The room was quiet.
No voices, only the wind brushing against the slightly ajar wooden window.
Then, suddenly
'Yes.'
The same voice as before.
'It is me, Nirael.'
Arthur pulled back, a slight frown forming on his brow.
"I thought I couldn't see any of you... at least not yet."
'Yes. Not all of us,' her voice echoed softly in his mind. 'But you can still summon me or Seraphiel to support you once a day.'
"What do you mean?" Arthur rested his right hand beneath his chin. "I can choose one of you to talk to each day? Or is it just one conversation, and then I have to wait until tomorrow?"
'No. You may choose either me or Seraphiel for the entire day. Then, at the same time tomorrow, you may call the other. But you cannot summon the same one two days in a row.'
"I see..."
Arthur leaned back against the window, gazing at the quiet street outside.
"For now, it's only you or Seraphiel I can speak to?"
'Yes. You remember the moment we faded, don't you?' Nirael said gently. 'We, the Councils, had already decided which two of us would accompany you early on. At the very end, we placed our sigils upon your hands, our divine mark, so we could still guide you, even from afar.'
"I see."
Arthur opened the window a little more, letting the wind kiss his skin. It pushed gently at his tied grey hair.
"So then… why you, Nirael? Why are you the first to appear?"
"We've discussed things that might not only help you face the Celestials, but also help the world as a whole," Nirael explained.
"Which is?" Arthur asked.
The room fell silent for a moment. Then her voice echoed again inside his mind.
'You, Arthur. The world needs you. More of you, to be exact.'
Arthur turned back toward the room, his expression tightening with confusion. "More of… me? What do you mean?"
'We do not know why you are special. The memories we recovered from you only show moments where we appeared incompetent in your eyes. And honestly, I see it too. There must be a reason we did not help. Yes, we were weak. But even the smallest strength matters when facing the Celestials.'
"Wait... from me?"
'Yes. We are sorry, Arthur. Before we summoned you to meet us, we tried to gather more information. About everything. Why we are here. Who you are. Why we exist at all.'
There was a pause.
'So we accessed your memories. I know we did it without your knowledge. On behalf of the Council, I apologize.'
Arthur sighed. He could feel the weight behind her words. He could almost see her bowing.
"It's fine. I don't mind."
'Thank you, Arthur. You are every bit as kind as we believed.'
"Yeah yeah… so, about the discussions?"
'Yes. From your memories, one of the reasons we won the battle but lost the war was because only part of the world joined the fight. We are already excluding the pawns the Celestials raised as their army. And with that, we came to one conclusion.'
Arthur raised an eyebrow.
'We need more allies.'
'With that comes the reason why we need more of you,' Nirael said gently, her voice threading through his thoughts.
'This world we call Earth is far too vast for the number of people who inhabit it. In the last war, we never used the full extent of its power. Yes, many allied together to fight, but the Celestials had already corrupted millions… and killed even more to weaken us.
We believe that this time' her voice slowed, almost hesitant 'we take the first step.'
Arthur furrowed his brow. "So you're saying… we need to recruit people earlier than before. Using more versions of me?"
'Yes, Arthur… yes,' she replied, her tone filled with something between hope and urgency.
He stood still, the weight of her words settling in like dust after a storm. "How do we do that?"
Suddenly, a soft light flickered in front of his eyes. He blinked, and a message formed in the air, crisp and unreal.
[Would you like to create an avatar?]
[Yes] [No]
Arthur stepped back instinctively, his hand moving toward his hip as if to draw a sword that wasn't there. His eyes narrowed at the glowing message in front of him.
"Is this your doing, Nirael?"
'Yes, Arthur,' she answered calmly, her voice weaving through his thoughts like silk. 'Not only did we discuss our plans, we also created a guide, something you can access easily when needed.'
He stared at the message, then glanced around the room.
'Try it,' Nirael encouraged. 'Select it with your mind.'
Arthur hesitated. "How? Do I touch it?" He hovered his hand over the floating words, unsure.
'That works,' she said with a hint of amusement, 'but to avoid drawing attention, try responding in your thoughts. We can speak that way too, so you won't need to raise your voice in public.'
Arthur lowered his hand slowly, his eyes locked on the glowing [Yes] as his thoughts began to focus.
'Yes.'
Arthur blinked, then suddenly found himself standing in a white room. There was nothing around him. Just an endless stretch of emptiness… and a figure standing right in front of him.
It was himself.
But different.
The version in front of him was bare-chested, untouched by battle. No scars across his chest, arms, or thighs. Face is also clean of one. He stepped around it, even checking the back, smooth. Clean. Not a mark in sight.
'What do you think?' came a familiar voice.
A veiled figure stood behind Arthur. White hair flowed gently around her, Nirael.
Arthur glanced at her, then at the untouched version of himself. "Uncanny."
'I tried my best to recreate how you looked before you were reborn,' Nirael said gently. She walked toward the clone and brushed a hand against its cheek. 'You can change the body however you like. The face, hair, height… even race, eventually.'
"Even race? Huh." Arthur circled the clone again, studying it with a thoughtful eye. "I can only make one of these, right?"
'Unfortunately, yes,' she replied. 'With your current ability, one is the limit. And even then, it won't be very strong at the start. You're not yet powerful enough.'
"I see."
As he faced the copy, something shimmered in front of him, new options, hovering midair like floating text:
[Name]
[Age]
[Gender]
[Race]
"I can even change the gender?" Arthur raised a brow.
'If you wish to,' Nirael nodded.
He rubbed his chin, considering it. "Nah. Keep everything default for now. Maybe a bit younger. I'll call him Alex."
The options updated.
[Name: Alex]
[Age: 23]
[Gender: Male]
[Race: Human]
'You can shape the looks however you imagine,' Nirael said, her voice soft. 'Try it. Think, dark hair, taller build, maybe even scars if you want.'
Arthur stood still and focused. One by one, the features of the clone shifted. Slowly, it became something familiar, yet distinctly new.
When he was done, Nirael tilted her head with a faint smile. 'Are you satisfied, dear Arthur?'
"I am," he said with a nod.
'A great decision. He looks majestic, like you, but still, entirely his own,' she said, stepping back. 'Then go ahead. Confirm it. And you can try summoning him.'
A final prompt appeared before him.
[Confirm?]
'Yes.'
And just like that, Arthur was back in his room.
'Are you ready, Arthur?' Nirael's voice echoed gently in his mind.
"Uh huh."
'Great. Try to summon the avatar using your imagination and a word. Like a wish, or an order. You can say it out loud or in your mind. Just make sure you picture the avatar clearly, the hair, the face, the build. Everything. It's easy now since you only have one. But in the future, when you have more… well, you wouldn't want to summon the wrong one, would you? Go on, try it.'
Arthur stood still in the middle of the room and closed his eyes. He brought the image to mind, each detail of the figure he had shaped earlier. The face. The hair. The body. Clothes layered cleanly over slender limbs.
"A word," he whispered to himself. 'She said a word... Like an incantation?'
'Yes, Arthur. Like magic. It doesn't need to be long. One word is enough. Real, or made up.'
He repeated the thought.
One word is enough. Real, or made up.
'Vakna.'
The wooden floor beneath him shimmered, then bloomed with a quiet burst of light. A glowing circle expanded outward like ripples in a pond. From the center, a figure rose, as if called from somewhere far beyond.
'Congratulations,' Nirael said softly. 'You've just summoned your first avatar.'
The avatar stood right in front of him.
He was slender, with medium-length hair and a pair of round glasses resting low on his nose. A long-sleeved tunic hugged his frame, layered under a dark vest. He wore simple brown trousers and dark shoes, practical, clean. He stood at about one seventy-five, eyes calm, posture still.
His face mirrored Arthur's own from the past. But there were no scars. No wear. Different eye colour. And young, untouched.
'I forgot to mention, Essence,' Nirael said gently. 'They'll reflect your personality by default, no doubt about that. But I recommend giving them someone else's Essence to help make them more original. You can base it on a magician, a warrior, a merchant... With the right potential, they'll grow in that direction.'
"Yeah, I figured as much." Arthur leaned back slightly, eyes on the avatar. "I planned on him becoming a merchant. That's why I shaped him like this. While I know a thing or two, it's better to use someone who was actually born for it."
He sat down on the edge of the bed, thinking aloud.
"But who?"
'You could use us, Arthur,' Nirael offered softly. 'I think giving him Vahariel's Essence would be a strong start. He's always calm and calculated. While it might not be pure merchant instinct, it's still a powerful foundation. Patience and order are huge advantages in trade, don't you think?'
"You might be right... but how do I use his?" Arthur asked.
Nirael gave a faint smile. A moment later, a message appeared before Arthur's eyes, hovering in the air like floating glass.
It displayed the avatar's basic profile, but now, something new had appeared beneath it.
[Skill Point: 0]
[Essence: None]
[Classes: None]
[Skills: None]
There was a small arrow icon next to [Essence], though the others remained grayed out. Curious, Arthur tapped on it. A list unfolded in front of him, revealing names he knew all too well, starting from Seraphiel, all the way to Nirael.
'This is the menu to customize the avatar,' Nirael explained calmly. 'Once you choose and confirm an essence… you can't undo or redo it.'
Arthur didn't hesitate. He selected Vahariel without a second thought.
A soft glow enveloped the avatar.
Its body pulsed faintly with light, and in that moment, something changed. What had looked like a breathing corpse now stood taller, sharper. The dull eyes turned bright, aware.
'Congratulations,' Nirael said. 'The avatar is now usable. From this point forward, he will act as you wish, but with a will of his own. He can think, speak, and choose independently. However, every decision he makes will still align with your core beliefs. You don't have to fear him straying.'
'He is you,' she added, 'but shaped differently.'
"Try checking your avatar's status, Arthur," Nirael said.
Arthur nodded and focused. A familiar shimmer appeared before his eyes.
[Avatar Status]
[Level: 1]
[Skill Points: 0]
[Essence: Vahariel (U)]
[Classes: None]
[Skills:
- Speech (C)
- Fast Learner (A)
- Memory (B)
- Mental Fortitude (S)
- Appraisal (S) ]
'Neat, right?' Nirael sounded proud. 'As you can see, the [SP] is still at zero, same with the [Classes]. The letters next to the skills indicate their level. S is the highest, F is the lowest. As a bonus, you can take any of your avatar's skills and make them your own. You get to choose one every ten levels your avatar gains. Their skills can also evolve over time as they grow.'
Arthur blinked at the panel. "This is insane…"
'You can check your own status too, if you like. It's all part of the system we built.'
Without hesitation, Arthur brought up his own panel.
[Name: Arthur Vargris]
[Age: 13 (33)]
[Race: Human]
[Essence: [REDACTED]]
[Classes:
- Hero (U)
- Regressor (U)]
[Skills:
- Appraisal (S)
- Mental Fortitude (S)
- Archery (D)
- Swordsmanship (D)
- Speech (F) ]
His eyes stopped.
He frowned.
"[REDACTED]? Wh… what does that mean?"
There was a pause. Nirael's voice softened.
'That… we don't know.'
Arthur turned his head slightly, confused. "What do you mean, 'you don't know'? Didn't you make this system?"
'We created the structure, yes,' she answered quietly. 'But we didn't invent the skills or the essence that exist in this world. When we first completed the framework… we noticed this. No matter how we tried to identify it, your essence never appeared. It simply doesn't show.'
Silence filled the room. For a moment, even Nirael's voice carried a trace of guilt.
'But don't worry, dear Arthur. You do have an essence. It's simply hidden, for now. Some are born with essence. Others earn it as they grow. Yours… might be beyond our understanding. That's why it cannot be appraised.'
Arthur let out a slow breath. "You're right."
"We'll figure it out as we go."
He stood and stepped closer to the avatar.
"So… what do I do with this?"
'Anything you want. Just give him a task, and he'll do it. Over time, he'll learn, adapt, make his own decisions too.'
Arthur placed a hand on the avatar's shoulder.
"Alright then. Gain information about the world, news, politics, anything useful. Become a merchant. Fund our expenses. Do what you have to. If it's illegal, fine, but don't cross the line. Use your judgment."
Arthur turned around.
"Wait, how do we actually know what he's gathered? Do I have to meet up with him or something?"
'No, Arthur,' Nirael said gently. 'Anything he knows, you'll know. Anything he does, sees, hears… it'll feel like you did it yourself. That's the nature of the bond.'
"Huh. That's... convenient."
He paused again, a little more serious.
"When they die… do they respawn?"
'Yes and no,' Nirael replied, her voice thoughtful. 'You'll lose that avatar, and the total number you can possess will decrease. But after about a month, you'll be able to make another. That cooldown shortens the stronger you get. Still, anything they learned, skills, classes... it's all gone. Only the essence remains.'
"I see..."
Arthur reached for his coin pouch again, pulling it free from his belt.
"Alright. Here. For your journey."
The avatar took the money with a silent nod and turned toward the door.
Arthur watched him go.
Alex... is about to begin his own adven-
"Wait. Stop. It's night. Where the hell do you think you're going?"
The avatar froze mid-step.
Arthur sighed.
"You'll get mugged before you reach the damn gates. Go tomorrow. I don't want to lose you on day one."
The avatar scratched the back of his neck and walked back into the room quietly, like a child being sent back to bed.
"So, uh... do I cancel the summon or what?" Arthur asked, looking over his shoulder.
'Yes, Arthur. Just cancel it. Oh, and for your information: you can summon any of your avatars from a distance, once per day. You can also switch position with them once per day.'
Arthur raised a brow. "That's actually pretty useful."
He stretched.
"I'm going to sleep, then. I'll let you go in the morning."
He gave a lazy flick of his fingers.
"Cancel summon."
The avatar faded out instantly, like dust in the wind.
Arthur changed into a fresh tunic and dropped into bed, letting the weight of the day finally settle over him.
'Good night, dear Arthur.'
"Night, Nirael."
Nirael smiled, though her voice did not return.
Alex's journey would have to wait. For now... it was time to rest.