Ain's left arm hung uselessly at his side. The left side of his face was cracked, like ancient marble, criss-crossed with spider-webbing lines of pure black. An injury like this hadn't been seen in this world for centuries, and no one knew what to do about it.

"They say you might never recover, Master," Senon told him. "It is all my fault."

Ain chuckled and shook his head. "I'll be fine."

But she wasn't convinced.

They weren't alone. The two goblins silently followed the two, with Def mostly staring at Eternal Suffering. The Living Word had changed considerably. It wasn't just an ethereal flame anymore; it was bigger, and its flames coursed with purple lightning.

In truth, Eternal Suffering wasn't just a Living Word anymore. It devoured Entropy Lightning, back then when it attached itself to Ain's Source. It saved Ain. Had it not eaten the Lightning, Ain never would have had the will to mobilize himself into action.

"Master sure Susu not die?" Def asked, perhaps noticing Ain glimpse towards the spirit every now and again.

Ain nodded. "In the ancient days, Heroes would challenge the Punishment in order to devour the Lightning. If survived, this has transformative properties. But no one was stupid enough to attempt it with Entropy Lightning."

Def tilted his head. "Troma don't understand," Def said. "Maybe Master explain for dumb Troma?"

"Troma understand," the goblin said.

"Shut up. Idiot."

Ain chuckled. "Do you remember when I taught you the Methods? I told you about your Archetypes."

"Troma had Something Cold Hands Body," Def said.

Ain nodded. "Generally, you affect your natural evolution through Methods; and even so, you cannot stray far from your intended course. Punishment Lightning is one way to go around that limitation. Susu evolved. He may be a Living Word, still, but he is not of Fire."

Senon glanced at Ain. "What is he then?"

Ain shrugged. "I doubt anyone in the world knows. But I know this much: the deeper the Mystery, the greater the power."

"Susu strong?" Def asked, smiling.

Ain nodded. "Maybe."

"What Master mean 'maybe'?! Maybe Def try to throw F-Hole at Troma again. See what happen..."

"Troma prefer not to die."

"One absorbs the Lightning to return his Soul to the original Principles. All Archetypes come from one of the original Archetypes - forbidden as they are. A long time ago, enlightened beings searched the breadth of existence to find them, but even now, no one knows how many originals there are, or even what they might be," Ain explained.

"Susu original then?"

"I doubt it. It is not that simple. But whatever it is now, it certainly must be close."

"But Master can do the look-inside thing, no?" Def asked.

"I already did."

"And? What Master see inside?"

Ain shrugged. "Litany of the Void."

Senon suspiciously looked at Ain. "Is that the Origin or the Root archetype?"

Ain smiled mysteriously. "There is no distinction anymore. The higher and lower soul melded into each other. This is the case with spirits to begin with - that is the principle behind how your Method works, why your Circuits close when you hold a sword. You use your body to process spells, and even your mind directs the flow of magic. It is a type of Source magic."

"Source magic..." Senon muttered.

Ain pondered his disciple. "You really don't know?"

Senon shook her head. "It is taboo knowledge. Only the greatest scholars, and most gifted prodigies, are allowed to even read about it."

Ain chuckled. "Greatest scholars? For such a simple thing." He shook his head.

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"What is Source magic, Master?" Senon asked.

Ain pondered. "Do you know what comes from the Radix, into your Source?"

"Magic?" Senon asked.

Ain shook his head. "Concepts."

Senon furrowed her cute eyebrows. "What do you mean 'Concepts'?"

"Everything has a Source. Even things without a form - without a Root - have a Source; ideas, feelings, prayers." The last item in the list was specifically mentioned for Senon - as she was a half-spirit of an incarnated prayer. "Each Source comes from a Concept. A Concept is like one of the original Archetypes, the origin of everything that comes after."

"It is a blueprint?" Senon paraphrased.

"In a way, yes," Ain said. "Don't worry about Concepts for now, in time, you will become intimate with the topic. For this lesson, all you need to know is that the Source comprehends the Concept, and sends the distilled product through the Link, where it is turned into magical principles by the soul."

"I see," Senon said.

"Coincidentally, we - humans - call the 'distilled product' a Litany. We perceive the Concept as a mysterious scripture, and the Source as an enlightened being that turns the scripture into a litany for the soul to understand."

"So Susu is..." Senon trailed off.

"A Living Conduit of the Concept of Void?" Ain asked. "Something like that, possibly. When I read the Source to understand the Archetype, I listen to what comes out of the Link. In Susu's case, all I hear is the Litany of the Void."

"I see," Senon said.

Ain nodded. "So, Source magic. The Source itself is the domain of the Radix. It is a projection, of sorts. The Link connects you to the Radix. In essence, you 'borrow' from the Radix when your soul turns distilled Concepts into magical principles. However, if you generate a Concept in your Source, and send it raw through the Link, that is down-right 'stealing' from the Radix. You liken your Source to it, and that is something the Radix will never allow. It does not tolerate copies."

"That is Source magic?" Senon asked.

Ain nodded. "It is a form of it. It is called 'Conceptualize'. What you use in your Method, and I with my breath, is more tolerable. We do not generate Concepts. We send the existing one - raw - through our Link and straight into the Circuits. It is called 'Conduit'. Were you to send it through your soul, it would be called 'Manifest' - still not as bad as Conceptualize, but it would most likely draw attention from the Radix."

"So, what you did to me... that was Conceptualize?" Senon asked.

Ain nodded. "Meridia is a Manifestation of the Concept of Destruction."

"Only a Manifest-type, and you were punished so severely?" Senon asked.

Ain laughed. "Oh no. The Radix did not care about Meridia - or Idona for that matter. Sae Tir Idona is a different matter, though."

"Then why?"

Ain pondered. "The Radix knows everything that has happened and will happen."

"What do you mean?"

"It punished me because I intended to use Conceptualize, in order to create Atatreia in your Source," Ain explained.

"Atatreia?"

"The Pillar of Equilibrium."

"A Pillar?"

"Like Statue?" Def asked.

Ain laughed. "Even the Radix has to come from somewhere. Let's just put it this way: Mystery is turned into Concept by the Radix."

"Mystery comes from the Pillars?"

Ain nodded. "That is good enough for now."

"What does that mean? Why did you risk your life to create Atatreia in my Source? You almost died!" Senon's voice became increasingly more distorted.

Ain pondered the words. "We are here," he said, eventually.

They stood in front of a large pavilion.

"The Auction House? What are we doing here?" Senon asked.

Def's eyes lit up. "Def have feeling he become debt free."

Troma snorted. "Troma have feeling debt plunge into deeper debt."

Def scoffed. "Troma foolish. Why would Def do that? Def learn lesson."

Troma nodded. "Yeah. Right."

Ain licked his lips. "To answer your question, disciple: You cannot be considered a creature of this world anymore. Not entirely. With a Pillar of Creation in your Source, you wield the raw principles of creation itself. Even you can now Conceptualize. And the Method I taught you is called 'Desolation Sword'. The goal of Equilibrium is Oneness through Nothingness."

Senon mouthed the words 'Desolation Sword', as if it stirred a distant memory.

"One day, Senon, I will need you," Ain said, pride in his tone.

"Ha, Master make wife blush," Def snorted, pointing a finger at Senon.

"Wife pride demon. Blush because angry."

"This why Troma no have wife. Can't read situation," Def said.

"Troma not have wife, because Troma not stupid like Def."

Def narrowed his eyes. "F-Hole," he growled. "Time to administer IQ test."

"Aff yoo!" the Living Word chirped.

"Wait..." Troma pleaded.

"Aff choo!" it sneezed a bolt of burning, purple lightning at Troma, which Troma barely managed to dodge. The lightning bolt carved across the pavilion courtyard, leaving molten stone in its wake. It slashed across a tree in the middle of the courtyard, and carved it in half. The top half fell with a loud crash.

"Who stupid now?" Def asked.

The pavilion door burst open. A group of demons, led by what appeared to be a God, rushed into the courtyard. "No! The Heavenly Fruit Tree! It is ruined! Who did this?!"

Def cleared his throat and pretended to see something fascinating in the distance.

Troma pointed at Def. "This filthy goblin did it."

Def feigned shock. "Def? Def just get here. Tree like this."

"Affhole!" the Living Word chirped happily and then sneezed another bolt of lightning at the lower half of the tree. "Affhole! Affhole! Afffff yoooooo!"

The God was shocked. "That tree was worth ten million gold."

Troma laughed as he glanced at Def. "Who stupid now?"

Def fell to his knees. "Ten... million?"

"And my courtyard! Look at this? That was spirit stone imported from the Spirit Realm. It was priceless!!"

Def's eyes were wide. He pointed Eternal Suffering at the God. "F-Hole! Debt Clearing Solar Ray!"

"Fffnwaah. Affhole." It refused. Its form shrank, as if it was afraid of the God.

The God smirked. "But if you are here - at my Divine Realm Auction House - you must be very wealthy. Cough up fifteen million gold, and we can put this behind us."

"Fifteen... million..." Def fainted on the spot.

Everyone was tense. Everyone, except Ain.

Even Troma felt a sting of guilt for selling his friend out.

The demons burst into laughter after a long moment of silence, seeing the goblin passed out in the courtyard.

"I am just kidding. Those things were worthless. Come inside. That's a rare spirit you have. Is it for sale?"

"Afraid not," Ain said, following the group of demons inside the pavilion.