The Missing Miss "Pure White"

"I really am delighted," the young man said, his eyes crinkling. "Speaking of which, High Priest, there's something I've always wanted to ask you."

"What is it?" Nim asked naturally.

"It's nothing much. I'm just a little curious..." The young man turned to look at the High Priest, his monocle reflecting a dim light. "How do you feel about the Lord becoming an evil spirit?"

Nim froze for a moment. After some consideration, he asked, "Does the Lord still have a chance of returning to his divine throne?"

"Of course." The young man sounded certain.

"I hope to help the Lord return to his divine throne," Nim answered without hesitation.

The young man laughed. He stood, set his book on the table, and said as he walked toward the door:

"Get some rest, High Priest."

"The abilities of a Dirge Poet..." Neph opened her eyes, her brows drawing together slightly. "I can't use them here either, can I? Honestly, though, these abilities are so ominous. They make me feel like a crow... Actually, I'd recommend renaming this Sequence something like 'Death-Heralding Crow'... Oh, the Corpse-Chasing Bird among the main ingredients sounds like that sort of creature, doesn't it?"

A Dirge Poet had three main abilities: listening, singing, and seeing.

Listening manifested as the ability to sense death. When faced with a person or another living creature whose life force was about to fade, a Dirge Poet could hear the legendary "dirge."

As for singing, a Dirge Poet could chant funeral verses to make people recall their most painful memories. There was even a chance of recalling a memory forgotten through hypnosis or similar means.

Seeing allowed them to view deaths that had occurred within a certain area over a certain period-in other words, a replay of death. Neph had no way to measure its precise range or time frame. The knowledge from the Potion only told her that the more recent the death, the better the effect. Still, she suspected this ability served as a substitute for Spirit Channeling. Whether it was superior or inferior would have to wait until she tried it.

Neph could not use a single one of those abilities at present. By comparison, Winter Envoy was far better. Its very first entry described the ability that ensured she could remain in this Pure White Space:

"Fully become a living corpse, greatly increasing resistance to cold and decay, rendering one almost impervious to damage from ordinary cold..."

Furthermore, a Winter Envoy could roughly gauge someone's level by sensing the strength of their life force. Of course, this was not accurate. Sequence 9 Beyonders whose enhancements favored the body, such as Hunters and Assassins, had stronger life forces than others.

However, at levels such as Sequence 7 and Sequence 6, that slight difference would be eclipsed by the enormous increase granted by the Sequence itself. Thus, although Neph could not accurately determine a Beyonder's exact Sequence, it still provided a rough indication of their strength.

Apart from that, Winter Envoy also revealed how this Pathway fought. Neph silently labeled the Pathway "ice mage"-at the Winter Envoy level, she could already manipulate frost to attack.

Finally, a Winter Envoy had another ability that Neph did not know how to judge. If she had to name it, she thought it would have to be something like "air conditioning" or "cool air"... Yes, she could passively radiate cold into her surroundings.

...She could save people money on electricity in summer.

"Hm? Where is she?"

Up in Sefirah Castle, Klein withdrew his spirituality in surprise. The Crimson Star belonging to Neph contained nothing. When he extended his spirituality into it, all he saw was a vast expanse of white. Miss Pure White, who should have appeared there, was nowhere to be found.

Hmm...

Klein's first reaction was worry, but he soon relaxed. Miss Pure White had left far too profound an impression on him. He could not imagine her running into danger. Besides, that expanse of white reminded him of his divination, and of the chill that had spread into the depths of his soul.

Was it because of the Sefirah? Was she simply busy right now...?

Klein frowned, but did not dwell on it. Instead, he found the star representing little Sun.

There was nothing unusual about the Tarot Club meeting without Miss Pure White. Mr. Fool merely stated, quite casually, that she had requested leave, then began the meeting.

The next day, Klein went to the Royal Museum to visit the Roselle Memorial Exhibition.

Roselle had once written in his diary that he had turned a Card of Blasphemy into a bookmark and tucked it into a book. Thus, when Klein reached the reconstruction of Roselle's study, he instinctively began looking around.

There were many bookmarks here. Some bore childish doodles, while others depicted Roselle in an emperor's robes. Klein looked them over and even tried activating Spirit Vision, but found nothing.

So Klein began recalling the diary's contents. Roselle had smugly declared that he would hide the bookmark in the most valuable book. Of all the books currently displayed in the study, Roselle's Creative Manuscript fit that description best. The others all fell somewhat short by comparison.

He could not be certain of this, of course. Klein felt that the Church of Steam and Machinery probably had not put the truly memorable books on display. But Neph had been certain that he would obtain the Card of Blasphemy, and it had sounded as though that would happen before long. Thus, Klein suspected that the Card of Blasphemy was somewhere in this exhibition.

Still, I need to confirm it... Hmm, I wonder if she'd be willing to give me another hint? If not, I'll ask Miss Justice to try. As a noblewoman of considerable standing, she should have certain privileges that would let her get close to these bookmarks...

As he planned, he carefully memorized the layout and began considering the feasibility of stealing it.

After finishing his visit, Klein returned to Sefirah Castle. First, he tried touching the Crimson Star belonging to Neph. His view was still nothing but an unobstructed expanse of pure white, and a faint unease surfaced.

...Has something really gone wrong?

Hiss, judging by her Astral Body, her Sequence isn't actually high. She might only be Sequence 9... Although she seems to know a great deal, that probably only helps her avoid danger. There are always unforeseen circumstances. If she really ran into something...

Klein's spirits sank. For the moment, he turned his attention away from that Crimson Star, intending to check again that evening.

...But things did not go as hoped.

"The power is considerable, but the precision doesn't seem very high..." Neph took a step back, looking at the ice sculpture half her height before her with a slight frown.

The ice sculpture already had recognizable facial features, but Neph had ultimately been defeated by details such as eyelashes, strands of hair, and the expression in its eyes. She could only shape these parts as a whole, rather than

achieve the distinct individual strands she wanted.

"Still, it's enough... Hmm, perhaps I can try advancing tomorrow." Neph nodded, a small smile slipping onto her face.