Five Hundred and Eighty-Ninth Summoning of the Soul
In the outskirts of Tivyán, Fort Gale.
Deep beneath the heavily guarded military fortress lies the central command of the covert police force of the Prit Kingdom, the An Yin Bureau headquarters. Inside the summoning chamber within the headquarters, a heavy and solemn atmosphere permeates the air.
Dim lights illuminate the somewhat cramped dark space. At the center of the room, on the floor, a white “Silence” sigil is drawn. Surrounding the sigil, a circle of lit candles is placed, with a small altar table in front of the sigil. On the altar table sits a few simple female accessories and some parts, and around this area gather several figures.
Among these figures, there is a servant in a long robe with a hood, several mid-to-high-ranking officials from the An Yin Bureau, and most prominently, Prince Harold in full Prit military uniform. As the head of the An Yin Bureau, his presence at this seemingly small-scale ceremony makes the atmosphere much more serious.
Harold stands in place, watching intently as his subordinates prepare for the ceremony. His presence intimidates those around him, causing them to stand silently and wait. Once the preparations are complete, one of his subordinates runs up to him, whispers something, and then quietly steps back. Harold’s gaze then shifts to the robed servant standing nearby.
“We can begin,” Harold says. The robed servant bows slightly to Harold before walking to the front of the sigil and sitting down in front of the altar table. He begins to recite obscure incantations. Under his spiritual drive, the sigil emits a faint glimmer.
As the faint light emerges above the sigil, everyone present displays a tense expression. All eyes fixate on the center of the sigil, intensifying the already heavy atmosphere in the room.
As the incantation continues to echo in the confined space, a faint shadow gradually appears within the glow, becoming increasingly clear until it finally takes the form of a woman.
The numerous An Yin Bureau personnel gasp at the semi-transparent figure, exchanging bewildered looks with their nearest companions.
Harold, witnessing the apparition in the sigil, eyes widen slightly, barely containing his emotions. After taking a deep breath to calm himself, he addresses the floating spirit in the sigil.
“Misha… Are you really dead?”
“Yes, Your Highness Harold. I am now deceased.”
Floating in the middle of the summoning sigil, the royal female knight appears as a semi-transparent ghost, her voice ethereal as she responds with a confused expression.
Upon hearing the confirmation of her d*ath, the faces of all An Yin Bureau personnel darken significantly. Clearly, this news was extremely bad for them.
Not long ago, after the Cold Cliff Prison riot had been quelled and losses were being tallied, Misha, who had come to handle matters prior to the incident, was nowhere to be found. After extensive searches yielded no results, everyone began to suspect the worst, leading to the decision to attempt this summoning ritual. However, they never anticipated such an outcome.
Looking at the soul of her trusted subordinate in the sigil, Harold feels a mix of emotions. However, now is not the time for reflection. After a brief pause, he continues questioning.
“Do you remember how you died?”
“I died from a self-inflicted burning sigil when I was helpless, to prevent my body from falling into the hands of evildoers.” Misha’s spirit responds with a puzzled look. Harold then asks more detailed questions.
“Who were these so-called evildoers? Who pushed you to that point?”
“I don’t know… I didn’t see any obvious extraordinary abilities used by them before my d*ath. I was caught in a powerful explosion and lost most of my combat capabilities. Even if they only used ordinary weapons, I couldn’t resist them.”
“Tell me about the explosion.”
“It was a whole carload of explosives, disguised as supplies being sent to Cold Cliff Prison. There were supposed to be a few fake Cold Cliff guards transporting it. But due to vehicle damage midway, the car got stuck in the middle of the road. After finishing our business in Cold Cliff, Meschos and I encountered them on our way back. Meschos went to negotiate while I stayed behind. Then, the impostors started fleeing, and Meschos pursued them. The explosives in the car exploded, and because of my poor position, I couldn’t escape in time and was severely injured.”
Misha recounts her last moments without emotion, and Harold’s expression grows increasingly grave as he listens. Afterward, he glances over at Gregor, who is still bandaged and looking dejected nearby.
“So, those people were specifically targeting you? Was the bomb trap set up just for you?” Harold asks Misha, who pauses before responding.
“I can’t be entirely sure. I overheard their conversation. They seemed surprised by my appearance. Using explosives to injure and eliminate me wasn’t part of their plan; it was a spontaneous choice. Their original plan was to transport the explosives to Cold Cliff, but I don’t know what exactly they intended to do with them…”
As Misha speaks, Harold seems deep in thought. Her information confirms some suspicions—that Misha’s d*ath might have been a result of her involvement in the Cold Cliff prison riot rather than someone specifically wanting to harm her. It appears the latter is true.
The Cold Cliff prison riot was initiated to coordinate with external rescue efforts, clearly a secret society’s operation to rescue captured comrades. During the riot, explosives were used to break through walls. The carload of explosives was likely prepared for such actions, but Misha’s unexpected appearance led the rescue group to change their strategy and use the explosives against her.
After clarifying the core issue of the summoning, Harold’s mood doesn’t improve much. He continues communicating with Misha’s spirit, asking for more details about the events. Eventually, the extraordinary being conducting the ritual can hardly continue, and he decides to end the ceremony.
“Phew… I didn’t expect we would part ways like this. Your departure is a significant loss for me and the entire bureau. Rest assured and move on. I will make sure your family is well compensated,” Harold sighs after completing the main questions, and Misha responds silently.
“Unable to assist you further is my regret, Your Highness.”
With that, the summoning ritual gradually ends. Misha’s spirit is sent back to the underworld by the summoner and specially buried deep within the underworld by the An Yin Bureau’s summoner. Watching Misha’s spirit fade away, Harold sighs deeply.
…
In a regular building in the vast city of Tivyán, inside a spacious room with tightly closed doors and windows, another “Silence” sigil is drawn on the floor.
In front of the sigil, a figure is seated. She wears loose robes, a veil, and a hood, with gloves covering her hands. She is almost completely concealed, except for the curves of her body indicating her gender.
Amidst the fragrant incense in the room, a mysterious veiled woman meditates in front of the “Silence” sigil, her eyes closed as she focuses on something. On the other side of the sigil, another woman lies dressed in everyday clothes, and upon closer inspection, it is evident that she is asleep—Misha.
Suddenly, the veiled woman seems to sense something and opens her eyes abruptly. With her eyes open, the sigil on the floor starts to emit a faint glow. Misha’s spirit slowly emerges from the sigil, floating in the air.
Gone is the confusion she displayed earlier at the An Yin Bureau. Now, Misha’s expression is stern. Having returned to the mortal world, her gaze shifts to the body lying on the side. Her spirit quickly moves toward it and merges with it. As her spirit returns, Misha’s body, which appeared to be sleeping, slowly opens its eyes and sits up.
“How is it, Ms. Misha? How is the situation on your side?”
The veiled woman speaks softly, asking Misha, who rubs her head and then responds slowly.
“Everything is fine… Everyone in the bureau, including the prince, should believe I’m dead. Since they all believe it, the traitor within the bureau has no choice but to believe it too…”
As Misha speaks, she stands up and continues to the veiled woman.
“Thank you, friends of the Rosy Cross. I have finally escaped from the Eight-pointed ones’ watchful eye. Without your help, I wouldn’t know how to fight them.”
“You don’t need to thank us excessively. We also need to deal with the Eight-pointed ones. Since our interests align, we must help you with this small matter…” the veiled woman replies calmly, and Misha smiles.
“Hmm, I wonder what sins the spider lords committed to provoke a society like yours… I didn’t expect the Rosy Cross to not only be elusive and capable but also have such powerful spirit controllers. You’re much stronger than the second-rate spirit controllers we hire. Could you be a ‘Silence’ society?”
“The mysteries we delve into are not urgent to discuss now. What are your plans moving forward, Ms. Misha?” the veiled woman asks instead of directly answering, and Misha responds without hesitation.
“I’ll find a hidden base in the city first. After settling myself, I’ll continue investigating the Eight-pointed ones. If you want to cooperate, you can join me. Given how far I’ve come, I can’t leave the spider lords without a resolution.”
The veiled woman smiles in response.
“Then good luck to you…”
The veiled woman bids farewell to Misha, who leaves the room after disguising herself. After descending the stairs and quietly leaving the scene, the veiled woman breathes a sigh of relief after a while and removes her veil, revealing Nephnis.
“Thank you for your assistance again, Lady Uta.”
Nephnis says to the empty room in Spiritual Seal Language after removing her veil. Accompanying her words, a spirit form detaches from her body and floats in front of Misha, revealing it to be the spirit of Tupa Tribe Shaman Uta.
“There’s no need to thank me. By eliminating one of the great defilers who betrayed ancient teachings, we’ve done a service to all who still adhere to them. My actions are merely a small repayment.”
Uta’s spirit says, then gradually fades in response to a distant call.
“As the task is done, I should go. Farewell, friend of the Tupas in another land.”
Uta’s spirit completely vanishes into the air, returning to the new continent. Nephnis watches him leave and then looks around the ritual site.
“Well, now I need to clean everything up. I didn’t expect so many things to happen right after returning…”
Stretching, Nephnis starts cleaning up the traces of the ritual. Nearby, Dorothy in the carriage relaxes slightly.
“Good… The summoning at the An Yin Bureau is finally over. Now, no one should doubt the d*ath of that knight. Having a powerful ‘Silence’ extraordinary being helping truly makes things easier, especially a shaman like Uta who specializes in summoning spirits…”
Dorothy thinks to herself as she sits in the carriage. Successfully faking her d*ath meant dealing with the summoning ritual. Since Misha was confirmed dead, the Eight-pointed ones or the An Yin Bureau would summon her to confirm her d*ath. To avoid suspicion, the Eight-pointed ones wouldn’t summon Misha themselves but would have the An Yin Bureau do it.
Facing the An Yin Bureau’s summoning, Dorothy isn’t afraid. She has multiple “Silence” extraordinary beings at the White Chalk tier to assist her, including a New World shaman skilled in mediumship and summoning. This is far more powerful than the An Yin Bureau’s black earth-level summoners, making it easy to handle them.
Dorothy uses an old method to summon Shaman Uta’s soul to Tivyán, possessing Nephnis, gaining Uta’s abilities. Then, using Nephnis’ soul contract holder skills, she strips Misha’s living soul from her body. Afterward, using Uta’s abilities, she controls Misha’s soul, sending it to the underworld, where Misha experiences the summoning ritual and responds.
Misha, guided by the medium, is summoned out in the An Yin Bureau’s ritual. Since her soul is essentially under Uta’s control, the ritual’s control effect clashes directly with Uta’s, preventing it from affecting Misha’s soul. This allows Misha to say whatever she wants during the summoning process, unlike other summoned souls, which can only speak the truth.
Moreover, Misha’s responses are carefully designed to match the Eight-pointed ones’ perception of the situation at the time, ensuring nothing seems amiss.
Using this method, Dorothy successfully handles the An Yin Bureau’s summoning, confirming Misha’s d*ath to both sides.
In this initial return to Tivyán, Dorothy gains much. First, she helps Misha escape, providing a future ally against the Eight-pointed ones. Second, she successfully helps Gregor complete a task assigned by the Eight-pointed ones, ensuring his promotion and higher status within both factions. Lastly, Dorothy directly acquires tangible benefits from Misha.
While pondering, Dorothy opens her magic box and rummages through it, eventually pulling out three old books.
These three books are the secret transmissions Misha brought out from the An Yin Bureau, taken the day before the mission at Dorothy’s request. Currently, Dorothy’s spirituality is just shy of reaching the next level. The spirituality contained in these three secret transmissions is enough to complete her remaining shortfall.
Now, Dorothy’s spirituality is almost complete, save for the unknown location of the temple.
…
