Now, now, don't call it a den of vice and savagery. Call it a house of entrepreneurial spirit and mutual competitiveness. The way I see it, my Circles are not structured against each other as opposition, but as mutually encouraging competitors. Why, Lust should worry about how well Pride is performing, and vice versa. Vice encourages everyone to develop, and it also engenders other good habits, like paranoia and diplomacy.
Ultimately, I am not unearthing anything that wasn't already there within the human heart, or any being's heart for that matter. We all desire to be more, we all yearn, we all want, we all hunger, lust, and covet. So why not let it be expressed, and why not let these vices be expressed against each other?
We all know what we call a mutually supporting cave-in. Two stacks of rock that were meant to collapse, but now lean against each other, preventing a final crumble. That, my dear, is a ceiling, and a ceiling makes a house.
-Mepheleon the Harbinger
70
Mutual Benefit (II)
Refining Source
>>>Source Refined: [160/160] Lumens
Source Core Ascended > Lv. 17
>[0/10] Aspect Advancements to Core Ascension
>>[8/20] Core Ascensions to [Gate] 2 System Ascension
>>>Source: [170/170] Lumens
Reviewing encounter…
Masteries Demonstrated
>Meditation (II) — 84%
>Unarmed Combat (II) — 76%
>Spearmanship (II) — 87%
>Thrown Weapons (II) — 35%
>Tactics — 100%
>Rapier — 0%
Mastery/Aspect Junction Node Detected
>Omniscience/Enlightenment/Tactics: Outsight — Allows the host to assume another individual’s perspective. The other individual must be within the host’s (Omniscience) and have a lower Aspect of (Enlightenment) compared to the host.
Mastery Node Capacity [8/10]
>Proximal Acceleration
>Form of the Manticore
>Form of the Resonant
>Lesser Hollow Mind
>Lesser Manifestation
>Vector Chain
>Lesser Cast Possession
>Mark of Enmity
>Outsight
Sourcery Advancements [2] Available!
Select [1]
Source Eruption > [Initiate Concept Ascension?]
Source Magnification > Source Propagation [Requires 10 Sourcery Advancements (Currently at 5)]
Aspect Infusion > Aspect Expansion [2 Sourcery Points] — The user can construct an Aspect Catalyst based on any of their current Aspects and infuse it into another being or object. Multiple Aspect Catalysts can be constructed. Each Aspect Catalysts will reduce the host’s total Source by 20%. The infused Aspect will now infuse the host’s ascended Aspects into their chosen target. Should the targeted entity be a System or Class entity, the user’s Aspect can be added to or subtracted from the sum of the target’s corresponding Aspect. Should the user’s Aspect reduce the target’s Aspect to nil, the target will be unable to affect the world with their corresponding Aspect.
Liminal Bridge > Liminal Tunnel [Requires 25 Sourcery Advancements (Currently at 5)
Aspect Expansion [2 Sourcery Points] — The user can construct an Aspect Catalyst based on any of their current Aspects and infuse it into another being or object. Multiple Aspect Catalysts can be constructed. Each Aspect Catalysts will reduce the host’s total Source by 20%. The infused Aspect will now infuse the host’s ascended Aspects into their chosen target. Should the targeted entity be a System or Class entity, the user’s Aspect can be added to or subtracted from the sum of the target’s corresponding Aspect. Should the user’s Aspect reduce the target’s Aspect to nil, the target will be unable to affect the world with their corresponding Aspect.
Sourcery Advancements [0] Available!
Wei was slowly beginning to grasp what shaped his Masteries. Previously, he thought there was a sense of randomness to what Masteries he obtained and their specific functions. But now, after the Concept Cores he obtained and his experiences using Intent to shape Skills and Titles, he realized his System was probably providing him with desired tools made to overcome specific tribulations.
And just in time, as well.
He had wanted to learn from Rafael's perspective, to see how the lich approached problems. The young master expected to be able to gain some insight by shadowing the lich, acting as a sort of apprentice to someone he all but held prisoner. Yet, as he went through his System notifications, his newest Mastery surprised him.
Outsight was at once a useful tool for tracking his foes, but also something he could use to study his disciples.
His Tactics were at 100%. And the new junction node saw Omniscience, Enlightenment, and Tactics aligned. Instead of requiring a devotion of time and effort on his part, he could now inhabit another’s perspective.
With the arrival of this Mastery, he felt a strange layering fold through his perception, and other individuals within his vicinity, including demons, suddenly became as if access points for him to infuse his attention. All it took was for him to concentrate on a specific individual within his Omniscience before his perception would burrow into them. From there, his mind rang as if slamming through a hardened surface, and as his Enlightenment was matched with the individual’s Mind, his superior Aspect would see him punch through.
As his perception settled behind a demon’s, Wei felt as if he gained another set of eyes within his mind’s eye. More than just visuals, though, he found himself able to tap into other senses, and beheld the world exactly as a demon would.
The Demon of Wrath he used Outsight on could perceive the world only through a lens of black and white, but its olfactory senses were incredible. Somehow, the wriggling tendrils piloting a body were sensitive to smell. However, they were entirely incapable of hearing sounds and could only sense vibrations passing through the air.
Beyond just senses, he also gained a sort of instinct — a feeling of what the demon’s thought processes were. It was currently 200 meters away from him, trying to flee from the crushing essence it sensed. Crushing essence that emanated from Wei.
There was another thing he needed to figure out how to suppress. With how much essence he was giving off, it was hard to keep himself better hidden.
With a thought, the young master extracted himself from the demon. As Rafael continued looking through the contract, Wei tested his Outsight on Angeleous, and immediately felt his guts coil in sympathetic despair. The old man's eyes were bloodshot, ridden with tears, and there was always a perpetual absence within him. Wei stopped peering through his eyes a few moments later, remaining unshaken from the ordeal solely because of his Willpower.
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Finally, he turned his focus on the lich and as he tried tunneling into Rafael’s mind, he found himself experiencing greater difficulty than ever before. It too little effort on Wei’s part to realize it was because Rafael’s Aspect of Mind was far higher than that of Angeleous or the demon, and immediately, Wei placed ten free advancement points from his class into Enlightenment to bolster himself.
[Knight] Class: Dominator Lv. 25
>Specialization: Cataclym’s Herald Lv. 25
Scorn: [3400/3400]
Allocatable Points [20]
Enlightenment — 270 > 280
It was as if lubrication was applied to Wei’s thoughts. Immediately, he slipped through the paltry resistance Rafael’s Mind possessed, and a new perspective lit the world. The lich’s sight was far better than Wei’s own—ignoring Omniscience. Rafael was capable of seeing the world across several visual spectrums, with heat, wavelengths of some fashion, and normal human sight all active at once. More, the lich’s hearing was also absurdly augmented, and provided indicators what sound came from where. What was most surprising to Wei was how Rafael could behold the world as a collection of ciphers; breaking reality down to its component details.
For a few minutes, Wei just studied the world through Rafael’s eyes, and both his Omniscience and Enlightenment advanced.
It truly meant much for wisdom when you could see from another’s point of view.
Enlightenment Advanced > 22
Omniscience Advanced > 27
[2/10] Aspect Advancements to Core Ascension
Finally, the lich caught Wei’s staring, and looked around awkwardly. “Yes? Is… do you sense something?”
The young master pressed his lips together and kept his new Mastery to himself. “No. In fact, things are going quite well. How goes your examination of the contract?”
“Ah. That. Well, it’s intricately prepared, and I have not detected any hint of sabotage or adjustment. I do not believe you will see yourself stolen away by the Inheritors should you offer your signature. But…”
“But it will still see me placed before the Circle of Pride,” Wei said.
“Yes. Wei, I must confess, this contract they have offered you, it is a substantial one." The lich immediately strode up next to Wei, and along with him, a floating hand came bearing the trespassers' compendium as well, with new pages being torn free from within with each passing second.
"Look at this," Raphael said, pointing his Platonic Scalpel at a specific section of the contract.
Wei had skimmed through the details before and generally knew what the Circle of Pride was offering him. He was going to be accepted as a Knight, and he was to be offered equities and investitures of a sort. He wasn't fully sure about some of these legal terms, but it sounded like tithes offered from a peasant to a lord.
As he followed the lich's Platonic Scalpel to a specific sentence, he read it out loud: "Essence shares — dependent on interview; Recruit operating as commissioned agent with negotiable performance percentages.”
Wei didn't fully understand what he was reading, but Rafael clearly did. "These terms are extremely favorable to you. Most sinners who are captured by knights and forced into bad contracts usually face things describing how many years of servitude they have to endure before they can pursue a legal strategy to extricate themselves. They also often have to reach a certain quota of sins every month, per their conditional performance metrics, so they are not penalized in some fashion or another."
"My contract isn't as predatory?" Wei asked with a quirking eyebrow.
"Your contract is spectacular," Rafael said. "This is something that would be offered to a high-performing Marquis. Wei, you are not being recruited; you are being courted. We can assume that the Circle of Pride intends to greet you not as a poor, unfortunate, captured victim, but as an asset with great developmental potential."
Instead of filling Wei with excitement or flattery, the young master only grew ever more paranoid. He knew Mulver Groon and suspected him of having greater power beyond his Class, but he had done everything he could to hide the presence of his System from the orc. Perhaps they could have known. Perhaps they had a guess. But if that was true, then what could Wei do about it now?
Furthermore, something didn't feel right about this assumption. If they knew he had a Keter-System, why would they be so passive?
"Wei," Raphael began, speaking awkwardly, "I… Then if you sign this, if you decide to meet with the Circle of Pride, they will offer you incredible benefits. They will possibly grant you boons unlike any other. But for your own sake, I beg of you, do not sign your life over to them." This came as a surprise. Wei hadn’t expected to sense genuine caring from the lich. Not after what the young master did to him. "They might give you unbelievable power, many treasures, and great benefits, but you will be tying your fate to theirs, and you will always belong to another's will. I have… done this before. The power to choose your own fate is greater than any gold.”
The lich spoke from experience, and Wei sensed a deep sense of regret spilling over from his Outsight. Again, it wasn't quite like mind reading, but there was a faint impression that he received with every passing moment he spent within the lich's perspective.
"Worry not," Wei said, replying to Rafeal’s uncertainty. "I will not see myself degraded before the mongrel lords of this realm. The Drowned Sky Sect will belong to me and me alone. Trust my arrogance, if nothing else.”
A chuckle escaped Rafael after a beat. And Wei smirked as well.
An interruption came from Angeleous as he jolted up. "I have a reply," he said, staring directly at Wei with his vacant eyes.
A few hours ago, when they began their preparations, they had Sir Angeleous send a few messages over to his Inheritor contact. The contact was listed only under the moniker "benefactor" within the old man's chat menu.
Formulating a plan to gauge the Inheritor’s deployed forces, Wei had Angeleous take on the role of a worried leader. The old man asked about what forces would be deployed to see about Wei’s elimination, and how Angeleous and his men would be kept safe during the ambush in the Hearted Realm. The contact didn’t reply immediately, and Wei and Rafael moved on to handling other preparations as they waited.
Now, however, they managed to get exactly what they wanted.
Benefactor: “Do not worry. We have more than sufficient force potential to handle the threat. An Agent above Lv.100 will be deployed alongside Knight-Tier assets to see ensure the success of this operation. Simply follow our instructions when the time comes, and we will ensure your safety."
"100. That’s beyond Knight in Class Tier," Rafael sighed.
“Yes,” Wei replied, realizing the threat arrayed against him. He still remembered the Riftblade. He hadn't perceived the demon's level during his Class Specialization challenge, and though he was far more powerful than he had been back then, he still doubted he could contend with the demon as he was now. His death had come instant, without any chance of victory. He had to assume that the Inheritors possessed someone at least of that magnitude.
“But it also presents a considerable risk on their part,” Rafael said. “Knights can be deployed quite quietly across the Moongraves. But Class Tiers about that… makes you easy to track. By other Circles. And Mepheleon. I think the Inheritors are desperate. Desperate to stop you from reaching the end of the Tower.”
“Desperate enough to risk offending one of the Circles,” Wei added. “Rafael. Hand me the contract. I think it is time I introduce myself to them.”
With some reluctance, the lich handled over the contract, and the young master looked through the pages. “All it needs to transfer me to my ‘interview’ is a signature, correct?”
“Yes. But Wei—”
“Don’t worry. I will not betray myself. Or you for that matter.” Wei paused. “And I give you explicit permission to contact the Trespasser’s Lodge, if that is your desire.”
Rafael just stared at Wei for a moment. “I… truly? You would… trust me with your Compendium.”
“This is not trust. This is judgement. I am growing to know you, Rafael. I thought you a snake once. I was wrong. You are not even a coward. But you will see me sacrificed to achieve your desired outcome if need be.”
An uncomfortable silence followed. Wei broke it. “You will not betray to the Inheritors. Of this, I am sure. And with what we have learned, the Lodge is against them, making them a potential ally as well. Reach them if you can. Our goals are aligned here. If we can ensure aid from both the Circle of Pride and the Lodge, then we might just be able to turn this supposed ambush in on itself.”
Slowly, Rafael nodded. “I… When I left you in the sanctuary. When we were attacked. It was… I hated myself for it. But I believed I was doing the right thing. There are people that need me. There is help I need to bring back to my world. I would do such a thing again. And I would suffer my self loathing again a thousand times. This is who I am. I will not lie about this.”
“I know,” Wei said. “You are an enigma to me, Rafael. But I am beginning to understand.” He grinned. “And if your obvious betrayal next time sees me dead, then may I be damned to the lowest pit for my weakness.”
Once more, the lich was wordless.
“Well, then,” Wei pulled out his own Platonic Scalpel and looked over the ciphers surrounding the signature line for his contract. With a few flicks of the instrument, his name lined the bottom of the page, and the young master waited.
And waited.
Another moment of nothing happening made him turn to Rafael. “Are you sure this—”
The world around Wei suddenly vanished as he found himself drowned in a place of blinding brightness.