Chapter 330 : Spirit Offering

เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 มี.ค. 2569 06:26

Somewhere in the forest of the New Continent. Under a gray sky, a white mist lingers among the trees, enveloping the tranquil forest in a serene and quiet atmosphere. Within this faint mist, two figures walk side by side. Both are young men with tan skin. One has long, loose black hair, wearing a patchwork of animal hides and thick cloth tied together as clothing. A headband adorned with eagle feathers rests on his head, and his face is painted with simple patterns. This is Kapak of the Tupa Tribe. Beside him walks another young man of similar age, but unlike Kapak, he wears no headdress, and his hair is much shorter. Around his neck hangs a necklace made of animal fangs. Treading on the thick layer of fallen leaves in the forest, the two young men walk together. The slightly older one, after glancing around several times, turns to Kapak and speaks. "Kapak, after this spirit offering, the spirituality you’ve accumulated should be close to the point of advancement, right? After a few more sessions of soul vision, you’ll be able to see the spirits and Lord Black Hoof." Hearing the older youth’s words, Kapak smiles faintly and responds with a respectful tone. "To be honest, respected brother Banu, after the last spirit offering, my spirituality was already sufficient for advancement. Just the day before yesterday, Teacher Uta performed the ritual for me, officially making me a Spirit Medium. I believe that during this spirit offering, I will finally be able to see Lord Black Hoof in person. I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time." Kapak speaks to Banu with a smile. Hearing this, Banu is slightly startled and, after a moment of silence, responds with a tone of surprise. "You’ve already advanced to a Spirit Medium? Impressive! Kapak, if I remember correctly, it’s only been a little over a month since Elder Uta took you as his disciple, right? And you’ve already advanced? That’s much faster than I was back then! How did you do it?" Banu looks at Kapak with a mix of surprise and curiosity. Kapak smiles modestly and replies. "It’s nothing. I owe a lot to your guidance, Brother Banu. You helped me familiarize myself with the spirit offering rituals, making my first attempts successful." "Spirit offerings? Come on, Kapak, don’t joke around. The spirituality from the offerings I guided you through wouldn’t be enough to advance to a Spirit Medium. Tell me the truth—did Elder Uta tell you about other wild spirits? Have you been attending the rituals of other wild spirits in secret and gaining spirituality from them?" "Not at all..." Banu continues to press Kapak, but Kapak only responds with an ambiguous tone. Hearing this, Banu becomes convinced that Kapak must have been conducting spirit offerings with other wild spirits, gaining spirituality from sources unknown to him. "Hey, Kapak, you must have learned about new wild spirits from Elder Uta, right? Since I was the one who guided you through your first spirit offerings, why don’t you take me to find these other wild spirits? Or did Elder Uta forbid you from sharing this information?" Banu asks eagerly, but Kapak shakes his head and explains. "It’s not what you think, brother Banu. The only wild spirit near our tribe is Lord Black Hoof. Neither Elder Uta nor I know of any other wild spirits in the area. The reason I’ve accumulated spirituality so quickly is that I have a natural affinity for spirituality. When I meditate in the wilderness, it’s easier for me to attract spirits and resonate with them. Much of my spirituality comes from these spirits." Kapak explains to Banu, who nods silently after hearing this and says. "I see... I’ve heard from my teacher before that some people have a natural affinity for spirituality, allowing them to accumulate it quickly. But I’ve never met anyone like that before. I didn’t expect you to be one of them, Kapak. It’s impressive, and I’m a bit envious." As he speaks, Banu looks at Kapak with admiration. Kapak smiles and replies. "It’s nothing. I owe a lot to Elder Uta and you, Brother Banu. Without your help, I wouldn’t have advanced so smoothly..." As they converse, Kapak and Banu continue walking forward, heading toward their usual spirit offering site. After the previous "Spirit Exorcism" incident, Kapak was taken as a disciple by the tribe’s elder shaman, Uta, who began teaching him the ways of the shaman. During this time, Uta taught Kapak the traditional method of accumulating spirituality: Spirit Communication. Spirit Communication is a method of accumulating Silence spirituality by interacting and resonating with spirits. This usually involves offering sacrifices to the spirits, pleasing them, and then meditating to resonate with the spirits that have consumed the offerings. During this resonance, the spirituality within the spirits flows into the shaman. In the wilderness of the New Continent, many humans or animals do not immediately disappear after death. Instead, they become spirits that wander the wilderness. A shaman seeking to accumulate spirituality must bring offerings and, at night, set up an altar in the wilderness to attract these spirits. As the spirits consume the offerings, the shaman resonates with them, gaining spirituality in the process. This is the basic application of Spirit Communication—resonating with spirits to gain spirituality. However, the amount of spirituality gained this way is limited. Thus, there is a more advanced application: resonating with wild spirits to gain more spirituality. wild spirits are essentially more powerful and advanced spirits. In the New Continent, when a particularly strong creature dies, its soul may become a wild spirit. These spirits are far more powerful than ordinary spirits and, due to their connection with the environment, become guardians and representatives of nature. In a sense, they are the souls of the land. Shamans can resonate with ordinary spirits and, of course, with wild spirits. The ritual of requesting spirituality from a wild spirit is called a Spirit Offering. Through these offerings, shamans can gain far more spirituality than from ordinary spirits. After becoming a shaman apprentice, Uta taught Kapak the methods of Spirit Communication and had him begin accumulating spirituality. In addition to sending Kapak out into the wilderness to communicate with spirits, Uta also introduced him to a shaman apprentice from a neighboring tribe—Banu—who would guide Kapak in communicating with wild spirits and conducting Spirit Offerings. Normally, Kapak, having only learned Spirit Communication a little over a month ago and having conducted only one Spirit Offering, should not have accumulated enough Silence spirituality to advance. However, in addition to Spirit Communication, Kapak had another method of accumulating spirituality: praying to the mysterious spirit known as Aka. Through Aka, he could gain additional spirituality. Using the magical picture book granted by Aka, Kapak could communicate with a scholar who was also a follower of Aka, despite being far away. This scholar would occasionally send him spiritual knowledge that, while toxic, could be purified into spirituality through prayer to Aka. Using this method, combined with the accumulation from Spirit Communication, Kapak amassed enough spirituality to advance to a Spirit Medium in less than half a month. However, considering Elder Uta’s reaction, Kapak chose not to reveal this immediately to avoid alarming his teacher. Instead, he waited for about a month before informing Elder Uta that he had accumulated enough spirituality and requested his help in advancing. Of course, even after this delay, Elder Uta was still shocked when he heard Kapak had accumulated enough spirituality. At the time, he was smoking his pipe and nearly choked on the smoke, only recovering after Kapak helped him catch his breath. In Kapak’s explanation, his rapid accumulation of spirituality was due to his natural affinity with spirits, allowing him to gain more spirituality during resonance. However, Elder Uta was skeptical. He knew that a mysterious and powerful spirit resided within Kapak, granting him knowledge and protecting him from the toxicity of mystical knowledge. The primary reason Elder Uta took Kapak as his disciple was to closely monitor this mysterious spirit within Kapak, ensuring it posed no threat to the tribe. He believed Kapak’s rapid accumulation of spirituality was also due to this spirit. After several days of observation, however, Elder Uta found that the mysterious spirit within Kapak seemed harmless. Aside from providing Kapak with medical knowledge and protecting him from the toxicity of mystical knowledge, its only unusual behavior was helping him accumulate a significant amount of spirituality. To Elder Uta, it seemed this strange spirit had no interest in the tribe and was simply helping Kapak for reasons unknown. Although Elder Uta could not fully understand the spirit, he still helped Kapak complete the advancement ritual. After all, having another apprentice in the tribe was always a good thing. Additionally, he hoped that by advancing, Kapak would gain a better understanding of the spirit within him. However, even as a Spirit Medium, Kapak could not discern the true nature of the spirit within him. According to him, he was not possessed at all. Despite his doubts and concerns, Elder Uta continued to teach Kapak as his disciple, and Kapak continued his shamanic training. Today marks Kapak’s first Spirit Offering since advancing to a Spirit Medium. "By the way, Kapak, I heard that in your tribe, you’re not just a shaman apprentice but also a skilled healer. You’ve treated many tribesmen and gained quite a reputation. I recall that after your chieftain died in a conflict with the white-skins, Elder Uta hasn’t appointed a new chieftain yet. I think, barring any surprises, the position might fall to you." As they walk through the forest, Banu continues to question Kapak, who responds with a bitter smile. "Please don’t bring up the chieftain issue. It’s been giving me a headache lately." Kapak explains that his growing reputation in the tribe has angered Sado, the former hunting leader and the most likely candidate for chieftain. This has led to constant conflicts between Kapak and Sado’s followers, causing Kapak great distress. He has no desire to oppose Sado and only wishes to help the tribe as much as he can. "I’ve told Elder Uta and Sado that I don’t want to be chieftain, but Sado thinks I’m lying and doesn’t believe me. Elder Uta hasn’t stepped in to mediate or directly appoint Sado, leaving the situation unresolved... Now, Sado and his followers are becoming increasingly hostile toward me... It’s exhausting..." Kapak sighs as he speaks. Hearing this, Banu pauses for a moment, then says with a strange expression. "At least your tribe only lacks a chieftain. With Elder Uta still around, the tribe is stable. But our tribe..." For a while, Kapak and Banu continue to talk as they walk. Soon, they arrive at their destination—a clearing in the forest. In this clearing, beneath a large tree, stands a small stone altar covered in fallen leaves. Seeing the altar, Kapak and Banu exchange a glance, then step forward to clean it off. They begin placing various items they’ve brought with them on the altar. Upon closer inspection, these items include strange flowers, fruits, and bone fragments. The bones, whether human or animal, are inscribed with mysterious symbols. After preparing the altar, Kapak and Banu sit cross-legged in front of it, bowing their heads and closing their eyes. They begin chanting incantations in unison. The voices of Kapak and Banu echo through the clearing and the surrounding forest. After about half a minute of chanting, strange phenomena begin to occur. From the shadows between the trees, faint blue spirit flames flicker into view, floating above the clearing. Under the summoning of the Spirit Mediums, the spirits of the forest are gathering. Before Kapak and Banu, a tall, translucent spirit emerges from the large tree, floating above the simple stone altar. This is the spirit of a wild bull—a muscular, semi-transparent figure with sharp horns and intricate patterns on its body. After emerging from the tree, the spirit slowly approaches the stone altar, silently observing the two shaman apprentices bowing before it. Sensing the presence of the wild bull spirit, Kapak and Banu open their eyes. Having gained the spirit vision of a Spirit Medium, this is Kapak’s first time seeing a wild spirit so clearly. Suppressing his excitement and awe, he and Banu bow deeply, speaking in the language of spirits. "Lord Black Hoof... please accept our offerings..." As Kapak and Banu speak, the wild bull spirit, known as Black Hoof, lowers its head as if consuming the offerings on the stone altar. The fruits and flowers lose their color and luster after being consumed, while the bone fragments glow faintly as the symbols on them light up. The offerings required by wild spirits are, in a sense, the remnants of souls—more specifically, the ashes of souls. In the shamanic beliefs widely held by the tribes of the New Continent, it is believed that after death, souls return to the Great Soul. To ensure a smooth journey and protect the soul from evil spirits, shamans perform Soul Burial rituals for deceased tribe members. During these rituals, the body is cremated, and the soul is believed to ascend with the smoke, returning to the Great Soul while the body turns to bones. According to the shamanic theory of the soul, when a soul is born from the Great Soul and enters the world, it is as weak and fragile as the newborn body. As the body grows, the soul also matures through learning and experiencing the world. At the time of death, the soul becomes larger and more complex than at birth. However, in shamanic belief, only the pure, original part of the soul returns to the Great Soul. The impurities accumulated during life are removed during the cremation ritual, and the remnants of the soul are stored in the bones. The pure essence of the soul returns to the Great Soul in its original, pristine form. wild spirits and ordinary spirits feed on these soul remnants stored in bones. Thus, shamans use these bone fragments as offerings to wild spirits. The bone fragments on the stone altar are from tribe members who have passed away and been cremated. As payment for conducting the funeral rites, shamans request a few bone fragments rich in soul remnants from the deceased’s family. These fragments are then processed and used as offerings to wild spirits and spirits, as is happening now. Before Kapak and Banu, the wild spirit known as Black Hoof consumes the offerings presented by the shaman apprentices. Kapak, while bowing respectfully, curiously observes the wild spirit. However, he is unaware that among the spirits floating above the clearing, there is a peculiar presence. This spirit occasionally flickers into the form of a semi-transparent human figure dressed in a suit and wearing a gentleman’s hat—clearly not a native of the tribe. Disguised as a local spirit, it silently watches the scene below. On a small hill not far from the clearing, a group of white-skinned men dressed in "civilized" clothing gathers. Their leader, wearing a dark cloak and hood, gazes toward the direction of the altar. On his white-gloved hand is a symbol: a coffin with a closed eye above it.

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