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 Yearâs 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 Yearâs 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 Tivianâs citizens are either at home with their families or attending New Yearâs events elsewhere, leaving the streets almost empty and eerily quiet.
"Ha... itâs so cold..."
At a crossroads, Nephthys, dressed in a womanâs 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 canât quite hide.
"Still... no luck? Weâve 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 hasnât 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 Continentâs 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. Theyâve been traversing the cityâs streets and corners, hoping to get close enough to Sadoâs location for Soulwhisker to sense him. But so far, theyâve had no luck.
"Miss Thief, Lord Soulwhisker says Sado isnât in this area either."
After observing Soulwhiskerâs response, Kapak relays the message to Nephthys. Hearing this, Nephthys canât help but feel disheartened.
"Sigh... still nothing? Weâve searched so many places, and thereâs 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 canât help but feel a sense of melancholy.
âThis is the first time, isnât it? Not spending New Yearâs 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?â
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 homeâs fireplace.
"If Sado isnât in this area, weâll have to move on, Miss Thief. Time is of the essence. Letâs hurry."
With a serious expression, Kapak speaks to Nephthys, who is leaning against the wall, catching her breath. As a native of the New Continentâs wilderness and a former hunter in his tribe, Kapakâs 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 isnât 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 donât search like this, what else can we do? Lord Soulwhisker can only sense Sadoâs soul fluctuations when weâre close to him. If we donât keep moving, we wonât 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 Sadoâs 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 doesnât seem very efficient.
"I know... but, given the current situation, your Lord Soulwhiskerâs detection range is quite limited."
Nephthys says, casting a slightly skeptical glance at the lynx spirit beside Kapak. Earlier, she had already learned that Soulwhiskerâs 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.
"Thereâs 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 Soulwhiskerâs detection range would be much larger..."
Hearing Nephthysâ words, Kapak scratches his head as he looks at Soulwhisker. Although Soulwhisker doesnât understand the Pritt language theyâre speaking, it seems to sense Nephthysâ skeptical gaze and looks at her with a hint of displeasure.
"So... itâs not performing at its full capacity?"
After hearing Kapakâs explanation, Nephthys murmurs thoughtfully. Realizing that Soulwhiskerâs abilities are currently weakened, she suddenly has an idea.
In her mind, Nephthys recalls the Davis Notes she recently finished reading. In it, itâs mentioned that practitioners of the Possession Path have the ability to allow spirits to exert greater power through their bodies.
"Thatâs it... maybe we can do this!"
Clapping her hands together, Nephthys exclaims as if sheâs 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..."
"Iâve 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?"
"Thereâs no time to explain in detail right now. Just know that I have a ritual that requires Lord Soulwhiskerâs 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 Soulwhiskerâs abilities? Hmm... if thatâs the case, then Iâll ask for you."
After saying this, Kapak turns to the floating lynx spirit and speaks to it in Spirit Tongue. Nephthys, who doesnât understand Spirit Tongue, watches eagerly. However, her heart sinks when she sees Soulwhisker shake its head vigorously after hearing Kapakâs words.
"Uh... Iâm sorry, Miss Thief. Lord Soulwhisker says it doesnât 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... itâs mad at me?"
Nephthys looks at Soulwhisker in disbelief. She hadnât 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, Nephthysâ 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 wasnât 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 doesnât seem to accept her apology, turning its head away and ignoring her.
"Ah... this..."
Seeing Soulwhiskerâs 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 didnât mean to offend it."
Nephthys asks Kapak, who responds with a helpless expression.
"Iâm afraid even if I translate your words, it wonât make much difference. In fact, even if you hadnât offended Lord Soulwhisker, it probably wouldnât 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, youâll need to prepare an offering first."
"An offering? What kind of offering?"
Hearing Kapakâs 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.
âBone 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!â
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.
âThis isâŠâ
Following her memory, Nephthys looks up and sees a tall building across the intersection.
Due to the New Yearâs Eve, many shops on the street have already closed early. However, the building in Nephthysâ 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 Yearâs Eve... these guys havenât closed for the holiday."
Looking at the bank still operating on New Yearâs Eve, Nephthys thinks to herself. Sheâs been here beforeâa 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. Iâm 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 doesnât 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 youâll agree to help me, wonât you?"
Nephthys speaks to Soulwhisker, who, though it doesnât fully understand her words, seems to grasp her meaning. It nods repeatedly, its eyes fixed on Nephthysâ closed hand.
âŠ
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 itâs because both your teacher and I are practitioners of the Silence Pathways. Itâs 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 didnât 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 canât help but inwardly complain.
âConvenient, 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 profiteersâŠâ
Gritting her teeth, Nephthys silently mourns her wallet while continuing to draw the ritual circle. If it werenât for the 1,000 pounds she earned from participating in Dorothyâs activities earlier, she wouldnât 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, Iâve offered my tribute. Now itâs time for you to fulfill your promise."
Hearing Nephthysâ 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.