After Anyael made that joke, Rhys laughed out loud.
—Hahahahahahaha! Yeah, I got that reference! —But once the laughter subsided, he looked at the sword he had given Anyael and said— —Anyael, give me the sword.
Anyael looked at him, confused, but handed it over.
—Why do you want it? —he asked, still not understanding.
—You'll see soon enough —Rhys said confidently—. But before I do what I'm about to do, hehe, you know that each department member has a codename? Kael's is Leopard, Elara's is Plague, and mine is Tarnished. What will yours be? —he asked, curious.
—Ascender, and this will be my re:start —the young man answered firmly.
—Ascender, restart… I like it —Rhys said, intrigued.
—Now then, Leopard, come here! —Kael, surprised by the call, stopped planning the route with Elara and approached.
—Yes, Rhys? —she asked.
—Give me Marea —Rhys said, with a hint of concern.
—Marea? For what!? —Kael asked, both annoyed and confused.
—Don't worry, I just want to make sure the boy survives.
Kael looked at Anyael, and with a little pity, glanced at Rhys and said:
—Ugh, fine… but on one condition!
—What's the condition, Kael? —Rhys asked, intrigued.
—That you explain to him what the artifacts are and how they work. I don't want him to damage the sword…
—You do realize that was supposed to be a reward, right?! —Rhys said, a little annoyed.
—Yes, but I don't want it to get messed up.
—Alright —Rhys said with a huge grin, while Anyael's mind raced: "Artifacts, Marea… are these some kind of magical object?"
Then Rhys proceeded to explain what Marea was.
—As you heard, Marea is Kael's sword, and it's an artifact. Artifacts are creations made by the… —Rhys paused, deliberately.
—The… what? —Anyael asked, straining to hear.
—That's information you don't need right now. But here's the gist: there are two types of artifacts. Chronicles are designed exclusively to resonate with Karma, and therefore can only be used by Saints. On the other hand, there are Tales, which resonate with Ego and are meant for Sinners.
—Now, to make an artifact work supernaturally, you need to channel your Ego or Karma into it. The more energy you put in, the more abilities it can manifest. And once you resonate with it, you can materialize its powers.
—Resonate? How exactly? —Anyael asked, curious.
—That's something words can't explain. You'll only understand once you experience it —Rhys replied, confidence and wisdom in his voice.
—So… what do I do? —Anyael asked.
—Simple. Right now, just channel Ego into the sword.
Anyael followed his instructions and infused the sword with his Ego. As he did, everything went dark, and his eyes closed.
The moment they reopened, he found himself in a valley-like space with mountains in the distance and animals roaming. He stood in a shallow pond, and in front of him was a woman.
She was taller than him (though that wasn't saying much), pale-skinned, with long blue hair tied in a bun, and intense sapphire-blue eyes with a single water droplet instead of pupils.
—You are…? —Anyael asked, intrigued.
—I am Retainer, the spirit inhabiting this artifact.
—Spirit!? But Rhys never said anything about spirits…!
—Well, I don't know how this Rhys guy taught you, but practically all Mystic-grade artifacts have one.
—Mystic grade? —Anyael asked, curious.
—Yes, it's the fourth rank of artifacts —the woman said, smiling warmly.
—And what are the other ranks?
—Echo, Fragment, Monument, Mystic, Transcendental, Divine/Corrupt (depending on the artifact's side—Chronicle or Tale), Incomprehensible, and finally Absolute. Those are the eight artifact ranks —Retainer said, her smile warm.
—I'm guessing you're a friend of Kael's… or a thief, right?
—Yes, I'm currently one of her friends, I think… well, I'm part of her squad, hehe. So, what are Marea's abilities?
—Well, its abilities are as follows:…
—Wait!! Before telling me, are you spirits the souls of dead people? —Anyael asked, slightly scared.
—Of course not, kid! We're, well, in my case, pure Ego concentrated using a Revenant as a model.
—A Revenant!? —Anyael exclaimed, shocked, but was quickly pulled back to reality when Rhys splashed a bucket of cold water on him.
—So, you finally wake up. You had me worried…