A funeral

This was the first time Neph had turned her Spirit Vision on a person.

In mainstream mysticism, the nonphysical part of every person was divided into four layers. The innermost was called the "Spirit Body," the most fundamental essence of a person's spirituality.

Outside the "Spirit Body" was the "Astral Body." It was how the former communicated with the Spirit World and the cosmos, an outward manifestation of the former. It was also directly connected to a person's will and current emotions. Divination and many other kinds of magic were performed through the "Astral Body."

Farther out was the "Mental Body." It concerned the mind, collectively representing one's capacity for reasoning, thought, insight, and understanding.

The outermost layer was the "Ether Body," which reflected one's life energy and physical condition. The emotions displayed by the "Astral Body" also manifested here. Spirit Vision initially revealed the "Ether Body," but as it improved, it could eventually reveal the "Astral Body."

Neph had never experienced normal Spirit Vision, but she felt that her unusual version could not possibly reveal only the "Ether Body." It could definitely observe the "Astral Body."

Now, in her vision, Nim's spiritual body was shrouded in a thin black veil. Yet the veil was mottled and uneven. Some parts were stained with dark red blood; others had holes burned through them, with flames still flickering around the edges. In places, faint flashes of lightning made her scalp prickle; elsewhere, barely visible eyes lurked, occasionally opening and giving her a fright...

Neph exhaled. She deactivated her Spirit Vision, held her head, and said with utter sincerity, "It really couldn't have been easy for you to hold on until now."

-The High Priest's spiritual body was so riddled with damage that its original shape was almost impossible to distinguish.

Nim's expression did not change. He handed the paint bucket back to Neph. With the "darkness domain" enveloping it, she finally dared to pick it up. She took the brush, activated her Spirit Vision again, and guided her spirituality as she tried painting over the dark red bloodstains. Pure white covered the blood. Neph withdrew her spirituality and watched Nim's spiritual body. In her vision, the darkness suffusing the veil surged forward alongside the other forms of corruption, fighting over this precious patch of empty ground.

They churned, each claiming a portion of the territory, and the pure white was covered. Yet Neph frowned. Although it was difficult to tell, she kept feeling that the color of that area was a little paler than its surroundings.

"How do you feel?" she asked Nim.

"I'm not quite sure," Nim replied. "My soul seems a little less burdened... but I'm worried it's just my imagination."

Neph let out a breath, then applied two more strokes to Nim's soul.

I wasn't mistaken. The color really is getting paler...

Neph frowned slightly. Remembering the alarming pure white on her own body, she finally understood what it meant for every color to turn pure white.

...Doesn't that mean this stuff could paint away Beyonder Characteristics too?!

Neph drew a breath. Her movements grew even more cautious. She did not remove all the corruption from Nim's body, only around sixty percent of it, before setting down the paint bucket.

"How do you feel now?" she asked again.

"My soul does feel much less burdened," Nim said, his expression somewhat solemn. "But I can sense that the Beyonder Characteristics inside me seem to have become less stable as well."

"Yes." Neph raised a hand and rubbed between her brows. "Because Beyonder Characteristics are a kind of corruption too..."

Nim nodded in understanding. Neph checked her remaining spirituality, then spoke again:

"I haven't removed all the corruption from you. If you need it, we can try again later..."

"This is enough." Nim shook his head. "I haven't felt this well in a very long time. It's almost as though I've gone back to when I was still at a low sequence..."

Neph fell silent. Nim glanced at her expression and asked with concern, "Do you need to rest?"

"I think so," Neph said with a nod.

"I'll take you back," Nim told her, picking up the paint bucket. "Also, there's something I'd like your opinion on..."

"What is it?" Neph asked as they walked.

"I'm planning to hold a sacrificial ceremony in Moon City to announce your arrival," Nim replied. "Do you have any requirements regarding the ceremony's form or details? Oh, and..."

Nim paused briefly before continuing in a gentle voice:

"Perhaps you'll also need a priest? Do you have any thoughts on the candidate or the title?"

Neph froze for a moment, then instinctively shook her head. "I don't know much about this... uh, you can choose the candidate yourselves. As for a priest... I remember you have an 'Evernight Priest' and a 'Lightning Priest'?"

"Yes." Nim nodded.

Neph turned to look at him and said with a smile, "Hmm... the name of Sequence 4 in my pathway is 'Eternal Winter Priest.'"

"'Eternal Winter Priest'..." Nim repeated the title, frowning.

Neph nodded, then said nothing more, instead frowning in thought.

A ceremony... a ceremony to announce my arrival?

Should I ask what a normal ceremony is like? Have someone find out the procedure for me or something... hmm, or is he actually asking me about the finer details? Like when to hold it? Or which herbs and essential oils I like?

Come to think of it, if I tell him I like tomb-roses of dusk and Frost-Passing Flowers, I wonder if he could find them... forget it. Better not try to be clever like that. "God of Winter" alone should give him plenty to think about. I'll tell him my power comes from memories and let him figure out the rest himself. As for the form of the ceremony...

Try a funeral? No...

"Ghouls" don't just eat corpses, and the subjects of a "Dirge Poet's" songs shouldn't be limited to the dead either... right? Vanished civilizations, history, and eras should count too, shouldn't they?

Neph stopped, and Nim stopped with her. She turned to him, shrugged, and said:

"I think you probably understand some things better than I do. What I can tell you is...

"My power comes from memories."

"Memories?" Nim looked a little stunned.

Neph turned and continued forward, speaking as she walked:

"Neph means 'snow' in a certain language¹ that has already disappeared.

"As for the form of the ceremony, hmm...

"Why don't we hold a funeral?

"Bury Moon City's past. From then on, those days of struggling with loss of control and madness will become history. After the funeral, you'll welcome a new life.

"What do you think?"

She turned back and gave Nim an expectant smile.