest obstacle.
“Otherwise, consider the speed at which spirit world creatures traverse. Some messengers can cover the distance from southern Intis to Trier in just a few minutes. Others take ten minutes to half an hour, while some may take half a day or even a full day. Without knowledge, signing a messenger that takes half a year or one year to cover such a distance is pointless.”
“My name isn’t Ciel Dubois anymore,” Lumian reminded Franca after she finished explaining a portion of the knowledge to Anthony and Jenna, who were novices in the mysticism world.
Franca let out a hollow laugh.
“Isn’t it just a habit of the mouth? When I first met you, your name was Ciel. I’ve been calling you that for months.”
She continued, “The second prerequisite is that we have a way to bypass it. Beyonders of pathways like Corpse Collector, affiliated with the undead and other creatures in the spirit world, can make them willing to be summoned. Then, it’s possible to sign a messenger contract. At the Sequence of Spirit Guide, they can even semi-compulsively turn a target they fancy into their messenger. Without such specialties, one can often only rely on their status to suppress and intimidate them.
“As for us, we follow Mr. Fool. You’ve all heard the Church’s bible, so you should know that Mr. Fool is the great ruler who controls the spirit world. Strictly speaking, those spirit world creatures are under his control. As members of the Tarot Club, summoning spirit world creatures and signing a messenger contract with them will definitely be much easier. In particular, Lumian here has Mr. Fool’s power. Have you ever seen him fail in summoning spirit world creatures? At most, it’s vague. What comes isn’t what he wants.
“The third prerequisite is that Madam Magician has already given Lumian a special undead contract, specially prepared for messengers. The witness should be Death, but they can be replaced by an Angel from the Underworld or the undead domain. And there’s an Angel of Death by Mr. Fool’s throne. He’s the Consul of the Underworld!
“Actually, I don’t think it’s a problem to use Mr. Fool’s honorific name directly. Would spirit world creatures not obey the orders of the great ruler who controls the spirit world?”
The information from Madam Magician contained a four-line description targeting the Underworld, suitable as a witness.
Jenna and Anthony absorbed the mysticism knowledge attentively, realizing its value in explaining many problems in ordinary summoning rituals.
Once Franca had concluded her instructional role, Lumian produced a carefully selected stack of information about spirit world creatures and directed his attention to Jenna.
“You first.”
Jenna, pointing at herself in confusion and surprise, asked, “Me?”
Lumian let out a chuckle.
“My chances of success should be about the same as yours, but I have a lot of messy things on me. I’m afraid it’ll cause an anomaly and ruin the rest of tonight’s attempts, so I’ll be the last.”
Jenna considered Lumian’s explanation and agreed.
Muttering under her breath, she took the document and flipped to the page she had chosen earlier.
It recorded a spirit world creature she was relatively familiar with: “Rabbit of Knowledge.”
However, this wasn’t an ordinary Rabbit of Knowledge; it had absorbed some specific knowledge and undergone a special mutation to become suitable as a messenger.
Jenna had a positive impression of the Rabbit of Knowledge. She found it friendly and willing to help humans, making it her preferred choice from the beginning.
Additionally, its silly appearance added to its charm.
Retrieving the page of information, Jenna entered the altar. Recalling Franca’s teachings and the mystical knowledge from the Witch potion, she swiftly sanctified the ritual silver dagger and created a wall of spirituality.
Having completed all the preparations, Jenna took two steps back, focused on the candle flame, and uttered a concise and forceful word in ancient Hermes.
“I!”
Then, she switched to Hermes.
“I summon in my name:
“Rabbit-shaped spirit that wanders about the unfounded, a friendly creature that can be communicated with, a runner who pursues knowledge.”
In this modified incantation, the original “weakling” was replaced with “runner” to specifically denote the special Rabbit of Knowledge.
The candle flame abruptly shifted to a dark green hue, expanding to the size of a human head.
A translucent creature resembling a rabbit emerged from the dark-green candle flame.
Unlike other Rabbits of Knowledge, its eyes emitted a wise glint, and it held a blurry book with an orange-red cover in its hand.
Its legs were powerful, indicating its proficiency in running.
Jenna couldn’t contain her joy at successfully summoning it on her first attempt.
Slightly perturbed, she addressed the creature in ancient Hermes, “Are you willing to become my messenger?”
The mutated Rabbit of Knowledge glanced at Jenna and asked in Intisian, “Have you ever called my kind fools or idiots before?”
“No,” Jenna replied sincerely. “I curse occasionally, but it’s not directed at anyone. It’s just an expression of my emotions.”
Occasionally? Lumian mocked Jenna inwardly.
However, this might have been more of a formality, as the answer of not having engaged in name-calling was sufficient. Whether it was entirely true or not seemed inconsequential.
The rabbit nodded and said, “You have to pay me. Every time you summon me, you have to give me a book or knowledge of equal value. You can give it to me directly or burden the person who’s writing to you.”
It agreed just like that? Having name-called it in the past, I can’t summon this rabbit as a messenger? Well, I can’t summon it now either. There should only be one special Rabbit of Knowledge that has evolved to be capable of being a messenger… Lumian knew it was generally easy to deal with, but he didn’t expect it to be so amiable.
Jenna glanced at the information placed at the edge of the altar, noticing a notification: “The knowledge you feed the Rabbit of Knowledge determines what it will become in the future.”
Will reading more postman-related books improve its awareness and abilities as a messenger? Jenna wondered to herself as she replied, “No problem. Let’s sign a contract.”
Following the template provided by Madam Magician, she used the dark-red fountain pen on the altar to swiftly write a contract on the yellowish-brown goatskin, outlining the agreed compensation.
The contract was composed in ancient Hermes, with every word seeming to resonate with the forces of nature and the spirit world. Jenna had utilized her usual studies and the knowledge from the Witch potion to quickly grasp this Beyonder language.
In addition to the contract, Jenna penned a description of the mysticism related to the Underworld.
“The home of all death, the hell hidden deep within the spirit world, the witness of the decay of all living things, one that solely belongs to the kingdom of Death.”
As she wrote, the ancient Hermes words burned with dark-green flames, including the original ones.
Remembering Lumian’s earlier advice, Jenna deliberately included a clause fixing the summoning incantation as “Rabbit-shaped spirit that wanders about the unfounded, a runner who pursues knowledge, a messenger that belongs solely to the Seven of Cups.”
Still cautious about revealing her real name, Jenna refrained from using it. She worried that someone familiar with her messenger summoning incantation might uncover her true identity, potentially implicating her brother Julien in the future.
After scanning the contract and confirming its accuracy, Jenna signed her code name.
The goatskin floated up and flew toward the mutated Rabbit of Knowledge.
Picking up another fountain pen, the Rabbit of Knowledge wrote its name: “Chasel Sávio.”
“You have a name?” Lumian was a little surprised.
He was also within the wall of spirituality.
“I named it myself after reading a book. It’s my name now,” replied Rabbit Chasel as the ghastly green flames on the goatskin merged, incinerating the contract into ashes and transforming it into an invisible force.
Jenna breathed a sigh of relief and engaged in a brief conversation with Rabbit Chasel before concluding, “I! I end this summoning in my name.”
Rabbit Chasel returned to the spirit world, and Franca eagerly watched as the wall of spirituality dissipated before stepping into the altar.
Jenna’s ease had filled her with confidence.
However, she faced a shameful failure.