What is that voice…? Jack thought as he slowly regained consciousness. His surroundings were pitch black which instantly filled him with excitement. I’m not in that void!

He attempted to move, but his body wouldn’t listen. His efforts culminated in a few twitches in his arms and legs. His body felt strange… Not weak or heavy like usual, no, instead his skin vibrated with some sort of energy heightening his senses as it raced through his muscles and bones. Despite not being able to move, he felt alive, more so than he could ever remember. He didn’t have much time to revel in the feeling before the voice started again.

Status…? For a second, Jack struggled to understand the deluge of notifications pouring into his mind. He recognized the word Logos, but he couldn’t say why or how. Something about it seemed deeply familiar to him. Aside from that, the rest might as well have been gibberish. If nothing else, I might as well do what it recommends for now. Maybe I’ll get some answers.

He tried mentally confirming the prompt to open his Status and to his surprise, another surge of information filled his mind.

Name: Jack

Designation: Logos Cultivator 0/5 (Advanced, Utility)

Designation: #?#?#? [SEALED]

Ethos: 270

Logos: 220

[Attributes]

Might: 15

Agility: 10

Vitality: 15 (16)

Focus: 8

Intellect: 10

Willpower: 17

Resonance: 20 (22)

[Talents]

Scion of the Logos (Advanced), Logos Core Bearer

[Skills]

Origin Wielder (S), Refine Eidos (F), Logos Manipulation (F)

He blinked repeatedly in a daze. Something about the entire situation seemed incredibly familiar, but like with the word Logos, he couldn’t parse the reason for the feeling. Perhaps because of his confusion, he honed in on his Logos score which displayed a value of two hundred and twenty. His eyes widened when another notification popped up shortly after he narrowed his focus.

Logos is an Origin-class energy created by the [REDACTED]. Logos emanates from The Logos which is the Source of Fracture’s foundation and operations as well as the production, maintenance, and salvage of worlds and their cores. This energy can produce near-infinite effects but is extremely dangerous if not handled well.

The production of worlds… He scanned through the information twice before starting to comprehend the gravity of it. Among the small bit of information retained from his faded memories, he knew multiple worlds existed, many of which his past lives had called home. However, there was nothing about worlds being produced or even maintained. He did have a few visions of salvaging dead worlds while wearing special suits that let him walk through the stars, but that was all. The notion sounded ridiculous; however, Jack didn’t doubt the veracity of the information for a second. If the Logos can do that, then what kind of place is Fracture?

His attention settled on the censored text. For nearly a minute, he pressed against the block hiding the information with his will. He could almost see what the text obscured, but the information slipped from his mental fingers like smoke on the wind. His frustration mounted until a deeper part of him snarled. His will redoubled. His conscious mind recoiled in warning at the deeper presence, yet he barely had the chance to respond before an image filled his thoughts.

He saw a golden throne. In front of it, the mental smoke coalesced into a featureless figure who extended a hand to Jack. When he tried to reach out for the figure, the throne began to radiate light so pure that Jack felt himself being burned away. The pain topped anything that he could remember. It was like being stripped down to the most minute components of his being while still, somehow, maintaining consciousness.

He recovered his wits after several minutes passed and not wanting to repeat the process, he dismissed the explanation of the Logos. Curious about the interesting function of his Status, he focused on his first designation, Logos Cultivator, hoping for more clarity.

[Description]

Logos cultivator is an advanced, utility designation specializing in personal growth and energy manipulation. They wield pure Logos which is toxic to all but a few mortal races and many immortal races making this designation extremely rare. Because of this hazard, they favor Vitality to resist the strain of Logos exposure, Willpower to keep the powerful energy under control, and Resonance to aid in control and skill efficacy.

0/5

To increase the level of a designation, Eidos must be invested into it. Eidos can be found obtained by absorbing eidos crystals and completing Objectives.

[Classifications]

Advanced- This designation contains high growth potential granting the Logos Cultivator three Core Attributes instead of the standard two.

Utility- This designation focuses on skills designed for growth, crafting, and support rather than combat.

[Core Attributes]

+10 Vitality, Willpower, and Resonance per level

[Skills]

Refine Eidos (F)

The designation appeared more or less self-explanatory except for a few things. He wondered about Eidos and Objectives especially since one of his skills was called “Refine Eidos”. He briefly considered investigating the skill but decided to save it for later, so he didn’t get sidetracked.

Jack did lament that the only further clarification on Logos was about the danger that it posed for even those capable of wielding it. The two descriptions from his designation and the resource itself were enough to convince him that Logos should be treated with caution. Following the theme of his investigation, he turned his focus to his Talents next bringing up notification on each.

Scions of the Logos are creatures born directly from The Logos for a specific purpose. A Scion’s body is more resilient than most other mortals and bears an innate affinity for Logos.

-Grants a +10% bonus to Vitality and Resonance.

-Significantly increases the growth of Vitality and Resonance from non-designation sources.

-Grants significant resistance to Logos exposure.

Logos Cores are a unique type of World Core that only appear in Fracture. Rather than performing the function of a normal World Core, Logos Cores allows Logos Core Bearers to perform special functions within Fracture related to The Logos and Remnants.

-Grants [Logos Manipulation].

-Grants [Origin Wielder].

-Allows the use of special functions within Fracture.

-Increases the negative effects of ambient Logos corruption.

This is all very… specialized, Jack thought as he processed the information he’d reviewed thus far. His designation and Talents were centered around the utilization of Logos or were related to it in some way. He couldn’t guess at what his second designation was, but he was willing to bet that it followed the same pattern. The Logos must be important to the purpose that Jarkal mentioned… Hmm, I’ll check my Ethos, Attributes, and then, Skills. I might as well get as much information as I can before I end the initialization.

The spatial stasis of the initialization process seemed like the reason why he couldn’t move or see anything. Normally, he knew a situation like this would alarm him, but he was sure of his safety at the moment. So, while he was safe, he might as well learn what he could about Fracture’s strange rules and the hand he’d been given. He brought up the notification for Ethos by focusing on it for a second.

Ethos measures the body’s capacity to sustain and recover from damage. When damage is taken, Ethos will be consumed to maintain the integrity of the body. While Ethos is above zero, natural regeneration will be significantly increased proportionally to the current Ethos value. If Ethos reaches zero, the body will become unstable and natural regenerative processes will be significantly reduced.

Ethos also grants the ability to survive in nearly any environment found within Fracture or its Remnants.

The more Jack thought about the effects of Ethos, the more incredible it seemed. If he was understanding the concept correctly, Ethos ensured that someone could survive an injury as long as the value remained above zero. He guessed that as the Ethos value got higher, the number and severity of the wounds he could suffer would increase. The bleeding hole in Jarkal’s chest came to mind as he wondered if he could one day survive such an injury with the aid of his Ethos.

This didn’t even consider the ability to survive in any environment which seemed almost like an afterthought in the description, but was nearly as amazing as the primary function.

He currently had two hundred and seventy Ethos. Without a comparison, he had no idea if that was a respectable amount or not for someone with zero levels in a designation. Speaking of which, his attention shifted to the three Attributes granted by his designation.

Vitality determines the body’s natural regeneration, ability to survive critical damage, and stamina. This attribute increases Ethos, Vigor, resistance to bodily ailments and toxins.

Willpower determines the mind’s fortitude and resistance to external forces. This attribute increases mental defenses, mana regeneration, and speed of recovery from negative mental conditions.

Resonance measures synchronicity with The Logos. This attribute increases Ethos, the potency of Pathos, the utilization of Relics, both quality and quantity.

So, I’m defensively skewed, Jack noticed with no small amount of satisfaction. Visions of the gray void filled with rising and falling light flashed through his mind. No, I never want to go back there again.

He didn’t know what would happen if he died in Fracture and Jarkal’s last words to him had insinuated that his next death might be his last; however, that didn’t give him any peace. What if his final death simply doomed him to the void for the rest of time until his mind collapsed and he lost the ability to perceive his c consciousness? A subtle shiver unrelated to the humming energy with his body ran through him.

No, he would do anything to avoid such a fate.

Aside from his designation’s attributes all giving him some sort of defensive benefit, they mentioned other things like vigor, mana, Pathos, and Relics. Sadly, no amount of focus brought additional information about these terms, so he moved on to the other attributes. He brought them up one at a time reviewing each.

Might determines the physical strength of the body. This attribute increases bodily power, toughness, Vigor, and vigor regeneration.

Agility determines physical dexterity, flexibility, and speed. This attribute increases speed, maneuverability, bodily control, and reaction speed.

Focus determines concentration as well as physical and mental perception. This attribute increases Mana, mental attack power, and overall perception.

Intellect determines mental capacity, acuity, and processing. This attribute increases Mana, memory recall and capacity, speed of thought, and comprehension.

Reading through the list, the ones that stood out the most were Might and Intellect. Specifically, he wanted the increased toughness that Might would offer, so he could increase the efficiency of his Ethos by being able to shrug off more damage. He wanted Intellect for its memory benefits. Despite the memories of his past lives fading away, he couldn’t shake the desire to recover them.

Jarkal had called Jack the first and last incarnation even going so far as to warn him against the memory of his original life. He intended to heed his prior self’s advice, but where did that leave his memories of all the lives after the original? He had caught glimpses of them before they faded. An untold number of memories forged over who-knew-how-many years of struggle. It felt wrong to disregard those past lives and their fight on the path that led him to Fracture.

I can only hope my second designation has those two as Core Attributes. Otherwise, I’ll have to find other ways to increase them. He resolved to increase them one way or another. His Scion of the Logos talent hinted that there were other ways to raise attributes outside of designations. He doubted it would be easy especially when it came to Intellect. On to Skills, I suppose.

He started with his only designation skill. The description sadly skimped on any details about what Eidos was, but in other respects, it didn’t disappoint.

Grade: F

This skill allows the Logos Cultivator to refine Eidos within his body before infusing it into his designation. Once he levels up, the Logos Cultivator gains +5 to one attribute of their choice in addition to the Core Attribute bonuses. If the Logos Cultivator dilutes the level with unrefined Eidos, this skill’s effects are wasted and cannot be gained until the process begins again at the next level.

Refinement speed moderately increased by Resonance and slightly increased by Vitality.

So, it was serious about specializing in personal growth, he mused. The extra five points per level could bolster Might or Intellect if his second designation didn’t help with that. If it did, then it would allow Jack to somewhat cover any future deficiencies or reinforce his strong points in his attributes. It does sound like this will make leveling up to take longer and I’m guessing that’s bad since leveling up seems to be the only way to increase my strength.

Jarkal’s last words echoed in his mind and his lips twitched into a slight smile. He was fine with taking a little longer as long as he accomplished his goals in the end. Spending ages in the void robbed him of more than a few things, but patience wasn’t one of them. With his resolve solidifying, he opened the first skill granted by his Logos Core Bearer talent

Grade: F

This skill allows the Logos Core Bearer to perceive the presence and flow of Logos. The Logos Core Bearer may attempt to influence or manipulate the flow of Logos that he has perceived. The potency of the Scion’s perception is slightly increased by Focus and the efficacy of the manipulation gains a moderate increase from Resonance and a slight increase from Willpower.

Jack expected the skill to grant so measure of control over Logos but was surprised that it also included the ability to perceive Logos. He had assumed he would be able to sense the Origin-class energy on his own. The skill implied that he wouldn’t have been able to which made Jack’s curiosity flare ever higher.

I need to be patient, he thought as he tempered his excitement. Until I have more information, I can’t be sure, but I’m starting to think this set-up I have here makes me uniquely qualified to explore the nature of Logos and by extension, Fracture and The Logos.

His last skill only reinforced this belief.

Grade: S

You wield Origin-class energy. This makes your capabilities more potent and riskier than the other denizens of Fracture. However, you are also limited by the overwhelming purity of Origin-class energies.

-Grants a pool of Logos based on your Resonance. This pool regenerates at a rate determined by Resonance.

-Grants increased insight into the uses and handling of Logos

-Prevents the use of lesser energies such as Mana and Vigor.

Ah, that explains what Mana and Vigor are, he mused. This skill prevents me from gaining either of those from my Attributes. That will probably make hiding this hard since I’m guessing I’ll eventually get a skill that consumes Logos.

He briefly mulled over what the grades assigned to his skills meant; however, no amount of focus provided additional information. He mentally shrugged, sure that he would find out sooner rather than later.

Given the effects of Logos Core Bearer, Jack worried that the talent would be the source of more trouble than any of his other abilities. He only hoped that it would be worth it. He spent a few more minutes rereading parts of his Status before his excitement got the better of him.

He closed his Status and instantly, another notification appeared.