"Screw this!"
In the Soul Plain, Yun repeatedly slammed the seed on the ground. When that didn't work, he started biting. He alternated between those two actions whilst shouting like a madman. The option to use his own vital essence did occur to him, but he didn't know how.
After hours of effort, only a tiny split had formed on the surface of the seed.
"Don't stop. Never stop. When you do, it'll really all be over."
Unbeknownst to Yun, the crimson clouds returned. All he heard was the rumbling. Miri must have had enough time to recover.
Boom!
A red streak struck the seed directly in the split that had formed.
Overcome with joy and confusion, Yun ignored the intense heat burning his chest. He lowered his arms and watched the seed crackle with red essence. Something in the seed had begun to stir, and it was now burning with mild heat.
"… Actually, it's getting hot. Really damn hot!"
Yun's skin began to tingle, accompanied by a euphoric sensation in his muscles. His soul was being reforged by the flame of vitality while the servant's body was being rebuilt. He felt a great sense of desire overwhelm him. Desire with no aim in particular, just direction. The desire ingrained in every vital creature.
Yun fell to his knees with a moan.
He suddenly heard the voice of the Curse, but instead of its usual happy tone, it sounded… listless?
[Your soul burns with overwhelming vitality.]
"Ah… ha… ha…"
Yun let out an involuntary laugh. Compared to when his celestial core formed, this felt amazing!
The Curse didn't stop there…
[The chrysalis is cracking open…]
Yun's eyes widened.
What does that mean? What is happening to me?
The seed left his palm and began to float up into the empty sky. Enveloped in a bright golden light, it lit up the Soul Plain like an explosive sunrise. A new star had birthed itself, permanently banishing the nothingness within Yun's soul.
[You have awakened a vital core.]
But before Yun could fully take in the view, the force of the explosion knocked him into darkness. His disembodied voice chimed once more before dissolving away suddenly.
[… one of your Traits is ready to evolve.]
***
When Yun woke up, he was greeted by the dark and embraced by the cold once more.
Hours had passed since the forced awakening initially failed, and even more after the sun set, allowing Miri to recover her essence and send one last bolt of vital essence to Yun's soul.
He wanted to immediately summon his fragments to check his status, but something else caught his eye.
Firstly, they were no longer in front of the massive gate — they had moved to a cave. Secondly, despite the frosty darkness, no one had bothered to start a fire.
Oh, yeah. I'm also upside down!
Yun was restrained to the cave wall. He didn't know how, probably something similar to Virtue Dion's seals. His wrists were pinned above his head, the stone digging into his back. The supply pack was gone. Haska's cloak was gone. All he had on were the servant's rags.
His mouth tasted like copper and something else. Vital essence. Like he'd swallowed lightning and it was still buzzing in his teeth.
He turned his head, blinking against the dark.
Miri stood at the mouth of the cave, staring into the darkness with her hand resting on the broadsword's pommel. Yun also felt someone's gaze on him, but it wasn't Miri. There was someone else in the cave with them.
Scruffy crouched near the cave wall, knees drawn up, arms wrapped around them. Yun's eyes met the blank stare directly. Something about him felt… off.
"Finally awake, I see," said Scruffy.
The words left his mouth unhurriedly, which made Yun's stomach drop.
That's not Scruffy anymore, is it? What the hell is happening?
Yun's gaze snapped to the cave mouth. "Lady Miri, what's going on?"
Miri kept her back turned to Yun, but no response came. Yun moved to gesture to Scruffy, but he remained still.
"Miri. Explain yourself."
Scruffy's head tilted. "Don't bother her right now, child. The girl has much to think about."
Scruffy, or rather, the entity inhabiting his body stood up. "See, while you had retreated to your soul, we had a very productive chat."
Yun's pulse quickened. He tried to keep his voice steady.
"Who are you?"
The weathered face cracked a benevolent smile. "Hmm…" It held its chin as if absorbed in deep thought. "I've held many names, but kept none."
The entity shrugged.
"I'm sorry that I can't give you a better answer. Truly."
The cave grew quiet while Yun and the entity stared each other down. It held its hands behind its back with a kind expression. What truly made Yun's skin crawl was how warm the entity felt. There wasn't any hint of malice hidden behind his altruistic façade.
Its eyes, though, housed an unimaginably vast emptiness. A lightless void.
Miri finally turned and faced Yun. Her expression was rather stern, but characteristically calm.
Uh oh. I don't think I want to hear what she's about to say.
The subtle gleam in her eyes screamed defeat with a hint of something approaching fear… or was it dread? But it wasn't aimed at the entity. The answer to whatever caused that look in Miri — who had only shown Yun composure thus far — lay in the conversation they had while Yun was still in the Soul Plain.
"Listen… uh… servant boy," she paused a bit and chuckled helplessly. "I just realized we never officially introduced each other."
She sighed. Yun decided to cut her short before she had the chance to continue.
"I've awakened my vital core. You helped me achieve that, Lady Miri. We can open the gate!"
With her vital essence restored, Miri could easily overpower the entity within Scruffy. As ancient and strange as it may be, Yun suspected that it was still dependent on the vessel's ability, and Scruffy was still a dormant Mortal.
All Miri had to do was free Yun, and they would be on their way to the Falling Sky Temple, and finally put an end to the First Vision.
It was all so close!
But just then, something clicked in Yun. Wait, vessel's ability…?
"There are events taking place far beyond the scope of the Mortal Realm, let alone the selfish wishes of a mere mortal like me," said Miri.
She cradled her broadsword's pommel, like she was trying to extract all the comfort it could give her.
So it was true. Miri had betrayed Yun.
Meanwhile, Yun wasn't really paying attention. He was still trying to work out his realization from earlier.
Until Miri said two words that snapped him out of it.
"I'm sorry."
Yun froze.
I'm sorry. That damn phrase.
He often heard it from Mother, but there was one unpleasant instance that had seared itself into his mind. From none other than Sister.
After surviving the First Vision and becoming a Spark, Yun's sister returned to their home in the Hollows once. And it was to announce that she was never returning, courtesy of the Morrigan Clan.
Due to Mother's absence, it basically meant that Yun was alone in the world. He had no choice but to grow up quickly and fend for himself.
And the last words left to her little brother were, of course, "I'm sorry."
Now, he too was undergoing the First Vision. How would she react if he somehow survived? Yun shuddered to think how he would react the next time they saw each other.
He glared at Miri, desperately trying to contain the venom building up in his chest. It was all for naught; his cup overflowed, and spilled over.
"Is this a joke?"