Inside the Portable Space.
Lorne slowly unwrapped the humanoid object before him, which had been tightly bundled in coarse linen.
As he peeled away the layers of fabric, a pungent odor mingling preservative spices with some unusual essential oil spread through the enclosed space. What emerged was a shriveled corpse with grayish-brown skin.
It was Finkel, the prince's housekeeper whom Lorne had personally killed on the eve of the Great Smog.
A small lead box rested quietly above the corpse's abdomen. A note was attached to its lid.
"I've successfully dismantled the arrangements on his spirit body. Frankly, this proved more troublesome than I expected. It seemed to involve some higher-level 'order,' so it took me a little longer.
I've specially sealed his spirit body so it can be preserved for a long time. I've already channeled his spirit. Although his soul was somewhat damaged, I still obtained quite a bit of information. As for the specifics, you should ask him yourself..."
"Tsk..."
After reading the note, Lorne clicked his tongue.
Then he carefully opened the lead box.
Inside was a black, heart-shaped stone covered in spikes. Fine patterns ran across its surface, and it seemed to pulse faintly, radiating an imposing aura that made people want to submit.
Sensing the spirituality it emitted, Lorne confirmed that this was the Beyonder characteristic of a Disciplinary Paladin.
"Queen Mystic really does keep her word..." he remarked in satisfaction.
Recalling his earlier battle with Finkel, he realized just how useful the Arbiter pathway's abilities were in actual combat. That domineering style of forcibly imposing rules and prohibiting others' abilities was absurdly versatile...
"If Xio can afford it, she might be able to become a Sequence 5 pretty soon..." Lorne joked.
After all, Xio wasn't even a Sequence 7 yet.
"Still, I can