The origin of a folk custom

Lumian "kept" his promise, only sitting at the two "Witch '" table for a few minutes before politely taking his leave, leaving the nearby men somewhat bewildered and confused.

Shouldn't we press our advantage and continue the attack?

Is this the advanced technique of Intis, the Playboy, the Dandyism?

As Lumian walked back to her table, she saw the Waiter carrying a tall stack of plates, leaving with an expression that combined confusion, astonishment, and fear.

We ate every single dish on the entire menu!

They looked at Ludwig and Lugano as if they were looking at two Monster crawling out of the Abyss.

"If you knew that Ludwig ate two-thirds of those dishes and Staple Food, and Lugano and I only shared the remaining third, you would be even more afraid, worried that you would be eaten too. Well, such a worry is reasonable..." Lumian muttered silently as he sat down.

An apple cake and a cup of rich, creamy Ice Cream were placed in front of him, Ludwig, and Lugano respectively.

Ludwig's face showed undisguised satisfaction. This was the most he had eaten in a long time, not only because the portions of Feysac's food were large and the taste was good, but also because Lumian didn't feel bad about spending other people's money.

Lumian pushed her apple cake toward Ludwig, seemingly focused on scooping up Milk Ice Cream with a spoon and putting it in her mouth.

As he felt the Frost melt and the milky scent spread, he lowered his voice and muttered to himself, "Have you noticed anything unusual around ' The Two of Cups ' and ' The Seven of Cups '?"

After a brief silence, Lumian heard a faint, ethereal voice.

That came from "Knight of Swords" Maric:

"We've noticed something, starting from Chaban Street and ending near ' Saint-Milon Restaurant,' but it's only a slight anomaly; we haven't pinpointed its source."

It matches Franca's description and my speculation, they corroborate each other... Even though Oseto has already started tracking Franca and Jenna, the Temperance Faction's Half-God still can't find out who it is... Can they only wait for Oseto to take the initiative? Lumian thought for a few seconds, took out a pair of non-prescription Gold-Rimmed Glasses for disguise from the "Traveler’s Bag", and put them on his nose.

He immediately saw the figure of the "Knight of Swords," dressed in a shirt and vest, appear in his glasses before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Maric's voice became clearer in his ear:

"We have occasionally found similar minor anomalies and corresponding traces, which is one of the main reasons why we are certain that Oseto is still in the Lacray Region."

Could such a thing be accomplished solely through the "Otherworld"—to travel unnoticed under the noses of Half-God with exceptionally strong spiritual intuition, through the "Prisoner" Pathway? Lumian lacked a deep understanding of the "Otherworld" and could only speculate based on his past experiences.

He has entered the "Otherworld," more than once!

In Cordou Village, whether in reality or in Dream, he entered the "Otherworld" many times, but at that time, without the involvement of a high-level power, he had no way of judging the usual state of the "Otherworld," or whether it could deceive the senses and intuition of Half-God once it unfolded.

In Trier, during the "Shadow Tree" Calamity, he was passively drawn into the "Otherworld" of the "Lady Moon." This "Otherworld" effectively isolated the outside world from the inside, preventing Trier's Half-God from discovering the growth of the "Shadow Tree" and the ongoing battle in that area. It was only through Franca's use of the "Judgement" card and the special properties of the "Lady of Judgement" that contact was established with the outside world, allowing the Half-God of the "Tarot Club" to locate themselves and descend into the "Otherworld." However, at that time, Trier's Half-God were far from the Messy Street and didn't discover anything hidden there, which is understandable and acceptable...

Memories Flash through Lumian's mind; he still felt that the "Otherworld" couldn't have achieved this level of perfection.

When "The Otherworld" was retracted, even though the Temperance Faction Half-God was right next to it, he couldn't sense it, which was normal. But how come it didn't reveal any problems even after it was unfolded right under the Temperance Faction Half-God's nose?

Is it really that strong?

I think even "Lady Moon's" "Otherworld" wouldn't be able to achieve that; she can only conceal her movements and protect herself from being discovered by maintaining distance...

Lumian turned his gaze to the window and saw two local residents among the passersby. One of them had a human Skull painted purple hanging from his chest, while the other had a white human Skull tied to his head with a rope.

"Death Worship..."

"' The Otherworld '..."

"Perhaps, what ' Witch King ' Oseto did in the Lacré Region gave his ' Otherworld ' something special, and it is precisely because of this specialness that he could unfold his ' Otherworld ' in front of a Half-God without being discovered, until there was substantial interaction between the two parties..." Lumian made a certain guess based on the fact that Madame Pualis wanted to use the customs of the Cordou Village to improve her "Otherworld".

Lumian ate another spoonful of Milk Ice Cream and then lowered his voice again, saying, "Tell me in detail about the origin and circumstances of the Skull Blessing Festival."

The voice of "Knight of Swords" Maric echoed more clearly in his ears:

"This dates back to the time when ' Death God ' fell, and the situation in the Southern Continent underwent a fundamental change."

"The fall of ' Death God ' caused Mutation in the Underworld. The vast majority of the Undead can no longer sense the Underworld or enter it. They can only wander outside of it, between the Spirit World and the real world."

"In this way, intelligent beings are very likely to turn into zombies, or Wraith Transformation or Evil Spirit spirits after they die, which poses a great threat to living beings and brings one Calamity after another."

"The response from the Northern Continent nations is to strengthen purification through Church and enforce cremation. Among them, the ' Eternal Blazing Sun ' Church and the God of Combat Church have shown remarkable purification effects, and those who have undergone purification are not required to be cremated."

Hearing this, Lumian finally understood and comprehended the series of measures including comforting the dead, purifying the dead, encouraging cremation, and rewarding the discovery of Vagrant deaths.

Their Source lies in the fall of "Death God" and the Mutation in the Underworld!

No wonder the old bones in the lower layers of the Catacombs were all bones, no ashes... During the Fourth Epoch, before the Underworld underwent its Mutation, the Undead still had a place to return to... Some Mysticism knowledge says that the Corpse are prone to Mutation because of the influence of "Death God" on the Northern Continent during the "Pale Disaster" at the end of the Fourth Epoch. Uh, it is indeed an influence left over from the "Pale Disaster." "Death God" perished in that Calamity, Underworld Mutation as a result... Lumian suddenly understood, gaining a more thorough understanding of certain Mysticism knowledge.

"Knight of Swords" continued, "The same problem has occurred in the Southern Continent. It is not difficult to deal with. The Balam Empire, which has a large number of Beyonder with the ' Death God ' Pathway, quickly came up with several solutions. Without the need for mandatory cremation, the corpse disaster in some areas was quelled, and those places were restored to normal."

"In other regions, as countries like Hagati, Paz, and the Highlands were striving for independence, the belief in ' Death God ' began to decline, leading to a period of rampant corpse plagues and a power vacuum. People in different regions had to find their own solutions."

Lumian nodded slightly:

"Is the Lacré Region's custom the Skull Blessing Festival?"

"The Skull Blessing Festival is just one manifestation," the Knight of Swords explained simply. "According to records left behind by the Highland Kingdom, the Lacray people, with the help of a former Balam Empire official, established a small kingdom for the dead, where the spirits of the deceased could enter and never leave, finding peace."

"But that's not the Underworld after all. There's no way to truly bring peace to the Undead. They can only wait for the dead to gradually perish on their own."

"The annual Skull Blessing Festival is a celebration where the Undead can come out to revel and be released. Placing the Skull of loved ones in the home can prevent Undead that accidentally leave that small realm from harming them."

Simply put, they created a rudimentary, localized Underworld so that the Undead could have a place to return to...

The place of return... One of the concepts of the "Otherworld" is that the soul returns to the earth and wanders in the Wilderness. These two ideas are quite similar...

Furthermore, in the "Otherworld," on special days, the souls of the dead can return home to enjoy the joy of reunion, which is very similar to the Skull Blessing Festival in the Lacré Region...

The only difference is that the souls here have no path to Rebirth; they can only slowly perish... Comparing the local Undead Kingdom with the "Otherworld," Lumian vaguely grasped something.

He remembered Louis Lund relaying some of Madame Pualis's words:

What has been established so far is only a small, miniature Otherworld, a component of the complete Otherworld...

"Hiss..." Lumian took a breath and muttered to himself, "Could Oseto be planning to integrate the local Undead Kingdom into his ' Otherworld ' to make the latter more complete?"

"He—no, she—has already succeeded initially, which is why you haven't noticed her?"

"The Knight of Swords," Maric, paused for a moment before saying, "Possibly."

He paused for a moment, then added, "We didn't see that Undead Kingdom either."

Upon seeing this... Lumian was taken aback at first, but then he understood what the "Knight of Swords" meant.

The "Prisoner" Pathway allows one to Wraith Transformation and directly see the Undead Kingdom, but they found nothing of the sort after arriving in the Lacré Region.

Lumian did not respond, but instead thought of another question:

"If Oseto has indeed initially integrated with that small Undead Kingdom, then he's essentially a local Death God, and he must have been able to sense the Ombella bloodline within me just now..."

How will she react?

Was it a momentary outburst of anger, or a feeling that it could be exploited?

"Why didn't she act directly? Right, she also used the Bird-Clawed Monster Infant to discover that Ludwig next to me had the aura of the Corpse 'Mother'. The two combined made it clear that it was bait, a trap!"

"This made her, who was used to being indulged, hold back. What she needs to do now is ask for help?"

Thinking of this, Lumian took off his glasses and stood up abruptly.