A transaction?
Charlotte looked at Gervais's bloodstained, translucent face and felt that something was wrong with everything happening before her.
From what she knew of spirit channeling rituals, and from watching Viève channel Julian's spirit, the spirits of the dead would only answer three questions mechanically. They would neither conceal anything nor volunteer additional information. Once all the questions were answered, their remaining spirituality would be all but exhausted, and they would naturally dissipate. There was no way they could linger like Gervais, much less perceive the thoughts of the consciousness presiding over the ritual and propose a transaction themselves.
Could this be something unique to the Spectator pathway? Could they see through the thoughts of the living even after death? No, that sounds far too bizarre. Would Prosecutor Julian's spirit have denounced my crimes, then? Charlotte's thoughts raced as her gaze swept over the makeshift altar enclosed within the Wall of Spirituality, trying to find the cause of this anomaly.
Wait... the Wall of Spirituality?
Something occurred to Charlotte, and she looked at the Dagger of Judgment, which she had placed on the ground to keep its negative effects from affecting her.
Since she had traveled light to watch the play, she had not brought a dedicated Ritual Dagger. Instead, she had used this Sealed Artifact to draw out her spirituality and isolate the altar from the outside world.
After absorbing the power of the boon Julian had received, this Sealed Artifact had not only gained the ability of Conviction, but also developed the traits of attracting shadow creatures and scrutinizing its wielder's sins.
According to the captured cultists' testimony, the core abilities of this pathway, which began with Broker, were discovering gray-area needs and facilitating transactions. Its Beyonders could even trade with shadow creatures in exchange for their