The day was finally over.
The cave being on the edge of the purple forest meant it was, rather safe for lands entrenched in death and terror.
To hide his presence, Nero had made it a habit of staying very close to the back of the cave where the wind currents wouldn’t carry his scent. Of course, he was careful to wash away the scent of blood that could still persevere for a long time.
But regardless of what he did, he couldn’t be completely safe.
These were the cursed wastelands teeming with all manner of Abominations after all.
The sky had long since turned dark, and the bioluminescent algae on the walls let out a faint glow that washed over the surrounding dark stones of the cave.
Nestled into his relatively cozy spot, Nero shifted uncomfortably for a few minutes then closed his eyes.
His mind sank into his subconscious as he drifted into the void space of his soul.
There, the Eye of the Divine Will, its Oracle, peered down at him.
They both existed in this infinite, yet null space. A place that was everywhere, but nowhere at the same time.
Nero was silent as he took a moment to organize his thoughts.
Then he sucked in a deep breath,
"Oracle... I need to know everything on the strange energy that lets me transform back into my true self."
The circular rings of the Oracle shifted slightly, their golden runes glowing faintly in the infinite darkness, or lack thereof.
{The energy is called Ein Sof}.
Nero’s brows furrowed as he repeated the unfamiliar term,
"Ein Sof..."
{Ein Sof is the energy that flows through all things with or without the breath of life. It connects the heavens and the earth, existing in the spaces between existence and non-existence. It is infinite. It is boundless. Without beginning nor end}.
Nero remained silent, allowing the Oracle to continue.
{It exudes neither good nor evil. It is not holy, nor is it corrupted. It simply is. It exists as the fundamental essence of the universe, untainted by thought, desire, or will}.
Nero began slowly, staring down at his gnarly hands, "But consuming the flesh of Abominations grant me more of it..."
{Because Ein Sof, in its purest form, no longer exists within the earthly realm}.
The words hung heavy in the emptiness,
{When the Gryghori fell from the heavens, they brought with them knowledge forbidden to mortals and angels alike. They sought to become gods themselves, to command the very fabric of creation. To do this, they turned their eyes toward Ein Sof}.
Nero’s jaw tightened as he listened.
{The Gryghori were not content to simply exist within the flow of Ein Sof. They sought to control it. To bend it to their will. Through divination, sorcery, and forbidden rituals, they attempted to channel this infinite energy for their own purposes}.
The Oracle’s rings rotated slowly, the runes pulsating and shifting into patterns and arrays his mind could make no meaning of.
{In their hubris, they believed they could remain untouched by the effect. But the laws of causality are unbreakable}.
{They became corrupted. Not by the Ein Sof itself, but by the knowledge they gained in their pursuit of it. The secrets they uncovered— the mysteries of the mystic arts, divination, magic, runes, rituals, communion with the dead—these were never meant to be wielded by beings with desire and ambition. The very act of trying to grasp the infinite twisted their souls}.
Nero felt a chill run through him despite the void being neither hot nor cold.
{This corruption bled into the veins of Ein Sof that flowed through the earth and the depths of Hell. Like poison seeping into water, it tainted the energy that sustained all life. The tale of the Gryghori’s fall is not a story of a mere descent from grace. It is the very manifestation of ruin itself}.
Nero was silent as he tried to grasp the magnitude of the Oracle’s words.
’I... I might have just stumbled across something far larger than I am.’
This strange Ein Sof energy seemed rather terrifying.
"So the Ein Sof that exists now..." Nero’s voice trailed off.
{Is corrupted. Yes. The energy that flows through the earth is no longer pure. It carries within it the residue of the ambition of the Fallen, their madness, and their eternal damnation. Every creature born of their union with humanity, every Abomination that walks these tainted lands, every lingering soul that cannot die— they are all sustained by the blemished Ein Sof}.
Nero’s hands clenched into fists.
"And when I consume their flesh, I’m absorbing this corrupted energy."
{The fleshy body of Abominations is saturated with it. When the Heretic devours them, he consumes the very essence of the corruption itself, distilled and concentrated within their mortal coils}.
The Oracle paused,
{However, the Heretic’s transformation is unique. The Divine Will has granted him the ability to refine this corrupted Ein Sof. To filter it, in a sense. What would drive ordinary men to madness and mutation is instead required for balance. The inversion of eternity}.
’The inversion of eternity? What does that mean?’ Nero mused to himself.
"But it is still corrupted," Nero said quietly.
{Yes. No matter how refined, the darkness and evil shall remain. Thus, the transformation of the Heretic is inevitable. As he consumes the corrupted Ein Sof, he absorbs the corruption. The Black Body is his flesh adapting to this reality. It is his body’s way of accepting the truth of his reality}.
Nero stared up at the shifting rings, his mind racing.
"You said Ein Sof is infinite. That mean there’s no limit to how much I can store."
{The energy itself is infinite, but the Heretic’s capacity is not. As a vessel, the Heretic can only hold so much at any given time. However, said capacity is subject to growth. The more corrupted flesh he consumes, the greater his reserves become, but there is always a ceiling. That ceiling will expand as the Heretic grows stronger and absorbs more Seals of Sin}.
"So I maintain my human form with what I’ve consumed for as long as an hour..."
{No. The Pig Demon provided enough expansion of the Heretic’s Ein Sof reserves for approximately ten minutes of sustained transformation. However, this duration will decrease as the Heretic’s corruption deepens. What sustains an hour now may only sustain a few minutes in the future. In return however, the Heretic’s reserves will grow and become more robust}.
Nero grimaced.
"Wonderful," He muttered.
{There is one more thing the Heretic should know}.