Take this with you.
Abel Lachapelle clasped the carved ivory idol. A soft warmth radiated from it, though he wasn’t sure if that was his own body heat or not. He looked down at the list typed out on his phone, and he scratched his head at what exactly Arianne and company requested from him.
The bottled song of a chime spirit.
“How exactly does she expect me to..?” The apprentice rounded a corner and continued deeper into the Phantom Quarter. The occasional crack of gunfire or sounds of a scuffle echoed far in the peripheries, sending more souls into the endless void away from their friends and loved ones. Grim as the thought was, Abel understood this cycle well. He turned another corner towards the soft sound of clutter and objects clicking together, and its source. An ethereal child, frantically trying to put the shards of a glass object back together. After the first few pieces, it would simply fall apart and she would try again.
Lachapelle dreaded to imagine how long she had been doing this.
He stepped forwards without a word. The Monastery had taught him to always help those in need. Lachapelle bent down, held his hands over the broken glass, and exhaled. A soft glow bathed the shards as they rose above the ground and began to reform. The ghost’s eyes grew wide in wonder. A figurine of a dog, with impressive details etched into it, descended into the girl’s hands.
“The Light watches us all.” The proselyte knelt beside the child. She opened her mouth to speak, interrupted by motes of light emerging from the walls and ground. The silent air now carried a dolorous melody, a lone chime that crescendoed as the source emerged. A shimmering, golden spirit, with a body shaped like a bell and two curious, luminous golden eyes. Once in view, each of the motes of light joined in to the spirit’s chorus. The symphony of singing lights danced and twirled towards the little girl, and she started to lift into the sky.
Abel rummaged through his bag and opened the jar he brought, swiping it through the air and catching several of the lights inside. They didn’t panic or scramble for the open end of it, allowing him to close the lid without much effort. He was alone once more as the spirit raptured the lost soul, with the three motes of light still singing their enchanted tune.
He produced his phone and sent a text message to the contact A F
What exactly are these chime spirits?
A few minutes passed, and Abel started to walk again, looking for his next ingredient. His phone buzzed with a new message.
If a soul is left behind from attachment or other burden, the Chime Spirits lead them to the land of the dead once they can finally let go. A wonderful tune, is it not?
The apprentice sighed and put his phone away.