The Embodiment was intrigued. It wanted to kill The Mother because it knew Dei would likely receive at least one Achievement for doing so, potentially more. And Knowledge of the Leviathan? That was the second of four Right of the Leviathan spell pieces, with him only holding Connection right now.

"Please explain."

* * *

The Embodiment stood upon the body of The Mother, the city of Agartha behind it. When its form dissipated, The Dream would die, unless something held it in place. Normally, this would be impossible, but Perumah sat within the concept of an opening in his soul. True, The Dream was not a true intelligence, but the opening could be repurposed for the great pseudo mind.

A blossoming sensation pulled itself free from his soul, and Perumah returned to her original body, contentment emanating from her.

Confused at her satisfaction, The Embodiment asked "Have you gained from the battle?"

"More than you could ever know…" she responded cryptically, and it got the feeling she would not answer any further questions.

Shrugging, it would leave that to Dei. For now, it followed The Champion's instructions to store The Dream in the opening of his soul.

When it was fully contained, he sealed the door. Because The Dream was only a mind with no soul, there was no connection to an outside source, and no resistance. His body reverted to its original humanoid shape, rather than the blob of memories it'd been when infused with The Dream.

Now there was a ball of pure processing power and knowledge lodged in the core of its soul, and it would stay there until Dei figured out step three.

Step two would be simple enough, though The Embodiment did not envy him.

He finally sensed the spell winding down, returning its body to Dei and Perumah back into a physical state.

When Dei was fully settled in his flesh and ectoplasm once more, he dropped to his hands and knees, wheezing.

"Everything aches…"

His body wasn't hurt at all, but he'd taken major soul damage. Not random either, but well calculated in two different parts.

For one, his Cycle of Sealing spell was severely damaged, having lost what he'd estimate was twenty or thirty levels. The poor Leviathan was limping along with a hurt wing.

The second source of damage was the in-between pseudo affinity of Wrath/Kindness. His Wrath and Kindness were individually unharmed, but the link between them wasn't.

'Okay, so the real cost to that spell is soul damage. Fair or even cheap considering how much power I gained… the ability to transform into something of a Void Beast! I defeated a dude piloting a Primordial Child mech! Worth it…"

He just hoped there was some built in healing to the spell, though he might just have to take the route of leveling it back up until it reached its original level. Something similar to what he'd done when being reborn, but for his affinity as well.

Now that he was in his original body, some people from Agartha started to approach him. The Champion hadn't been completely sure if his wind down would be harmless, so he'd made his people keep a distance temporarily. Now though, he'd spend a short time resting, then get to work.

The Champion said that he should kill The Mother with whatever spell or ability he wanted upgraded, as the Achievement he'd get would relate to how he killed her.

He'd, of course, decided on Cycle of Sealing. It was his bread and butter, his highest level spell, and the base of his power. Not to mention, it was the only spell that relied on his own personal affinity between Wrath and Kindness.

How would he do that? Well, he'd already done so once on a lesser scale with Jean, ripping the very idea of Duplication from the man. He decided he would fully pull the concept of The Mother from her own body, "Killing" her in the process. Normally impossible, not so for his specialty!

* * *

At first, he wanted to go back to the surface and continue absorbing the mana types as quickly as he could, but The Champion insisted their window to finish off The Mother was very limited, so he guaranteed that he wouldn't let any of the patients die until Dei was done with the current task.

When he was rested and his soul as good as it was going to be, he knelt down on one of The Mother's exposed patches of skin. His spell was still damaged, but that was fine. It would heal itself as it worked out, and he had no doubt that it would level up from this endeavor.

He could tell that it'd been close to an evolution before, but was glad it hadn't been finalized yet… and it was at no risk of doing so when he'd somehow managed to defy the natural laws of this world and obliterate mana. He'd done what shouldn't have been possible, and somehow destroyed the hundreds of thousands of points of mana he'd contained before. He considered this an incredible boon, despite it consuming even his Null mana, because he knew Cycle of Sealing could be so much more than just a mana storage container. What kind of evolution would he get for keeping it empty, and killing a Primordial Child with it.

The various servants around him would take care of his body as he focused fully on trying to complete his task, and they looked curiously at him now. He was something of a minor celebrity at this point, as "The Champion's Devil," or variants of that. All that was really agreed upon was that he was part Leviathan, yet somehow acting with The Champion's will.

They knew he was here to kill The Mother using some odd Leviathan power, and excitedly watched him. Most wore togas because of some preference from The Champion, but he also saw a few people recording him with their phones, providing an odd contrast.

'I wonder if I could earn a Social Achievement from this?'

Smirking, he sat in a meditative position and activated the summoning aspect of Cycle of Sealing; he knew it would put up a show all on its own.

The sound of distant chains seemed to emanate from him, and many in the growing crowd leaned forward as the metallic sound rapidly grew louder, the sound of rushing water soon following behind it.

With a blur, his house-sized Leviathan jumped from his back, straight up into the air. When they saw it, the crowd screamed- not in fear, but excitement. They'd seen diagrams and images of such a beast, but it was the first time they'd ever seen one in person, and what a dangerous figure it cut!

The bluish coloration of its wings and tail were to be expected, as were its four eyes, gargantuan mouth, and white underbelly. What shocked them the most, however, were the red and pink chains wrapping it fully, each seeming to glow with an ethereal white that hypnotized those looking directly at it.

Just as quickly as it'd breached his skin, it dove towards the ground, The Mother, and slipped into her flesh, slamming its chains together to release one final toll before disappearing entirely.

That last part wasn't necessary, but it was basking in the attention of all the mortals.

When he felt it enter The Mother's soul, he closed his eyes, throwing his mind down the connection and joining it in the journey.

When he opened his eyes, he stood upon the back of Wild Chains, the air stinging his skin as hot particles of sand flew into and around him. Squinting his eyes, he looked around, seeing that he was once more in a desert, rolling dunes as far as the eye could see.

'Hm? I thought The Dream had taken the form of a desert because there were no minds around and it was barren. Is it perhaps its natural state, because The Mother thinks in terms of the desert? Why?'

He may very well find out soon, so he simply focused on what to do next.

"Dei," he heard an ethereal voice speak behind him, and nearly fell off Wild Chains when he jumped, turning around to see a formless, shimmering shadow with two blood red eyes.

"Who are you?" he asked, readying himself to lunge forward at a moment's notice.

The figure rolled its eyes, "It's me, Perumah" she said, pushing a sense of familiarity out towards him.

Narrowing his eyes, he investigated the karmic threads of Perumah, searching for the location of her mind. It wasn't easy locating something using karma, but if he knew it was there and knew where its thread was, it was possible.

After several minutes, he finally divined enough to verify this was, in fact, her, making him relax and ask "what happened? I thought you'd just appear in your body attached to my hand if you decided to come with me, but here you are as a… strange shadowy person."

Perumah had waited patiently for him to verify it was her, and now responded "I might have a slight idea, but I am not entirely sure. If it becomes relevant later, I will inform you, but I truly assumed I would be a Flesh Trap. Instead I find myself with arms and legs."

Looking at her shapeless figure he had to say… he wasn't entirely sure she qualified as having arms and legs, but he'd leave that up to her to decide.

"What now?" she asked.

Raising his eyebrow, he said "Didn't you also hear The Champion?"

"I wasn't paying attention," she said neutrally.

'Dude.'

He sighed, but did still explain it. "We have to find the start of The Mother's life, her birth, and kill her at conception. If we do that, her soul's natural defenses will fall enough for Cycle of Sealing to devour her, and I can absorb her potential."

It was an incredible thing to discover, that he was able to steal the Potential of others with Cycle of Sealing. He'd apparently done so to Jean unintentionally, but not by much. So little that he hadn't even noticed the boost given to him by Jean's Duplication Echo.

"How do we find it?" Perumah asked.

"Well, that's easy enough. When I was still in Embodiment form and had access to the full Dream, I mapped out a route to take through The Mother's soul. Now I just gotta follow it."

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Turning around, he walked to the head of the Leviathan, looking out over the desert wastes. He'd certainly received a map from The Embodiment, but it was difficult to parse and more conceptual than anything, so he really didn't know what to expect when it came to what everything would look like, or what sort of enemies he would face. And he would encounter resistance sooner or later, that was simply the nature of soul defenses.

Locking onto a random obscure direction, the map- more of a compass really with how it worked- spoke up, telling him to venture that way.

"Hold on tight, her soul's a massive place and I wanna be out of here A.S.A.P."

When both he and Perumah had grabbed onto the chains, he told Wild Chains to enter its top speed, and the world blurred as the rush of air filled his ears.

* * *

Approximately three and a half days ago, from Perumah's POV.

They touched down on the ground, truly within his home dimension, and she felt every inch of herself being drained of MP, quickly clamping down on it. Dei helped for a moment, then she had the odd sensation of her affinities jumping in to assist as well.

It was a struggle at first, but they guided her hand, and it rapidly became easier as the affinities taught her how to work.

'Have I just formed a spell?' she thought in confusion. 'So quickly? It has been hardly moments, yet it feels like I contain the MP with supernatural ease…'

* * *

Perumah looked over Dei's sister, reading the explosive emotions within her and getting used to the sensation of reading emotions without any affinity mana being produced. The idea of something like Grief without Grief mana… she'd struggled to visualize it until now, but it was right before her.

Despite the woman standing perfectly still, it was clear she wanted to scream, jump, attack, and run. She opted to do nothing, which confused Perumah, until one emotion jumped out at her.

Faith. It was an odd thing, and one affinity Perumah hadn't seen in action yet, but it seemed to take a powerful role here. Sophie was suffering heavily, albeit subconsciously. Now, something new appeared, and she held faith that it would provide closure for all of her problems.

Dei gave no indication the news he provided would be good, but Sophie still didn't give up on the notion. Perumah could see a deeply ingrained despair, indicating that the woman had likely been crying close to every day for a long time, but she didn't collapse. Faith gave her strength to keep going, despite all the evidence to the contrary. It was… something.

Perumah felt displeasure at her inability to understand it, but simply doubled down, continuing to try and read into the logic behind things she couldn't understand

* * *

His mother was a curiosity. She was filled with faith, but little despair. Her faith did not serve to stave off grief, but a simple fact of life. She knew things would get better, so she'd never fallen into a depression in the first place.

It was at the cheaters' house that she had her first breakthrough in Faith though, when they came into contact with a supernatural source of it. The first enchanted item she'd seen yet, imbued with the Faith affinity.

She observed it with a calculating eye, something she knew was not enough. She understood Pride and Kindness now, knew their purpose, and felt the intent behind them. The logical aspect was not all there was to a Sapience affinity.

Faith was an ambition of comfort, the knowledge that anything could happen and that your future was not set. It was meant to give those facing hardships time for them to let their situation change rather than immediately give up when things became too difficult. And if the world said otherwise, if the world said there was no chance of it getting better, Faith would alter the reality until it was true.

Dei's words on it provided her an insight into the emotional aspects of it all

"...this was to help oneself from darkness through grit and attitude. It did not change anything on its own, it was simply a mindset.

It was not Fortitude, but it protected the mind.

Not Justice, as it wanted to impose no morals on others.

Nor Abstinence, as there were no temptations to avoid in the name of righteousness.

It was a burning flame in the heart. Diligence manifest. It was the power of the soul, the knowledge that success would come despite all evidence to the contrary.

It was Faith."

She was silent at his words, for she knew she did not understand. She wanted to, but she couldn't

Something about Earth prevented people from forming affinities, even passive affinities she couldn't manipulate. If she was not born with it as an active or natural affinity, she was cut off completely from it.

So she would bide her time. She would collect her data, and when the time came, she might gain a new source of information. A new sense, voice, or assistant in her endeavors.

* * *

Dei seemed charged. More so than when he was awaiting Edward's arrival back in the caves, his emotions were burning brighter than she'd ever seen them, but he was not heading into danger. He was simply going to meet his Earthly father, who he'd seen just last year.

"Why are you tense? Why are you afraid and excited?" she asked, as it was once more illogical. He was more afraid now than when he'd faced off against the Elite that nearly took his life.

Dei said nothing for a long time, but she could tell by his emotions that he'd heard her, and was simply trying to formulate his thoughts. The emotions were too tangled to parse, something she'd found happened a lot on this world where decisiveness was not a requirement to survive.

If she ever gained these emotions, she knew that she would not fall into such a trap. She understood them at their most fundamental and how they attempted to affect her. If she understood where the emotions came from, she would control them. They would not control her.

"...It's a lot for me. To see my dad again, knowing the pain I've caused him and being unable to apologize or explain myself," Dei eventually said.

Confused, she asked "But why? As I understand it, none of the pain was your fault. You took the correct course of action in lashing out at your former lover and friend, so the blame lay either with them or the officer that killed you."

"It's illogical, I know, but I love my family. Whether I intentionally caused it or not, I am pained to know I was involved in hurting them. That, if I took other actions, perhaps I could have spared them from suffering."

"But if Leven had taken other actions, would you exist at all? Grieving your own creation is an absurd notion, as the mistakes have led you to not only gaining power, but the ability to right your previous wrongs, yes?"

"I suppose so… yea, but I'd say love is the most illogical emotion of them all. Consciously, I agree with you that I have more happiness now than I would've if I'd survived to continue living as Leven, but there is still an aching in my heart to do everything I can to make up for all the suffering, whether I caused it or not."

That was one of the more important emotions. Love. From all the people she'd seen, those with Love on their minds had all the others amplified multiple times over. When brought joy from their love, they became impossibly happy. When brought grief from their love though… well, everyone reacted differently, but the result was always extreme.

Sophie loved her brother, so she fell into despair when he passed. Kaylee loved her son, and her appreciation for the world exploded at his passing when she'd become positive he moved on to paradise. Oscar, Leven's father, became cruel and aggressive, seeking the violent extermination of the one who'd ended the life of his one and only beloved son.

Dei followed his father's example, though with slight variance. There were times he became aggressive, and times he showed restraint. It was like he used his father as a foundation, then built himself up past that.

Tear everything down though, force him back to the bottom line? She knew he'd become just as violent as Oscar, perhaps even crueller if his past as Leven was to be believed.

There was something she hadn't brought up either, something she took note of that he hadn't voiced. Ever since seeing Taj, Emily, and Jennifer, he'd insisted he let the grudge go, but that wasn't what she saw.

The grudge dissipated yes, but it was like it'd fallen asleep. It was still there. Still unresolved. But Dei knew there was no way to get what he really wanted without thinking he was fundamentally evil for dooming a child's future.

He wasn't done with Taj yet, he just didn't know it. Before they left Earth, Perumah knew it would become relevant again, and she was curious as to exactly how he'd get what he wanted. She couldn't see a path forward, and it appeared that he couldn't either, but this wasn't the contest of logic she specialized in, this was Dei's forte, the battlefield of revenge.

He'd get his due, and she looked forward to gaining another piece of the puzzle between Wrath and Love.

* * *

The world expanded as she was imbued with meaning, affinities being stripped of their magic to fuel the meaning of this transformation from Dei to one known as The Embodiment, though the battle outside was irrelevant to her.

Something else began to change within her.

Dei hadn't simply turned into a Void Beast, he'd imbued himself with the meaning of Sapience because he'd drawn most of it from the fourteen virtues and vices. There was some Depths in there, as well as a dash of Karma, Void, and Soul, but those weren't relevant right now. Technically, none of them were, at least not to him.

To Perumah though, the experience could not be more valuable. The concepts behind the affinities normally didn't matter, as they came after the affinities themselves, but his current Void Beast form let Dei take a step back, out of the Physical plane and even out of the Realm of Reality itself.

The law stating that people could not earn affinities on Earth fell away, and Perumah felt the call of them once more, the insights she'd discovered on Earth coming to the forefront of her mind.

She already held a link to Lust, Greed, Sloth, Pride, and Gluttony, either from being born with them, or earning them at some point in her life, but those weren't the ones important to her. Virtues, such as the very recently gained Kindness, had opened new potential despite their lack of logical foundation, so she was elated to feel her mind change to account for two more.

'Faith… it's so clear to me! The fire, I feel it! The ambition, it drives me forward! Not only that, but Patience as well. I've slowly drawn closer to it for so long, and now I finally have it!'

The new connections, new emotions, sharpened her mind from its previously dull state, helping her see herself with newfound clarity.

Her elation was dampened slightly at the turn of an unintended affinity though, and she paused as Envy made itself known.

Faith and Patience, she sectioned off easily, as she'd studied their effects for so long. Envy? She was suddenly overwhelmed with a burst of emotions, scowling as she was made to feel lesser than those around her.

They were born with it all. The emotions, the clarity, the connection. All sapient Races were given a gift they never truly understood in the form of fourteen big affinities, potentially even forty two if they counted the Derivatives of said affinities.

She wanted it all. The power they had, the camaraderie they shared, and the understanding of one another, yet she was found lacking. Simply born less.

As quickly as the sensation arrived though, it was rebuffed by one in opposition to it: Pride. She was not lesser, she was better than them all, because they would not have had the willpower to continue forward without all their fancy tools and affinities. They'd succeeded because they were born with more, she'd succeeded because she was better.

Her mind shivered at the changes taking place within her, and she felt it all. One epiphany after another struck her as she looked over her life thus far, and found even her previous self utterly lacking.

'I will soon become better than I am, even now.'

She simply could not wait.

When everything was said and done, her exhausted mind simply went through the motions, listening to what Dei was telling her to do and processing that they were talking to The Champion again, but she quickly fell into a restful trance of answering only when spoken to. After the spell's winddown, Dei himself had to take several days off to rest, so she used that time to return to her peak mental faculties.

Soon enough though, she found herself hitching a ride on his connection to Wild Chains, diving into The Mother's soul.

* * *

Appearing in the Primordial Child's soul, she found an odd resonance to a humanoid form. Dei asked why and, and she answered truthfully that she wasn't completely sure, but she had a slight idea.

Something within The Mother's soul resonated with her Blood affinity, more specifically the ancient relative to it she'd been building towards for the past year.

She wasn't hiding it from him for any reason, she simply wanted to investigate the feeling more first. It would be silly to tell him The Mother was related to her Blood affinity somehow, then it never become relevant.

She'd wait until she had something more substantial, and bring it up afterwards.

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