Nighttime, somewhere in East Tivian. In a deserted park on a cold night, Nephthys stands within a mud-drawn ritual circle in a flower bed, her expression serious as she gazes at the floating lynx spirit before her. She speaks to it. "Let’s begin, Soulwhisker." Hearing Nephthys’ words, the lynx-shaped wild spirit leaps lightly in the air, then turns and plunges into Nephthys’ chest, attaching itself to her body. After being possessed by Soulwhisker, Nephthys shivers slightly but quickly calms herself. She closes her eyes and begins the ritual. Feeling the presence of the wild spirit within her, Nephthys officially starts her advancement ritual. Following the method taught in Davis’ notes, she begins to harmonize and resonate with Soulwhisker within her, allowing the spirit’s influence to spread throughout her body. She makes her body a vessel for the spirit while suppressing its will with her own. To be honest, this ritual makes Soulwhisker uncomfortable. It instinctively wants to resist or simply leave Nephthys’ body. However, since it has already received Nephthys’ offerings and made an agreement with her, it endures the discomfort and begins to cooperate with her actions. The wild spirits of the New Continent, though varied in temperament, generally have a strong sense of contract due to their long coexistence with shamans. As long as they are given sufficient offerings, they will fulfill their part of the bargain. “The abyss of the underworld is vast... Life and death are boundless... I offer my body as a vessel... To guide death toward life... I pray here, beseeching the truth of the Mystic Realm, the Great Aka, to disperse the clouds and show me the path…” Thus, Nephthys reaches a critical point in her advancement. She prays inwardly to Akasha, asking for guidance, and soon, Akasha responds to her plea, showing her the way. At this moment, a cold wind sweeps through the flower bed. Kapak, who is watching from the side, shields his eyes from the wind. When he lowers his hand, he sees Nephthys standing quietly within the ritual circle. When Nephthys opens her eyes again, Kapak notices that her pupils have become vertical, like those of a cat, emitting an intimidating gaze. For a moment, he feels as though he sees Nephthys and Soulwhisker overlapping. Nephthys seems to have grown cat-like ears and a tail, both ethereal in appearance. "What?" Seeing this, Kapak rubs his eyes, thinking he must be mistaken. When he opens his eyes again, he sees Nephthys, looking completely normal, destroying the ritual circle drawn in the mud. The ethereal ears and tail he thought he saw have disappeared, making Kapak wonder if it was just an illusion. "Miss Thief, is your ritual complete? Has Soulwhisker been enhanced?" Kapak asks Nephthys, who, after covering up the ritual circle, walks over. She picks up a few iron coins from the ground, places a hand on her chest, and smiles at Kapak. "Yes... Now that Soulwhisker is within me, its power is much stronger than before.” "Stay close, Mr. Kapak. I’ll lead the way to find those guys..." Nephthys says this, then quickly walks away. Her movements are so light and swift that Kapak, standing right in front of her, doesn’t even notice her departure. By the time he realizes she’s gone and starts looking around, he sees Nephthys’ figure already far ahead, appearing almost ghostly. "So fast..." Kapak mutters in awe, then quickly jogs after Nephthys, trying to keep up. And so, Nephthys moves with incredible speed, leaving the flower bed and the park, striding swiftly through the cold night streets. Kapak follows behind, running to keep up. Although she is merely walking, Nephthys’ speed is astonishing. Kapak, jogging behind her, is surprised to find that he can’t seem to catch up. In fact, the distance between them is gradually increasing. “How did Miss Thief’s mobility improve so drastically?” Kapak thinks to himself as he watches Nephthys’ figure seemingly gliding ahead. Previously, during their missions, Nephthys’ stamina was far inferior to his. He often had to stop and wait for her, as she would tire quickly while he still had plenty of energy. But now, the situation seems reversed. Kapak finds himself needing to run to keep up with Nephthys’ pace. “Huff... Was Miss Thief’s ritual really just to enhance Soulwhisker’s perception? It feels more like Soulwhisker’s possession has boosted her stamina. And when I spoke to her earlier, she seemed completely different from before.” As Kapak ponders the strange changes in Nephthys, she speeds up even more, darting through the streets with sharp eyes, scanning left and right like a hunter searching for prey in the dark night. At intersections, she occasionally licks her lips and sniffs the air, like an animal tracking its target. Thus, Nephthys, now a Soulbinder after her advancement and possessed by Soulwhisker, tirelessly races through Tivian’s streets, hunting and tracking. Kapak struggles to keep up with her. After some time, Nephthys reaches a large river. As she continues walking briskly along the riverbank, she suddenly stops and turns her gaze toward the water. Sensing something, Nephthys perches on the riverbank railing like an animal, stretching her neck to look across the river. Her pupils once again narrow into vertical slits. "Across the Moonflow River... So it’s in the South District..." Gazing at the lights on the other side of the river, Nephthys murmurs. She has now located her target. … South Tivian, Bishop’s Square. Under the night sky, a bustling crowd gathers in the open square. Although the cold winter wind bites, it cannot dampen the people’s enthusiasm. Most of the attendees at this evening event in the southern district are lower-class residents of the city. For them, such a free, large-scale public performance is a rare opportunity. After the host’s opening remarks, the evening event officially begins. However, there are no performers on stage at the moment, as Princess Isabella, the event’s organizer, is delivering a brief speech. "I’m truly delighted... to see so many of you gathered here tonight, spending the last night of the year with me. As I’ve always said, Pritt belongs to both the Despensers and its people. No matter our status, we are all one family in this nation. On this night of family reunion, I wish to represent the royal family and stand with you all, welcoming the new year as true family.” "Now, let us enjoy this wonderful night together. We have prepared a mysterious surprise gift for everyone, so please look forward to it." On a balcony at the edge of the square, Princess Isabella, dressed in white and surrounded by numerous bodyguards, speaks to the crowd with a gracious smile. Her words elicit an enthusiastic response, with the crowd chanting her name in unison, their cheers growing louder and louder. Amid the fervor, Isabella slowly sits back down. Beside her, Duke Barrett smiles and speaks. "I’ve often heard about your popularity among the common folk, but seeing it firsthand is something else. Heh... I never imagined that little Isabella would one day be so loved and supported by so many. Your actions have greatly improved the royal family’s image among the poor. I’m sure His Majesty will be pleased. I’m glad you invited me to witness this. It’s far more interesting than the New Year banquets I host at home." "You flatter me, Uncle Barrett. I’ve merely done what I can to help those who suffer. I’m only fulfilling my duty as a devout follower of the Holy Mother. The people’s enthusiasm is not just for me but also for your presence. It’s an honor to have you here." Isabella responds humbly to Barrett’s words, and he continues with a chuckle. "Heh, little Isabella, you’ve become quite the eloquent speaker. Well, the show is about to start. Let’s not waste any more time and enjoy the performance." "Indeed..." After their brief exchange, the two turn their attention to the stage in the distance. The first act has already begun, with actors in exaggerated costumes performing comical actions that draw laughter from the audience. "Haha... Dory, did you see that clown fall? That was hilarious!" In the crowd, close to the stage, Gregor laughs heartily as he watches the comedic performance, turning to Dorothy beside him. Dorothy, however, responds quietly. "Yeah... It’s really funny..." Though she says this, Dorothy’s expression remains serious, devoid of any amusement. Her eyes may be on the stage, but her attention is elsewhere. The reason for this is the prayer she received earlier from Nephthys. “Great Aka, please convey to Miss Dorothy that we have preliminarily located the indigenous person named Sado. He is likely somewhere in the northern part of the South District. We don’t know the exact location yet, but we’re doing our best to get there and should know soon.” Not long ago, after completing her advancement, Nephthys began using Soulwhisker’s enhanced abilities to quickly search for Sado. Thanks to the Soulbinder’s power, the previously weak Soulwhisker’s perception has been amplified more than tenfold. With a detection range of several kilometers, Nephthys quickly sensed Sado’s presence and informed Dorothy through prayer. However, upon hearing this, Dorothy lost all interest in the performance. The reason is simple: Bishop’s Square is located in the northern part of the southern district. If Sado plans to cause trouble on New Year’s Eve, this is the most likely target! This means Sado could be nearby, and the revenge he threatened to carry out might happen at this very event. “Damn... I didn’t expect him to target this place. Out of all the significant locations in Tivian, he chose here? Is his revenge not against the Pritt government but against its civilians?” With a look of urgency, Dorothy thinks to herself. Initially, she assumed Sado’s revenge would target important government institutions in Tivian. She never imagined he would aim for this event, targeting ordinary civilians. “This is bad. If those guys are nearby, they could launch a surprise attack at any moment. I can’t just sit here and wait for Nephthys and the others. I need to act now and find them…” Thinking this, Dorothy continues to pretend to watch the performance while secretly controlling the corpse marionettes hidden in the crowd. Yes, among the crowd in the square are Dorothy’s flesh puppets. One of her main goals for attending this event was to find a way to approach Duke Barrett. Dorothy’s plan was to use the donation segment at the end of the event to attract Barrett’s attention by donating a large sum of money. To this end, she had prepared a specialized corpse marionette to handle the donation, hidden among the audience. Under Dorothy’s covert control, the corpse marionette, originally waiting in the crowd for the donation segment, begins to move. It pushes its way through the crowd and soon emerges, heading toward a dark corner. In a shadowy spot away from the crowd, the corpse marionette opens its small bag, and several bird-shaped corpse marionettes struggle to fly out. These are the avian corpse marionettes Dorothy prepared for emergencies. Earlier, Dorothy had anticipated the possibility of unexpected situations requiring reconnaissance, so she prepared the bird-shaped marionettes on the donation marionette for quick deployment. After all, she couldn’t easily act herself while with Gregor. Once the five bird-shaped marionettes are released, Dorothy controls them to fly into the night sky. After using the Veil Ring to cloak them with an invisibility effect, she has them circle above the square, searching for anything unusual. When no anomalies are found from above, Dorothy lowers the marionettes to conduct a closer inspection of the square. Soon, one location catches her attention. It is a rooftop attic on the east side of the square. As Dorothy’s bird-shaped marionettes fly closer, they notice something unusual. Smoke is seeping out from a window on the outer wall of the attic. The smoke’s exit point is well-hidden, invisible from the rooftop. Only Dorothy’s aerial view allows her to detect it. Noticing this, Dorothy immediately sends the bird-shaped marionettes to investigate. As they approach, she hears voices—voices that shouldn’t be here. They are speaking Spirit Glyph, the language of the New Continent natives. Hearing Spirit Glyph, Dorothy’s heart skips a beat. She directs the bird-shaped marionettes closer, eventually perching on the attic’s roof and peering through a skylight to observe the scene below. Through the marionettes’ vision, Dorothy sees a small attic room crowded with over a dozen people with brownish-yellow skin. They sit anxiously, some conversing with each other, while others gather by the window, smoking large pipes and exhaling smoke outside. “Found them…” Dorothy thinks to herself. Having spent a long time in the library, she knows that the natives of the New Continent have a long and widespread tradition of smoking. The habit of smoking in this world originated from the New Continent natives, who are the pioneers of tobacco use. When people are nervous, they often turn to tobacco to calm their nerves, and the indigenous people are no exception—or rather, with their strong tobacco tradition, they are even more likely to do so. Thus, when Dorothy noticed the faint smoke, she immediately sent the bird-shaped marionettes to investigate, and sure enough, she found the indigenous people here. Having located the indigenous people’s hideout, Dorothy begins to closely monitor and eavesdrop. Through the marionettes’ vision, she sees a tall figure sitting on the floor, smoking a pipe with a grave expression. Based on Kapak’s description, Dorothy immediately recognizes him as Sado. Sado sits on the floor, smoking his pipe, while another native youth beside him holds a rifle and speaks anxiously. "Sado, how much longer do we have to wait? I can’t stand it anymore. Let’s just go out and shoot them now!" "Be patient, Aku and Pam have already infiltrated the crowd. Once they detonate the explosives at the designated time, we’ll follow up and take out those fleeing in panic." "Is all this really necessary, Sado? We can start our revenge now!" "I understand your feelings, Kuzdo, but we need patience. Soon, it will be the whites’ New Year. We must deliver the greatest pain at their most important moment. Only then will our actions have true meaning." After taking a long drag from his pipe, Sado speaks with a calm expression. Hearing his words, Dorothy’s heart skips a beat. “These lunatics... They’ve planted bombs in the crowd!”