Universe's End

Botany is an odd field of study because plants are a bit strange themselves. Back on earth, it was known that one could cut a branch from a tree and effectively propagate a clone of the original. Furthermore, you could influence flowers based on the type of water you fed them and many other things.

That was one long way of saying Rory had devised a somewhat convoluted plan. Without in-depth knowledge of the available resources, Rory could not determine what was possible or where to begin in his pursuit of crafting a better bow. He could always default to the easy option of crafting a simple Jackalope antler bow, which wasn't terrible. His prior antler bows had served him well enough, after all. However, Rory suspected the material, while better than ordinary metal or wood for Pneuma conductivity, was still rather… shit.

So, if he didn't know what was available, where to find it, or any other critical information, there was only one way Rory could think of to get his hands on a high-grade crafting material, aside from luck favoring fools.

And that was to make it himself.

It was an idea that revolved around three factors.

The trees of this planet were far sturdier than ordinary trees back on Earth, closer to steel than simple wood.

His Blood Essence could be used to craft higher-quality equipment if his crafting knife was anything to go by.

He was damn near in a video game, the universe following rules that would be nonsensical anywhere else. Thus, it would likely 'help' his endeavors, even if, in purely scientific logic, something shouldn't

With those elements understood, Rory had decided the best method to obtain reliable, higher-grade material was to forcibly create it. Metal forging and alloying were out of the picture, so a different type of 'alloying' was needed, the alloying of the natural world.

Genetics.

The theory was simple enough. Take a branch from a tree and nurture it into something new.

Hence, Rory found himself standing before a 'plot' of land outside his walls, staring at the ground.

Calling it a 'plot' of land was a somewhat arbitrary term; there was nothing remarkably different than the rest of the ground around his wall; it just happened to be in a convenient spot near his gate. After deciding where his mad science would take place, Rory drew a rather large circle through the ground, a laborious effort as he dug up the earth, a deep, circular trench in the ground rather than a simple stick through the topmost layer of soil.

Rory's first long-term bounded circle needed to be robust and capable of lasting without degradation, unlike his regular bounded circles. Once the trench was dug, Rory's following week was spent on even more backbreaking effort, dragging large boulders and rocks to his camp, each hundreds of pounds at the lightest. Once the boulders were inside his camp, they were ground into a fine powder. Taking that powder, Rory mixed it with well-dehydrated dirt before adding it into an aisormba solution infused with Blood Essence. With the thick slurry brewed up, Rory filled several clay jars with the particular mix. Using it like a ceramic glaze, Rory set out to paint the sides of the trench with the mix as the sun baked it into the dirt walls and solidified it into a hardened seal.

A full two weeks from when he'd set out on his work, Rory wiped the sweat from his brow, examining the circle in the earth.

Good. It's held up so far.

Of course, it hadn't been exposed to any actual Pneuma yet. Still, first and foremost, ensuring it could withstand the regular forces of nature was essential before he even thought of adding magical stuff into the mix.

Satisfied with his progress, Rory began working on the next part of the project.

Which involved even more lugging of boulders, something Rory's lower back loved.

Within his camp, Rory spent days chiseling the boulders until they looked almost like tombstones, twelve in total. Of the twelve, nine had the same rune, Stability. The last three sets were split into three unique versions. One was inscribed with the Absorption rune, one with Energy, and the last with the Earth rune. Planting the three unique Wardstones -Something Rory had started to call them- at three equidistance points of the trench, he followed it up by installing the remaining nine Stability Wardstones, three per section between the main Wardstones. Much like the trench was meant to be a more permanent version of a bounded circle, the Wardstones were more permanent guiding runes for the enhanced bounded circle. Furthermore, the entire system was more modular due to their nature of being inscribed upon a moveable piece of obsidian; he could swap them out if he ever figured out a better rune or way to design the layout.

Now, three weeks after he had started, Rory could finally begin working on the more mystical aspect of his project.

Well, almost. There was still the matter of creating the nutritional base for his experiment, which ultimately devolved into hunting weaker monsters wherever he could, bringing them back to camp, and promptly mushing them into a rather disgusting paste that he added into a barrel that had been surprisingly quick to fashion.

Also added to the barrel were the standard organic matter that someone might add to a composting bin, such as leaves, plants, etc. Now the proud owner of the world's most offensive compost, Rory set about fashioning a regular bound circle. Once that was done, all that was needed was to place the barrel within the bound circle, add a rune for passive Pneuma absorption, and leave it to magically ripen over two days. During that time, Rory put in his best farmer impression as he rotated and tilled the soil within his plot outside his walls.

When he wasn't breaking his back as he labored over his project preparation, Rory also worked on a small experiment, testing how long it would take for specific materials to 'charge' with Pneuma when inscribed with an absorption rune. With that knowledge, he whittled down what looked almost like a flute with a hollow needle at the end. Every thirty-six hours, it would passively fill with enough Pneuma to activate another inscribed rune.

Perfect.

With his monster-mash compost 'ripened,' Rory dragged it out to his growing plot outside his walls, tipping the barrel into the hole he'd dug, mixing it with the rest of the soil.

Plot prepared, Rory had several days to let everything settle. During that time, he began work on another part of the rather extensive project. Taking what little remained of his metal, he used a rune-inscribed bound circle to flash-melt the material, pouring it into several small molds, four of his runes. His runes of choice this time were Absorption, Wood, Energy, and Accelerate. He had considered Stability, but unlike his bound circle, which needed to remain stable for long periods, these would be used for something inherently wanting to encourage change, the very opposite of Stability. Once the molds had cooled, Rory carved a tiny indent atop the four metal runes, just large enough to fit a blood essence bead. Satisfied, he then stuck them into the dirt of the four cardinal points of the circle.

Whether they were actually the cardinal points, Rory had no idea, but in his mind, they were, and that was good enough.

"Almost there," Rory muttered after placing the metal runes within his bound circle. Weeks of work, and he was almost there.

Analyzing the plot greeted Rory with the confirmation of his thoughts.

???-Blood Focused

Status: Inactive

A passive ritual formation intended to enhance, aid, and accelerate the growth rate of plant life within. Created to nurture trees primarily, the ??? may be used in growing any plant life should it meet the required growth standards. This ??? has been nurtured with life and blood essence-infused soil.

"Hah, forgot to give it a name." Rory chuckled. "How about… Right, got it."

Flora Cradle-Blood Focused

Status: Inactive

A passive ritual formation intended to enhance, aid, and accelerate the growth rate of plant life within. Created to nurture trees primarily, the Flora Cradle may be used in growing any plant life should it meet the required growth standards. This Flora Cradle has been nurtured with life and blood essence-infused soil.

It took only a split second for his interface to update as Rory contemplated the name for the ritual formation.

"You know, 'ritual' has some rather negative connotations," Rory muttered to no one in particular as he once more read over the description of his project resulting from weeks of effort.

Though I guess it fits the definition… Eh, it's not like there is anyone here to judge anyway.

Running inside his camp, he returned only seconds later with the branch he'd scavenged weeks back, kept alive and healthy, partially submerged in his pond. In his other hand were several tiny red beads, his flute-like tool he'd made, and a small flask-like container filled with a slurry of blood, aisormba, and ground Jackalope Antlers.

First, Rory entered the Flora Cradle and, without any fanfare, stuck the branch into the direct center of the soil, nowhere near as violently gory as when he'd first spread his hell compost. Next, he jammed the flute-like tool into the soil before pouring the contents of the small flask into it. Jabbed into the earth as it was, it would release a small amount of the slurry every thirty-six hours into the soil near the branch's base. With those tasks taken care of, Rory placed a single blood essence bead into each metal rune he'd partially buried within the large, bounded circle.

One last step.

Standing in the ritual formation, all that remained was to kickstart the entire thing, which simply required manually gathering Pneuma within the bound circle. Rubbing at his head, Rory grimaced.

I sure do love giving myself headaches.

Two hours and migraine later, Rory stepped out of the ring. The air inside felt as if it had been buzzing with static electricity. Once out of the ring, Rory examined the entire thing again.

Flora Cradle-Blood Focused

Status: Active

A passive ritual formation intended to enhance, aid, and accelerate the growth rate of plant life within. Created to nurture trees primarily, the Flora Cradle may be used in growing any plant life should it meet the required growth standards. This Flora Cradle has been nurtured with life and blood essence-infused soil.

"Finally."

It had been a month-long labor of effort, an effort that would hopefully reward Rory with valuable, higher-tier materials that didn't require hours of travel to locate.

All he had to do was wait.

Feeling proud, Rory was still staring at the entire thing when suddenly, his body was inundated with electricity. The static buzzing through him dissipated only seconds later, as if he'd remembered to pull his finger out of an electrical outlet.

What the hell?

Surprised and somewhat nervous, Rory opened his interface, expecting a sudden hit to his Physique. Instead, he was taken aback by a sight he hadn't expected.

"Holy hell." Rory whistled. His progress to A5 had just jumped ten percent in a single moment.

"That's right." Rory snapped his fingers after a moment. "I forgot about that."

Creating things was another way to gain ascension energy. The more profound the creation, the more Energy could be achieved. Usually, it was just so insignificant that it was almost unnoticeable. His railguns, for example, basically gave no ascension energy, and he hadn't crafted anything else of significance since.

This formation ritual, though? It had taken a month of hard labor, and not just that, it was likely the first creation of its kind, rewarding a fat chunk of Energy.

"Well, I appreciate it," Rory said, sighing with relief. A month spent barely hunting any monsters, regardless of how weak they might be, was a month of no ascension progress.

In truth, Rory was almost surprised that there hadn't been any notifications yet of someone reaching A5. He had half figured that such an achievement would be met by-

Minor Law establishment earned:

Achieved the first tier five Ascension. Minor Law established: Level classification implemented.

"Well, what are the chances of that?" Rory muttered as he took in the sudden surprise intrusion by his interface declaring a new Minor Law. Rory wasn't surprised to see that someone had reached tier five; with his triumph over wave ten and his ritual creation, he was fifty percent of the way there himself. For any of the more successful founders, they had likely been closing in on the goal themselves.

New thought: What the hell is a level classification?

Suddenly curious, Rory opened his interface, glancing toward his Ascension tier.

"A4- Level 45." Rory scratched his chin as he read the new addition. "Okay, less complicated than I expected."

Level forty-five coincidentally matched that he was a tier four and fifty percent of his way to tier five. Looking at it, he was reminded of something Eon's Avatar had explained: how, later on, the attributes gained from an ascension would be spread throughout a tier and not upfront. It hadn't come into play yet, but he was beginning to wonder just when it might become a problem to consider.

Ignoring that, at least the established law is easy enough to understand.

It was a rather odd thing to use a Minor Law for, but who was Rory to judge?

"You know, I wonder if monsters get levels as well? Actually, who am I kidding? Of course, they probably do."

No longer caring about the sudden addition of levels, Rory returned to the reality that someone had reached tier five, level fifty. Part of him wanted to feel frustrated, but if there was one thing he was beginning to understand more with each Ascension, it was that damn did it take some time. With each Ascension taking ten times as much energy and higher tier beasts not giving anywhere close to ten times as much Ascension energy, the time between tiers could already be measured in months. If it took him another six months to reach tier five, it would likely take years from the start of tier five to six.

"Hey, Aelia, you there?" Rory suddenly questioned the trees.

Seconds passed with nothing happening, and beginning to believe she either hadn't noticed or was choosing not to respond, Rory began to push the question forming in his mind aside until a rustle of leaves and a gentle breeze spilled through the clearing, the signature sign of Aelia's arrival.

"Architect. It's been a bit since you last called me directly."

"Been busy." Rory shrugged. "Was preparing for wave ten and all that."

"Yes, for which you have my congratulations." Aelia gave him a short curtsy.

"Yeah, well, thanks for helping Eon throw a super monster at me." Rory snorted. "Didn't almost die or anything."

"If you're aware of the nature of how the Iasilisk came to be, then you must also surely know it was never going to kill you." Aelia rolled her eyes, blowing leaf-like hair out of her eyes. "I must also say, I'm pleased that you've decided to put down those damn abominations of yours. Struggle leads to growth, and you weren't struggling with those."

"Glad you approve," Rory grunted. "It was that or never gain ascension energy again for as long as I live, which is part of why I called you in the first place."

"Oh?" Her eyebrows rose, curious.

"Yeah, it occurred to me that I've been here for months now. I have spoken to you occasionally, but otherwise, I've been by myself. It's well understood, at least for humans, that as pack animals, we tend to lose our minds when alone for too long. So, why don't I seem all that bothered?"

"Oh, a simple answer, really." The world spirit said. "Your racial improvement."

"Really?"

"Yes," Aelia confirmed. "I'd suspect that your race improvements are free-form. They attempt to shore up your biggest weaknesses first. In the case of humans, if you lost your minds because of your isolation, that wouldn't be of much use for you, would it?"

"No, I guess not. How would it know, though?"

"Same as everything, it's handled partly on the backend by E.O.N. That flaw of human characteristics is likely well understood, and thus, it was likely one of the very first things addressed upon your first few ascensions."

"Nifty," Rory said. As much as he would have liked to have taken credit for being mentally strong, claiming credit for something that wasn't his own doing wasn't his style.

"Anything else?" Aelia asked, looking at Rory as if she was nearing the end of some scheduled meeting.

"Sure. What level are you?" Rory questioned.

"Ahh, I'm assuming that's in response to the Minor Law created moments ago by the First Monk."

"First Monk…? Oh, is that the Vocation of someone else on the planet? I thought we all got Precursor vocations?"

"No, and while I don't intend to disclose their information, I can at least confirm that not all of my founders received Precursor vocations, though you do all have some variety of 'Frontier' style vocations, first of your kind as you are."

"Nifty," Rory repeated. "So, your level?"

"I don't have one, " Aelia shrugged. "If I did, it wouldn't reflect your levels, as I tier up much slower than those who live upon my surface."

"Don't you have things living beneath the surface as well?"

"Figure of speech." The world spirit sighed. "Now, again, I will ask, is there anything else you need?"

"No, not really." Rory shook his head.

"Well then, I will be taking my leave. Oh, and I wish you the best of luck with your project. I look forward to seeing its results very much."

The World Spirit vanished before Rory could say anything else, only the gentle breeze reminder that she was ever there.

Does she always need to have the last word?

Sighing, Rory crossed his arms, a chill in the air.

The seasons on this planet are weird. We've been in this in-between season for months now. Not that I mind; I don't want to shovel snow, assuming snow still exists.

Thoughts of snow aside, Rory found himself thinking about what Aelia had said and how she looked forward to the fruits of his project.

As was Rory. Except, there was one issue. An issue that, in his excitement to finish his project, Rory hadn't thought about much.

Just how long will it take for the damned thing to grow in the first place?

It wasn't as if Rory hadn't considered the growth rate of trees at all; he wasn't that much of an idiot. That was why he had acceleration runes to speed it along. The issue was that trees could take years, if not decades, to grow. Even with acceleration runes, what was to say it still wouldn't take months or years?

That in itself was a rather significant problem. Until Rory had his hands on a stronger bow, he was unwilling to adventure much further out than he already had; the experience with the Iasilisk had seen to that. Tier eight beasts might not wander the planet's surface, but tier six and seven? An encounter with such a high-level monster could end him; he had no combat skills and a vocation devoid of combat focus. Even bringing a railgun with him for security wasn't the best plan, given he still hadn't found a feasible method to store and drain Pneuma quickly.

Vocations… Man, I wonder if the others are having an easier time with vocations that are useful.

Alright, his Vocation wasn't useless, but it hadn't done much more for him outside of crafting. Its main benefit was that the Vocation was the source of several of his crafting-related skills.

Or is it?

Rory was struck still, turning the thought over in his mind,

Perhaps even without the Vocation, I would have been offered those skills with all the crafting I was doing. I just never really thought about it much.

Curious, Rory opened his interface, re-examining his information. He mulled over his thoughts and stared at his Title, of all things.

Title: Genie's Apprentice

Through repeated bending of the rules to fit the Titleholder's needs, the Titleholder has been recognized as a potential source of uncertainty. Grants one Reinterpretation before incurring a one-year cooldown.

"Reinterpretation… now that's a curious idea."

His prior thoughts of questioning the nature of his Vocation, or Vocations in general, were still brewing in his mind when he was suddenly reminded of something he had been told by Aelia.

"…While your creation of Eon was unexpected and threw an entire wrench into my understanding of everything, I won't deny it has merits after I had time to consider it. I took the time to contact Eon, and we worked together to develop the equivalent of the Settlement system that sapiens can use…"

"Right, she never mentioned using a law, major or minor, to work with Eon." Rory mused.

So, could I do the same? Also, how did I remember what she said so perfectly?

Rory brushed the second thought aside, a stray thought distracting from his actual question.

You know, this is a perfect chance to test something out.

Tapping his interface several times, he soon had a new screen brought up.

Reinterpretation

Cooldown: Ready

Apply: Y/N

Clicking on the yes option, Rory didn't even have time to breathe. One moment, he was standing in his camp; the next, he was in the familiar void of space, standing in front of a table where a familiar nondescript galaxy being was seated across from him.

Wait, something's different.

Furrowing his brow, Rory stared at Eon's Avatar, trying to make sense of it until it clicked.

There, on its face ordinarily devoid of any markings, two slits, barely perceptible, had appeared where eyes might be on a human.

Changes on a strange cosmic being, the closest thing I've ever known to a god. Hmm, not sure I want to question it.

While pretending he hadn't seen anything, Rory silently pulled a seat from the table before sitting opposite Eon's Avatar.

"Yes?" The Avatar finally asked after several moments of silence.

"Oh, I thought you knew why I was here."

"Interpretations are not the same as conclusive possibilities." The galaxy-being shook its head.

Wait, that's weird. Usually, it gets hung up when it's called a 'you' or something like that.

Once more, pretending he hadn't noticed anything off, Rory broached the subject.

"Right, well, so uh, this Reinterpretation, it can, like, let me change rules or something?"

"Incorrect. You can petition for a potential re-evaluation of established rules, but that does not mean you can forcibly change rules. For example, with enough accumulated Major Laws, you may be capable of stripping Eon from everything. Still, as time passes, the number of Laws you would need to use all at once would increase exponentially as it spends more time intertwined with reality. A Reinterpretation would not allow for even the possibility of such an outcome."

I think I just learned something valuable by accident.

Mentally filing the information about being able to save up and use multiple laws together, Rory pressed on.

"Right, that's not my intention, so no harm. What I was curious about is Vocations."

The Avatar said nothing, prompting Rory to continue.

"Right, so what exactly do vocations even do? I've got skills not gained from my Vocation, such as bow skills. So, what does it do other than maybe weigh the options offered?"

The Avatar was silent for another few seconds before it began to speak, the words transmitted even without any apparent speaking organs.

"Vocation parameters are based on individual characteristics including but not limited to past achievements, personality, and other variables. Skills gained are influenced but not predetermined by a Vocation, and skills may be gained outside the realm of a Vocation. Vocation-aligned skills will be obtained at a higher rate of efficiency."

"So, it doesn't really have benefits outside of slanting your options."

"Correct, Vocations are meant as tools, not limitations, deemed the most efficient way to promote growth without limiting options in a long-term scope."

"But, what if, oh, I don't know, they could do more?" I offered.

"Denied. Vocation-locked skills are unnecessarily binding and restrictive of growth."

"No, that's not what I meant." I shook the comment off. "Well, I'm not sure what I meant, but I know it wasn't that. So, what if instead, Vocations could, I don't know, have a way to change and alter how you utilize skills potentially?"

Rory was throwing anything out there. In truth, the meeting was just a way of testing how Reinterpretation could be used. Still, Rory didn't want to walk away empty-handed, with nothing to show for his effort. After all, a year-long cooldown on Reinterpretation was rather steep for no gain.

The Avatar remained silent, considering his words for several seconds before slowly nodding, a typically human reaction that was bizarrely alien when done by a galaxy-person devoid of any features.

"Potential exists. Propositions may be offered."

Rory scrambled his brain as he was suddenly put on the spot. He hadn't played that many video games; thus, his inspirations were limited. Furthermore, Rory was a far cry from a game designer; such creative ideas weren't typically something he was familiar with. Shrugging, Rory finally gave up, sticking with the first thing he thought of.

"What about something like a favorite function? Have a skill you like or want to alter to align more with your nature? You 'favorite' it, and it changes to be closer to your Vocation. Don't like it? Undo it. Or something." Rory shrugged again, trying to deflect responsibility for creative conceptualizations on the cosmic pseudo-deity instead.

The Avatar was silent, the surefire sign it was processing and extrapolating upon an unknown number of models, simulating possibilities.

Or so Rory assumed. It was easier for Rory to think of the Avatar of Eon -and E.O.N itself- like some vast magical supercomputing Ai.

"Proposition is limited, but not without merit. In the initial iteration, such Reinterpretation would be denied. Would the Architect consent to modifications?"

"Um, sure?" Rory answered, uncertain.

The Avatar nodded, seconds again passing before it spoke.

"Potential avenue for reinterpretation and Vocation system modification modeled. Vocation Testaments."

On command, a screen appeared before Rory.

*For model purposes only, exact details are a work in progress.

Vocation Testaments

Every pursuit must be enshrined and uplifted by core tenants and pillars. By accomplishing deeds of Significance, Vocation Testaments may be unlocked, allowing the enshrinement of said tenants and pillars. Skills, abilities, and other similar things may be enshrined as a Testament, allowing alterations and alignment shifts to become unified with a Vocation.

0/10 Testament slots used.

"Huh. Nifty." Rory murmured as he took in the text. It was perhaps a bit too flowery in language for his taste. Still, if one parsed through the superfluous language, it basically meant that you could unlock slots that skills and abilities could be placed into that would then 'change' with time. Rory had no idea how that change worked, but the base understanding of the system was there.

"Does the Architect approve?" Eon's Avatar questioned.

"Just about. Um, quick question: what exactly does the Testament stuff look like?"

Instantly, the screen was updated. Underneath the text were now what looked like ten marble columns surrounding an altar of a burning flame. Five of the ten looked as if they were made of shadows, whereas the other five had a plaque attached. Curious, Rory clicked on one as the entire image shifted, focusing on the plaque.

Oh? Eon's outdoing itself with the fancy interface stuff.

The plaque had a rather easy-to-read but stylistic text inscribed.

Vocation Testament #1

Status: Locked

Prerequisite: Craft a Rare artifact, weapon, or other artisan-related object.

"Is every Testament the same per vocation, or would it change based on the Vocation?"

"The Latter." The Avatar responded.

"Fair. I doubt some combat-focused Vocation would enjoy being forced to craft."

Still curious, Rory clicked off from the first pillar. The interface zoomed out, and Rory tapped on one of the shadow pillars.

Vocation Testament #6

Status: Unknown

Prerequisite: ???

"So, you're only clued in on what five of the ten Testaments demand? Any specific reason for that?" Rory questioned.

"Growth mindset." The Avatar said as if it were obvious.

"Fair," Rory repeated. Rubbing at his chin, he finally nodded. "Yeah, I think this all looks good."

"With Architect confirmation, Reinterpretation shall be implemented." Eon's Avatar added.

"Yes, got it. We're good." Rory announced.

"Reinterpretation implemented."

Instantly, his interface flickered, the iconic spinning circle signifying a system update appearing as a message flickered.

Vocation Testament's System Implemented.

Now that Eon isn't called the 'System,' all these talks of systems are so much less convoluted and confusing. I wish I could thank whoever changed the name.

After completing the update, Rory quickly found the new tab in his interface. Technically, his interface presented itself mainly based on how Rory felt it should appear. If another person were to open their interface, it would appear different from that of someone else, perhaps with no tabs whatsoever.

Focus.

Rory promptly dismissed the thought, annoyed by his easily wandering mind.

Taking in the new tab, it looked exactly like the model shown by Eon's Avatar. His first five Testament pillars were reasonably straightforward; one would be unlocked for the first creation of any tiered item, rare or higher. Specifically, it listed Rare, Master, Extreme, Legendary, and Mythical.

So, I suspect those are the ranks above Uncommon. Or maybe there are even more beyond, but that's the highest the Prerequisites go for the base five Testaments.

Unfortunately for Rory, he'd yet to craft anything of the Rare tier, and none of the initial five Testaments were fulfilled.

Fortunately for Rory, one of the shadowy pillars suddenly lit up.

Vocation Testament #8

Status: Unknown

Prerequisite: ???

--->

Vocation Testament #8

Status: Unlocked

Prerequisite: Create, establish, or form something truly unique.

"Well, damn." Rory whistled before looking at the Avatar. "So, I'm assuming-"

"For the creation of the former System, now E.O.N, the Architect has unveiled and unlocked a Veiled Testament."

"Nifty," Rory said, staring at the lone active pillar. "So, uh, I can just… put something there?"

"Will it, and it shall occur."

Taking a moment to glance through his few skills, Rory opted for his newest granted skill.

Essence Spark

Rarity: Uncommon. Skill Level: Low.

Manipulation of essence is tantamount to directing the unseen world of the trades. Essence comes in varying forms.

Essence Affinities: Blood

--->

Essence Spark**

Rarity: Uncommon. Skill Level: Low.

Manipulation of essence is tantamount to directing the unseen world of the trades. Essence comes in varying forms.

Essence Affinities: Blood

"I'm assuming the stars refer to 'Enshrined,' or am I mistaken?" Rory questioned the Avatar.

"The Architect is correct."

"So… now what?"

"That will require exploration by the Architect."

Par for the course.

"With the successful creation and usage of Testaments, the Architect has utilized their allotted Reinterpretation. Do continue to have success."

And just like that, Rory was blinking the surprise from his eyes, back in reality.

No, I was never gone, to begin with; that was all happening in some weird metaphysical space connected to my mind.

Sighing, Rory plopped down near his fire.

"Well, talk about a hell of a sidetrack."