1175  The Burden Of The Soulmancer King

"Let's talk business. Let me shed some light on what I can offer you, who these enemies are that want to capture me, and for what reasons. But before that, let me tell you the truth about the origins of this world.

"You see..."

About an hour later, a chalice quite similar to the replica in his inventory was in his hands. Against all odds, it turned out that the Spirit Artefact indeed held the Chalice of Nethershade.

It made sense in the end. Claire was still the Spirit of a chalice after all. It was only through such a vessel that she could unleash her true power. Not to mention that the legendary relic housed her most powerful soul fragment.

A fragment of her soul that she had long since reabsorbed. Now, the Chalice of Nethershade and the Spirit Artefact temporarily residing within it belonged to her.

[Gold Aether Artefact: Chalice of Nethershade: The temporary vessel of the Spirit Artefact Claire Lumyst, aka the Soulmancer King. Having inspired the other Replicas, the artefact is also forged from an ancient material called "Naetherium," using a design method inspired by a legendary order of cosmic monks. Extremely sturdy, it can be used to defend as well as attack. As long as the Spirit Artefact resides within, its capacity to store Spirit Lumyst and even produce it is virtually limitless. However, ultimately, this chalice is not Claire's true vessel and is not designed to handle such power. Be careful not to overuse it. Abilities: Spirit Lumyst Fountain, Spirit Clones, Infinite Space, World of Limbo, Lumyst's Chosen]

Spirit Lumyst Fountain was the chalice's ability to produce Spirit Lumyst at will. The presence of the Spirit Artefact amplified its performance, but without providing enough energy to the artefact, this functionality had its limits. There were also a number of limitations, particularly on the attributes of the generated Lumyst.

Spirit Clones was, as one might expect, the ability used by the Soulmancer King to create and disseminate hundreds of thousands of iterations of himself across the continent. The fact that these clones could vary infinitely in terms of DNA or personality, harbor ambitions, and develop without being aware they were mere clones, was what made this technique absolutely overpowered. The only weakness of this technique was that the clones' souls were not perfect, the soul fragment used to give them life being insufficient to cover their lack of substance.

Infinite Space was simply an overpowered version of what was found in most high-quality Replicas. The Lumyst that the artefact was designed to contain could serve as energy for the artefact itself, allowing it to conjure ever more space within.

World of Limbo, according to Claire, was an incomplete ability compared to the original Lumyst Chalice's version. Basically, if enough Lumyst affinities were available, a true world could be born within the artefact's infinite space, becoming its own mini-universe.

Currently, the Chalice of Nethershade could only contain Spirit Lumyst, meaning the world created would be of a spiritual nature, remaining off-limits to the living. If the Lumyst Chalice were to be reforged, however... the true potential of this ability could finally be realized.

Given what Jake had just learned, he had a feeling they might need it before the end of this Ordeal. Even if not, the power of such a Diamond Aether Artefact would be useful to him.

Finally, there was the last ability, and by far the most precious considering his circumstances: Lumyst's Chosen. Its activation consumed the artefact's Lumyst reserves but greatly lifted the restrictions imposed by Twyluxia.

To what extent? He wouldn't know without trying, but seeing how Claire praised it, he was confident.

As for who he would use it against? Jake could only show a solemn expression as he remembered what the former Soulmancer King had just told him:

"...As you already suspected, this world-plane, Twyluxia, and even what lies beyond the membrane, are all part of what remains of an immense corpse, the founder of a now-extinct mythical order of cosmic monks known as Klayr. He is... my creator, parent, and best friend. Was. But not as you imagine. He didn't forge or enchant me like the rest of his creations.

"As ludicrous as it may sound... I was originally an ordinary golden chalice used during his religious rituals. Born in a Mirror Universe that is no more, Klayr was a very pious and stubborn man from a young age, but his faith was not dedicated to a classic god. As far back as he could remember, he had the feeling of being just a link in someone else's dream, that his existence and even his emotions did not belong to him. This paranoia led him to question all imposed dictates and beliefs very early on, constantly doubting the reality around him. This naturally led him to take an interest in Aether and its origin, and from there, he quickly climbed the ranks. From a simple blacksmith, he very quickly became a Rank 5 Aetherist, but his quest for truth did not stop there. He went even further, becoming unreachable. When even the Oracle of his own Mirror Universe could no longer control him, he ventured into the grand multiverse to continue his research.

"One day, he concluded that to understand Aether and the world he lived in, he had to first create his own world, a dream that would be his own. It was somewhere during this period of seclusion and exploration that Lumyst was born. A simple accidental creation resulting from his research on Aether. This unique energy, while composed of Aether like everything else, had unique properties that allowed it to exist as a separate entity. Its enchanting properties skyrocketed his prowess as an enchanter and blacksmith, taking his status in the multiverse to a whole new level in just a few millennia.

"It was at this point that he and his order of cosmic monks, sharing his obsession with the mysterious origin and nature of Aether, began to gain a lot of attention. This did not calm his ardor, and he only pursued his experiments more fervently. What was bound to happen happened. He flew too close to the sun. Or rather, he dug too deep.

"It was also around this time that I came into being. Not worshipping any god as such but convinced that there was someone or something beyond the Aetherdream, the rituals in which I served were not ordinary. Klayr had a Soul Class now considered taboo, but it is partly thanks to this that we owe the term Aetherdream.

"In short. Being constantly handled during his rituals, constantly basked in his aura, and serving as a receptacle for all sorts of divine brews, including his blood saturated with Lumyst, the ordinary chalice that I was did not remain so for long. One day, my consciousness awakened during a ritual, and it was the first and last time I saw uncontainable joy in his eyes. My awakening was proof for him that his ritual had worked. While failing to make contact with an ultimate god of Aether, Klayr had for the first time given life to something unique that he could not explain. He named me Claire Lumyst, echoing his own name when my mind settled for a female appearance for the first time. According to him, I was the one who understood him best, his alter ego.

"A Spirit Artefact spontaneously born this way is not a frequent occurrence, and as you saw with Ledger, the function of the artefact in which we awaken influences our raison d'être and our abilities. I existed only to uncover the secrets of the Aetherdream. After my birth, his research advanced exponentially, pushing him inexorably towards a precipice. There are taboo knowledge that are meant to remain so.

"In drilling down too far into the universe's secrets, Klayr ended up provoking powerful entities. The kind we could do without… That's right. As you guessed, it was his first confrontation with the multiversal scourge known as Digestors. I would like to tell you more, but it is likely that your memory will be erased at the end of the Ordeal or that you will forget immediately. But if I stick to what you are allowed to know without risk, let's say he became the prey of one of the worst types of enemies one could wish for:

"A World Eater."

I couldn't get the second chapter out yesterday like I wanted. I'll try to do that sometime this week, but in the meantime we're keeping up the pace.

Arkinslize

Creator's Thought

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