"That look on your face... you seem to be looking down on Celestia; however, that Apostle you fought was the weakest of them all, by a fair margin, having been instated recently."

Vale’s mind was at its end trying to cope with all of this information that he just accepted what he heard and half ignored his grudge. But...

"What are Relics, and what exactly are Apostles?"

They held the ’power of the gods!’ but what did that entail?

The reflection of Diligence looked up at the sky, then said:

"Apostles are beings who have made a Contract with a god to borrow their power. This power is expressed by abilities and a Contracted Weapon used to channel and enhance those powers..."

Diligence paused, then looked back at Vale, and questioned:

"You know what Origin is, right?"

Vale nodded slowly.

After he did, the reflection continued:

"When a god’s Origin fades, their power wanes until they become forgotten. And once they become forgotten, their Contracted Weapon falls to the mortal plane and becomes a Relic, serving as the only proof they ever existed."

Diligence chuckled, then said:

"And, Mias got one thing wrong, since he doesn’t know about Contracts. The weapon the Apostle used was not a Relic, but the Contract Weapon of a currently known god. On that note... be wary of the Apostle who will take that fallen one’s place; a Celestia knight named Luke."

’This all... this all seems above my pay grade.’

Why can’t life be simple?

If something’s in front of you, punch it.

Why did everything have to be some interplay of divine entities fighting proxy battles through avatars, and oracles fighting over fate...?

Vale, who was both a proxy avatar of Lust participating in this godly crucible as well as an oracle’s ’instrument,’ didn’t exactly like either.

’Wait...’

"Hey, Diligence... am I not in a similar boat being tied to Lust? Where’s my Contracted Weapon?"

The oracle pointed at Vale.

More specifically...

She pointed at his tattoos.

"You are a special case — as with the other Vices — possessing three. All three currently lay dormant inside of you."

"How do I... wake them up?"

"Pay the price."

Vale tilted his head in confusion, but a moment later, realization struck.

’[???]... that’s it, isn’t it?’

Paying 1000 Aether would unlock his Contracted abilities. At least one of them.

Vale smiled lightly, not having expected to get so many answers to his most burning questions!

Though, he still didn’t exactly know what those abilities/weapons would be.

But, beyond that...

’I’ll keep my eye out for Luke.’

Sadly, a name alone wasn’t too helpful to go off of.

Diligence looked at Vale and smiled.

Vale took a deep breath as he got comfortable...

’Should I ask that now?’

One of the mysteries that’s been on his mind since day one.

"Diligence, I somewhat know what the Corrupted are, but where did they come from?"

The woman in the dainty floral dress’ smile flipped.

"That... that is a mystery even to me."

While that wasn’t the first time she’d claimed to not know something, it was the first time she looked a little dour when saying such a thing.

’So, she truly doesn’t know?’

Wasn’t she essentially Sloth’s minion?

’Does that mean Sloth doesn’t know either?’

That felt impossible...

Either it spawned from nowhere, or the one who’d glean the truth of the matter would be someone outside of Sloth’s clutches.

’The destined hero...?’

After all, Diligence spoke as if this hero could do what he and all the other Vices and Virtues combined could not: win.

"How about the dungeons? Where do they come from? Not just the Vice."

Diligence slowly regrew her pleasant look as she tilted her head to the side.

"I believe you’ve heard of the Nameless King by now, correct?"

"Yes...?"

"That man is a genius inventor. And, in exchange for something not even I am aware of, he created all the Dungeon Cores you see around Pandora. I don’t know the exact mechanism of ’how’ they traveled across dimensions. But, like tiny parasites, they draw themselves toward areas of concentrated Aether based on their Rank, then burrow. Finally, they capture a suitable soul and begin to form."

’That—!’

So that was why dungeons started popping up with more frequency. And it was also why Vale spawned in an area that was relatively peaceful — aside from the initial ambush Sloth cleared out.

’And now that I’ve become Emergent...’

Added with the fact that Akkuron was in the area and the gorge had turned into hell on Pandora with constant slaughter...

’I’ll be seeing a whole bunch of neighbors soon.’

She added without pause:

"That goes for the Vice as well; however, since the Vice Dungeon Cores are home to stronger souls and a vast wealth of power, they need to slowly grow lest they shatter themselves, unlike lower ranked cores."

’That makes...’

Way too much sense!

Vale was expecting some nonsensical answer like it was a trial to prove his worthiness as a Vice.

Vale tilted his head, then asked:

"You said that they travel around the world looking for a good spot, then look for souls... how exactly?"

Why Vale imagined a crystal ball rolling around in a meadow having the time of its life, he highly doubted that to be the case.

"They have a sort of invisibility attribute when they are hostless; and they can fl — fairly quickly. Though the abilities are lost once a host is found. As for the selection... Yes, it calls souls from other worlds."

Before Vale knew it, questions upon questions slid into his mind.

"Speaking of that. What about my body? What is it? And my Champions, Level Beasts, Workers, Warriors... how do they come here, and what are they? And, do the regular Dungeon Masters have a system?"

Diligence chuckled at Vale’s fervent questioning.

"Val, oh how inquisitive you’ve become. Have you finally recognized my grace?"

After a slight pause, knowing Vale wasn’t going to answer, she added:

"Your body... is one crafted in the likeness of you by the Dungeon Core. A sort of puppet. As for the Workers and Warriors... they are puppet bodies as well, but..."

Diligence’s eyes narrowed.

"They are housed by random uncorrupted human souls."