'I can't feel anything at all.'
He tried to focus on the numbers in his palm, but nothing came of it. The space felt ordinary—sometimes cold, never unbearably hot, consistent with the environment.
The breathing of the two women was still clearly audible.
'Am I being deceived?'
"You are not deceived."
A mysterious voice responded within his mind. The faint breeze carried the tone of a man who could not reveal himself.
He opened his eyes, preparing for what was to come, but saw only darkness surrounding him.
"Who are you?"
"I don't know. I have never realized it."
"No one has ever asked you this before?"
"Perhaps not."
"So, who exactly are you, and where is this place?"
After his questions, a sensation gnawed at his hands. Pain intensified as he focused on the numbers in his palm.
The wailing of countless people screamed out, including his own voice.
The mysterious man spoke again.
"Humans are vessels for the soul. The soul is a precious mind; it creates many things and merges into form. When the conditions are right, it becomes a miracle. When created with greed and audacity, your head will scatter."
A cobalt shadow appeared, circling Victor.
"Choose the central axis of the miracle you believe in."
Victor collapsed in pain. His arms felt as if they would tear themselves apart as the mysterious voice coaxed him to make a choice.
This was not a simple puzzle or a meaningless demand—it was a compulsion to transform life into a miracle.
This was the first thing he could understand after spending time in the darkness. As time passed, Victor began to comprehend its words more deeply.
Screams of the people he had personally killed emerged from the cobalt mist, wailing and shrieking, in agony but unable to act.
Had he understood morality more, he might have suffered immensely, felt guilty enough to strangle himself or die pitifully here.
Truly regrettable.
Victor stood, facing everything. He tried to steady his twitching lips to ask a question.
"Are you God, or some other entity?"
"I do not know. Why are you so stubborn?"
"Because I see myself."
Amid the moaning figures, one complete form stepped out of the cobalt mist. Its face was clear and familiar, impossible to misinterpret.
The cobalt figure gazed deep into Victor's eyes.
"Interesting. Where exactly do you come from?"
Victor grinned.
"The world…"
In the next instant, the vision brightened again, his brain cells dispersing as the image nearly froze.
Emerald blood poured over his body.
All prior processes ended swiftly.
"What just happened!?"
He gasped at the priestess, who gave him a disdainful look and a long sigh.
"You are exceedingly greedy."
Selith, seeing this, hurried to Victor with tears lingering above her eyes. He remained still, scanning his surroundings as if bewildered.
"I want to go back there again."
Before anyone could intervene, he closed his eyes and plunged into the darkness, returning to the cobalt realm in his mind.
"You've lingered here too long. How did you return?"
"What is the central axis of miracles?"
"Do you no longer wish to speak with me? Very well. It defines the midpoint of life's potential power, replacing the weight upon your vessel or body. It transforms into energy that can be controlled, branching into possibilities beyond any human understanding: fire, ice, or your physical strength. What do you believe in?"
"Once chosen, it cannot be changed, correct?"
"Yes, unless you have two hearts, which is impossible."
He scrutinized his own thoughts, examining his palm, contemplating the future. It was like choosing a personal supernatural power with underlying significance.
"You said conditions are necessary, so that the power may extend without greed and proportionally. That means knowledge of what is chosen is important, right?"
"Correct. You analyze well. Most fail to understand what they are capable of, yet still crave what they lack."
The cobalt figure circled, intrigued by Victor's many questions. It seemed to ponder as it looked into his dark eyes. Usually, it shared essential knowledge, but with this man, it smiled at the increased level of human decision-making.
Greedy, yet unable to comprehend his own greed.
Victor observed it as he stood with confidence. Every thought was composed.
He did not need to wield overtly physical powers like becoming a shadow or launching ice attacks.
It was unnecessary for someone who wished to wield power subtly, efficiently, and without concealment.
"Power."
Pain gnawed from his palm deep into his chest. His heartbeat, meant to be rhythmic, clanged like a metal rod striking.
Threads of darkness surrounded him, limiting his vision.
"Decide the crucial condition for the ability you deserve."
"What… is it?!"
"Like a tree, branches will sprout. Its foundation must be solid and broad to bear the results your greed deserves."
Exhausted and enduring much sensation, Victor began to stop overthinking, visualizing a mental blueprint branching from a central topic into subtopics.
The principle of life-force transformation was not complex but required payment at the cost of stability. This decision might lay the foundation for the first supernatural power of the central axis of authority.
"The first condition… is that one must truly be a person of authority: in honor, words, demeanor, and social standing. All grandeur and pride count as the pillar of nobility. Honor is a key image for the powerful."
"How much will you pay?"
"I will pay with twenty-five units of life force."
"The first ability condition of the powerful: never be despised in the presence of anyone. Superiority shall always manifest."
The cobalt figure smiled, bloodstained.
"What type of condition is this? You must make an exchange specifically for this condition."
"Type!?"
"You did not study before coming to me. Alas, I cannot enjoy your failure to respond."
The cobalt figure sat calmly amidst the air.
"Miracle conditions must have types to determine proper usage. Some conditions allow the ability to be used each time life is paid; others may require substantial offerings for proportionate balance. You must lay the foundation yourself, creating freely, a miracle born of your faith, intellect, desire, and emotion."
Victor gritted his teeth, bearing the burden. He smiled, acknowledging the truth: miracles have no fixed form.
They can be created freely; gaining knowledge of them is easier than building the mechanisms through analysis.
'If conditions must be reasonable, the price is small. Creating coherent reasoning myself may have consequences. A simple condition, with payment beyond life force, might be the most stable usage.'
'Everything depends on thought… a form of unstable and unjust supernatural power.'
He strained to consider conditions for general abilities that need not arise from emptiness, as if paying to acquire them each time.
His eyes paused, then he spoke.
"Continuous-type condition…"
"Explain."
Victor stared resolutely.
"A continuous-type condition exchanges ongoing use for bearing another burden, either directly or indirectly, within one's own scope."
"Interesting… this is excellent. You are the second human who has explained it so reasonably."
Its words remained roundabout, playful.
This reminded him of Selith when she became a shadow. Her condition might operate similarly but lack full coverage. Knowledge in this era might allow creation of conditions only through exchanging what one possesses or life force directly.
Continuous use need not cost life; it could even pay with one's fate, an indirect value unexpected by others.
No need to overthink.
"The first condition of the powerful: being above others in all aspects for which one is qualified. Whether before anyone or among a group, the condition exchanges use with the mind of the powerful. When honor or dignity is lost, this power corrodes the body over time until the strength is gone."
The cobalt figure applauded Victor's decisive choice.
"You impress me greatly for your first time, sovereign. I repeat… this power will not allow you to fall below anyone, by any action. Can you bear this cost?"
Victor said nothing.
"Then the memory here shall be considered complete. When you return, capable of greater exchange, you will remember me."