Arky mulled over Sitri's explanation. Annoyingly enough, it actually made sense.
Sitri continued her tutorial anyway.
"Once you hit Level 10, you can tier up from Tier 0 to Tier 1," she said, kicking her feet idly in the air. "Xai'reth called that tier Allogene. You already know what that means, right? Level 50 is the peak for Allogenes. After that, you tier up again and enter Tier 2 – Transcendent."
She bobbed her head side to side, lazily watching the rain outside.
"That's where most Adepti sit. And a bunch of other really scary things too."
Arky frowned in thought. Of course he knew what an Allogene was. It was just a glorified name for Vision holders.
If he had to compare, Amber was probably around Level 15 or 20 right now, while Diluc would be somewhere in the 40s.
"Oh, and don't trust the levels too much," the little mascot added casually. "Some Mortals or Allogenes can punch way above their level using outside cheats. Delusions, Abyssal power, forbidden stuff, you name it."
She suddenly leaned forward, eyes gleaming.
"Do you know why you are special? Not just you, but Xai'reth too?"
Arky raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Essence!" she said proudly, spreading her arms. "Vision holders train, fight, meditate, have emotional breakthroughs, blah blah blah, boring. But you and Xai'reth are different!"
"You're the Ruler of Entropy. Normally, when something dies, its essence goes back into the Ley Lines. Recycled, reused, boring cycle. But when you kill something, a portion of that essence gets absorbed by you instead."
She sucked in a huge breath, as if she was about to pass out from talking too much.
"Haa… you don't need years of training. You just need to kill. Entropy is all about creating errors in order. And the rule of essence returning to the Ley Lines? You can tweak that rule just a tiny bit."
"Once you gather 3000 Essence, you can level up to Level 4," she added smugly. "A normal Mortal would need months for that. You're basically stealing straight from Irminsul. Hehehe."
"I see," Arky said flatly as he walked back to the bed and sat on its edge. "You're actually a pretty useful little mascot."
A vein popped on her forehead.
"Don't. Call. Me. That." She immediately started yanking his hair.
Arky ignored her, and flopped onto the bed.
He already had a rough idea of what Essence was. In the mental trials, he had grown stronger with every kill. During his very first Hilichurl trial, he had already reached the peak of Tier 0.
But he could not Tier up to Allogene.
No Vision. No external anchor to break the limits of a human body.
That was when his Shade authority awakened. After that, it stopped being about growth and became more about control. One mistake, and he would have torn himself apart.
Of course, it had all taken place within a mental trial. At present, only his mind and soul had reached the level of an Allogene, while his body remained painfully weak.
To truly reclaim his strength, he would need to absorb Essence and bring all three aspects, body, mind, and soul, back to their peak.
The same peak he had once reached within the trial.
The level of a High Shade.
"Oh, one more thing," Sitri added suddenly, floating up from his head. "If your soul gets strong enough, you can permanently kill beings by absorbing all their essence."
She tilted her head.
"But that's also a super fast way to die. If you permanently kill a normal being, Irminsul will notice. If you permanently kill someone under an immortality curse, Ronova herself will notice."
She smiled sweetly.
"And then you can say goodbye to life."
Arky shrugged. He had no intention of being stupid. Only when he reached the level of a Shade did he plan to go looking for the Four Shades.
'Wait.'
He suddenly sat up.
"Hey," he asked. "What if I just kill Paimon? Since she's Asmoday, can't I just get it over with?"
Sitri snorted. "If you want to wake up the Heavenly Principles, go ahead. Be my guest."
"…Never mind."
Arky flopped back onto the bed and closed his eyes.
For five hundred years, his body had slept while his mind was tortured.
Now, he planned to sleep properly.
Both body and mind.
* * *
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Arky now sat on one of the open balconies of Dawn Winery, a gourd and a cup resting in his hands.
He gazed at the dark, starless sky as turbulent winds swept across the vineyard, then took a slow sip of wine.
"Haa… Osmanthus wine tastes the same as I remember," he murmured in a contemplative voice. "But where are those who share the memory?"
Sitri, perched on the balcony railing, turned toward him with a puzzled expression. "But you're drinking dandelion wine."
"Don't mind the small details, little mascot," Arky waved her off lazily. "You wouldn't get it anyway."
Sitri snorted and turned back around, swinging her legs as she watched the fireflies drift through the vast vineyard surrounding the winery.
After a brief stretch of silence, Sitri finally asked, "So, what do you plan to do?"
"Hunt," Arky replied flatly, draining the last drop of wine from his cup.
He sealed the gourd and fastened it to his waist. He could have stored it inside the pocket space linked to his Sigil with a thought, but keeping it on him felt right. Aesthetics mattered, even now.
Arky straightened. He wore a black turtleneck inner layer, loose black pants, and a long black robe threaded with faint silver patterns. A soft wool scarf rested around his neck.
Cleaned up, hair tied back into a neat ponytail, he looked less like a vagrant and more like a wandering scholar passing through troubled lands.
Over the three days he spent at Dawn Winery, Arky mostly slept. When he was awake, he made an effort to grow closer to the winery staff.
Hillie and Moco had taken a particular liking to him. Once they learned he was only eighteen, they started treating him like a little brother, their warmth almost overwhelming at times.
He still wondered if there was some hidden agenda behind the sudden closeness, especially since they kept insisting on helping him wash up even after he had fully woken.
Adelinde had warmed to him as well, though she never crossed the line of professionalism.
The one he deliberately approached was Elzer, the head butler. Arky helped him with the accounts, noticing just how overworked the man was.
At one point, Arky genuinely wondered whether Elzer's white hair was natural or the result of relentless stress.
The clothes he wore now were gifts from Hillie and Moco. The dandelion wine had come from Elzer, a quiet thank-you for easing his workload.
Of course, Diluc was not blind to the fact that a stranger had been living off his winery's hospitality. A leech, as Arky suspected the man might think.
Still, Diluc had sent word instructing Elzer and Adelinde to handle Arky as they saw fit. He was busy, after all.
"Probably in his Batman phase," Arky muttered under his breath, "or trying to figure out how to deal with Stormterror."
Now that he was properly rested, Arky felt the pull again. He needed Essence.
Since everyone believed him to be nothing more than a harmless scholar, he could not openly roam the countryside slaughtering monsters. That would raise questions.
So he chose the night.
By morning, he would officially leave the winery and wander the wilds, hunting quietly until he could Tier up to Allogene.
After that, he would head toward Mondstadt. Maybe he would meet the Traveler there.
He still did not know which twin held that title and which had fallen into the Abyss.
'Well… whatever.'
Arky focused on his Sigil. Space rippled, and a long black spear warped into existence in his grasp. He clenched it tightly, a familiar weight settling into his hands.
Only now did he feel whole again.
"Oh, my baby…" Arky murmured, his voice softening as his gaze lingered on the spear. "I forgive you for what you did to me, Xai'reth. Only because you gave my baby back."
Emotion stirred in his chest as his fingers tightened around the shaft.
It was the same spear he had wielded throughout the mental trial, his sole companion during five hundred years of torment.
It wasn't a canon weapon from the game, nor something that existed in any official records. If anything, it was a ridiculous weapon, and that was exactly why it fit him so perfectly.
More precisely, it was something Xai'reth had once used before passing it down to his successor.
The spear was bound to his soul now. As he grew stronger, so would it.
During the trial, he had unlocked many of its abilities, mastering them one by one through blood and repetition. But now, in reality, only a single ability remains available.
Arky focused on the spear, and a runic panel of glowing symbols unfolded before his eyes, visible only to him and Sitri.
— ◈ —
[ Errata – Oblivion's Axis ]
[ Description: An anomaly forged from the fragments of the Two Moons, quenched in Nibelung's corrupted blood, and sealed with forbidden abyssal power. All bound by a perpetual axis of disorder.]
[ Awakened Abilities:
1] Lunar Singularity: Induces controlled errors in inertial law, allowing unrestricted manipulation of the weapon's mass.
2] LOCKED ]
— ◈ —
"Hehehe… follow me, little mascot. Let's go kill some mobs," Arky grinned as he leapt from the balcony, landing lightly among the vineyard rows before heading toward the wilds.
Sitri grumbled as she floated after him, then settled onto his shoulder without shame, letting the old man handle all the physical effort of traveling.