"Is there a point to any of it?" Ric shoved Ravi off the edge, driven by spite, pride, or whatever the fuck the peon considered important to divulge his secrets.

In the process, Ravi spilled most of the zone, also known as Earth affinity secrets. Everyone had a trigger, and when pressed the right way, they squealed just as you wanted them to. Ric, at times, had to flame the fumes to manipulate the information out of the imbecile, but that was a given. The process is the fun part for a demon, not the results.

"Every warrior, child, and person is born with the zone affinity," Ric seethed with anger. "It is everyone's default affinity by law. Only a true earth-bound contract holds the prophecy to rule and unite Saint under one roof. Yeah, Saint. The whole darn world."

'A puny continent is considered the world to humans," Ric scoffed, not revealing the thought aloud.

Ravi connected the scoff to his zone contract and defends the zone contract, "I suck. I know. But have you heard of King Geo Kiez? A true Oatbinder who became a contract holder after his death. This isn't public knowledge and is a deep-hidden secret within zone contractors. But—"

"Secret as in propaganda?" Ric chuckled.

He already knew "Oatbinders" were individuals who held a contract to the true source, the Arcane Sanctum, a place where basically everything resides and comes from. Be it a concept, attribute, affinity, life, death, afterlife... you get the point! The realm they lived in was just a clutter of some concepts thrown together by the Arcane Sanctum. The "Contract Holders" were the deities who acted as mediators between mortals and the True Source itself. They were the ones who created the "Kagaz," the contract, which connected the "Oatbinders" to the "True Source." An over-enthusiastic Henzo already divulged these snippets of information. It was nice to confirm the premise through a veteran, but Ric aimed for even deeper secrets, and with a little nudge, he sought to divert the conversation toward things he hadn't already figured out.

"Saint was formed by our Highness, Geo," Ravi continued, steam gushing out of his nostrils and ears. "Without him, there wouldn't be any land whatsoever."

"So... water is superior?"

"No! Yes? Maybe?! But we are earth-bound beings." Ric shifted his gaze to the sky, prompting a grunt from Ravi. "Dragons are no more. Well, they are trapped, but we still have seven years to deal with that problem."

"If they return."

"Earth wins either way." Ravi declared, his dark complexion turning red. "Also, our movement skills are superior to air. We use less energy to travel farther and faster. It is said a single step can let us cross the world."

"Saint," Ric corrected.

"World." Ravi scowled. "Air might not have obstructions, but that is also the reason why they have to use more energy to pull the affinity and..."

"Wings?" Ric raised an eyebrow.

"...And rely on artifacts." A smile formed on Ravi's face.

'If he keeps losing, he might leave.' Ric suppressed the urge to knock Ravi from his high horse. "Who has the strongest zone contract?" He inquired.

"Well... Sir Karvan Mudlure, of course. He is the pride of all zone members. He was just an infant when he raised the walls of Saint Cathel. Some might say he used the Orb of Ornix, and to those, I say... it chose him. The artifact is his birthright and has been in his family for generations. They are one of the good guys, you know." Ravi's smile widened as he leaned over Ric. "Well... as good as one can be in such times." Ric flicked him away, but his chest swelled with pride, making him stand taller than he ever did before. "He is second to King Author himself."

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"Second in command?"

"No! In strength. His family were the former rulers of Saint Domo, so they no longer have a say in political matters. Too bad, I say. Their family was the true participants in... those wars." Ravi cleared his throat.

Ric attacked Ravi's pride once more, to steer the conversation back on track, "Arthur won over them, which makes him the strongest."

"He didn't win by strength," scoffed Ravi. "It's all thanks to that wretched artifact. Without it and his second-in-command schemer, his family would never be part of Saint's history." Ravi spat.

'Schemer,' Ric noted. "A sword strong enough to claim the throne of Saint?" he questioned, feigning suspicion.

"The Caliber series. One of the few remaining supreme-tier series collections. X," hissed Ravi.

"X-Caliber," Ric let out a low hum. He had heard about one of those when he was a demon. "Full name?" he inquired.

"What? X'calliber? Is it longer?" Ravi shrugged, unclear and uncaring.

'Wars tore the world apart over that sword. There is no way the humans weren't involved. Does this mean I am in a new one? And if so, is there more than one such sword? Something smells wrong.' Ric glared at the skies. "He found it, doesn't change the fact." He taunted Ravi with a smirk while pondering further about his new reality.

"You say as if he made it," Ravi rolled his eyes. "Also, the earth spits out the artifacts after creating them deep within the volcanoes. All of them technically belong to us zone folk."

"Then why lose them to the dragons?"

"Don't get me started on those scavengers. They claim the earth only creates the artifacts while the skies power them. That's why we zone folk can't predict where they are going to emerge or when, but I call their bluff." Ravi created and kicked a heap of mud. "Artifacts do not have any energy signatures. There isn't a single individual who can sense them, let alone us. Even for our uncanny sense, they seem like any other heap of mud or part of the rock. From up above, they can scan better and have an artifact, may I remind you."

"An artifact that can scout for other artifacts?" Ric frowned.

"Yeah."

"Grasping for an Imp tail, are we."

"May that be. It's the truth. I swear no one can sense or discern an artifact. Until a chosen activates them, the burnt branch is just that; a burnt piece of wood thrown to kindle a dying flame. But once the chosen powers the hidden scripts within the wood, it can become a staff that wards off any flame." Ravi's smile overwhelmed his face. "And you know what?" He asked Ric.

"Let me guess. One needs zone affinity to unlock them?"

"Yes! Yes, they do, and this isn't my proclamation either. This is pure static based on events since the start of time." His grin somehow grew wider, irking Ric to the point he wanted to knock Ravi down a notch physically more than with just his words.

"No one can reach their initiation limit because everyone has a bit or half of their contract linked to the zone affinity. They should be lucky that they do." His chest swelled with pride. "Without it, they won't be able to move, making them sitting ducks. What's the point of power when I can outmaneuver you at every point?" Snickered Ravi.

'Fuck!' Ric cursed his luck. 'I have two glaring weaknesses, and I didn't even notice them until now?' He peered at his weak body as Ravi rambled on. 'No wonder I fall into the weaker spectrum. I can't utilize stamina to its fullest without any affinity to Zone, nor can I bind any artifacts to me.' Ric wanted to punch a hole in something, but he couldn't kill the golden goose... just yet! "So a singular focus is useless?"

Ravi stopped grinning and pondered over the question. "Depends on what affinity they have a contract with." He scratched his chin, deep in thought. "No one can have a single contract, making the point moot."

'I do.' Ric frowned to himself.

"...But neither does anyone have a single contract. Not since Geo. Then it depends on who is more devoted to their contract."

"Devoted?"

"Yes. The stronger your devotion, the more power you can draw," Ravi confirmed.

"More than what's shown during their initiation?"

"No way, kid." cackled Ravi. "No one has ever broken their limit. Even Lord Geo was only said to reach his limit. That is why those who can afford artifacts buy them, to keep their status and power."

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