"Let's go, let's go, time to head out!" Wei Tuantuan excitedly called to two other girls about her age. "To the old castle on the outskirts! I told my dad we're camping in the mountains south of the city. He'll never expect us to make such a big detour to the castle!"

The girl with long black hair teased, "Alright, you're the clever one. I really don't get why your dad won't let you go near that castle."

"Who knows!" Tuantuan shrugged. "My dad's always been paranoid. Did you bring everything?"

"Yep!" The long-haired girl pulled out a piece of parchment and a pen, grinning. "I found this ancient ritual on a mystery forum. It's supposedly from the Old Era, even before the Divine Calendar, and it lets you communicate with a mysterious being called the 'Pen Spirit!'"

"All that Old Era stuff is fake, don't you know that?" scoffed another girl with glasses. "What you need is this!"

She pulled out a mirror, saying proudly, "This is a ritual from a textbook. At exactly 10 p.m., you perform the ritual in front of a mirror, and it summons the so-called 'Primordial Fear!'"

"Tch, I've already tried that one at home. It doesn't work!" Tuantuan retorted.

The girl with glasses was indignant, "That's because you did it at home! This time, we're going to the tower at the top of the old castle. According to the forums, that's the place with the strongest spiritual energy in all of Tianchuan! It'll work for sure!"

She paused, then turned her chin up. "Tuantuan, what about you? What ritual did you dig up this time?"

Tuantuan carefully opened her bag and, with a smug grin, pulled out the bronze statue. "Look! The True Shepherd!"

The long-haired girl and the girl with glasses exchanged confused glances as they looked at the statue. "What the heck is this? The True Shepherd... sounds familiar."

"You guys forgot?"

Wei Tuantuan hugged the bronze statue tightly.

"It's the real Shepherd we found in that Horror Atlas we picked up earlier!"

"That's not very impressive," the girl with glasses said with disdain.

"My Primal Fear ranks fifth in the Atlas. It says that apart from the top five, the rest of the terrifying taboos aren't ranked. Yours is just the common version, while mine is ranked fifth among all the terrifying taboos!"

Wei Tuantuan muttered, "Well, it's still better than some lame pencil spirit!"

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The long-haired girl rolled her eyes.

The three of them hailed a cab and soon arrived at the outskirts of the city, near an old castle. The castle's owner was mysterious—barely anyone in Tianchuan City had ever seen them.

But according to some big shot on the mysterious online forum that many supernaturals followed, this castle was a true place of the extraordinary!

The trio found an empty spot, spread out a picnic cloth, and started playing around while having a picnic. When the sun set, these three fanatical supernatural enthusiasts sneakily approached the castle.

"We'll climb over the wall at the back! There's a big black dog at the front gate!"

Under the moonlight, the three girls stealthily climbed over a low wall and slipped into the castle. The castle was ancient, with no modern amenities—only candlelight for illumination. It looked exactly like something out of a TV show.

"It seems like there's no one here. Come on, let's quietly go up the stairs!" Wei Tuantuan whispered, carrying her backpack as they tiptoed up the spiral staircase.

To their surprise, everything went smoothly. The three of them didn't encounter a single shadow along the way and made it all the way to the castle's highest tower.

Inside the tower, the long-haired girl glanced at her phone.

September 7th, 1524, 9:47 p.m.

She turned her head and whispered, "We can start preparing now. The forum said that between 10 p.m. and midnight is when the spiritual energy here is at its peak."

Wei Tuantuan added, "Make sure not to go past midnight. I read a post on the forum saying that midnight on the 8th of each month is the time when the Old Council convenes. Holding a ritual at that time is considered a serious offense."

The girl with glasses asked curiously, "The Old Council? I think I saw something about them on the forum too. Isn't that a super creepy cult? So what if we offend them?"

"You don't get it!" Wei Tuantuan huffed. "This council is super terrifying. It's one of the most secretive and powerful organizations in the supernatural world."

Soon, the three girls began setting up their individual rituals.

The long-haired girl held a pen, drawing circles on parchment.

"Pencil spirit, pencil spirit, heed my call."

The girl with glasses lit four candles in front of a mirror, following the ritual steps on her phone. She reluctantly sprinkled some silver powder.

"Primal Fear, you who roam in the darkness, you who grow from the shadows, you who dwell in the mountains and the fields, you are..."

Meanwhile, Wei Tuantuan carefully placed the small statue of the real Shepherd, recalling the words of the prayer as she chanted:

"You are the end of all suffering on the cross, the source of all fog, the undefined chaos, the true shepherd of all lost lambs."

"You slumber in the eternal void, but now you should awaken. Awaken on this very day, at this very moment. The world awaits your arrival."

"In the name of Wei Tuantuan..."

---

In the master's room of the castle:

"Well, well, three top-grade offerings have come in. Interesting. This is the first time I've seen prey walk right into the trap."

A one-armed young man slowly opened his eyes, putting on his tall wizard's hat and grabbing his staff as he stepped out.

"Donghong Kingdom truly is a fine place. The offerings come on their own. This is much better than the Grand City!"

---

In the Eternal Void:

A terrifying figure opened its eyes. It had just heard the call.

Though faint, the call had managed to establish a vague, hazy beacon and anchor.

"The time has come."