Liam's death was an unexpected event for everyone, and Althur was the last to know. During his time in the capital, the captain of the O.S.P.I.S. office in the capital, Robert Immet, often met with Liam when he took a break from his long expedition to the southern continent.
Until he received an unexpected appointment letter, Robert visited Liam and found him dead. He decided to find a psychic to summon the souls of the dead, but to his surprise, this psychic performed three summoning rituals in a row but still could not connect with the soul of the deceased, Liam. Especially since that person's body is still there. There must be clues to find. In the end, the psychic concludes that the soul has been sealed or cursed.
Witnessing the event with his own eyes, he saw the dead being cleansed and the body placed in a marble coffin. Althur felt strange, as if there was a great joke going on in the room. It was as if the mischievous Robert had just invented a new joke in repressed time. But all hope was dashed when he failed to connect with the soul of the deceased.
Another death. Another precious person of his gone.
Standing in the graveyard, Althur reflected on the deaths of his most precious people. Embracing the pain and feelings of loss, he felt that he was living as a human being. While he was in this mood, the rustling sounds of the grave visitors woke him up. Other living people also came to pay their respects to the deceased.
In his next visible image, a woman was quite young, carrying a child of about 4-5 years old and holding a small toy.
She was gently cleaning the dirt and redecorating the gravestone, and sitting next to her was a child who seemed bored, but still focused on what her mother was doing. "Father," the child babbled.
"Come here, darling. Say hello to Daddy." The child walked hesitantly over to the grave. "You see, the boy is bright and obedient." She hugged the baby and kissed him on the forehead. She smiled at the headstone, as if death could not stop the family reunion that day.
He left the scene behind and turned away.
He returned to the apartment he had hastily rented upon arriving in the capital.
...
As he entered the room, a young boy stood there. The boy was wearing a comfortable sailor suit, his eyes wide and innocent.
"How's everything going, Althur?" A soft and clear voice echoed.
The boy standing there was called Brahms. He is considered to be Althur's helper. This is a standard criterion for exorcists. Although he was not yet on a certain path, that did not stop him from looking for a helper. After all, another person to help is always a good thing.
The boy nodded shyly. Though Brahms' voice remained the same, "Have you eaten yet?" the boy asked.
"Not yet; we can eat later."
"Perhaps we will leave the capital in a few days." Althur changed the subject.
"Where to?"
"Calico."
"For what?"
"To investigate someone's death."
"When."
"Tomorrow, if there is a train ticket to Calico. I'll meet the captain and get some information so you can start preparing."
Brahms is always brief. The boy was a special person he found by chance. The boy did not have much common sense before. So Althur taught him a few things. This reminds him of his childhood, when someone helped him, so when faced with similar problems, Althur decided to reach out and help.
Althur came in, sat down on the bed, and looked at the slightly frayed notebooks that Brahms had placed next to the headboard of his bed. And the boy's excited face. As someone who knew Brahms, he could see much of the boy's curiosity in the face of the stiff doll.
"What's up, little buddy?" He motioned for Brahms to speak.
The boy took a book beside him and slowly scanned it with his tiny fingers, careful not to tear the old pages. He stopped at a page that had caught his eye, where there were only a few lines of scribbled writing, with the word "pilgrimage" circled around it. He picked up the book and showed it to Althur, who was waiting.
"About superpowers," he said hesitantly, "it says that supernatural powers have many ways of being extraordinary.
"The people in the church call it a pilgrimage. What is a pilgrimage?" The innocent-looking child tried to find an explanation by asking longer questions than usual.
Althur nodded, as if he had expected the boy to ask this question. "The pilgrimage is a secret knowledge of the churches, so it is inconvenient to record it. Of course, it is only an unwritten rule."
"Do you know about the blessings of the various gods?"
"The Temple of Lut is powerful in catharsis and exorcism. The Haya Church is famous for its life; they can heal the sick and prolong life."
"It is not a rumor." Although some orthodox religious forces have not often shown their strength in recent centuries, they still maintain miracles to instill faith in their followers. The land adjacent to the Helioric Kingdom is Ayaleos. This monarchy worships the Moon Goddess, and this is the only orthodox religion that exists.
Geographically, the land of the northern part is divided into two parts, called The Amerigo and The Anatole. Separated by a sea. The western part has two countries: the Helioric Kingdom and the Ayaleos Monarchy. On the other side of the sea, due to the rugged terrain, there were four different countries, the most powerful being the Dan Empire. All of them had their own state religions with idiosyncratic blessings.
"You and I are different from ordinary people. But I am not a priest. So why do I have superhuman strength?"
"Forces." Brahms replied, because he had read it.
"Yes, due to the existence of Forces and Holy Places."
Brahms recalled reading about the Forces and knew that they were special places, sublime and filled with unfathomable power. It seems that only existences similar to angels and gods dwell there.
"These are special existences that are far from our world, but are connected to us in a mysterious, silent, or powerful way that affects this world.
"One of the manifestations of the presence of the Forces in the real world is..." Althur didn't finish his sentence but waited for Brahms' next answer.
After a few seconds, Brahms spoke. "Mystic syndromes.