"What exactly are Holy Spirits?"
"Special lifeforms born from the faith, memories, thoughts, and recognition of living beings, coalesced with vast magicules."
Violet explained, "The three spiritual lifeforms... elementals, daemons, and angels... form a rock-paper-scissors dynamic. Elementals counter daemons, daemons counter angels, angels counter elementals."
"But Holy Spirits stand neutral in this network, neither countering nor countered by any of the three."
If elementals, daemons, and angels were points on an equilateral triangle, Holy Spirits were the center... the pinnacle of the human concept.
"The Star Dragon King created the spiritual world first, followed by the material world."
In this sense, spiritual lifeforms predated material concepts.
It was akin to consciousness preceding matter.
"But Heroic Spirits are the opposite."
Their emergence marked the start of matter shaping consciousness.
Human cognition and thoughts birthed their Spiritual Cores, essentially the material world creating Heroic Spirits as spiritual lifeforms.
Yes, Heroic Spirits, not Holy Spirits.
Holy Spirits couldn't be created by humans.
This was the new experience Damien brought to the Cardinal World by analyzing the Nasuverse universe.
Who created Holy Spirits?
Only Damien.
Because he brought Artoria to this world.
"Human fantasies can influence Heroic Spirits..."
"What about Artoria?"
Damien asked, "Will this world's humans negatively affect her?"
Oddly, he thought of certain doujin plots.
Humans adding settings to fictional characters, forcibly turning them into something else.
Since Violet said matter shapes consciousness, wouldn't that mean Heroic Spirits could be limited by mortal perceptions, like in Re:Creators?
"No."
"Heroic Spirits are tied to cognition only at their creation."
This was fundamentally different from the characters in Re:Creators.
"Once a Heroic Spirit manifests, they're a real, independent lifeform, no longer bound by others' thoughts."
So Damien didn't need to worry about Artoria being corrupted by human beliefs.
Not to mention she came from another world.
Even Heroic Spirits born in the Cardinal World were fixed upon manifestation, nearly immutable.
"Wait."
"You mean it's not just Saber?"
"Others who meet the conditions can create new Heroic Spirits through collective faith?"
"Correct."
"Artoria is the origin, the progenitor of all future Heroic Spirits... the King of Holy Spirits."
Her status was akin to the Primordial Daemons, Seraphim, or the Fairy Queen.
But the concept of Heroic Spirits was brought to the Cardinal World by Artoria.
This meant Heroic Spirit summoning was universal.
Anyone with sufficient power could create them.
"Any kind of Heroic Spirit?"
"Theoretically, yes."
"But it requires a certain level of legend, enough collective faith, and vast magicules."
Magicules were the key.
Without enough, even imagining a creator deity would yield a hollow shell.
"And the same legend can produce multiple Heroic Spirits."
Take a nation's hero legend, for example.
That legend could serve as a medium for summoning a Heroic Spirit... the story itself.
"But it's not resurrection."
Violet added, "Summoned Heroic Spirits are created from scratch, unrelated to the original hero."
"Even if one Heroic Spirit exists, you can summon a second, a third."
"They might have similar personalities or appearances."
"Or be entirely different."
"For example, some King Arthurs are male, others female."
When Violet said this, Artoria clearly wanted to interject.
But Violet's emotionless face was too imposing.
"They're less Heroic Spirits and more a clan of Heroic Spirits sharing the same name."
This wouldn't apply to Artoria.
She was unique.
All her possibilities were part of her Knights of the Round Table, under her direct control.
As for other Heroic Spirits...
If they evolved from Heroic Spirit to Holy Spirit, they could consolidate all their legends, becoming truly unique.
"Holy Spirits are the higher form of Heroic Spirits."
"The gap between them is like that between a Demon Lord and a regular monster... an uncrossable chasm."
In summary, Damien introduced a new power system to the Cardinal World, creating a spiritual lifeform rivaling the three ancient races.
"..."
While Damien conversed with Violet, Artoria was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information.
Progenitor of Heroic Spirits, King of Holy Spirits.
"Let me process this."
Artoria was still reeling.
She'd grown stronger, become a king again... the King of Heroic and Holy Spirits.
"No need to force yourself."
Damien patted her shoulder, "Just do what you love."
Artoria was his familliar; she wouldn't go off uniting all Heroic Spirits.
Otherwise, the Cardinal World might birth another True Demon Lord, founding a nation of Heroic and Holy Spirits.
"I understand."
Artoria looked at Damien gratefully, "By the way, Justeaze and Irisviel should receive the Voice of the World's gifts too, right?"
"Justeaze definitely will."
"Irisviel's less certain."
Having grasped Artoria's situation, Damien summoned Justeaze from his Reality Marble.
"Justeaze?"
"Lord Damien!"
Justeaze emerged, bowing before scanning her surroundings.
"This is the new world?"
"Such dense magical energy."
She immediately sensed the Cardinal World's power.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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