After pulling the chest off of the shelf, he sat it onto the ground and began opening it. What was revealed as the lid came open was a large effervescent orb that almost looked like it was holding some kind of silver liquid within it. The cloudy fluid inside, swirled slowly within the orb. "What is that?" I questioned. Nightingale looked at me with a cheeky grin. "This my dear Ivan, is a bit of an old school artifact. It was used in the past as a way of measuring an individual's overall power. They aren't really used much nowadays due to the ever rising occupation called Scalers. Scalers actually use the third eye technique that I had helped you open yesterday, it is a widely used practice within the world. However, Scalers are able to use it to a much greater degree of accuracy and detail than the average person. They are able to discern your level of ability when it comes to divine power in addition to life energy which is considered a separate source of strength. Scalers use a numerical system to rank individuals into categories that determine your ranking within the system of power in the world. This is actually where the idea of Champions came from, which are used to represent kingdoms in a more formal capacity as opposed to wars in order to settle disputes. Although that doesn't always solve everything…." Nightingale finished with a rather annoyed look. "So are you planning on using this device to measure my power? I'm kind of confused, this seems like something you would already be capable of." I said while scratching my head. "That is exceptional thinking Ivan." Nightingale responded arrogantly. "However, these devices are capable of doing something that scalers just innately cannot. This device, also called a Divinity orb, is only able to measure your power as a whole. It can't discern between the power of divinity or your own innate life energy. However! This device will actually allow you to link with your patron for a very brief moment, which I believe will allow you to learn something now that you had that rather unpleasant experience." Nightingale then shoved the chest towards me with his foot, sliding it across the ground as if it were a piece of garbage and said, "Go on then, pick it up." His action seemed a bit suspicious, so I squinted my eyes at him and asked, "Why aren't you picking it up?… Is there a reason you don't want to touch it?" Nightingale then squinted his eyes back at me in return and said, "…. You're a rather paranoid boy aren't you? I assure you no harm will come to you from touching this object. The reason I am not personally picking it up is because there is a possibility I could not only draw unwanted attention from undesirable gods, but I could in turn break it leaving you no chance to use it. Remember Ivan, I am a being that is linked directly to the divinity of the gods. As such, my power can be traced by all of them if I use it unwantedly. There's no chance in hell that I am going to link myself with some of those jerks and let them know where I am." "…. Okay so not only will I be able to rank the power of my blessing, but I will also be able to come into contact with my patron god. That's what you're telling me?" I said skeptically. "That's correct. I swear if anything else occurs then I will intervene and take full responsibility. I will even take a blood oath if you so wish." Nightingale said as he held his thumb close to his mouth, ready to bite it. "No no, you don't need to do that. I apologize, I am just being extra careful." I responded as I began stepping towards the orb. Before picking it up, I asked one final question. "By the way, would that blood oath actually mean anything?" I questioned with an eyebrow raised. Nightingale smiled slyly and responded, "Hmph, much more than you know brat."
Before I knew it, I had reached down and picked up the Divinity orb. At first I didn't really feel anything different, but before I could react I had this visceral feeling of something pulling at the palms of my hands. It was as if the Orb was suctioning itself to me as I grabbed hold of it. The orb then began emitting a dark, purple-like haze akin to smoke. Additionally, beneath the shroud of haze the orb began glowing a bright light that was shining through the openings of the smoke substance. When the purple haze began flowing around the orb, that's when it hit me. I felt the purple haze find its way into my lungs, and then my eyes began rolling back into my head as my mind went somewhere else. One moment I was standing in the vault with Nightingale, and then the next I was back in the dark room I had once experienced my death. This time, there were no glowing eyes of flame before me. Instead, the room was pitch black. I was only able to understand where I was due to the familiar sound and feeling of bones crunching beneath my feet. I called out into the darkness, "HEY! I NEED YOU NOW!" There was initially no response, but I began to feel a slight vibration within the mountain of bones I stood upon. Then two purple flames distinctly appeared in the distance just as they did before. His voice rumbled and rattled the bones beneath my feet, "Back again so soon I see… I know what brings you here. But such a trip was simply a waste. For what you seek is already known. You must simply speak with intention, and the words will reach out from your heart. Now, begone from this realm of death, and live on as one who has conquered death. You are one who remains. Begone and speak my NAME!" He roared as my mind was sent through a flurry of darkness. But just before I was sent away from the dark room, I caught a glimpse of the God who had blessed me. In the power of his words, his fiery eyes flashed and revealed his face. The next moment I was back in the vault, standing in front of Nightingale. I was gasping for air, as if I had been submerged in water. "Take a moment to get a hold of yourself, Ivan." Nightingale said as he put a hand on my shoulder. I was trying to catch my breath, but I noticed that the orb I was holding was still reacting, and rather violently at that. Even Nightingale seemed surprised by this. The Orb was shooting out random beams of colored light through the purple haze surrounding it. Then, in a single moment all of the lights and haze began observing back into the orb at an astounding speed. "What is happening!?" I shouted, unable to let go of the orb. "I'm not sure, I have never seen this kind of reaction before!" Responded Nightingale, in a frantic tone. As all of the strange energies emanating from the orb were completely absorbed, the orb then began changing in color into a deep black that was reminiscent of volcanic obsidian. When the orb had completely turned into a reflective black substance, cracks of golden light began forming all around it. Nightingale shouted out, "DAMN!" then reached out and pried the orb out of my hands. But as he grabbed hold of it, it seemed to burn him through his leather gloves as puffs of smoke plumed out around them. He dropped the orb onto the ground and it shattered everywhere across the floor of the vault. All of its pieces went scattering like black glass, and then as they finally rested in place, they all just simply disintegrated into dust. It was like the orb never even existed to begin with. Nightingale stood in place rubbing his burned hands together while shaking his head. "I never expected this to happen, but no matter. We are just going to need to speed things up a bit." He said with a perturbed look on his face. It was only then that I realized he had touched the orb, something he was avoiding from the beginning. "Wait, you don't think touching it for just that short amount of time would have made a difference right?" I questioned. Nightingale took in a deep breath and exhaled in a sigh. "Unfortunately, the burns I just experienced told me everything I needed to know. After you had made contact, another god tried to intervene in order to learn something about you. I'm unsure which god it was based on the reaction of the orb… However, the obsidian color we both just experienced was certainly not something you would see from any lesser god, and they wouldn't have been able to intervene like that to begin with. That tells me it was almost certainly a god of the upper echelon… And that concerns me.