"What nonsense are you talking about?" Fenn didn't look back. "You think something like that showed up here for a social call?"
"If it meant to attack, it should have pounced already," Isaac said.
Fenn frowned. The wraith had already squeezed its entire body through the doorway, but it really didn't seem particularly hostile. It looked more like it was approaching on instinct. "But we can't just keep waiting it out. What, are we supposed to give it a hug? If we don't act soon, it'll be too late!"
Isaac knew Fenn was anxious, but a line of thought was gradually taking shape in his mind.
The check Carlo had mentioned used some kind of standard to determine whether they "encountered a wraith," and carrying a Church of the Golden Bough holy relic lowered the check value, making a negative event easier to trigger. In other words, far from offering protection, a Church of the Golden Bough holy relic would instead attract wraiths.
But why?
Given that this building belonged to the Amorton Family, who had been deemed heretics, the wraith before them, however it had formed, most likely represented Lord Amorton and his wife and children, who had been purged back then.
In the Blackthorn Church's telling of the "purge" inflicted on them, the Amorton Family had naturally gotten what they deserved. But the old rumors had never mentioned what the Amortons actually believed in.
Now, combined with the condition Carlo had mentioned, the answer should have been obvious:
The Amorton Family had been followers of the Church of the Golden Bough.
Now, as Grand Duke Ogway's control over the entire Western Territory grew stronger, the influence of the Church of the Golden Bough was gradually expanding as well. The other churches that had once opposed it had been forced to keep a low profile and submit to the glory of the Golden Bough, and the Blackthorn Church in Palmer was naturally among them.
As for the "purge" of Lord Amorton's family, the Blackthorn Church could neither gloss over it too much, lest it provoke the Church of the Golden Bough, nor admit wrongdoing, lest it damage the Blackthorn Church's local standing. Thus, Amorton Manor had become an unresolved mess that nobody wanted to deal with.
Having thought this through, Isaac spoke. "I have a way to deal with it. We may not need to use violence."
Fenn froze and turned to look at him. "That's a wraith, not some drunken street thug! You're going to reason with it?"
"Give me a little time."
Fenn gritted their teeth. "Fine. Hurry up. If anything goes wrong, I'm not dying with you."
Isaac said no more. He took a deep breath and stepped forward, recalling the books he had once read.
Edward's study contained many books on the faiths of various regions, including a collection of prayers from the Church of the Golden Bough. Isaac had never recited them aloud, but he still remembered some of the content.
The wraith's massive body slowly approached him, the hollow gazes of its several faces fixed on him.
Isaac steadied himself and began to recite:
"O goddess of glory, Vicania, with the Golden Bough you guide lost souls through the dark valley and wash away the wounds of the mortal world..."
This was a prayer of repose from the Church of the Golden Bough, used in funeral rites to beseech the goddess to guide the dead to rest. Isaac kept his voice as steady as he could while watching the wraith before him.
When Isaac reached the third passage, the wraith trembled slightly. The expressions on its faces began to change, shifting gradually from bewilderment to pain, sorrow, and a longing for release.
It's working! Isaac breathed a sigh of relief and continued reciting.
Halfway through the fourth passage, the wraith's massive body knelt. Several arms came together before its chest, fingers interlaced in prayer. Its faces all spoke at once, producing indistinct, halting sounds. The voices of men and women, young and old, intertwined, and though they were out of sync, Isaac could just make out that they were reciting Vicania's prayer along with him.
"...May your light shine upon this land, and may your mercy comfort every wandering soul of the dead..."
"Damn..." Fenn stared in astonishment.
The wraith remained on its knees, and Isaac wasn't quite sure what to do next. He had expected the prayer to make it dissipate or retreat, but although the wraith posed no threat in its current state, it showed no sign of leaving either. It was as though it were waiting for something.
He stopped reciting, and the wraith stopped with him. Its faces showed an almost devout anticipation, its arms held together before its chest and its eyes all fixed on him, but it came no closer.
At a loss for what to do with a wraith that was behaving so well, Isaac could only continue trying to recall the Church of the Golden Bough's texts.
In the funeral rite, there was another step after the prayer: a holy relic had to be given to the deceased. Usually, a consecrated coin was placed with them, symbolizing that the soul could travel to the divine kingdom under the goddess's guidance. Without this holy relic, the soul of the deceased could not find true peace.
He had no consecrated coin, of course. The only holy relic he had that could be considered connected to the Church of the Golden Bough was the holy silver ammunition in his revolver.
Isaac opened the cylinder and tipped out one of the six holy silver bullets. The instant the wraith saw it, its entire body began to tremble violently. Awe and longing mingled on its faces as it slowly shuffled two steps forward on its knees and held out its hands, palms up, to receive it.
Isaac hesitated. Holy silver was naturally lethal to Spirit Body-type aberrants. Would giving the wraith this bullet hurt it instead?
But seeing the anticipation and trust in the wraith's eyes, he hesitated for a moment, then gently placed the bullet in its cupped hands.
The instant the bullet touched the wraith's palms, a blackened burn mark appeared on them. But it did not pull away. Instead, it clasped the bullet tightly in its palms, the corners of its mouths lifting and its eyes curving as tears streamed down its cheeks.
Isaac stepped back half a pace. Holding the bullet, the wraith slowly lowered its head, its lips moving. Its body began to grow more transparent, dissolving bit by bit like smoke scattered by the wind, until only a faint wisp of luminous dust remained. It drifted away and vanished.
Silence returned to the corridor, as though everything that had just happened had been an illusion, except that Isaac really was one bullet short.
Fenn let out a long breath and slid the sword back into its scabbard at their waist. "I thought I was going to die here tonight... What was that you were reciting?"
"A prayer of repose from the Church of the Golden Bough," Isaac said.
"Wait, you're a cleric of the Golden Bough?" Fenn looked at Isaac suspiciously.
It wasn't that Fenn had never seen a cleric perform a rite to dispel a wraith; they simply hadn't expected Isaac to be one.
"Uh, yes." Isaac avoided a direct answer by letting the assumption stand.
Fenn stared at Isaac for a few seconds, then suddenly looked as though they understood. Who knew what they had "figured out" this time? "Ah... I see. Impressive, impressive."
Isaac: "...?"
Wait, what have you imagined now?
Still, since Fenn had come up with an explanation, Isaac breathed a sigh of relief. At least he wouldn't have to explain whether he was actually a follower of the Golden Bough.
After all, only a cleric's prayer could have that kind of effect on a soul... or so it should have been.