That night, Dorothy stayed at the Shards' house as usual. She heard that Luvia would be done with the Randall Valley work next week and would probably be back soon, so the writer cherished the present time.
She even let Mia out of the closet after the adult hours of the evening so the cat could sleep next to Shad's pillow.
It was half past one on Sunday morning, and the bedroom at 6 St. Teresa's Square was completely dark, with the tightly closed curtains blocking out the moonlight and the light from the gas street lamps.
Xia De was hugging the girl in his arms while he was sleeping. Suddenly, the cat beside the pillow opened its amber eyes, stood up alertly, jumped onto Xia De, and then slapped his quilt with its claws.
When Xia De, who was in a light sleep, regained some consciousness, "she" beside him whispered:
"earthquake."
"What?"
The bed shook slightly only after Shad asked. Without time to think, Shad instinctively held Dorothy in one hand and the cat in the other, then rolled over and fell off the bed. Then he rolled hard, taking the cat and Dorothy under the bed.
Only then did Dorothy, who was sleeping soundly, come to her senses:
"Oh, Shad, if you want to try under the bed, could you tell me in advance?"
“It’s an earthquake!”
Shade stressed, as the shaking sensation was lessening.
"What's wrong with earthquakes? If your haunted house collapses in an earthquake, then it's not a haunted house."
The sleepy blonde girl muttered, hugged Shade tightly, and rolled out from under the bed with him. Fortunately, the maid who came to clean every week cleaned every corner diligently, so the bottom of the bed was not dirty.
Dorothy couldn't sleep now, so they got up and went to the window and saw Shad's neighbors coming outside in their pajamas nervously, but then they went back into the house because it was too cold and then went back to bed.
Although this small earthquake in Tobysk did not cause too many casualties, it made Shad inexplicably feel that he should speed up his actions in the Randall River Valley.
On this Sunday afternoon, the first acquaintance that Shad saw in the Randall Valley after a long time was not Sister Defulyn, but Marilyn Handel, whom he saw on the first floor of the Inn when he went to the Land of Plenty Inn to look for Luvia early in the morning.
This lady's whereabouts have been unknown since she last met with Dr. Shade and Dr. Schneider at Tobesk Public Cemetery in late autumn last year. After not seeing her for half a year, she looked thinner and her skin became paler than last time.
But at the same time, the feeling that she was almost touching the essence of death became more and more obvious. Xia De didn't know whether it was because she had truly walked out of death or because of the curse of death.
The spirit of Joeyne Barton was standing beside Ms. Handel, and nodded to Shad as he entered the inn.
Xia pulled out a chair and sat down in front of the pale woman. After asking the waiter to prepare hot tea for them, he clasped his hands together:
"It's been a while, Ms. Handel. How do you like this city?"
"Like a soul about to fall into the abyss."
Marilyn Hendel said in Delarion:
"I can feel the breath of death spreading across this land, and if I die here, I may not be able to reach the end. The land is binding my soul, and the land is trying to seize the power of death."
Xia De nodded:
"Someone will take care of the things here. We sent you here this time in the hope that you can deal with a soul."
"May I ask where is that soul?"
Ms. Hendel asked.
"I haven't killed him yet. But I hope that after he dies, he can leave the world of the living as soon as possible, and it would be best if he can go straight to the end."
Ms. Handel looked at the souls around her:
"No problem. Sending the lingering souls back home is our way of atonement."
"That's good... Actually, there is another question. I recently saw a very special soul. The soul itself is complete, but it is composed of hundreds of powerful souls. They share one consciousness and can embody hundreds of different ways of thinking."
He described the Guardians' existence, and Ms. Hendel hesitated:
"Souls belong to the world and the gods. Theoretically, the situation you described does not conform to basic common sense and should not occur. However, if it is a voluntary sacrifice, coupled with the power of the great, it is possible for so many souls to be gathered together, and then a phenomenon close to sublimation will occur."
Seeing that Xia De wanted to ask more questions, Ms. Hendel added:
"But even if the gods agree, this form of existence is still in conflict with the world. The world itself, as well as the supernatural system and mysticism, have strict definitions of the soul. In my and Barton's opinion, even if it is a voluntary sacrifice, it is a manifestation of blasphemy against the soul. Even if it is to protect the land under our feet, we should not do this."
Qiao Yin Barton, who had been silent all this time, also spoke at this time:
"Those souls are destined not to die, because they blasphemed the soul and rejected death, so death also rejected them. Compared to the soul of the demon you just mentioned, this aggregate soul is an existence that is absolutely not allowed to appear. We have no intention of judging the other chosen one, but he may be even crazier than I was back then."
Xia De pursed his lips, lowered his voice, and asked very softly:
"If there is a situation where I come into conflict with the Guardian, do I have a way to deal with him in a targeted manner?"
what are you up to
"She" suddenly asked.
"We must be on guard against others. Nothing can be said before the Chosen Ceremony is held. Besides, Long-haired Luvia is determined to let Miss Lathers die and use her soul to lead the Guardians, which means that there is a high probability that something bad will happen to the Guardians. After facing the Shadow of the Evil God on Tuesday night, Luvia and I discussed this situation."
Both Ms. Hendel and Joeyne Barton considered for a moment, and then the pale-faced woman answered:
"Fighting the Guardian is equivalent to fighting hundreds of ring sorcerers at the same time. In terms of strength, you can't suppress so many souls now, but they are souls after all. The nun wearing the silver eyepatch, with the power of the Chosen One of Death, can definitely fight against it."
"Can't we make targeted preparations based on the characteristics of its hundreds of souls coexisting together?"
Xia De asked again, and Qiao Yin Barton nodded:
"Because hundreds of souls are integrated into one, once a curse is successfully cast on a soul, it is equivalent to the other party having to make hundreds of judgments. As long as one judgment fails, all souls will be cursed. If the demon you mentioned wants to fight against the guardian, it is likely to use this method."
He motioned for Ms. Handel to take out a pen and paper, wrote down a spell and handed it to Shade:
"Because the opponent's soul resistance must be extremely high, and he is also aware of his own weaknesses, so the soul curse with strong lethality is likely to be ineffective. You can try this, although it may not be able to defeat the enemy in one move, but it will definitely work."
Xia De went to read the contents of the note:
"Thaumaturge - Soul Whip, corresponding to the spirit rune - Punishment Thorn Penalty Whip Pain, and can only be miracle or blasphemy type. Active thaumaturge requires a drop of one's own blood as the casting material. Prick your finger and throw the blood out, turning it into an invisible soul whip, making the target's soul feel as painful as being whipped by thorns. But other than the pain, the thaumaturge itself has no direct harmful effect."
“The pain itself is a kind of harm.”
Shade said, and then he felt that he had seen similar magic. But the one he saw was not for the soul, but for the body, which could only make the body feel pain but not actually cause harm. The similar magic he saw came from the Pink Book, and Shade did not learn the magic he saw.
"The whipping pain caused by the magic itself is enough to make a strong soul dazed for a moment. And the accumulation of hundreds of similar pains should be enough to cause problems for the guardian. Or at least, delay his actions."
Ms. Hendel said, explaining the origins of the thaumaturgy:
"Not all souls residing in the world of the living are polite. The ancient messengers of the God of Death created this ancient magic in order to send the souls away politely without harming them. Because of its reputation since the First Era, Soul Whipping is more effective on ancient souls. Time and years have endowed this magic with unique abilities."
Although Shade did not have the "Thorn" spirit rune, he had the miracle "Thorn of the Moon", so he felt that he could probably learn this magic.
After thanking Ms. Handel, Shad arranged for her to stay at the Land of Plenty Inn and told her that although the specific time of action had not yet been determined, it would definitely be next week.
As for Sister Defuling, she arrived at the Randall Valley at noon that day, but then went to the Church of the Sun. When Shad saw the nun at the Wilde Opera House, it was already after dinner.
Because Sister Defulin came to support the church in name, it was not convenient for her to contact the witch directly, so she met with Shad and Luvia in the box of Wilde Opera House.
At the beginning of the opera, the high-pitched female aria expressed the washerwoman's longing and expectation for a brand new day. This is Carson Rick's famous play "The Washer Girl and the Prince of Cats", which Shad has seen many times at the Wilde Opera House.
"That's probably what happened."
Shad and Luvia told the nun about the current progress, and Sister Defulin unexpectedly came to a conclusion very similar to that of Marilyn Handel in the morning:
"This time there are not two enemies, but three. Something will definitely happen to the guardian. His special form of soul means that he is more easily distorted than a normal soul. Maybe the heart of the earth you mentioned has protected him in the past thousand years, but now that the earth itself is distorted, I am afraid that this distortion will also be passed on to him. You and Luvia are right. The crazy guardian will be the final enemy."