Backlund, Great Bridge District.
Night lay heavy over the bridge. No one crossed it, and the surroundings were silent. Only a squad of soldiers guarding the bridge could be seen in the distance.
Jane Grant Miranda, her face hidden beneath a hooded cloak, walked past the soldiers in the embrace of a special spirit. They looked straight through her, as though they had noticed nothing at all.
Following the bridge down, Jane soon reached the entrance on the Tussock River's south bank. After waiting quietly for a few minutes, she saw blue-green pea vines descend from high above, weaving themselves into a lush forest.
Jane was long accustomed to the sight. She found a path formed by the vines and suspended in midair, then climbed it step by step.
Before long, she saw Queen Mystic Bernadette gently swaying on a swing woven from vines.
After lifting her skirt in a respectful curtsy, Jane heard Bernadette say softly:
"I have a few pages of manuscript here. Copy them and give the copy to Sharron."
That was one of Jane's main reasons for coming. She agreed, then summoned a spirit with many tentacles and had it begin copying the pages at speed.
Bernadette watched the spirit with her deep blue eyes for a moment before saying calmly, "There are traces of deliberate interference in that spirit's existence... Your ancestor must also have possessed the means of Creation."
Jane's expedition to the ruins in the Berserk Sea had been undertaken at Bernadette's direction and with her arrangements. Naturally, Bernadette knew the strange spirits around Jane had been passed down from her ancestor.
"Wasn't my ancestor a Death Archon? How could he perform Creation?" Jane asked in surprise.
In her ancestor's tomb, she had obtained several Sealed Artifacts and gained the allegiance of some