After a few seconds, a blur fell gracefully from the roof of one of the buildings. Once the figure stopped moving, it was clear who they were. Pinkish red hair, sharp features, a curvaceous yet somehow intimidating physique, and lastly, twisted black and red horns.

"Velika."

The atmosphere emitting from our mere stares catching each other was enough to ward off most low stars, evident from the only ones still maintaining their composure other than Velika and I being Violet, Jade, Marcus and strangely enough Raylis and Arilene. Well, Raylis I slightly understood - I had assumed that he received the title of Calm for a reason, after all. That guy must have amazing mental fortitude. But Arilene was rather unexpected. Although, with her potential, I suppose I really should've been less surprised.

"You're earlier than I expected." I remarked, forcing the deepest voice I could without just sounding stupid.

"Well, I figured being punctual is important in such a situation." She responded, a sly smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Perhaps, but I feel that you lost any merit you may have received once you stole my newly created rings."

The others behind me all adorned a confused expression, which was fair, considering I had yet to tell any of them about the communication devices. I could only imagine what they believed we were talking about. But before any of them could voice their concerns, Violet made sure to shush them, as if she was the only one who truly understood the gravity of the situation occurring before us. Who am I kidding? Of course, she's the only one who understands. She's the only other one here who physically can understand, since she's also a reincarnation.

"Oh, these things?" Velika paraded her hands in front of my face, displaying my craftsmanship in front of everyone. "I assumed that since they were just sitting there that they were a gift for me. You know, to celebrate the start of a long friendship between the Cardinal of Lust and Shattered Veil."

"Well, I'm afraid that your assumption was incorrect. I made those specifically for my Virtues and I, so I'd appreciate if you hand them back over."

"Really?"

However, before I could respond, I felt something. A weight. A weight that bore down on my shoulders, making it feel as if my body weighed as much as the entire world. So much as lifting my chest to breath was an unbelievable struggle that felt as if I was fighting an entire war each time I performed it. I turned behind me and it seemed that everyone other than Velika was being affected by this weight. With that, I understood. This is her Aura.

I should probably explain what Aura is. Yes, I know I've already used it a few times, so explaining it now is a bit impractical, but oh well. An Aura isn't a reflection of a person's power, but instead, of their potential. A person's Aura will never increase from the day that they awaken their mana pool, because their potential will always remain the same. A person's Aura is caused by the mana particles in their body. Mana particles are inside every person's body, even someone who hypothetically couldn't use mana. And when a person experiences the sensation of releasing their Aura, they're just channeling these particles in their body. And since mana makes up everything, it also makes up time. And so this channeling releases a pressure reminiscent of them at the most powerful point of their life. To put it in simpler terms, Aura is a person's potential future power being channeled into a pressure in the present.

And as I expected, Velika's Aura is no joke. It's not like it can compare to mine, but it was still nothing to mess around with. And considering that she's probably actually achieved this level of power, unlike me, she's all the more terrifying. In fact, I'm actually not sure if we could beat her, even with all the Virtues. Right now, we really are nothing more than bugs in Retribution's way. But not for long. I won't let it be like that for much longer.

Luckily, there's a way to counter Auras. You simply have to release your own, and as long as it's stronger than your opponent's, you'll be fine. I stared Velika's smug face straight in the eye, as I released 1% of my Aura. Or at least, I think I did. It was weird with my new Aura. In my past life, regulating my Aura output was easy. But now, it was unbelievably difficult. Releasing 100% felt exactly the same as 1%, and I had no idea why. In fact, I wasn't even sure what my 100% looked like, because every time that I tried to release it, I found that I couldn't. I would continuously up the intensity of the Aura for hours, and I would still keep upping it without any sign of stopping. It just never stopped.

As soon as I released it, some stones on the floor went flying away, as I stood up completely straight and Velika doubled over slightly in shock. However, her smile didn't fade. No, if anything, it only grew. With that, I understood the point of this. She never wanted to keep the rings. Of course not, they're of absolutely no use to her. What she wanted to do was test me. By releasing her Aura, she was not only testing my power, but also my knowledge, by seeing whether or not I knew how to counter Auras, and then testing my actual complete Aura strength.

It was a smart idea. Too bad for her, this wasn't even my full Aura. Although, I bet that would only make her even more ecstatic.

The others behind me all managed to stand back up, now protected by my Aura. Velika just about struggled enough to lift her head up and stare me in the eyes, awestruck.

"Yes, with this level of power... You may actually be able to do it..." She mumbled to herself.

Just as I was about to release my Aura, she fell to her knees in a position of worship. She then closed her eyes and began speaking in a loud, yet unbelievably respectful tone, reminiscent of someone interacting with a true God. "I greatly apologize for my earlier hubris, and beg for mercy. Please, allow me to serve you and your cause until I am no longer required. I will never question your order and will devote my body and soul to this organization."

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This shocked me a little. Velika, while being one of the less destructive and more open-minded Cardinal Kings of Sin, was a very proud and arrogant soul, who would never worship or hail anyone, even one significantly stronger than her. And now, this same proud and arrogant soul was bowing at my feet, begging me for forgiveness? It didn't make much sense. Even in my past life, she never bowed to me. Sure, she did join our party for a bit, but she never bowed to me. Was I really that much stronger in this life than I was in my last?

Either way, I had to think of some use for her. "So... You swear upon your life that you'll remain loyal to our cause?" I asked.

"Yes, I swear it."

While that certainly made me slightly less cautious, it didn't help much. Promises can always be broken, after all. "If you truly mean that, then I'm sure you wouldn't mind a Life Bind, correct?"

The Virtues behind me, including Violet, all looked at me like I was crazy. It wasn't surprising, really. A Life Bind is an extremely big deal.

Velika opened her eyes, and looked at me. "But wouldn't that also inconvenience you, Observer?"

She's right, of course. A Life Bind is a magic contract that makes it so if a person breaks their promise, they die. And not just that, they die extremely painfully. However, it's not that simple. A Life Bind is created on the idea of fair. It's only fair that a person obeys their promise, after all. But it's also only fair that if a person makes a promise that could get them killed, so does the person they're making the promise to. Basically, a Life Bind requires both parties to make an unbreakable promise to each other.

That would mean that I would also have to promise her something.

But I wasn't concerned about that. I already had a promise in mind. "Will you or will you not agree to a Life Bind?"

She shrunk back slightly, perhaps remembering my Aura from earlier. "I- I agree."

A smile formed on my face. "Alright then. I'll handle that a little bit later, but for now, I've got your position in Shattered Veil figured out."

She once again closed her eyes, and bowed to me. I was a bit uncomfortable, to be honest.

"You will have two jobs. Your first is to be our informant. Currently, our main goal as an organization is to neutralize Retribution. To do so, any information you can get for us will be appreciated."

"Consider it done." She replied, still on one knee.

"Your second job is to train us. Currently, we lack the necessary power to pose any real threat to Retribution. I know that our power will come with time, but I'm afraid that I'm impatient. You will focus on training the Virtues. I am already quite self-sufficient, but they will need your guidance, as I do not have the time to train them and myself. After all, the Virtues are meant to be my solution to the Cardinals, so who better to train them than a Cardinal?"

"Of course."

Wow, she really meant it when she said she'd never question my order, huh? Good, that'll make things quite a bit easier, as I won't have to explain myself.

"Now then," I started. "The Life Bind, best to do it as soon of possible."

"Y- Yes..." I saw a single bead of sweat drip from her forehead. It made sense, of course. She was pretty much gambling with her life here. If something goes wrong and we can't beat Retribution, she won't be able to just jump ship like she always does.

I opened my mana pool and began forming the Bind portion of a Life Bind. I traced the pattern of a Life Bind on the palm of my left hand, being a cross. I didn't so much as flinch, but the process was actually rather painful. After all, during this portion, you're pretty much just burning your skin with pure mana. It was actually quite difficult for whatever reason. Whenever I tried to burn my skin with the pure mana, I had to go over the burn at least 50 times to actually make a mark, which was strange, considering no creature's skin was supposed to be at all resistant to pure mana. But it seemed I was. I'm liking this new body more and more with each passing day.

Afterwards, I went over to Velika and drew the pattern on her hand, as well. Although, this time, it was much easier, her skin burning instantly. Finally, it was the last part of a Life Bind - the actual promise. To create a functional Life Bind, your promise has to follow a very specific formula; 'I, (say your race and name here), swear by myself and all that gives me life, (say your promise here).' Yeah, pretty specific. I wonder how the first person who discovered it found out about it?

Velika went first. "I, Primordial Demon - Velika, swear by myself and all that gives me life that I shall never betray Shattered Veil, the Observer, or Shattered Veil's goal."

As she said that, the cross on her palm began glowing even brighter, illuminating her face underneath the darkening sky.

It was my turn now. "I, Human - Kane Limitia, swear by myself and all that gives me life that I will-" Before I could finish my sentence, something happened. The light from my cross began to dim slightly, suggesting I had done something wrong.

What? What could I have done wrong? Unless... what if it wants me to say my old name? No, it can't be... but it's the only thing that makes sense. I mean, there's literally nothing else it could be! But no, I can't reveal that to them. This is a new life. I will not accept the idea that the only way for me to get by is to be Ato Aywrath again.

"Observer!" Velika's voice broke me from my trance. "I- I have an idea, but it may be a little shocking to you."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Well, the reason it's failing could be because... you may not be a human."

I wanted to shout out, 'WHAT?!', but I knew that wouldn't get me anywhere. Plus, Velika isn't an idiot, she wouldn't suggest this if it wasn't even slightly plausible. It's best to just hear her out.

"You see, you're... different, from all other humans I've ever met. Even prodigies such as the Infinite Party, and the Royal never gave me this feeling. I don't know how to describe it properly. It's not power, or control, or anything like that. It's more like a familiarity. I get the same feeling from just looking at you as I do from using mana."

What? I turned around to the others, and, as if on cue, Violet, Jade and Marcus began nodding, as if she said exactly what they were thinking. What could this mean?

What am I?

"Well," Velika continued. "I could be far off, but it's a possibility. Might as well try it. Your race should really be something that you naturally know, so maybe, just let your instincts take you for that."

Let my instincts take me, huh? Okay then, It's worth a shot.

I let go of everything. I, as Velika put it, let my instincts take me. It was an unfamiliar feeling and I wasn't sure whether I loved it or hated it. And finally, something came to me. Something that I never would've guessed, but in the moment just felt so right. So perfect. "I, Avatar of Mana - Kana Limita, swear by myself and all that gives me life that I will become stronger than the Royal."

And the pattern glowed brighter than the stars now visible in the night sky.