Arcturus entered the meditation chamber three days later with the same sense of determination he’d had upon rushing out of the armoury. That day during Lilith’s tour of the ancient weapons and armour available to the Vitaeans of old, he’d finally realised the key to what it was he’d been missing during his attempts at cultivating Vitae. She had told him the process, but that truth had been itself a mild deception. Vitae wasn’t just Anima and Aether, it was all aspects of Anima and Aether.

He had been picturing a double helix in an attempt to rationalize it.

He should have been picturing a quadra-helix.

The sheer idiocy of his constrained thinking had left a bitter taste in his mouth, but it was overridden largely by the desperation he had to see the fruits of his new breakthrough. Now that it was before him, the answer seemed so obvious it was almost enough for him to burst out laughing, were he not enthralled by the task immediately before him. Pushing away his ruminations, Arcturus made himself properly comfortable and forced himself to breathe.

In through the nose, wait, and then exhale through his mouth.

He repeated the exercise several times as he found his rhythm, and allowed his body to slip free of tension and subtle constriction as he focused on the simple act of breathing consistently. He knew what he had to do, but the how of it was going to be… tricky.

Unbidden, thoughts of his first foray into training with Tylariel entered his mind. He remembered the simulacrums he’d fought, and how he’d torn them apart through sheer desperate brutality. There had been a kind of finesse in what he’d done, but it had been primal and untrained: A savage instinct that had given a pathway for his nascent warrior’s instincts, inherited from his Father, to follow.

The way in which he’d resolved the situation against those enemies had been brutal and simplistic, and was hardly useful in a practical sense for what it was he was trying to achieve in the present. However that did not mean that the principle behind what he’d discovered in himself that day was diminished or irrelevant. In fact, it only meant that what he’d learned and the truths about himself that he’d discovered were even more important.

He had a force of will that had given him the strength to defy imminent death.

More than once, at that.

His focus narrowed down to a single point and Arcturus pushed his musings from his mind. He became aware of his body, aware of the flow of blood in his veins — his anima — and the pulsation of power along the mana conduits — his aether — that layered and threaded themselves throughout his body. Arcturus focused on these to the exclusion of all other things, his System-enhanced mind and body bent toward the understanding of the esoteric nature of these empyrean constructs. They were the building blocks of all life within the Source and its Shards.

They were the keys to the deeper mystery, locked away behind lies and falsehoods perpetuated by the Forsworn gods. His enemies. The agents of his pain.

Arcturus felt for what he had previously understood, isolating the idea of passive and active for his anima, and then doing the same for his aether in turn. He had learned from his mistakes. He had understood, when looking at those pieces of layered armour, that he had been approaching things from a standpoint of simplistic ignorance. He also understood why Lilith had not corrected him, though he suspected she had hoped their visit to the armoury would jog his brain.

Anima was two parts, creating a single whole.

Aether was also two parts, creating a single whole.

It was not the whole incarnations that he needed. They were already immutable. In their final state, Health and Mana points were already fixed. By nature of their manifestation they denigrated the ability to manipulate or manage them. He had been correct in that objection when he’d made it, complaining as he had to Lilith. His mistake had been the simplistic nature of his thinking. Had he not undertaken basic chemistry? One did not try to alter the final result once it had already been catalyzed.

You had to change it long before.

You had to change it at its foundations.

Understanding threw all thoughts of doubt or concern out of his mind as he reached within himself, found what he was looking for, and grabbed it. It was the only way he could explain it. He delved past the layers of the self and the immutable fabric of Health and Mana, and instead sought the primordial constructs of anima and aether that made up the entirety of his sapient existence. His flesh, his blood, his soul, his magic.

He gripped them in what he could only describe as manifestations of his will given form, and with sloppy and untrained hands he pulled at them.

Unsurprisingly, nothing happened.

A growl of frustration left his lips, and his eyes snapped open.

“Fuck.” He cursed into the room, staring angrily at the wall opposite as he realised, distantly, that he was sweating. His efforts had been far more strenuous than he’d thought, and his body had seemingly felt the weight of it. He felt as though he’d just finished a marathon.

“Don’t give up.” A familiar voice said from behind him.

“I wasn’t planning on it.” He responded, perhaps more curtly that he intended.

“It will fight you.” Lilith continued without umbrage. “It will defy you. The Twelve cannot fully control this, but they will try. They fear what will happen if another Vitaean rises. They fear you, Arcturus.”

“No, they don’t.” He said without derision. “Not yet. Right now I’m a nuisance. Maybe a consideration, but not a true threat. They have the Avatars, and they have the Church.” He shook his head. “I’m just a kid to them, alone but for the ghosts of a dead Empire.”

Lilith’s silence was her only reply, and he let it linger as he collected his thoughts.

“But that doesn’t mean it’s permanent.” He said more firmly. “I have no intention of letting those bastards win, Lilith. Not after what they did. I owe them some thanks, I suppose, for chasing my dad to Earth. He met my mother, after all.” Arcturus closed his eyes. “But it isn’t enough to balance the scales. Not nearly enough. Too much blood. Too much pain. I can’t pretend to care about the masses of people I barely know, but I can feel indignation on their behalf after finding out what’s been stolen.”

More silence followed as he left her room to respond, so he continued.

“I meant what I said to you, Lilith. I meant every damned word. I’m going to tear their fucking church down brick by goddamn brick, and I’m going to show them the consequences of their actions. Not because of a moral crusade, not because of some righteous calling.” He smiled viciously as he thought about it. “I’m going to do it because I want to. I’m going to do it for me. I’m going to take everything you’ve offered, and I’m going to resurrect your people for me.”

Lilith’s laugh was low and melodious. “Wrath and Ruin, then?”

“Wrath and Ruin.” Arcturus agreed.

“Then cultivate, Your Highness. I will remain here should you need me.”

Arcturus nodded. There was nothing more to be said. He had work to do.

He drew in a steadying breath and set to his task.

Being impeded only served to encourage him, and Arcturus doubled down on his theory. It had to work. It would work. He demanded it. Lilith’s words only encouraged it. Reality had been twisted and perverted by the Twelve; shaken and torn asunder by the perversion of System. They had rewritten the rules, deprived the Source, and thrown the lives of every living creature on Terra into uncertainty and flux.

Arcturus wouldn’t pretend to care overly much for the faceless masses, as he’d told her. He was no grand martyr or messianic, selfless saviour. He only cared, in truth, for those he had known and seen. Those he had interacted with and come to understand, to cherish, even to love.

Angela, Tylariel, Elethea, Tiberius, Vivienne, Lilith, Adam, Andy, Danica, Caeara… The list built in his mind as faces and experiences surged through his subconscious. He drew on his rage. He drew on his pain. He drew on his joy. Passion turned to power and Arcturus threw himself against the resistance he felt, silently screaming his defiance at the Twelve and the mockery they’d made of the System. He felt the very fabric of reality weaken.

He was doing something not even the Twelve’s intercession could truly halt.

He was rediscovering something they held no dominion over.

Arcturus felt the Source’s fabricated barriers to his efforts falter.

Astra Zion’s presence embraced him, granting him strength.

With a rictus snarl on his face, Arcturus seized the chance he’d been given and hammered against the impediments that sought to stop him from his goal. He clawed and scraped against it with manifestations of his will, slamming ephemeral fists against the interior fabric of his existence and its defiance of his desires.

The barriers weakened further and frayed, the fabric of their emplacement coming apart before the brutality and rage of his assault. Distantly, Arcturus felt himself cramping and felt the faint warmth of blood on his lip. He felt his gut roiling, felt the desire to vomit warring with his state of absolute focus. Pain seared him as he grappled with the matrix of his existence, and demanded that the corrupted System bend to his will.

His body rebelled.

His muscles spasmed.

His soul screamed.

Arcturus pushed through it all and desperately, determinedly, defiantly slammed those four foundational aspects together. He twisted them. He twined them. As darkness sought to claim his consciousness, he forged the quadra-helix and slammed it into place at the core of his existence.

Anima and Aether came together in a true melding.

The Source shouted its approval as the Heavens screamed their denial.

Creation sung its benevolent hymn as Destruction bellowed its discordant chorus, releasing coruscating arcs of black-white lightning that scoured the stone beneath him and snapped in rage at reality. Soulfire burned in his eyes as they snapped open, and a soundless scream twisted his mouth into a symbol of pain.

He was lost to the pain. Lost to the pleasure. Fire and ice warred in his veins; rivers of lava meeting collapsing glaciers as he felt his very essence dementing and rebuilding. He felt knives stabbing at every nerve, felt lashes of agony stripping his flesh bare as a thousand kisses electrified his flesh. He was the sun. He was the void. He was enraptured and horrified and all things in-between.

He felt, sensed, and understood the moment that he changed.

He felt awareness of his Health vanish.

He felt awareness of his Mana disappear.

Arcturus was afloat on a wave of enlightenment, and a maelstrom of calamitous agony. Every fibre of his existence was feeling.

It was too much. It was not even close to enough.

Time became nothing more than the count of infinite moments as his body sailed the line between devastation and correction. He smelled rot. He tasted acid. Distantly he thought he felt water. The rot faded. The acid receded. Spasms wracked him as he surfed the empyrean tides, buoyed by a new energy both intimately familiar and utterly alien. He was both himself and not; his awareness detached into some place between as he underwent a crucible of evolution.

Eternity passed in the span of heartbeats.

A familiar pair of yin-yang eyes watched him calmly.

A delicate hand rested on his brow.

Awareness returned with a rush of air, and Arcturus breathed in deeply as he awoke.

He was lying on the floor of the meditation chamber, idly aware of the fact he felt like he’d just been bathed. His eyes lifted and widened when they locked onto Lilith. Her face hovered above his, and he could make out details that only that morning had escaped him. He could see the pores of her flawless skin, the individual follicles of her obsidian hair, and the faintest glimmer of moisture at the corners of her beautiful eyes.

When their eyes met, her smile made his heart race.

“Hi.” He said, before surprise took him. His voice sounded different: Deeper. Stronger.

Lilith replied without words. One moment he was marvelling at the definition of her cheekbones, and the next he was acutely aware of how warm her lips were, and the fact that they tasted like a mix between cinnamon and mint.

It took his brain a few moments, despite its seemingly increased alacrity, to catch up to what was happening. When he finally did, he wasted no time in kissing her back. Surprise, shock, and confusion were cast aside in favour of just enjoying the moment.

Then all too quickly it was over, and she was blushing a bright shade of scarlet. Even at this he marvelled, able to see the way that the blood filled her cheeks, and coloured her pale flesh as it spread out under her skin.

“What happened?” He asked as he tore his eyes away from her at last, looking around the meditation chamber. He was tempted to sit up, but that would mean leaving Lilith’s lap, and he was — perhaps selfishly — not quite ready to do that.

“You did it, Arcturus.” She said with a quaver to her voice. “You did it.”

As if to clarify, an alert forced itself up in front of his eyes.

⚜️MAIN QUEST UPDATED⚜️

QUEST NAME The Dragon Resurgent DIFFICULTY Legendary STATUS On-Going DESCRIPTION

Upon arriving at the Grand Acropolis in the heart of the Blighted Lands, you were brought before The Sovereign of what remains of the Vitaean Empire and offered a bargain: A means to contact your companions, and safe haven, in return for a chance to be recruited into a new cause.

Despite your initial trepidation, you acquiesced to the bargain and were introduced to Lilith, a woman who revealed herself to be one of the last remaining Vitaeans; the true custodians of Terra and faithful servants of the Elder Gods.

With help from Lilith, you learned about the true history of Terra, the origin of the Twelve, and the lies at the foundation of the Holy Aquilan Empire and the Church of Eternal Light. At the apex of this education, the information you were receiving caused the awakening of a nascent shard of Astra Zion, which led to even more revelations about your birth, life, and origins.

Armed with this knowledge, you agreed to become the next Royarch of Vitaea and to restore the Dragons to Terra. In tandem to this, you committed to cultivating Vitae and becoming a Vitaean in truth. With determination and persistence, you have succeeded in achieving the first stage of development, and successfully cultivated Vitae.

As a result your body has been irrevocably changed and you have been granted full and uncorrupted access to the System. The consequences of your actions will no doubt ripple out across Terra, and if the Twelve had not been properly aware of your before, they certainly will be now.

Now your future lies before you, and your immediate tasks are to fulfill your promises to Lilith and Astra Zion, and strengthen yourself in preparation for the ritual to become a Primogenitor Royarch.

CURRENT OBJECTIVE(S)

Acquire a Seat of Power

Complete 'The Uncrowned King'

Cure the Vampires

COMPLETED OBJECTIVE(S)

The Sleeper Awakens

Reward: 7,777 Experience

Vitaean Ascension

Reward: 1,500 Experience

“I guess I did.” He said after reading through the alert and dismissing it, his eyes meeting hers again. “And gained another deluge of experience from it, at that.”

Lilith’s laugh at his words sent tingles down his spine. “I can hardly claim to be surprised, Arcturus, at the ludicrousness of your growth.”

“I have a feeling I’ll need every scrap of it.” He said as he smiled back at her. “I’m going to have the mother of all targets painted on my back after this.”

“That is true.” Lilith agreed with her usual lack of concern for such trivial matters as enemy gods gunning for him. “You will overcome, however. I have faith in that.”

“Let’s hope it isn’t misplaced, then. My Main Quest updated after all; it said it’s time for me to look at fulfilling my promises, and to prepare to become Royarch. Seems a bit soon, though.”

Something flashed across Lilith’s face at his words, subtle enough that without his vitae-enhanced eyesight he’d have missed it completely. Arcturus chalked it up to the fact that her dreams were about to be realised, and chose not to comment. Who was he to judge people for emotional lapses? It wasn’t as if he was exactly the best at keeping himself from succumbing to similar failings.

“The prompt mentioned something about me purging toxins as well.” He continued when Lilith remained silent. “I noticed I was wet at some point. Did something happen?”

“Yes.” She said after another moment, and Arcturus noticed that some measure of her cheer had dimmed, though he decided not to poke at it. It was likely she was feeling a lot of complex emotions at the realisation of her goals. “When you undergo the Crucible, it purges any undesirable elements from your body through your pores. This can be quite… messy. The first stage is always the worst. After you progress, the purges become far less extreme.”

“Thanks for washing me clean, then.” He said while trying not to imagine what that must have looked like. He had ideas that involved his body essentially becoming one giant squeezed pimple, and it made him want to throw up. He fought the urge.

“It is a common service for those that cultivate for the first time.” Lilith said with a gracious smile. “When you grow into your new gifts and approach the vitae density required for Scion, we will ensure you are in a properly equipped aquifer chamber for the transition.”

“How many stages are there?”

“You remember the breakdown of Vitaean hierarchy?”

“Of course. Kindred, Methuselah, Royarch.”

“The stages of development are more nuanced. You are still only barely among the ranks of the Kindred in cultivation density. As your density increases with your cultivation and understanding of your new abilities, so too will you climb what we call the stages.”

“And once again, how many stages are there?” Arcturus reiterated patiently.

“Ah. Yes. My apologies.” Lilith with a blush of embarrassment. “Within each tier there are three stages. For Kindred they are Awakened, Infused, and Scion. After Scion is Enlightened, which is the first stage of Methuselah, and then Radiant after that. Astral is the final stage of Methuselah, at which point a Royarch can be raised. We call the first stage of that Regal.”

“Royarch has three stages too?”

“It does. Regal, Deiform, and Celestial. At Celestial, a Royarch is seen to be at the apex of Vitaean power, overshadowed only by the Sanguine.”

“And Primogenitors are Royarchs that found their own brand new dominions.”

“Yes.”

Arcturus sighed. “Here I thought I’d be able to take the Royarch title quickly.”

“You will. Advancement within the Empire was seen as a rite of passage, and had to be done in the right order through personal effort as a tradition. However, Vitaeans were hardly absent comprehension of extreme circumstances. There are ways to ‘cheat’ the path required.” She hesitated, and her voice grew quieter. “None of them are particularly pleasant however.”

“I’m guessing you’re about to tell me something I don’t want to hear.” Arcturus said as he recognised the mild discomfort on her features.

“You guessed correctly.” She said as she looked away. “The fastest way for you to become a Royarch in the time we need is for you to inherit the power of the current Royarch.”

“Why do I feel like that is way more fucked up than it sounds?” He asked grimly.

“Everything has a price, Arcturus.” Lilith said hoarsely.

“The Sovereign has to die.” Arcturus said as he felt weary realisation creep in.

“Yes.” Lilith confirmed quietly.

“Was this the plan all along?” He asked her, already knowing what she’d say.

Lilith watched him with guilty eyes for a moment, before bowing her head.

Arcturus’ response was, if nothing else, characteristic.

“Fuck.”