Nacht was concerned.
After he told Alister about his archetype, the sinner had been acting strange. Apparently there are only two archetypes among the enlightened, internal and external with the latter being more common. It is due to these archetypes that no one can manifest the same rune, although some might be similar.
Nacht's own archetype is considered unnatural, but that wasn't what concerned him. What made him anxious was he didn't know if he would be able to manifest a rune! According to Alister, only the enlightened with the internal archetype are born with their rune and gain access to it once they enter penance.
The enlightened with the external archetype have it harder since they have to conquer the first gate without their rune. However, they are given the opportunity to challenge it with the other prospects of their clan.
This meant that he had to discover a way to obtain a rune all on his own! Nacht didn't miss the conflicted look in Alister eyes as he told him this, which left him even more confused.
Nacht sighed in defeat.
'There's nothing I can do about it.'
Now that he thought about it, he still didn't even know how he was supposed to get out of penance, let alone manifest a rune.
"Hey, Alister"
Alister appeared to not have heard him, still staring at seemingly nothing.
"Alister!"
Alister's head snapped back to him as his smile lifted slightly.
"Yes?"
How am I supposed to get out of here?… penance I mean."
Alister gave him a quizzical look.
"You entered penance and you don't know how to leave?"
Nacht rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"I know that I have to repent, whatever that means."
Alister just stared at him for a couple of seconds before he finally answered.
"Repentance is done through the atonement of sin."
Nacht gave Alister a confused look.
"Whats the difference?"
Alister spoke as if he was repeating common knowledge.
"Think of it like this. Repentance is the inner process of change while atonement is the making right of a wrong."
Nacht leaned forward slightly
"Then how do I right my wrongs?"
Alister looked at him in mock amusement.
"To leave the first gate all you have to do is kill an abstract."
A confused expression appeared on Nacht's face.
"How is killing an abstract a form of atonement? I thought I'd have to save a life, not take one."
Alister looked at him strangely.
"What do you think the abstracts are?"
Frowning, Nacht answered.
"Aren't they just monsters that try to kill us?"
Alister shook his head.
"The abstracts are the product of humanities folly, an infection of sorts, they are born from our crimes and feed off of it. We were born pure as the gods intended, but when our souls enter into penance to become enlightened, we become corrupt. It is through repentance that we become pure again. This cycle of cleansing is what we call the path of enlightenment, and it is how we humans climb the ranks towards higher power."
Nacht gave Alister a confused look, unsure of what to say.
He had initially thought that the abstracts were powerful and frightening creatures that preyed on humanity, but now they seemed like something more.
"Sin is an infection that needs to be purged. In essence, the abstracts are a manifestation of our sins, so killing an abstract is a form of atoning for your crimes."
Nacht looked down at the floor.
Now faced with the realization of having to actually kill an abstract. He was becoming more unsure if he'd actually be able to get out of penance alive.
"If you want I can help you."
Nacht looked up at Alister with hope.
"You'll help me kill an abstract?"
Alister laughed.
"Gods no!"
He paused for a moment.
"I can teach you how to fight, like a true enlightened, but I need something in return."
Nacht answered skeptically.
"What do you need? I don't really have anything to offer."
Alister's smile widened slightly.
"Nothing much, just a favour when I call for it."
Nacht frowned faintly.
He didn't like the sound of that. A favour could mean anything, but by the looks of it, he didn't have much of a choice. He needed to raise his chances of getting out of this place alive. Besides, he didn't need to follow through on the deal.
He could just reap the benefits of the deal and if the favour was something he couldn't fulfil, then he wouldn't fulfil it. Alister needed him alive after all. In fact, this deal benefited Alister the most since what better way to keep someone alive than teaching them how to fight?
Nacht suspected that was the main reason he even proposed this deal in the first place. Nevertheless, the favour couldn't be too bad, what could he possibly ask from a person that was closer to a mundane human than an enlightened?
"As long as it's a favour I can reasonably fulfil, then I accept your offer."
Alister stretched out his hand for him to take.
"It's a deal then!"
Nacht mustered a faint smile before taking Alister's hand.
In the next moment Alister's smile widened and Nacht felt his hand caught in an iron grip.
'What the hell?'
To his horror, Nacht noticed a soft red glow illuminating from behind Alister's back before he felt something foreign enter his body.
Realizing he wasn't going to be able to escape—and he was too close to optimally use his saber—Nacht decided to tackle Alister to the ground. well, At least he tried to. When he got close enough to grapple his body, Alister sent him reeling back to the ground with a strong kick to his abdomen. As he laid on the floor gasping for air, Nacht felt a burning sensation around his solar plexus as something wrapped itself around his power core.
"A deal's a deal."
Nacht scowled.
"What was that!"
Alister answered with a wider than usual smile.
"I just want to make sure you don't go back on our deal."
Focussing on his power core. Nacht felt the uncomfortable foreign object wrapped along his core in the form of chains. He thought about not paying back his favour and when he did, the chains compressed around his core causing him terrible pain.
'That Bastard!'
He had fallen into his trap. He had always found it suspicious why Alister never used his rune in battle and now he figured out why. The reason of course was because he didn't want him to know what he was capable of. Now that Nacht had time to think, he came to another realization.
'He was trying to use his rune on me from the start.'
Initially when he first met Alister, he had tried to shake his hand. Nacht didn't know all of the circumstances required for the use of Alister's ability, but it seemed like shaking hands had something to do with it.
'That was not worth it.'
He slowly got back up from the floor and glared at Alister.
"Oh don't look at me like that! I still have to fulfil my part of the deal."
Alister raised his blade and gestured for Nacht to pick up his saber.