Arky focused on the sigil, and soon a runic panel formed before him, golden letters arranging themselves in midair.
— ◈ —
[ — STATUS — ]
Name: Arkys D. Ryla
Age: 518
Titles: [ Ruler of Entropy ] [ Descender ]
Tier: 0 [ Mortal ]
Level: 3 / 10
Essence: 1960 / 3000
Authority: Entropy [ 2% Synced ]
Absolute Form: [ Entropic Genesis (Locked) ]
[ Entropy Fragments: 0 ]
Soulbound: [ Sitri – Die of Probability ] [ Errata – Oblivion's Axis ]
[ Created Skills ]
◆ Silent Domain
◆ Localized Blast
[ QUESTS (Expand) ]
— ◈ —
Nothing much had changed. Still, Arky couldn't quite grasp what this Absolute Form was supposed to be.
Frowning slightly, he focused his attention on it.
A moment later, a new panel unfolded before his eyes.
— ◈ —
[ Entropic Genesis ]
[ Created by: Xai'reth ]
[ Description: Disorder given birth. ]
— ◈ —
'What the fuck?!'
Arky couldn't make sense of anything from that short, half-assed description.
He turned toward the little mascot. "Sitri, explain. What is this Absolute Form?"
Sitri's lips curled into a smug grin. She suddenly pulled out a pair of oversized spectacles she had shamelessly stolen from the winery, sliding them onto her face as if switching into lecture mode.
"Oho? Absolute Form?" she said, shaking her head exaggeratedly. "Tsk, tsk. You really don't know something that basic? Wow. That's kinda sad."
Arky's lips twitched. He reached for her, but she slipped away effortlessly and plopped herself right onto his head.
"Hehe! Nice try, old man. Too slow!" she chimed, settling in comfortably. "Alright, alright. Listen up."
"An Absolute Form is the peak expression of an Authority or elemental power. It's something created by the one who wields that power, after they truly master it. Not something anyone can just stumble into, you know?"
She lifted a finger, as if emphasizing an important point. "Only existences like Archons, or beings like the Shades who hold absolute authority over an element, can create one. Vision holders? Nope. Not happening."
She paused, then continued, her tone a little more serious.
"Entropic Genesis is the Absolute Form Xai'reth created after fully mastering the Authority of Entropy. And yeah, you can make your own someday too."
Sitri glanced sideways at him. "Kinda like that thing you tried to force out during the mental trial. Remember? And then totally failed?"
"I see…" Arky nodded slowly, understanding finally dawning on him.
"To make it clearer," Sitri went on, gazing up at the sky, "The World Tree has an Absolute Form too. It's called Irminsul Rewrite. But it doesn't just do that stuff for fun, you know. That Authority needs an Admin. Only beings directly connected to the heart of the tree can activate it and rewrite events, people, or truths out of history."
She spoke lightly, but the words themselves were heavy. "Everyone recorded in the World Tree forgets. Written records vanish. It's like it never existed. The world just… 'patches' itself to hide the hole."
Then she smiled, glancing at him. "But you're a Descender. You aren't written into the World Tree in the first place. So that kind of trick doesn't work on you."
She adjusted her glasses smugly. "Lucky you, huh?"
"Hmm… hm… then what does Entropic Genesis even do?" Arky asked. He was genuinely curious now.
Sitri puffed her cheeks and shrugged. "Dunno."
"…What?" Arky stared at her.
"I've never actually seen Xai'reth use it," she said, drumming his head lazily. "But he talked about it once. Said he only activated it a single time, and the entire Celestia went crazy. Gods, Shades, all of them personally came hunting him down."
She tilted her head, eyes narrowing slightly. "Somehow, he escaped. And after that, he never used it again."
Arky frowned. "Then what's the point? If I use it, won't I get hunted too?"
Sitri waved her hands quickly. "Not exactly. You're not part of this world, remember? They won't instantly know it was you." She paused, then added seriously, "But they'll definitely feel that something is wrong. So yeah, don't use it in front of anyone. Especially not people still on Celestia's leash."
She stretched her small hands and continued. "And anyway, it's locked for now. You can't even activate it until you reach the Allogene tier and collect enough Entropy Fragments."
"Entropy Fragments?" Arky asked. "How do I get those?"
Sitri yawned, "Easy. You get them by going against Order. Messing with fate. Opposing Celestia and the Heavenly Principles themselves."
She pointed vaguely at his sigil. "Some quests give them. You should check."
Having said her piece, Sitri wriggled slightly, then curled up on his head, eyes closing as she basked in the sunlight.
Arky glanced at the Eye of the Storm drifting through the sky, then shook his head.
He turned away, headed back into the woods, and sat beneath a tree to rest in the shade.
After settling down, he focused on the quest tab.
— ◈ —
[ — QUESTS — ]
1] Shade Quests ( 1 )
2] Archon Quests ( 0 )
3] World Quests ( 0 )
4] Progression Quests ( 1 )
5] Faction Quests ( 2 )
— ◈ —
"Well… that looks awfully familiar," Arky muttered.
"Xai'reth built the whole system using your memories," Sitri said lazily, eyes still shut. "So you wouldn't freak out trying to adjust to Teyvat. He made it look and feel as close to the original as possible, you know?"
Arky nodded in understanding and focused on the Shade Quests. There was only one quest in it for now.
It was probably the main quest Xai'reth had left behind for him.
— ◈ —
[ — SHADE QUESTS — ]
1] Sevenfold Entropy
Given by: Xai'reth
Objective: Use Entropic Genesis on all Seven Gnoses.
Rewards:
???
[ Note from Xai'reth:My successor, I assure you of one thing. If you use it on a Gnosis even once, you will use it again. The rewards are simply worth it.
A small piece of advice, though. The moment you do… run.]
— ◈ —
Arky's eyes widened as he stared at the quest. When he read the small note beneath it, his lips twitched involuntarily.
'Why does he sound like a scammer?' Arky thought.
"Whoa…" Sitri floated from his head, peeking at the quest. Her eyes widened too. "That's insane."
She crossed her arms and huffed. "Xai'reth is basically telling you to commit suicide. Seriously… and here I thought I'd get to enjoy my prime youth a little longer."
Arky rubbed his temple. "If I just ask Venti, I might be able to get his Gnosis. But using it on one won't destroy the thing, right?"
Sitri tilted her head, then shrugged casually. "Mmm… probably not? If it did, the Heavenly Principles might wake up instantly."
She floated back onto his head and flopped down, eyes half-closed. "Hehe… you can't even use Entropic Genesis right now anyway! Check the smaller quests first. Some of the Sigil's functions are locked until you finish the quests, okay?"
Arky clicked his tongue inwardly. 'Damn Xai'reth. He's using the carrot-and-stick trick on me. Did he pick that up straight from my memories?'
The more Arky thought about it, the clearer it became. Xai'reth wasn't forcing him at all.
It was more like saying, 'You want the treasure? Then go earn it.'
And somehow, that made it even more annoying.