'The crucible huh.'
Nacht was seated against the very wall that he had collided with only a few moments ago while Alister cleaned his blade atop the bloody corpse of the enlightened warrior he had slain.
Nacht had torn pieces off of the deceased woman's hood to form a makeshift bandage for the bloody wound across his torso.
Out of all the places he could have ended up in penance, the crucible was by far the worst. Nacht couldn't help but curse his luck. According to Alister, the crucible was basically a death game in which you have to kill the participants on the lower floors to survive.
This revelation flooded Nacht's mind with questions. After all, how was he supposed to repent if he had to commit the same heinous act that brought him into penance in the first place? What happens when you die in penance? And why did the woman die when her accomplice had been killed?
He could have asked Alister, but he already had an idea of what the answer to his last question could be.
'How do I do this?'
Closing his eyes, Nacht focused on his solar plexus where his metaphysical core was located. Although the core of an enlightened is not present in their physical vessel, it is still connected to their soul.
Peering into his core, Nacht noticed that it was dull and lifeless, but he knew that something was there. He couldn't see it, but he could faintly sense the magical phenomenon known as orren.
Orren is the mystical energy that manifests itself from one's soul and powers an enlightened's rune. It gathers itself inside the individual's power core and permeates the body, strengthening and fortifying it with supernatural power.
Since Nacht's core wasn't yet synchronized with a rune, his core hadn't awakened and thus left him unable to fully control or sense this mystical power now residing in him.
Nevertheless, Nacht searched deeper into his core and found what he was looking for. Seared into his power core's outer edges, he noticed three pristine white engravings and a singular hollow red engraving which didn't seem to fit into his core's complex weave.
Nacht knew what it meant. These engravings are known as traits. Unlike the mythical runes which grant a person immense power, traits are an integral part of a person's being which manifests once they enter penance.
Confirming his traits was the first thing Nacht should have done when he entered penance, but for obvious reasons he was unable to. Concentrating on his core and the engravings, Nacht let the information enter his mind along with the names of each trait.
Rank: Sinner
Power Core: Sealed
Traits: [Abstract] [Unmarked] [Herald of Darkness] {Soul Bind}
Relics: [Appraisal]
Upon making out the knowledge that entered his mind, Nacht was left speechless.
'Why are there so many?'
Nacht didn't expect to have more than one trait, albeit the last trait which wasn't supposed to be there was to be expected. Once entering penance the individual would usually only have a single trait, having more than one was unusual.
Before Nacht could try and decipher what each of his traits meant, he focused on the relic that was laying dormant inside his soul.
Relic: [Appraisal]
Grade: Soul bound
Type: Tool
Description: A gift granted to those brave enough to enter penance. Appraises the bound individual and established writings.
'Well I guess that's how I'm able to decrypt these engravings.'
Nacht had almost forgotten that when entering penance you are granted a special relic that grants vital information. A relic is a powerful object that can be enchanted with special abilities. However, unlike other relics, the [Appraisal] relic can't be summoned.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Nacht began to look at his other engravings, more specifically his power core and rank.
Enlightened are each assigned ranks based on the level of their core, the first rank being sinner. Sinners made up most of the enlightened population since they aren't required to enter penance a second time—sinners are valuable enough.
Nacht looked back at his engravings with a frown.
Trait: [Abstract]
Trait Description: Your Archetype and path to enlightenment.
'This is my archetype?'
The trait that every enlightened had was the one that dictates your archetype. Nacht knew that archetypes were important and that they dictated what kind of rune he would be able to obtain but that's about it.
Shaking his head, Nacht began to decipher the meaning behind the other traits.
Trait: [Unmarked]
Trait description: you are resistant to some forms of detection.
'That could be useful.'
Unlike the first rune Nacht had read, the [Unmarked] trait was much more straightforward. He needed to stay alive to leave penance, so a trait that helped him stay hidden was a welcomed attribute to have. However, the next trait he looked at explained something he had almost forgotten.
Trait name: [Herald of Darkness]
Trait description: You have an affinity to the element of darkness.
Upon entering penance, he had been surrounded by darkness and when he opened his eyes, he was able to see perfectly fine. Usually when he was surrounded by darkness he would be blind, nervous, and constantly looking over his shoulder. Now he felt perfectly at home in the dark.
'How strange.'
All of his traits seemed to be geared towards making him some kind of assassin which would have been a welcomed skill in any other circumstance, but in Nacht's current situation what he needed was strength and versatility. If he got put in the same situation again in which there was nowhere to hide or run, he would be done for.
Finally he focused on his last trait, the one he was searching for from the beginning.
Trait: {Soul Bind}
Trait description: Your soul is bound to that of another.
Nacht knew that some places in penance actually had the power to enforce conditions on its participants. These conditions usually manifested itself as part of the individual's traits so they were forced to abide by them. Even so, places such as this were extremely rare! Nacht never thought he would one day find himself in such a situation.
He didn't even have to think about who his soul was tethered to. Turning his head he looked at Alister who was still cleaning his crimson blade with a wide smile on his face.
'Creepy bastard.'
It seemed as though Nacht's circumstances couldn't get any worse, but on second thought… he had the best partner he could ask for! Sure Alister seemed like the type of person to stab him in the back when he wasn't looking, but he was strong and Nacht needed strength.
Besides, Nacht wouldn't fault Alister if he did end up stabbing him in the back, in fact he would blame himself since it would mean that he didn't stab him first!
Going back to his previous observation, he noticed that unlike his other traits, the one which the crucible imposed on him was coloured red as opposed to his other three traits. This was probably due to the fact that the {Soul Bind} trait wasn't actually his.
Putting two and two together, Nacht came to the conclusion that the woman died because her soul was tied to the enlightened that Alister had killed. When his soul got destroyed, so did the woman's.
This made sense and also explained why Alister had at least put in some effort to keep Nacht Alive. Even so, another clue didn't make any sense. Why had the woman's death looked so gruesome? Destroying one's soul shouldn't have any physical effects on the person should it?
Then again Nacht never had the pleasure of having his soul fall apart and hopefully, he never will.