With the Oldest One acting as witness, Raphael immediately began preparing to summon a messenger.
Considering how dangerous summoning Spirit World creatures could be, Raphael gathered everything the ritual required and used Traveler to reach the forest west of Backlund.
On a large boulder deep in the forest, Raphael drew the corresponding symbols of the Spirit World, then lit two candles and erected a Wall of Spirituality.
Then he solemnly recited in Jotun, "I, in my name, summon a spirit wandering through the illusory, a friendly creature willing to serve."
The candle representing Raphael burned normally, as did the candle representing the "friendly creature."
One second, two seconds, three seconds passed, yet there was still no response.
Raphael stared blankly for a moment before realizing that the summoning had failed.
He frowned and began reviewing the summoning ritual and the wording he had just used.
This ritual was part of the Beyonder knowledge he had acquired after more or less "recovering" his memories.
He had also forgotten where the ritual came from.
In Raphael's experience, things he could not clearly remember were most likely connected to Sefirah Castle.
In other words, someone connected to Sefirah Castle had probably used this ritual before.
People like that naturally had a close connection to the Spirit World, so rituals involving it could be simplified accordingly.
Raphael nodded slowly, having identified the crux of the problem.
If he had already advanced to Wraith, he too would have a close connection to the Spirit World, but he had yet to advance.
That meant this summoning ritual required a corresponding sacrifice.
Or rather, he had to offer some benefit before a Spirit World creature would answer his summons.
After some thought, Raphael took a test tube of blood from the Dark Hut and placed it on