"Luvia, here's a towel. How did it go?"
"I still can't see clearly."
Her wet hair clung to her forehead as Luvia shook her head.
"This is no longer interference from the Miracle Element. I suspect it has anti-divination abilities of its own."
"Rest for a while. I'll try Spirit Communication."
For souls that had not yet reached their end, Spirit Communication was usually simple and effective—but that applied only to ordinary souls. This time, Shade's "Soul Echo" failed completely for the first time. He did not know whether he had failed to contact Mr. Thomas Granger at all, or whether the man had rejected Shade's "invitation."
"It's all right. We still have another way."
Luvia considered it carefully for a while.
"Use a Spirit Board."
"But if we can't communicate with the soul, what use is a Spirit Board?"
"No, no. Not a Spirit Board for communicating with souls. One for communicating with corpses."
From the suitcase she had brought, she dug out a not particularly large oak board. Twenty-nine Kasonlik letters were carved into it, their engraved marks painted red. Paired with the Spirit Board was a wooden pointer embedded with a round Glass Ball at its center. Together, they could be used for a simple Spirit Communication game.
"I learned a new ability from the Seer Association in Randall River Valley. This is the perfect chance to try it. Shade, don't you know Puppet Manipulation? Make the skeleton sit up."
So Shade controlled the skeleton and made it sit up. Its right arm stretched out, and the bones of its index finger pressed against the Spirit Board alongside Luvia's finger. Shade lit Luvia's special incense nearby, and dark green smoke immediately flowed into the skeleton, as though filling it with muscles.
As the diviner recited the incantation,