Leo continued with his lecture, explaining the secondary origin of Cryptids to Desmond.
"Most of the time when someone loses their sanity, they'll simply be transported to a specialized hospital. However, the process of losing sanity for a Reveur is much more dangerous as they're at risk of Blighting. These Cryptids are typically much stronger than those born from Accumulation."
Desmond slowly nodded a few times before asking,
"What exactly is Blight? I mean, I know it turns the Reveur into a Cryptid, but what's the science behind it?"
Leo went silent, momentarily weighing which explanation he'd give him and how to even word it.
"That depends on your beliefs."
He cocked an eyebrow.
"How do you mean?"
"Well, those who follow Animas and worship the Origin of Doubt believe that doubt itself is a metaphysical plague that corrupts the minds of Reveurs. That's why the secondary origin of Cryptids is classified as Doubt Blighted, or just Blighted for short."
Desmond thought for a moment before questioning,
"And what do you believe?"
Leo was a bit surprised to hear his own belief be questioned.
Pleasantly surprised, perhaps.
He hadn't had the chance to give his input on the matter.
"I'm not the religious type, so I think it's something more… psychological. The Eidcore behaves in strange ways when it comes to emotions."
Leo went silent for just a moment, recalling a regretfully familiar example.
"One can even sacrifice their own emotions to gain power. So what if someone completely lost them all? All emotion gone and eaten away until only true indifference remained? That's what I think causes Reveurs to turn."
Desmond nodded, accepting the reasonable explanation.
"A good example of Cryptids born from a Blighted Reveur is the Llorona. Find an entry on her."
After some scanning, Desmond had found the corresponding entry.
Leo nudged to the book.
"Go ahead and read me the cause of Blight. I can't really remember myself."
Desmond looked back to the pages, silently reading for a few moments before recapping.
"A few hundred years ago, a Reveur from Ironclaw had lost both her children from a Cryptid break-in. Some years down the line she Blighted into Llorona."
Leo hummed in thought, nodding his head.
"And as of her current status?"
Desmond looked back down.
"Oh, uhm… Yet to be euthanized."
Leo smiled.
"That's a good first mission I can drag you on. What's her rank?"
"Cthul."
Leo nearly choked on his own spit as he quickly adjusted himself, sitting up straight.
Desmond observed his uneasy appearance.
"Is that bad…? What even is a Cthul?"
"Yes, very bad. And I guess that gives me a good segway to the classification system on Cryptids."
Digging into the pile of books, he tossed one to Desmond.
"Anything on rank or type classification will be in there. Let's start with ranks."
Desmond opened the book and pulled a piece of paper near, taking his pencil and readying to take notes.
"Most nations, including Augustine, use the basic ranking system of five. From weakest to strongest, it goes: Aezer, Rhan, Cthul, Kharu, and finally Yog."
Leo put a finger up with each rank named.
As Desmond wrote, he would occasionally look up to see his gestures.
"Each of these names are based on the Eldritches from Seraphis Mythology."
Desmond promptly raised his hand, causing Leo to stop and wait for him to speak.
"How are these ranks decided?"
"Good question. Usually it's the Empress and her Seraphim who determine this. I'm not too sure how exactly they gauge it, but I guess they wouldn't be the strongest Reveurs on Terra if they didn't have good judgement."
Desmond seemed a bit shocked for a moment before collecting himself.
"Wait, the Empress? You mean you've actually talked to her before!?"
Leo quickly shook his head in dismissal.
"No, no! I've never even seen her Seraphim. King Henrik receives her reports. They're sent down here afterwards."
The explanation that left his tongue began to brew a curiosity within.
' Why exactly do the reports go through Henrik first? Would it not be easier to just bring them straight here? Sounds like an easy way to misplace them. Or… an easy way to hide them. '
He came back to the world as he realized Desmond was staring at him.
"Sorry, what?"
"I was just asking if that was all I needed to know. On the rankings, that is."
Leo thought for a second before responding,
"Yeah, sure. That'll do for now. Next up is type classification. You can forget the book, I got it from here."
Desmond shut the book and placed it to the side.
"The first type is Carnate. Anything bestial in form is considered a Carnate. The Dire Wolves mentioned earlier are a good example of this type."
"The second type is Vestige. These are humanoid entities, often stronger than Carnates and disturbingly intelligent. Most Blighted Reveurs turn into these. Llorona would be considered a Vestige type."
"The third type is Relic. These come in the form of physical objects. Like a book, a gun, or even a building. Despite having no sentience or knowledge we know of, they tend to end up in the most inconvenient places. It's as if fate bends to their will, if they even have one."
"The fourth and final type is Aberrant. You can consider this the 'none of the above' type. I haven't encountered one, but I heard they can come in the form of plagues or even lags in time itself."
Desmond hurried his scribbling, trying to finish up so he wouldn't keep Leo waiting.
After a moment, he set his pencil down and massaged his palm with a thumb.
Leo leaned over the table and grabbed Desmond's notes out of curiosity.
He stared at the papers for a minute.
` What the actual hell is this supposed to convey? '
He slowly looked back up to Desmond. A disappointed, almost pitiful expression painted across his face.
"That is most definitely handwriting."
He slid the notes back to Desmond.
"I guess it's fine as long as you can read it."
…
"You can read that, right?"
Desmond shuttered in shocked offense before stuttering out,
"Of course I can!"
He cleared his throat, still recovering from the blows.
"So what's next?"
Leo thought for a moment.
"We could ask Caspian what he wants me to teach you next, but we wouldn't want to bother our oh-so busy Grand Reveur, would we?"
Desmond quickly shook his head.
"No we wouldn't!"
Leo returned his enthusiasm with a smirk.
"Right. In the meantime, let's do some sparring."