In the strange silence that pervaded the room, Kazen was the first to speak, "...What do you mean we have to burn the bodies? What's the reason for having to do so?"

Aileen's expression was still solemn, "It is your soul which is used as the source of power to fuel the physical bodies in Alethea. When you die, a residue of your soul is left behind in your bodies. And if that residue happens to get damaged somehow..."

"You will face a true death."

Hearing this caused Kazen to let out a shudder. As a Reincarnator, he was very well aware that the their souls went through a cycle of rebirth every time they died, although they would lose all their memories.

Even though they'd lost their memories...at least a part of who they were resided within the souls of their new life. A record, or a trace of whom they once were would always exist. It would be a part of their identities.

What would happen if this trace were to cease to exist?

They would truly not belong in this world any longer.

Kazen composed himself, then made his promise, "I will make sure to burn the bodies, regardless of the cost."

Then he turned to Lyla, "And I hope you can do the same for me."

She looked confused, yet had a complex expression at the same time. She opened her mouth, before closing it once more.

Kazen noticed she had hesitated to speak earlier as well, but...he didn't want to force her to say anything she didn't want to.

He had expected Lyla to let out some witty remark or barrage him with her words, but she simply nodded her head solemnly, "...I promise."

Aileen finally loosened up, before she lightly smiled, "Well, that was somewhat intense. Regardless, I've given you the basic rundown of what to do and expect in Alethea. Now that that's over..."

"It's time for you to enter Alethea."

* * *

The trio walked through the castle as they were led by Aileen. Soon, they reached the throne room, and walked up the pedestal to stand behind the King's door.

Kazen tilted his head in puzzlement. Why exactly where they behind the throne?

And that was when a thin line suddenly appeared in the middle of the wall, as it started grinding open as the noise echoed throughout the hall. Soon, it was fully open, and a pathway leading to the basement appeared in Kazen's view.

"Come, let's go."

The trio proceeded downwards, as their path was illuminated by blue lightstones which hung on the sides of the walls.

Soon, Kazen realized that the 'walls' were starting to turn into a darker shade of red, and within the next 30 seconds, the entirety of the staircase and the wall seemed to now be made of a red colored stone.

It was Lyla who suddenly asked the question that was plaguing Kazen's mind, "Why exactly are we using bloodstones as a construction material here?"

So these are called 'bloodstones'...how ominous.

Lyla continued climbing down, and answered without looking back, "We've already improved the hardware of the capsules as much as we could so far. Eventually, we hit a limit to how much we could carry over the strength of the 'Player' to Alethea."

Then, they finally reached the bottom of the stairs. Suddenly, a huge hall spanning a hundred square meters appeared in their views. On the other end of the hall, there seemed to be a panel which Kazen guessed was meant for somehow configuring the parameters of the capsules, similar to the one he'd seen in his dream the previous night.

"And while we were in the process of trying to figure out how we could improve the capsules even further...we came to the realization that placing the capsules in a location surrounded by bloodstones boosted the performance of the capsules to a point where the Player wouldn't be able to tell the difference between their bodies in Alethea...and their real bodies."

And looking at the sight before him, Kazen's eyes widened. In the center of the hall, there seemed to be 10 capsules laying side by side, spaced apart by 3 meters from the other. In two of them, there actually seemed to be people laying inside it.

The entirety of the capsules were made entirely of red stone, unlike the Ancient Capsules Kazen had woken up in, which were reddish-black.

And at the bottom of each capsule, within a radius of half a meter, red tendrils grew out from the bottom as they took root in the surrounding ground. The entire scene seemed surreal, and Kazen even got the feeling that the capsules were made of living flesh for a moment.

On the top corner of each capsule, unlike the reddish-black tubes he'd seen previously, there seemed to be a glass tube connected to the roof somehow, and within it, Kazen could see liquid silver moonlight, with a tinge of blue flowing into the capsules. And that was when Kazen remembered; today was the Moon of Aurelia, which was blue in color.

"...These capsules don't seem to have the reddish-black orb in the Harvesting Facility."

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Hearing this made Aileen nod, "...The purpose of the Ancient Capsules in the Harvesting Facility were to use moonlight to power the capsules, then draw out mana to release part of it into the atmosphere, and part of it to power equipment. However, over here..."

"There is no mana harvested. We use the concentrated moonlight to power the capsules, and also...to strengthen your bodies as your souls grow stronger in Alethea."

Although the signs had been there earlier, it was only now that Kazen came to a realization. Reincarnators were cursed beings who constantly lost mana even while at rest, which was the reason they were deemed to be lacking in potential. It was said that their souls were weak, and as a result they weren't able to keep a hold of the power that they gained.

Now, he understood that the mana he'd been losing...had probably been channeled over to the Forsaken Continent.

And he felt complicated. Perhaps he should be happy that he would finally recover his potential? Or should he perhaps...feel dejected at his current plight and the reality of his situation?

Regardless of how I should feel...only by growing stronger can I take back some control over my life.

He firmed his determination, and asked Aileen, "So, when do we get in?"

She smiled, and gestured towards two empty capsules on the right end of the hall. It seemed to be on the opposite side of where the other 2 people lay in their capsules.

Right as they were walking there, Lyla suddenly asked Aileen, "...Say, who are the two people in those capsules?"

She pointed at the occupied capsules.

"...Those would be Hazef...as well as the King himself."

Lyla's expression hardened, and that was when Kazen suddenly asked, "...Isn't that too risky for the King? He's just lying there unprotected. Is he not afraid of being attacked in his...rest?"

The moment he said those words, Kazen's hair suddenly stood on end. He felt a thick killing intent focused on him, and his breathing suddenly became shallow as his legs lost strength, and he knelt to the ground.

Channel...moonlight...

Kazen drove his moonlight through his body and attempted to take control of the situation, trying to absorb the earth to increase his density...but it didn't work.

It was when Kazen's mind was running through how he could break himself free of his predicament, did Aileen's voice echo throughout the hall with a firm tone.

"Taren, enough."

Aileen released her own moonlight, which billowed in silver and blue, and only then did the killing intent finally die down, causing Kazen to take in big gasps of air.

Aileen turned her head to look at him, with a bit of sympathy, "...I hope that answered your question. Please try not to take it personally, if possible. He's a little...touchy towards any matters that hint aggression towards the King. That's his job after all."

"...It's fine."

Kazen slowly got back up, but his hands were clenched tightly. He couldn't even resist the killing intent of the person hidden in the hall? And he couldn't even see where it had come from.

That was when Lyla slowly got into the her capsule, which was currently open. She gestured over to him, with a grin, "Come on, let's go!"

Kazen felt complicated. He'd just been the subject of killing intent, and he did not feel comfortable with getting into the capsule under the watch of such a presence. Could it be an S-Ranked Awakened? Or perhaps...even an SS-Rank?

Regardless, he understood that it was him who made such careless remarks, and he was basically asking for such a scenario to happen to him.

At that moment, Lyla urged him on, "What are you waiting for? Come on!"

Kazen shook his head, and went over to get into the capsule. The moment he put his leg over the rim, he felt the memories of waking up in the Forsaken Continent flash through his mind, and he felt somewhat nauseous. Still, his will to return to Alethea overcame him, and he lay down in the capsule and took up a comfortable position.

As both of them lay in position, Aileen's voice sounded out once more.

"Now remember, ask for Baldin once you reach the Hunter's Guild. Then ask him if the 'Reapers' will come to sow again one day."

Both Lyla and Kazen nodded, and with that, Aileen walked over to the panel, as she started pressing some buttons. A glass panel suddenly appeared on top of Lyla and Kazen, as it covered the capsule. Then, sticky red tendrils suddenly attached themselves to their heads and palms.

Right after that, light blue smoke which felt chilly started to be vented into the capsule through tiny vents on the inside of the capsules.

And that was when they heard Aileen's words for the last time.

"We shall see each other again in...5 years, at least for the both of you. I wish you both a good journey...and please try not to die."

And with those words, their vision went dark.

* * *

...

...

Kazen found himself in the darkness of the void once more. This time, however...there weren't any stars.

He couldn't see in front of him, nor could he feel his body at all. He wouldn't even have been sure if 'he' existed in this place, if not for his consciousness, and the slight fear he felt.

And in this everlasting void, Kazen drifted.

After some time...a series of lights suddenly appeared in front of him. His soul jolted in surprise as the lights formed themselves into words shining in silver.

[Retrieving capsule parameters...]

[Initializing System...]

[Retrieving Player parameters...]

[...!]

[A previous record of your soul signature already exists!]

[Your previous records are incompatible with the current capsule version!]

[Attempting to retrieve incorrupt data...]

[...Success!]

[Generating physical body based on existing parameters...]

[...!!]

[An anomaly has been detected in the Player's soul!]

[The physical body is being modified to suit Player's potential...]

[An incomplete Authority, 'Authority of Perception' has been added!]

[A corrupted 'Authority', ??? has been added!]

[The passive skill 'Seed of Potential' has been unlocked!]

A chime of a bell rang, as the final message appeared, before it stayed hanging as it seemed to wait for Kazen's response.

[Please name your character.]

Kazen's mind was still in the void, and he couldn't comprehend what he was currently experiencing.

He couldn't feel his body, nor did he even think that he was able to 'see', until the messages appeared before him in silver.

In the midst of his bafflement and trepidation, he could only mutter blankly,

"...What the hell is this?"