Liam's death was an unexpected event for everyone, and Althur was the last to know about it. During his time in the capital, the Captain of the OSPIS office in the Capital, Robert Immet, often had encounters with Liam when the latter took a break from his long expedition in the Southern Continent.

Until receiving an unexpected appointment letter, Robert visits to find Liam dead. He decided to find a psychic to summon the souls of the dead; however, to his surprise, this psychic held three consecutive summoning rituals but still could not connect with the soul of the deceased. Liam, even if that person's body was still there. In the end, the psychic concludes that the soul has been sealed or has been subjected to a curse.

When he saw the incident with his own eyes, he saw that his body was sealed and being purified. The body was placed in a marble coffin. Althur felt strange, as if a big joke was going on in the room. It was as if naughty Robert had just come up with a new joke in repressed time. But all hope was extinguished when he also could not connect with the soul of the deceased.

Another death. Another precious person of his has disappeared.

Standing next to the shiny marble statue of the Innocent Virgin, her eyes looked at him with compassion. Althur stood still and remembered the deaths of his most precious people. Embracing the pain and feelings of loss, he felt he was living as a human being. In that mood, the rustling sounds from the grave visitors woke him up. Other living people are also coming to remember the deceased.

In his closest vision, a woman was still quite young, carrying a child about 4–5 years old and holding a small toy. She was gently cleaning the dirt and redecorating the tombstone, and sitting next to her was a child who seemed bored but was still focused on what her mother was doing. "Father," the child muttered.

"Come here, darling. Say hello to dad." The child hesitantly walked over to the grave. "You see, the boy is smart and obedient." She hugged the baby tightly and kissed him on the forehead. Smiling at the headstone, as if death could not stop the family reunion that day.

He left that scene behind and turned away.

He returned to the apartment he had hurriedly rented when he arrived in the capital.

...

When 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 resounded.

The boy standing there was named Brahms. He was considering Althur's helper. This was a standard criterion for exorcists. Although he was still on a definite path, this did not stop him from looking for a helper. After all, having one more person to help was always a good thing.

The boy shyly nodded. Though Brahms voice remained the same, "Have you eaten yet?" the boy asked.

"Not yet; we can go eat later."

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"Maybe in a few days we will leave the capital." Althur changed the subject.

"To where"

"Calico"

"For what"

"Investigate someone's death."

"When."

"Tomorrow, if there is a train ticket to Calico. I'll go meet the captain and get some information, so you can start preparing."

Brahms was always brief. The boy was a special person that he accidentally found. Before, the boy did not have much common sense. Thus, Althur taught him a few things. This reminds him of his childhood, when someone helped him, so when faced with similar problems, Althur's choice was to reach out and help them.

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 familiar with Brahms, he could see much of the boy's curiosity in the face of that stiff puppet.

"What's the matter, little buddy?" He motioned for Brahms to start speaking.

The young boy took a book next to him and slowly scanned it with his tiny fingers, careful not to tear the old pages. He stopped at one page that had caught his eye, where there were only a few lines of scribbled writing, with a shackle of the word "pilgrimage" circled around it. He lifted the book and showed it to Althur, who was waiting.

"About superpowers," he said hesitantly, "they say that supernatural powers have many ways of being extraordinary."

"The people in the church call it the Pilgrimage. What is a pilgrimage?" The innocent-looking child tries to find an explanation by asking longer-than-usual questions.

Althur nodded as if he expected the boy to ask this question. "Pilgrimage is a secret knowledge held by churches, so it is inconvenient to record this. Of course, this is just an unwritten rule."

"Do you know about the blessings of different Gods?"

"The Temple of Lut is powerful with catharsis and exorcism. The Haya Church is famous for its life; they can heal the sick and prolong life."

"It's 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 country next to the Helioric Kingdom is Ayaleos. This monarchy worships the Moon goddess, and that is the only orthodox religion that exists."

Geographically, the land of the north 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 far side of the sea, due to the heavily dissected terrain, there were four different countries, and the most powerful was the Dan Empire. All of them have their own state religions with idiosyncratic blessings.

"Both you and I are different from ordinary people. But he is not a priest. So why do you also have superhuman strength?"

"Because of Forces." Brahms replied because he had read it.

"Yes, because of the existence of Forces and Holy Places."

Brahms recalled reading about the Forces, knowing that they were special places, sublime, and filled with unfathomable power. It seems that only existences similar to angels and gods dwell there.

"Those are special existences that are far away from our world but are connected to us in mysterious, silent, or powerful ways that affect this world."

"One of the manifestations of Forces' presence in the real world is..." Althur didn't finish his sentence but waited for Brahms' reply.

After a few seconds, Brahms spoke. "Mystic syndromes.