Cenric had left to get them some hot drinks, while Clara began blitzing through the basics of Coherency to an attentive, yet frustrated Elyas.
"I'll preface by saying that the origins of the Progenitors and their history are unknown, but when the Celestial Realm declared itself to us, they were the first who got graced by the Crimson System and attained Mutated Blood, which for us we call Coherent blood. They were also the human pioneers to the Celestial Realm, and the founders of the Terranian Empire."
"And the Terranian Empire is our base there?"
Clara nodded.
"A magnificent place. Sometimes I'm conflicted whether to stay in Andromeda City or return to Earth. But of course, I'm not prominent enough to have that choice."
She cleared her throat and continued:
"The blood of the Progenitors had been passed down to either their offspring or their select vessels, but in the early days, they didn't have much of a choice, so they just passed it down to as many willing volunteers as they could to aid them in standing their ground on the other side. One must willfully inject their blood into their vessel, so stealing blood is futile. Every Coherency is unique. And although we are injected with the blood of our bequeathers, that blood remains idle and useless until the first stage of Coherency takes place. The stage at which our own blood and theirs become acquainted or... familiar with each other, so to speak. That is called Imitation. And to achieve Imitation, your blood potency needs to be high enough to be recognised. The Crimson System unveils itself, then, and becomes more interactive. You can view the grades of your Anchors, your Coherency Abilities, your Blood Capacity and other things."
Elyas shook his head in confusion.
"Wait, so... so the blood of my Pops and mine have to at least like... share pleasantries before I become an Imitator?
Clara pondered his interpretation, then laughed.
"Yes. Yes, I guess so."
"And who are we imitating here?"
Clara smirked.
"Simple. We are imitating ourselves. Or to be more precise, our Congruent selves, which brings us to the next level of Coherency, Congruence. That's when our blood and our bequeather's decide to flow in mild congruence with each other instead of a shallow Imitation. Blood becomes more zealous and potent, and our physical capabilities become monstrous. Think of Collin, then multiply that by... a lot."
Elyas scowled at the mention of his name, but quickly composed himself with a shuddering breath.
"What's next?"
"Harmony. When the bequeather's blood and one's own flow in perfect harmony, the Congruent becomes a Harmonic. The Crimson System becomes even more generous and... you know the rest.
"After that, we reach Amalgamation. Your blood and your bequeather's join together as one, and the other perks... well, it gets complicated, so I'll skip over them. But after that, you'd rise to becoming a Severant, which, quite frankly, means you sever your bond with mortality and draw closer to Celestialism. Then-"
The doors swung open, and Cenric returned with a tray, hefting three mugs of hot coffee.
Elyas and Clara jerked to him, almost drooling at the smell.
"Apologies for being late," he said, setting the tray on a nearby table. "A professor was taking his time. So where were you guys?"
Clara grabbed a mug and cradled it close to her chest.
"Severance," she said gratefully. "Honestly, Cenric, you truly are the best!" She sipped and made a delighted sound.
Elyas grabbed his mug less gracefully, muttering, "Yes, yes. What she said."
Letting Clara enjoy her coffee, Cenric decided to take over.
"Ah, Severance. Well, we first came to know what's after that because of one person." Cenric turned to one of the paintings on the wall and gestured to it.
It was a painting of a Gargantuan Rock Beast with an incredibly horrifying face and rocky hands the size of a goddamn town. His head towered above the clouds, and he seemed to be bellowing in rage at a specific small something.
It was incredibly tiny in comparison, but imposingly potent in the painting.
Elyas couldn't discern what it was from its size.
"What is it?" He asked.
Clara and Cenric grinned at it.
"He was one of the human Progenitors, and one of the greatest at that. Bloodhorn."
Elyas's eyes snapped open in recognition.
"Oh, I've heard of him! He and his wife, Kindleheart, right? Aren't they Celestials now?"
Cenric shrugged.
"That's what the rumours say."
"So who won?" Elyas asked, gesturing to the painting.
Clara seemed a little too reverently immersed in the painting when she answered, "Who do you think? Bloodhorn. He was a Severant when he fought Boulderbane, you know?"
Elyas tilted his head.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, Boulderbane was a Numen. A rank above Severance and a rank below Celestialism. Do you even know what kind of monster you have to be for such a feat?"
Elyas took a few seconds to comprehend it all.
'Huh?! And that small-'
"Is it true that he doesn't use weapons?" Elyas asked excitedly.
Cenric nodded. "His bare fists," he said. "They call him Bloodhorn because it is said that when he comes down, the sound of an ominous horn bellows across the skies. Some speculate that it's his Verse."
"Verse?"
Clara set down her mug and nodded.
"Yes. To a select few, the Crimson System gifts a Verse. Something the Coherent recites to... uh... exact themselves? To be honest, I'm not sure what it does because it is quite rare, but one thing is certain, it's incredibly powerful."
Elyas looked down at his bandaged fist, scowled, then said, "And after Numenity, I'm assuming it's Celestialism."
"Correct," Clara said. "And that's it. That's about some of the basics. You'll learn much more when you start attending lectures, so don't worry too much. I mean, do worry about reaching Imitation as soon as possible, but don't worry about being in the dark."
"So Imitation, Congruence, Harmony, Amalgamation, Severance, Numenity, and Celestialsim, got it. And by the way, what do they teach you in lectures?"
Clara chuckled and stood up, preparing to leave.
"Everything," she said as a matter of fact.
"We go to the Celestial Realm so that Earth doesn't succumb and perish. Andromeda and many other cities are safe, yes, but they are only so because we are entrusted to keep them safe. The Titanicans, the Ghouls, the ones in the far south, and don't get me started with horrors in the north, they are all fighting for the same thing. But-"
She paused as if struggling to speak the harsh reality, but then said it anyway:
"But in the end, only one Realm will persevere. Only one will take it all."