Chapter 473 : Prayer Summoning
Chapter 473: Prayer Summoning
“So this is what people call a sixth sense?”
Gazing at the sea blanketed by lifeless algae, Janna tapped her finger gently. In that instant, a massive white lotus bloomed upon the water’s surface.
“This should do.”
Upon confirming that the Tulans Snow Lotus had blossomed, Janna descended in her spirit form onto the heart of the flower. Then, she poured out all the ritual materials she had stored within her spiritual form.
“Although【Prayer Summoning】is classified as a high-level summoning ritual, the actual procedure isn’t all that complicated—”
In truth, Janna had already learned the basics of the ritual back when she was studying the【Ancient God Contract】.
As a specialized branch of【Prayer Summoning】, the two shared many similarities in both ritual components and execution.
Aside from the typical items like spiritual candles and silver scrying mirrors, both rituals required an obsidian altar as their foundation.
The difference was that【Prayer Summoning】additionally required powdered laurel blossoms and six elemental gemstones—each of a distinct attribute.
Moreover, the ritual caster had to inscribe the summoning circle manually, before activating it with an incantation.
Huu—
Janna took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
With the preparation phase completed, she sat cross-legged beside the obsidian altar and began inscribing the contract circle onto the silver mirror using her soul energy.
After a short while, she finally completed the formation with utmost concentration.
“The next step is to activate the ritual.”
She placed the six elemental gemstones precisely at the six mana junctions of the summoning circle. Then, she positioned the spiritual candle at the center of the mirror and lit it with will-o’-the-wisp flame.
“Thankfully, unlike the【Ancient God Contract】which must be performed at the darkest point of night—midnight—【Prayer Summoning】has no such restriction. Otherwise, I’d be forced to conduct this in the【Material World】instead.”
Due to the absence of the【Law of Darkness】on the【Zoe Star】, this realm existed in perpetual daylight.
Of course, this “daylight” wasn’t due to the preservation of the【Law of Light】—rather, it was merely ambient light borrowed from the【Material World】.
If the【Zoe Star】were ever to drift out of the stellar region that housed the【Material World】, even that faint light would vanish completely.
Zzz—
As the candle flickered with a ghostly blue flame, the light danced in Janna’s pupils, making them shimmer in and out of focus.
“Now comes the final step: sustained chanting of the prayer incantation.”
Unlike the【Ancient God Contract】, the【Prayer Summoning】ritual had no means of locking onto a target’s【coordinates】in advance.
The caster could only rely on the grace of the【Lord of the Spirit Realm】, passively calling out across a thousand planes in hopes that a high-dimensional entity would respond.
The duration of this process depended entirely on the burn time of the spiritual candle—roughly three hours.
If no response occurred within that time and the candle burned out, the mirror’s connection to the other plane would drift beyond the scope of the【Contract Formation】governed by the Spirit Realm, potentially linking to something far more sinister.
“O Great Lord of the Spirit Realm, ruler of the boundless starfields and guardian of the power of contracts, under the eternal starlight that never fades, I beseech you—carry my call to the ears of all friendly beings across the infinite planes—”
As Janna recited the lengthy invocation in the secretive Mythissian tongue, the silver mirror on the altar began to ripple faintly with wave-like light.
But the glow was dim—nowhere near the brilliance that usually accompanied lower-level rituals.
“High-level summoning rituals really are a physical grind.”
Time trickled by as Janna repeated the prayer dozens of times. Yet no matter how fervently she chanted, aside from a gentle halo surrounding the mirror, there were no further signs.
Still, Janna had already prepared herself mentally for failure—so she felt no particular disappointment.
Vmmm—
Suddenly, a powerful aquamarine light burst forth from the surface of the mirror. At the same time, an overwhelming surge of water-element mana erupted from the formation.
“It actually responded?!”
Momentarily stunned, Janna’s shock quickly transformed into disbelief and joy.
After all, during White Cat Tifa’s Advanced Contract Studies lecture, she’d stated that the chance of a response on the first try was less than one in ten thousand.
And yet Janna, on her very first attempt, had received a powerful reply in under an hour.
Whoosh—whoosh—
As the aquamarine light intensified on the mirror’s surface, the sea of the【Zoe Star】—previously still as “dead water”—began to stir.
Moments later, ripples turned to waves, and oceanic phenomena like crashing surf began manifesting out of thin air.
“To think that just the residual magic could cause a lifeless sea—whose【Ocean Origin】had long dried up—to manifest signs of marine phenomena again... What kind of creature did I summon?”
Under the intense surge of aquatic mana, the six elemental gemstones placed at the junctions of the summoning circle began to crack, then shattered completely, dissolving into dust around the silver mirror.
Lah-lah—lah-lah—
“What’s that—”
Amid the growing waves, whirlpools, and tides, a haunting melody began to echo softly in Janna’s ears.
The moment she heard it, her consciousness froze briefly—as if stunned by some unseen force.
VMMMM—
Following the song, an explosion of blue light—hundreds of times stronger than before—suddenly burst from the summoning circle.
Startled, Janna had no time to trace the source of the voice. She immediately shut her eyes, shielding herself from the piercing light.
Whoooosh—
After a few seconds, as the sounds of ocean waves subsided, Janna cautiously opened her eyes.
“I’ve finally found you... little witch.”
At that instant, a familiar being floated before her, smiling and greeting her warmly.
Snow-pale skin, deep blue hair, fin-like ears on either side of her head—and a breathtaking blue fish tail that made Janna momentarily forget to breathe...
With just one glance, Janna instantly recognized the radiant creature hovering before her.
“It’s a Deep Sea Mermaid.”