He quickly ran out of paper, and digging through the writing desk’s many drawers led him to use a spare clear journal he found therein for his decoding efforts.

Therefore, I believe that the contemporary understanding of Azoth as a concept is flawed. The primordial mercury of life occurs naturally contained within gemstones because the bodies and souls of its bearers are incapable of truly becoming as one with the substance, and thus create a secondary shell of solid essentia around the mercurial essence - both as a means of separating from it and allowing them to interface with it as necessary.

I propose a theory that to fully become as one with Azoth, an individual must be made anew with the purpose of such a feat. I propose that not only is the cultivation of a supreme Azoth unnecessary for transcendence of human limitations, but that it is a hazardous endeavor that will inevitably lead one to hubris and self-destruction, as has been shown time and time again by the heroic lineages of the old powers. The more refined they are, the further back they stretch, the more debaucherous and degenerate their lifestyles become, and the more disdainful of the common man they grow.

I believe that this is the reason behind the superiority of the Divine Emperor of Pateiria, and that his voyage into the Sea of Fog in fact resulted in his ability to directly consume primordial mercury as fuel for his vast capabilities. Therefore, the conclusion is obvious - the Divine Emperor lied about his methods of self-cultivation in order to prevent others from achieving a higher state of existence.

The bathroom was surprisingly similar to that in the inn, just… More. The room itself and the bathtub were both bigger, but the entire interior including the appliances were clearly the same designs and most likely the same manufacturer.

“Find the medical kit please,” Zel asked as she handed the tablet to her counterpart before she began undressing. First the arm-harness, then the cleaver in its holster, then everything else, save for her chest bindings. In the span of a few minutes, she was sitting up to her waist in hot water over whose surface a layer of silver Fog roiled. She slowly, ever so slowly pulled the wrappings from her flesh, long strands of half-congealed blood stretching between the fabric and her wounds as if some sort of organic glue. Even Zelsys found this strange, fully aware of the fact human blood did not act like this when congealed.

A deep breath in, a deep breath out, small sips of Liquid Vigor inbetween. Though she was able to bear a great deal of pain, she was more than happy to numb herself to it with Fog-breathing techniques and pain-killing substances. Still, the sting of alchemic disinfectant in the gashes on her sides was intense enough to make her hiss out in pain. Zef’s concerned looks only served to make her grin and bear it through the pain, reassuring that “It’s fine, just make sure it’s clean.”