"Spirit of Conviction!" Rainsister's voice greeted Jack. It was a gentle hum, warm and familiar. Like a catchy melody. She looked up from her mug, but a faint smile touched her lips. "You're early today."
Jack Mystery drifted closer. His spectral form shimmered slightly. His masked visage offered no expression. "Rainsister!" He greeted back. Nodding his head.
Before Rainsister could respond, a ripple disturbed the air. Two small figures materialized. A boy and a girl. Identical in every way except for their clothing. Their serious expressions were fixed as always.
"Twins of Vigilance!" Rainsister greeted them. Her smile was widening.
"Hello, Rainsister, Jack!" The boy, Adam, said in a monotone.
"Hello!" The girl, Alice, echoed.
Jack watched them and nodded in reply. The sheer, unblinking intensity of their gaze and their always-expressionless face hadn't changed.
Another presence bloomed into existence. Softer, more diffuse. Amaranth White, the Mist of Compassion, appeared. Her natural aura was tinged with a subtle but distinct scent of dried flowers and ancient earth.
She offered Rainsister a polite nod. Her eyes briefly flicking to Jack before settling back on the deity. "Good afternoon, Rainsister!"
"Mist of Compassion!" Rainsister acknowledged. "Always a pleasure."
The four of them were the usual attendees to the gathering. But this time, there was another guest...
A new ripple appeared. Sharper this time. Tinged with a subtle tension. A woman materialized. Her movements were precise. Her gaze was sharp and assessing. Baroness Emerald Artheim.
This was her first time attending after Jack had extended an invitation. Her eyes scanned the room. Taking in the familiar spectral presence of Jack. And the warm yet undeniably powerful existence of Rainsiter. The one she only saw at a glance in the catastrophic case in Lake Trishade.
"Lady of Dignity!" Rainsister said. Her tone was laced with a gentle warmth that seemed to ease some of the Baroness's apprehension. "Welcome!"
The Baroness inclined her head. A flicker of surprise in her eyes at the deity's acknowledgment. "Thank you, Rainsister."
Unlike in the previous gatherings, Jack didn't go straight to the bookshelves. This time, he had a problem. A big one. And he needed the Rainsister's help.
"Rainsister. I need information this time. Do you know anything about a Law Grade Entity called Deep Silence?" He directly asked.
The other attendees paid a close attention. The term 'Law Grade Entity' was something they didn't recognize. But it sound powerful.
Rainsister's composure was untouched. She took a slow sip of her drink. She obviously recognize the term. But she was still treating the high-level threat with the casualness of someone discussing the weather.
"Ah. The Deep Silence." She commented. "I recall that particular disturbance. It should have been permanently sealed long ago. Approximately three thousand years in the past. By an Empyrean Songstress and an Array Wright."
Jack nodded. "Yes. But the seal is broken. Because of unnatural lightning strike."
"Completely broken?"
"No. Just damaged, I think." He replied. "The Deep Silence has a window of activity now. It would be free two hours every day. Approximately at dusk. I need a concrete method for permanent disposal. Or, full re-sealing."
Rainsister's smile weakened. A shade of concern was now touching her eyes. She set her mug down on a side table.
"Deep Silence!" She murmured. Her gaze was distant as if she was recalling certain memory. "That's… a troublesome entity."
The Twins shifted their weight. Their poker faces were unwavering. But Jack felt their curiosity. Amaranth White's hand instinctively went to a pouch at her belt. Baroness Artheim's posture also became more rigid. Her caution was amplified.
Things that a deity-level character like Rainsister considered troublesome. That would be... deadly dangerous for them.
"I'm in a place called Songstress Village. That thing was there, killing people outside at twilight. I'm trying to help a friend, Jack Night, solve this. But I don't know how to deal with a Law Grade Entity." Jack explained.
Amaranth and Baroness Artheim changed their expression. Both had encountered Jack Night. He was their acquaintance, at least. And they had also heard about the Twilight Death curse incidents.
Rainsister looked at Jack meaningfully. She knew Jack Night and the specter were the same entity. But she didn't say anything about it.
Instead, she talked about the creature. "Deep Silence..." She repeated. "It was a Law Grade Entity. And, Law Grade Entities are… fundamental. They're not living in the same way we are. They are eternal. Immortal you may say."
Jack nodded. He had already known that fact. "Is there any way to eliminate or banish it?"
"No!" Rainsister said. Shaking her head slowly. "You can't kill it. You can't destroy them. It is possible to banish it, but it will likely return almost immediately."
She tapped her couch arm. "You can contain them though. The original seal… if it wasn't completely broken, it should be able to be fixed."
"The seal..." Rainsister mused. "I remembered it should be a two-part arrangement. An Array Wright's craft, grounding the entity's power to a sealed space. And an Empyrean Songstress's melody, opposing its essence and forcing it into dormancy."
She looked at Jack. "The foundation of the seal was likely rooted in a specific artifact. A focal point of their combined might."
Jack nodded. "I found the object. A metal box. Hidden beneath a tree that was struck by the lightning."
"Then the solution is simple. In concept." Rainsister declared. A small, almost imperceptible smile playing on her lips. "You merely need to repair the seal. Re-establish the connection."
She sighed. A soft, breathy sound. "Unfortunately, the Array Wrights and Empyrean Songstresses are extinct. But the seal an Array Wright created should have an automatic recovery system."
Jack's spectral form flickered. A sign of his internal agitation. "An automatic recovery system?"
Rainsister's eyes twinkled. "If my conjecture holds true, and the methods of the Array Wright and Empyrean Songstress were as I recall them, then the components are surprisingly… achievable."
"You need materials for the sealing object recovery. To recover the focus for the array, it should be something solid and powerful. The bone of a powerful beast should do. And for the array circuit... it should be silver. These, I suspect, are within your reach."
Jack's spectral fingers tapped an invisible rhythm in the air. Bone and silver. Those were indeed within the realm of possibility. The dragon bone in the Northern Cave should do. And he had some silver ingots saved within his Mirror Space.
"Is that all?" He asked.
"No." Rainsister shook her head. "You still need one more thing. The original song the Empyrean Songstress sung for the sealing. It was needed to reactivate the seal."
Jack winced behind his mask. This was a problem. How to replicate a melody sung three millennia ago?
"The song..." Jack stated. His voice was low and intense. "That is a big problem. How can I possibly find the Empyrean Songstress's melody?"
Rainsister leaned back. A knowing smile graced her lips. She reached out and gently tapped a book on the shelf beside her.
"You should be a Mystic Scholar, right? Do you have [Past Echo] in your grimoire?"
Jack felt a jolt of realization. He had [Past Echo]. A useful spell. Allowing him to project holographic replays of recent events. But it was limited. Only visual. And it couldn't reach too far to the past.
"I have it. It shows me what happened in the past." He conceded. "But it was visual. Not the sound. And it couldn't go that far to the past."
"You can modify the spell in your grimoire, you know?" Rainsister casually tossed him the piece of knowledge that no one seemed to know.
Baroness Artheim looked at Rainsister with shock. She was also a Mystic Scholar. And she was a researcher. She didn't know modifying a stored spell in the grimoire could be done.
"It's just a matter of modifying runes." Rainsister simply said. "As long as the logic is solid, spell can be modified and strengthened. Obviously, it will require higher mana to use. And some might require ingredients other than mana."
She smiled. "I know a stronger variation of [Past Echo]. It is a much more potent form of the spell. One that doesn't just show you the visual echo, but also the auditory one. I call it [Transcendent Echo]."
She lifted a hand. A piece of parchment appeared out of nowhere. "And, one can reach much, much further back in time. Just with a simple sacrifice of three common herbs: red rosemary, seerheart sage, and mystic mugwort."
Jack's spectral form seemed to vibrate with anticipation. This was it. This was the key. [Transcendent Echo]. If he could access the memory of the Empyrean Songstress singing her sealing song, he could potentially replicate it.
"Can you teach me?"
"Of course." Rainsister replied with a gentle nod. "The principles are not so complicated. Here! I believe you are more than capable to learn this."
Jack used the telekinesis power of his [Mysterious Anomaly] to catch the parchment tossed to him. And he looked at it...