Chapter 456

Chapter 356 Offering

On a winter night in Tivyán, the evening breeze was chilly. In this final dark night of the year, Tivyán’s citizens were either gathered around warm hearths at home to celebrate or were out participating in various New Year activities. The festive atmosphere spread from every household into the city streets, everything enveloped in a peaceful ambiance.

On a street somewhere in East Tivyán, New Year decorations hung along both sides of the road, and under the glow of street lamps, tiny snowflakes drifted down the cold streets. At this time, the citizens of Tivyán were either at home with family or engaged in outdoor celebrations, leaving the streets nearly deserted and unusually quiet.

“Ha… so cold…”

At a certain crossroads, Nephnis, clad in a women’s coat, let out white vapors into the air and rubbed her hands together. Gazing at the desolate crossroads before her, she spoke with an expression that could not disguise her fatigue.

“Have you… not found anything yet? We’ve been walking for so long, hasn’t your cat spirit reacted at all?”

Turning her head, Nephnis looked at Kapak beside her. Upon hearing this, Kapak hesitated slightly before addressing the emptiness around him.

“Lord Soul Whiskers, can you sense the presence of Sado nearby?”

As soon as Kapak’s words fell, beside him, a semi-transparent lynx adorned with peculiar patterns gradually materialized. It circled Kapak once, then shook its whiskers, silently shaking its head while floating in place, indicating that it did not detect anything in the vicinity.

Soul Whiskers was a Wilderness Spirit born from the environment of the New World. The shamans of New World’s Shamanism held various contracts with numerous Wilderness Spirits, enabling them to summon these spirits through their own abilities and harness their powers.

Soul Whiskers was particularly adept at sensing the soul vibrations of others. Kapak’s teacher, Uta, had summoned Soul Whiskers before Kapak departed, informing it of the specific characteristics of Sado’s soul waves, directing Kapak to bring Soul Whiskers to Tivyán in search of Sado. As long as Sado approached within a certain range of Soul Whiskers, it could perceive his presence.

This afternoon, Kapak had arrived in Tivyán by boat and immediately set off with Soul Whiskers and Nephnis to search for Sado across the vast city. They explored various corners of the city, hoping to luck upon the area where Sado might be located, allowing Soul Whiskers to sense his existence. However, so far, it seemed that they had found no leads.

“Miss Thief, Lord Soul Whiskers says that Sado is not in this area either.”

After witnessing Soul Whiskers’ response, Kapak relayed this to Nephnis, who couldn’t help but feel disheartened.

“Whew… nothing again? We’ve searched so many places already, and still no clues…”

Leaning against a nearby wall, Nephnis expressed her thoughts while gazing at the cold, tranquil street in the chilly night. She felt a deep sense of yearning.

‘This is my first time, right? Not spending New Year’s by the warm hearth with my parents, not attending performances in the theater, but instead running through the streets looking for someone. Is this how members of a secret society celebrate the festival?’

Nephnis thought to herself, reflecting on the hours she and Kapak had been scouring Tivyán since the afternoon. Cold and exhausted, she longed for the warmth of home.

“There’s no trace of Sado around here either. We might need to change locations, Miss Thief. Time waits for no one; let’s hurry.”

With a serious expression, Kapak spoke to Nephnis, who was leaning against the wall, catching her breath. As a native of the wilderness in the New World and a former hunter from his tribe, Kapak’s strength and endurance were clearly superior to that of Nephnis, who was a wealthy city girl. He seemed unfazed and ready to move on to the next location, while Nephnis, feeling a bit winded, raised her hand to stop him.

“Wait… This aimless searching isn’t a viable method. Tivyán is so large that we might not even finish exploring one district in a night… If we keep this up, we might not find Sado in days.”

Breathing out white steam, Nephnis conveyed her thoughts, and Kapak paused, looking thoughtful.

“But… if we don’t search like this, what else can we do? Only when Lord Soul Whiskers gets close to Sado can it sense his soul vibrations. If we don’t wander around, we have no other options.”

Kapak spread his hands, explaining that ever since Sado vanished, their tracks had been protected by some sort of anti-divination system, making it impossible to find any signs of him. Dorothy had attempted divination before but failed, suspecting that there was some mastermind behind the scenes tricking Sado and his companions.

Thus, at the moment, the only way for Kapak and the others to find Sado was to rely on Soul Whiskers to track his soul vibrations. However, based on their current experience, this method was proving to be ineffective.

“I understand… but given the present situation, your Lord Soul Whiskers has a very limited sensing range.” Nephnis remarked, casting a skeptical glance at the lynx spirit beside Kapak. Previously, she had gathered that Soul Whiskers could only detect vibrations within about two hundred meters, which was far too limited for the entire scope of Tivyán.

“There’s no other way. Soul Whiskers is a Wilderness Spirit from our region; they are products of a specific environment and specific spirits coming together. Once outside their environment, their capabilities dramatically decrease. Normally, the sensing range of Soul Whiskers should be much larger…”

Listening to Nephnis, Kapak scratched his head while looking at Soul Whiskers. Although the spirit did not understand the Prit Language they were using, it felt a touch of displeasure at Nephnis’ previous skeptical gaze, floating beside Kapak with a hint of annoyance.

“Unable to exert… the original ability?”

After hearing Kapak’s words, Nephnis mused thoughtfully. Upon realizing that Soul Whiskers’ abilities were not being fully utilized, a sudden idea sparked in her mind.

Recalling the notes by Davis she had read not long ago, which mentioned Extraordinary Beings who practiced the Path of Body Reliance, she considered that there might be a way to channel greater strength from a spirit into one’s own body.

“Right… perhaps we can do it this way!”

Clapping her hands, Nephnis exclaimed as if she had just realized something, turning her eager gaze toward Soul Whiskers near Kapak. The lynx spirit was startled by her intense eyes and leaped back towards Kapak.

“Uh… Miss Thief, what are you…”

“I’ve thought of a method to increase our search efficiency! Mr. Kapak, can you have Lord Soul Whiskers cooperate with me, let it inhabit my body, and refrain from resisting my will while I carry out the action!”

Nephnis said, her eyes glowing with excitement. Hearing her proposal, Kapak looked puzzled yet intrigued.

“You want… to let Lord Soul Whiskers inhabit your body and cooperate with your actions without resistance? Why?”

“There’s no time to explain in detail right now; just know that I have a ritual that requires Lord Soul Whiskers’ cooperation. If it goes well, I might be able to summon its stronger abilities, allowing us to find Sado better.”

With a serious look, Nephnis spoke candidly to Kapak. Though Kapak remained confused by her words, he eventually responded with agreement.

“A ritual that can let Lord Soul Whiskers exert greater abilities? Hmm… if that’s the case, I’ll ask for you.”

With that, Kapak turned to the floating lynx spirit and spoke to it in Spiritual Seal Language. Nephnis, unable to understand the language, watched eagerly as Soul Whiskers listened to Kapak, only to suddenly shake its head violently. Her heart sank.