I brushed off the dust, my pupils trembling as I registered his words.
Two… Thousand?
They were hotter than lava and with properties of weakening strong enough to make me completely helpless with just one touch…
"Thank you, Lucien." Vanitas' voice softened. "I tried everything in my power every day for the last seven years but silently accepted I'd never get out…" His voice lowered, "I owe you, I really do…"
". . ." I couldn't focus on his words.
My eyes involuntarily twitched, staring at the wrist, the grey cuffs revealed. Can I even call it a wrist? It was a thin piece of white wrist bones, half the mass of his forearm, hardly connecting to his hand as it hung loosely from it like a long candle melting from the center.
Noticing my still blank face, he followed my gaze towards the cuffs and chuckled, "That surprised you, huh? Did my flesh on sticks figure fool you that much?" He said through a teasing smile.
To my utter bewilderment, the guy doesn't give a fuck about his arms.
They bled, recently melted flesh sticking to the cracked bones.
BLEGUHH!!
I couldn't hold back vomit as my stomach curled with indescribable discomfort. All the gory shit I had seen up to now hit me at once.
He finally noticed my coughs and pants, his face contorting in worry, "Lucien! What's wrong?"
Warmth surged inside my body as I looked up; a blurred vision of Vanitas's tall figure exuding bright purple lightning dominated my vision as he gently placed a hand on my chest.
The discomfort vanished almost instantly. Vanitas's wounds on the arms glowed, new flesh and bone matter taking form blindingly fast.
After just three seconds, his wrists looked perfectly fine.
His muscles also started to get fuller, still lean but more buffed, like a sponge suddenly soaked in a lot of water; his vitality had increased considerably.
"...What even is this?" I had to ask.
"It's my way of using Arcana to heal and buff stats. I am pretty good at it." He said with a sly smile.
As a healer who was always the MVP in games, I understood these terms. I was satisfied with his vague answer; after all, no one should reveal their cards to just a random stranger.
"My arcana arts and signature ability are paradoxical; I could heal from being unable to heal in a sorta way." I froze, taking back that thought.
My mouth twitched, "WHAT?"
"Like, now I had zero Arcana in my nerves, and that pushed Arcana to heal my Arcana so that I could fill my nerves, then use that to heal myself." He said with a shrug.
"..."
Am I retarded?
"I am not good at explaining." He rubbed the back of his, "But, think of it like a water cycle. Damage to me is like health's other side. So being damaged means there are 'clouds'.
If I have the desire to heal, that damage/cloud will convert into 'rain', filling my 'pond' akin to health. 'Sunlight' here is my desire by the way." He said casually.
"I-I think I get the gist of it…" I said through a widened mouth.
This dude… he's basically immortal, and unkillable, and he becomes more unkillable the more you try to kill him…. And he can carry around two thousand fucking kilograms.
I thought I was special with my Vampire superpowers.
A bitter smile crept on my lips, _he ended up as a slave? In this condition? …What kind of monsters are even outside?
The best part was, most of them will be my enemies. An Arcane-born, a vampire, the last vampire, a prison escapee, and the one who will release all monsters like Vanitas.
…
"How're you so strong?! What is Arcana? Can I learn it too?" I hit him with a barrage of questions, checking his veins properly with [Eye of Sanguine]; they were neon red.
I realised after one look at the bracelet, I couldn't even lift the thing he wore like a bracelet. He was merely a squad captain, and this was the difference between us. What will it be like with someone like Saint William or Vampire Queen? I didn't even want to know.
But now, how Arcana-born races were suffering so much made sense. Humans were strong as hell, too.
His expression changed at my serious, but desperate tone as he nodded lightly.
"Arcana is like the firewood for your life. Everything called living has some amount of it. It's what naturally heals you when you get injured, or what recovers your physical body when you sleep or eat." Vanitas explained patiently.
I rubbed my chin. This was basically life force.
"Humans die when their Arcana depletes." His statement confirmed it. I leaned forward; he still hadn't answered my question.
"You also have a signature ability, right? Do you remember when or how you awakened it?" He asked while tapping his fingers on the table.
"I do have it. But, no idea about when or how." I shrugged.
A deep sigh escaped his lips, "What I said about limited Arcana is only kind of true. Much more of your Arcana hides in the depths of your soul, which is begging for you to release it! Normal creatures won't ever even feel it."
"Huh? How?"
"When you awakened your signature ability, you already went through a similar process. You drank the veil of cataclysm; everyone who awakens one probably has. It was designed to give a stronger will to your Arcane. An ability originating from what you want the most deep down." He smirked.
Then, why hadn't I already drunk the potion that awakened Arcane, too? For someone in my position, it would've been easy to get…
He shook his head as if guessing my thoughts, "These veils are not just drink and get powers. You can explode, turn into an Oni, or worse, damage your arcanerves. It requires a lot of training, and when younger, you can only choose either a signature ability or arcana pool."
His lips parted slightly, "Though, I only know how it works for humans. Vampires are completely different. Their Arcane pool is massive and infinite through recycling. Veils, their effects, and side-effects probably are very different."
From what I know, Alya isn't one either, or she would be crazy strong. This was a big problem. I clearly need someone to guide me in every step.
"If you have no other questions, let's leave?" He stood up.
…I have even more questions than what we started on!
"Just two more!!"
Vanitas gave a long side glance before nodding with a tired sigh, "Go on."
"How to get these potions? How to use Arcane like you, like, can we use it to make flame storms or wind blades? Can you teach us?"
"That's three…" His lips twitched before he inhaled deeply, "Buy them from the black market, join an organization, or hunt the Onis, herbs, etc., you need for the certain veil yourself."
"You need to manipulate arcane energy in specific ways through your arcanerves perfectly, different for every element, and then learn to control it well enough for the element not to just destroy in your body. My personal method was to just buy spells, modify them to my liking, rather than experimenting on my own through theory." He said it in one breath.
I nodded repeatedly, taking mental notes. I need a lot of money!
All of a sudden, his voice dimmed, "I am grateful to you, but I can't be. I have something I have to do." His grey pupils sharpened. From the looks of it, that something is what pushed him to try escaping every day for the last seven years.
I nodded in understanding, finally getting up.
A creaking sound of a heavy door opening pierced our ears. Someone was at the door!
As I turned, my face changed. No way!