It had been several days after the clash with the Death Emissary. Today was the day for the monthly Fateless Gathering.

  ...

  The transition from the physical world to Rainsister's spiritual domain was always a peculiar sensation. One moment, Jack was in his quiet study in Lonestone City. The next, the air turned warm with the scent of citrus and tea.

  The quit study dissolved into a cozy living room that felt far too comfortable for a gathering of anomalies. It was exactly as he remembered it. Soft lamplight bathed the space. Illuminating shelves packed with books.

  The beautiful deity, Rainsister, was there. Reclined gracefully on a plush, comfortable couch. A steaming mug of tea was cradled between her delicate hands. Her long, dark hair cascaded over her shoulders. Catching the light from a nearby ornate lamp.

  No other people. He was once again the first to come to the Gathering this time.

  "Spirit of Conviction." Rainsister delivered her usual greeting. Maintaining her elegant, composed manner. Wearing a smile that suggested she already knew... the punchline to every joke Jack hadn't told yet.

  "Rainsister." Jack acknowledged with a polite nod.

  Soon, the others flickered into existence.

  Amaranth White appeared first. Smelling faintly of crushed herbs and damp earth. She looked tired. Her eyes were scanning the room with a habitual vigilance that had never quite faded.

  Then came Baroness Sapphire Artheim. Her high-born stature and refined features were a stark contrast to the herbalist's. Now that she was familiar enough with the gathering, she showed more of her true nature.

  She was a noble widow who cared more for the secrets of the universe than the gossip of the court. And it showed in the way she looked at Rainsister. Less with reverence and more with an academic's hunger.

  Finally, the twins arrived. Alice and Adam Lingreen stood side-by-side. As usual, their faces were as expressionless as marble statues.

  "Welcome back... Mist of Compassion, Lady of Dignity, and Twins of Vigilance." Rainsister greeted.

  "The gathering..." Alice began.

  "...is complete." Adam finished.

  Rainsister inclined her head. "It is. It's good to see you all survive another month outside of fate's whims. Feels free to exchange your inquiries."

  The twins turned their synchronized gaze toward Jack.

  "What about the statue?" Adam asked.

  "The terrifying thing in the museum?" Alice added.

  Jack nodded at them. "It had been dealt. The cursed statue was a demonized human cursed into a stone. Just on the brink of breaking its curse. I didn't have any safe idea to handle it, so I informed the churches. And kinda... well, threaten them to solve it quickly."

  Rainsister chuckled at that.

  "Anyway, I handed the heavy lifting to the Trinity Churches." Jack continued. "They've sealed and put its containment unit in their safe vault."

  "And the stupid people?" Alice asked.

  "The dumb one that brought the statue?" Adam added.

  "They were from the Undeath Sect." Jack replied bluntly. "It's a retaliation against the Royal Faction's suppression, I think. I tracked them and handled them. They won't be a problem anymore. I made sure they were... permanently away from this world."

  He didn't mention the specifics. There were children here. No matter how strange these two children were, he wasn't about to narrate a massacre scene to them.

  "Undeath Sect?" Rainsister mused, tapping her chin. "The followers of that annoying guy, huh? But you did well to let the Church handle the demonized human. Some things are better left behind their lead-lined walls."

  Baroness Artheim shifted the topic. Her curiosity shifted to another issue. "What about the Valley of Despair. There was a huge rumor that the King acquired the forbidden artifact. Is that true? You were in the vicinity, weren't you?"

  Jack nodded. "I was. And the King did get the item. But, it was a trap. The Illuminated level people fought for the [Forbidden Chalice]. Well, it was just a ploy. The Saint of Joy used them to lure some strange clown creature. He acquired the [Divine Seed of Pain] from it."

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  The room went quiet. Even the twins seemed to still their breathing.

  "A [Divine Seed of Pain]?" Sapphire whispered. "I’ve read the term in restricted archives. But the texts were always... redacted."

  She turned to Rainsister. "Goddess, what exactly is such a thing?"

  Rainsister smiled. She set her teacup down with a soft clink.

  "The path of transcendence is a ladder of condensation." She began. "I have explained that to reach the Illuminated level, one must break the reality bubble that limit one's power and understanding."

  The goddess calmly continued. "But to go beyond that, to reach the Sanctified level, just getting illuminated is not enough. You must create a core. A seed. You must condense your essence, your path, and your understanding of the world's laws into a single point. A unique point which had one dominant aspect of domain. That is a [Divine Seed]."

  She gestured with her slim hand. A spark of light flickering in her palm. "For a Sanctified Being, the Seed is their heart. To advance further... to become an Exalted Being, the God level power, the process becomes even more demanding."

  An image of a seed growing into a sapling appeared above Rainsister's hand. "One must either infuse that Seed with worshippers' faith, nurture the Seed with positive karma as its 'fertilizer', acquire and fuse other [Divine Seeds] to broaden their authority, or temper the Seed through world-shaking tribulations."

  "So the Saint of Joy chose... collecting them?" Jack surmised. "To be a god?"

  "Very likely." Rainsister nodded. "But, relying only on the collection of the seeds? He needed at least seven of them to succeed. Most Saints prefer the easier faith path. Or the karma one."

  "The Saint of Joy chose Pain for his next divine seed? Why?" Amaranth asked. Her brow furrowed.

  "Contrast is the strongest catalyst." Rainsister replied. "But actually, well... divine seeds are extremely rare. Only a fallen Sanctified being produced them. And Sanctified beings... Ourean Continent at present only has five of them."

  Jack listened. His mind was categorizing the information. The power scaling of this world was absurd. But it might be very important to know about it for the future. Far in the future.

  The Baroness leaned forward. Her eyes were bright. "And what about the [Forbidden Chalice]? Is it true that it could resurrect dead people?"

  Rainsister kept her calm smile. "The Chalice does work. There are lots of limitation about its 'safe usage' though. First, it requires sacrifice of equal or greater life force."

  Jack had already known about this one. He had also suspected that this was the reason the Royal Faction suppressed transcendent criminals and illegal organization.

  "Second, time matters." Rainsister continued. "Resurrecting someone recently died carries low risk. Reviving someone who has been gone for a long time... that is not a good idea."

  "Why?" Adam asked.

  "I've never died, so I don't know for sure." Rainsister replied. "But, there is a high chance the 'aged soul' will be corrupted when it is resurrected. How to explain it... Let's see... There is this theory of 'reincarnation', for example. The soul of the dead will be stripped of its memory, reincarnated, and reborn as a baby in its new life."

  She stayed silent for a moment. "Let's assume that theory is correct. Then, what do you think would happen when the 'already-reincarnated' soul is forcefully resurrected?"

  "The resurrection will fail." Alice answer with flat expression.

  "That's the best result." The goddess nodded. "But, worse thing can happen. You might succeed reviving the body back. But the soul of the thing that wakes up... it won't be what you are looking for. And it might not even be the soul of... dead human."

  The Baroness looked away. Her fingers were tracing the lace on her sleeve. "I see. It might not be a good idea indeed."

  The silence that followed was heavy. It was Amaranth who broke it. Her voice was trembling slightly.

  "I... I have a different problem." She whispered.

  She took a deep breath and continued. "I'm currently in the Wavefront Kingdom. My companions and I... we're trapped. We were scouting a ruined labyrinth on the coast, but the geography somehow shifted. The stone is ancient, rune-carved, and it's bleeding the mana out of us. We've been stuck in there for three days. Sooner or later we would run out of supplies."

  Jack frowned. "Wavefront? That's a long distance. Even at my fastest, it would take several days to reach there."

  "We are in Lonestone." Alice said.

  "Too far." Adam added.

  Baroness Artheim also shook her head. "Sorry."

  "I can't leave my domain to interfere directly at present." Rainsister said. Her voice tinged with genuine regret. "However..."

  She waved a hand. And glowing golden lines are formed in the air. Turning into two distinct, symbol-like patterns.

  "I can give you the means to help yourselves." The goddess said. "And the means for the others here to support you."

  Jack narrowed his eyes, his [Steamrune Engineer] instincts kicking in. He began memorizing the patterns instantly.

  "Listen closely. This is ancient knowledge, dating back to even before my era." Rainsister started. "The left one is the [Runic Communication Ritual] and the right one is the [Runic Transfer Ritual]."

  Jack leaned in. His eyes were recording every stroke of the patterns. This was what he thrived on. New systems. New mechanics for his incarnations to deconstruct.

  "The [Runic Communication Ritual] is simple." Rainsister explained. "It requires a small amount of your own blood or well... ectoplasm, an ash of any flower, and a clear focus on the person you wish to reach. Once established, it creates a bridge between souls that lasts for as long as your spiritual energy can last. You can even speak across continents. Provided both parties know the runes."

  She pointed to the right rune. "This [Runic Transfer Ritual] is slightly more taxing. The requirements are the same. But it allows for the delivery of inanimate objects to the same rune at the target location."

  She paused for a few beats before continuing. "It can send items, potions, even weapons. It requires a significant amount of spiritual energy. You cannot send a living creature or strong magical item. But you can send some normal tools a person needs to survive."

  Amaranth's eyes lit up. "Yes. If we can get the right reagents or tools, we can most likely escape from the labyrinth."

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