Outskirts of Gourmand City, a castle loomed like a jagged fang on the horizon, its silhouette devouring the moonlight. The chill of the night clung to the stone walls, the distant hoot of an owl echoing through the dark.
In the inner courtyard, on the training ground, Theal panted heavily under the cold breath of the night sky. His sweat steamed faintly in the torchlight, every inhale sharp against the crisp air.
From the shadow of the keep's door, a woman emerged. Her triangular-shaped face caught the firelight, framed by red-rimmed glasses that gleamed like molten copper. Her pointed chin, small nose, and bold brows were sharpened further by lips painted a deep, commanding red. Her platinum blonde, voluminous curls—shoulder length—were swept dramatically to one side, catching the faint breeze.
"Theal, it's time for your lesson."
Theal straightened his body. "As you command, Dame Elira."
Elira smiled in amusement, her lips curling with quiet mischief. "You don't have to be so formal. You aren't in the Capital anymore—you can just call me Elira."
Theal remained silent, offering only a curt nod.
"I heard you have quite a story," she continued, her voice slow and deliberate. "Mind sharing the details with me over a drink?"
Theal shook his head. "I don't drink."
Elia chuckled softly, her laughter ringing lightly across the empty courtyard. "A man of few words. I like that. Go and wait for me in my office—I have to fetch a few books from the library."
Theal nodded once.
Inside the library, the air was thick and heavy with neglect. Dust swirled in the moonlight streaming through a cracked window.
"Cough, cough, cough—this is… why does the Captain not hire a maid to clean this castle? Cough." Elira waved her hand in front of her face as she pulled a book free from the shelf.
Her eyes scanned the titles, lingering in thought. "I never imagined the son of a famous villainess could be so dull… let me find something that will light up his mood."
She selected three identical brown-covered books, their spines worn and creased with age, and carried them back to her office.
"Let's get on to business," she said, setting the books down with a dull thump. "These are the Books of Origin. They hold information about the spirits anchored to Pantheons in our physical plane."
Theal raised his hand. "Does it include evil spirits?"
Elira cleared her throat. "No. Evil spirits are not anchored to any plane."
Theal nodded lightly.
"The spirit I am going to teach you about is the Eidolon Spirit, contracted to our God—the First Acme, His Divinity Santis Grelon—and anchored by the Pantheon blessing the Acme's followers and bestowing his servants."
Theal raised his hand again. "If the Pantheon is anchored by the Eidolon Spirit, why do we worship the Acme? The Shurur and Tarturus Empires worship their spirits, not Acme's."
Elira's chest rose and fell with a deep sigh. "The Eidolon Spirit is contracted under Acme Santis Grelon and serves the Pantheon as an anchor—unlike the Shurur and Tarturus Empires, whose spirits are not contracted to their Acme's."
Theal's brow creased. "So they are evil spirits?"
Elira hesitated, measuring her words carefully. "…By law, yes. Spirits that are not contracted are considered evil spirits."
"So the Shurur and Tarturus Empires are evil?"
Her gaze drifted for a moment. "From our perspective, they are. Their Acmes are called Fallen Acmes—they became Gods with the help of a evil spirits."
Theal nodded in understanding as Elira flipped to the next page.
"The Eidolon Spirit is the spirit of concrete concepts it is a consciousness fragment of our creator LUCA like all the other orthodox Spirits. Through the Pantheons, they can bestow Stillness abilities to the Acme's servants."
"Is it possible to choose a Stillness ability?" Theal pressed.
Elira thought for a moment, then nodded. "Your consciousness already knows what you have the best affinity to."
Theal frowned. "What if I don't like it? Is there a way to change it?"
She shook her head. "Your consciousness knows you better than you."
"Why do the major noble houses have fixed Stillness abilities? House Gullet's bloodline uses Ice Stillness."
Elira chuckled softly. "That's a blessing the Eidolon Spirit reserves for the Acme's followers the seven major noble houses, and it is carried on through their bloodlines."
She closed the book and handed it to Theal. "Now, I will just do a demonstration and tell you the general knowledge about Stillness."
Theal nodded.
Elira's hands moved to the hem of her top, and with no hesitation, she removed it. Her left arm deformed before his eyes, skin twisting and warping until it morphed into a sharp, curved, pointed appendage—its surface glistening like blackened steel. The blade-like form extended further, humming faintly in the cold air.
She touched its tip to the stone wall, and the surface hissed and sagged—melting as though eaten away.
"The concrete concept Stillness ability bestowed upon me is called Claw. When your consciousness absorbs the bestowed stillness ability, it starts to produce hue that can help you strengthen your abilities,body and mind. That hue has a property. There are twenty known types of natural hue properties—mine is Corrosion."
"What is your status?" Theal asked.
"Status three."
Theal's face lit up. "You are in the Ancestral Echelon."
Elira chuckled. "Almost at the pinnacle of the physical plane— three more breakthroughs to catch up to the Captain, becoming a Status six of the Apocalyptic Echelon."
Theal's eyes narrowed. "How do you breakthrough?"
She froze in thought. "To break through, one needs to expand their consciousness to fit all the hue capacity required for the status they are advancing into."
Theal tilted his head, confused.
"When you are a status one of the Primal Echelon. Your consciousness capacity will be one hundred nits of hue. A Status two of the Primal Echelon has a consciousness capacity of five hundred nits of hue. To advance, you need to take in all five hundred nits of hue into your one-hundred-capacity consciousness—at once without shattering your consciousness."
Theal nodded. "What happens if your consciousness shatters?"
Elira's tone darkened. "Then your consciousness will be fragmented turning still… and be used as a totem crux to create totems."
Theal drew in a heavy breath as Elira pulled her top back on. "I have a guard mission in the Capital the Nobles are going to visit his Divinity tomorrow. This is the end of our lesson."