"The Sea of Concepts..." I muttered, shaking my head. "Wow. That is definitely new to me. I didn't learn a single thing about that from the old man back at the Guild."
[Notice: Yes, it is new to you. The vast majority of the world does not know it exists. The only alternate realms people are aware of are the Mirror Dimensions, where they farm Ether Crystals. Furthermore, humanity only knows of the Virtue pathways.]
"What about the Sins?" I asked, casually sitting back down on my high seat at the head of the obsidian table.
[Notice: Only a select few individuals know the Sins actually exist. Mostly true Gods, Angels, and Grounded Angels like Raphael.]
"Ahh..." I groaned, aggressively rubbing my temples. "My head aches from all this information."
[Notice: It is necessary for you to know. The pure, primordial essences of the Sins were originally sealed inside the Sea of Concepts. However, it seems that the seal is slowly leaking.]
[Notice: That is how I am here with you, Lucian. I am a System exclusive to the Sin of Pride, and my sole purpose is to help you to the best of my abilities.]
I stopped rubbing my head and looked up at the dark, empty hall. A genuine, faint smile crossed my face. "Thank you, Kallisto. I guess I'll officially add you to my list as my third friend."
[Notice: It is merely my job, Lucian. Also, you must remember one crucial detail: the Sin of Pride is the greatest and most terrible of all the seven primordial Deadly Sins.]
"Greatest?" I raised an eyebrow, my posture straightening. "As in... like the leader?"
[Notice: Yes. Pride is the root. You are essentially the true avatar of the Seven Sins combined.]
I blinked, letting that massive revelation sink in. Before I could even open my mouth to ask the dozen questions forming in my brain, the red text flashed again.
[Notice: I am not going to tell you anything more regarding this topic. It is not within my current power to share, nor is it within your power to handle.]
[Notice: If I were to explain further, I would be risking both your life and my own existence at the exact same time.]
"Hah? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I demanded, my Constraint of Pride immediately flaring up at being denied.
[...]
The System stayed completely silent.
"Not saying anything, are you?" I scoffed, crossing my arms. "Risking my life and yours? Well, yours doesn't really count since you're just a voice in my head without feelings, but... why? Let me guess. It means I can't know the truth simply because I'm not powerful enough yet?"
[Notice: Correct.]
"Wow," I muttered, leaning back heavily into the Throne of Glass. "Now you're talking."
"Fine," I sighed, leaning back in the obsidian throne. "If you can't tell me about the Sea of Concepts, can you at least tell me about desires, the Sins, the Mirror Dimensions, or maybe just something about those Devils I saw back then?"
[Notice: Yes. I can explain those concepts to you, but only up to a certain point.]
[Notice: You must understand that in this world, the collective emotions of humanity physically shape reality. Take human fear, for example. If enough people possess an extreme, primal fear of firearms and being hunted, that concentrated dread will eventually coalesce and give birth to a new Sequence—such as the Hunter pathway.]
[Notice: That is merely an example. Another would be the terror of the unseen, which resulted in the birth of the Darkness pathway. However, how these powers actually manifest depends on a few specific variables.]
"Depends on what?" I asked, my curiosity officially piqued.
[Notice: There are two core emotions that dictate how supernatural power is formed in the Sea of Concepts: what humanity deeply fears, and what humanity deeply desires.]
[Notice: Extreme, unchecked desires gave birth to the primordial entities known as the Seven Deadly Sins. Extreme fears, on the other hand, gave birth to the standard Sequences. However, the pathways do not advertise the terrifying nature of their origins.]
I frowned, processing what Kallisto just said. Something wasn't adding up.
"Wait, I have a question then," I said, leaning forward and resting my elbows on the dark table. "If collective human fear gives birth to the standard Sequences, why the hell are they called Virtue pathways? That makes absolutely no sense."
[Notice: A very astute question, Lucian.]
[Notice: If human fear truly gives birth to a pathway, the reason it is publicly labeled a 'Virtue' pathway is entirely political and historical. Because humans discovered they could absorb Ether Crystals from these paths to ascend and achieve godhood, the ruling powers rebranded them to maintain control.]
[Notice: The vast majority of humanity does not know this dark truth. They simply believe they are walking righteous paths of 'Virtue,' convinced that by advancing, they are performing holy deeds blessed by the divine. They have no idea that the holy powers they worship are literally just humanity's greatest, ugliest fears given a physical, conquerable form.]
".."
I couldn't say anything for a few seconds. My mind was spinning, trying desperately to piece everything together.
So all the killing we do to advance... all the political drama and religious wars used by the Kings to control the masses... it's all just human fear being weaponized by—
Suddenly, my head felt like it was going to explode.
My veins bulged, throbbing violently as all the blood in my body seemed to rush straight to my brain. Ahhhhhhhhh! I grabbed my head, my vision turning red. The sheer, cosmic weight of this forbidden knowledge was literally, physically crushing my mind.
[Notice: Host Lucian is in critical condition.] [Notice: Initiating emergency healing protocols. Rerouting ambient Ether from the Cenotaph.]
Ahhh... I collapsed forward over the obsidian table, gasping heavily for air. The terrifying pressure slowly receded, leaving me drenched in cold sweat. After a few agonizing seconds, my vision cleared. I was okay.
What the hell just happened to me, Kallisto? I groaned, wiping a thin trail of blood from my nose.
[Notice: You almost died.] [Notice: Do not think too deeply about this topic. Your current Tier is far too low to safely process the underlying truth of the cosmos.]
You probably should have warned me about that before dropping the lore on me, right? I grumbled, leaning back into my throne.
[Notice: Apologies. I did not calculate that this level of basic information would result in such a severe mental backlash. I will keep your current fragility in mind for the future.]
Wow. Thanks for the reassurance, Kallisto. Real comforting. I sighed, staring up at the dark ceiling of the hall. So, all of this... all these powers and pathways are manifested inside that metaphysical realm called the Sea of Concepts.
[Notice: Correct.] [Notice: It is time to return to your physical body in the hotel, Lucian.]
I blinked. Wait, what? Why?
[Notice: Emergency healing depleted your reserves. You have zero Ether remaining in your body. Emergency ejection initiated.]
Ahhh—!
The grand, dark hall vanished in an instant. I was violently thrown back into reality, my physical body gasping as I jolted awake on the cheap mattress of my hotel room.
I lay there, staring up at the cracked plaster ceiling, my chest still heaving. My head still throbbed, but the fear was gone. I had come back with a million new questions, but more importantly, I had returned with a completely new way of looking at the world.