There were four major problems.

Ghouls.

Exorcists from New Order.

The God in the sky.

And the ritual itself.

Even if we dealt with the ghouls and avoided the New Order ambushes, the giant God floating above us was the biggest threat.

If it sensed we were close to completing the exorcism, it would flatten us instantly with its hammer.

Or at least, that was how Saint Maverick was thinking.

My thoughts were slightly different, but I kept them to myself.

The fourth problem, however, was the immediate one.

"We don't know what ritual the priest was trying to perform. We don't have the instructions. We don't know the ingredients. Without that knowledge, we can't replicate the ritual," Saint Maverick said.

"Show me the photos of the shrine," I said, ignoring the tremors that started shaking the ground.

The earthquakes meant the God's hammer was now big enough that anywhere it landed, the entire domain would feel the shock.

Time was slipping away quickly.

"Judy," Saint Maverick ordered.

Judy printed several photos from a small slot in her metallic frame and passed them to me with her mechanical arm.

I studied each image carefully.

The shrine was in ruins.

The wooden beams were snapped in half, some charred black by something unnatural.

The stone base had cracks all over, wide enough for weeds to grow through.

A set of ritual tools lay scattered around. A rusted ceremonial blade, a bowl split into two pieces, broken charms, and a stone plate covered in old markings.

A few burned paper talismans were stuck to the walls.

One of them had melted onto the wood like wax.

A small stand at the center of the shrine had once held something, but it was now empty.

I looked through every picture slowly.

Once I felt I had acted enough, I exhaled.

"This setup… It looks like the rituals taught in Folaris County. It was one of the first regions destroyed by the Legion during the war. But before that, they had one of the oldest repositories of ritual knowledge. I was taught about their rituals among all others by my master," I said.

Saint Maverick nodded.

It made sense that Legion, the last emperor of Nocthera Empire, looted knowledge of the places he raided.

As his successor, I would've been taught about everything he had gained.

I continued, "And considering the Shinto flute tune that plays before each blackout, I can make a good guess which ritual the Blackout Priest was performing."

The inngirl raised her hand slightly. "Ye can do all that? Just from lookin' at a few pictures?"

I nodded.

"How?" she asked.

"Knowledge. I have a lot of it," I said simply.

She looked amazed for once.

Saint Maverick looked like he wanted to ask something else, but I cut him off before he could.

"However, there's a problem. The ritual needs several key items," I said.

I listed them clearly.

"Eight purification papers, a bowl for mixing salt and ash, a charm-cutting blade, a spirit rope, a boundary marker stone, a flute to call the domain's attention, and a ritual lantern."

I pointed at the photos.

"All of them are present in this shrine. Or they were. Except the lantern. The lantern is missing."

Saint Maverick asked, "Is it a special lantern? Or can we use any lantern with fire?"

"It's special. A normal lantern won't work. The ritual requires a specific kind of flame, and the lantern is designed to hold it. It should still be somewhere in the domain. We just need to find it before the hammer falls," I said.

"Understood," Saint Maverick said. "Judy will begin the search immediately. The rest of us should spread out and start searching too."

"Already working," Judy said, her voice neutral as she projected a small hologram showing search routes.

I nodded and began explaining which directions everyone should take.

The domain was large, and the terrain was confusing due to the forest looping in unusual ways.

I pointed toward a set of trees. "Cannon crew, head west and check the abandoned festival stalls."

They nodded and ran off.

I pointed to the gunner. "You go north. The shrine bells might still be ringing there. If the lantern was used recently, you might smell burnt oil."

"Aye, Captain," he said and sprinted off.

I turned to the sword-wielders. "Check the river. If someone stole the lantern, they might've thrown it in the water or dropped it while running."

"Aye, we'll bring ye back a whole river if we must!" they said, slamming their fists against their chests before leaving.

The inngirl adjusted her sleeves. "Where do ye want me searchin', Captain?"

"Search the torii pathway."

"Aye, I'll keep me eyes open," she said and moved out.

I had sent everyone with a piece of paper that I told them to open only if they find out the lantern.

They were also given an earpiece and a drone.

When everyone left, Saint Maverick spoke. "You're going alone? Take one of your crewmates with you. You're the only one who understands the ritual. The New Order Exorcists will try to kill you if you're by yourself."

I turned toward him and met his eyes.

"Don't worry about that. The paper I gave everyone has the full ritual method. Anyone can perform it now. The Exorcists won't target me specifically because of that," I said.

I was lying, of course.

But the large Exorcist was definitely hiding nearby, listening.

He would have no choice but to believe it.

That meant he wouldn't waste time hunting me.

He would focus on finding the lantern instead, because he couldn't risk us completing the ritual.

"You should take this too—" I began, giving me the folded paper like everyone else.

"I don't need it," Saint Maverick said, cutting me off.

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not going to search for the lantern. It's pointless if I do it. Too many of my components have been destroyed.

"My current specs are barely above an average human. At this speed, the area I can cover is too small. It's better to leave the search to Judy and the others," he said.

I studied him for a moment.

His joints still sparked occasionally, and his movements had a slight delay.

Judy was repairing him nonstop, but he was right. He wasn't fit for fast ground.

"What are you going to do then?" I asked.

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