Oh Incarni!

"I survived?"

I sat up groggily and accepted the tea from Eravon. It tasted exquisite and refreshed my mind.

I found myself in my old body, now dressed in a plain white tunic and pants.

"Well. You did destroy your body for the second time in a week but you'll live.", Eravon said and helped me up after I put down the cup.

"Find yourself in a familiar place?", he asked. 

I looked around and gasped. I immediately recognized where we were.

A grand hall made of high-quality stone with beautiful gilded arches and carvings, stained glass windows with gilded frames that bathed the interior in a myriad of colors.

Huge pillars decorated with golden vines and birds, a massive domed ceiling of translucent stone and gold that allowed the light of the right intensity to illuminate the grandeur of the place, and massive ornate chandeliers of gold and silver that gave off the same light as the day when the darkness of night prevailed.

An architectural marvel that was the envy of all the kingdoms in the world and a grand display of the power, prestige, and wealth of the High King.

Oh, how I frequented this place as a knight and king.

"The Great Hall of Camelot Castle.", I said in awe.

Eravon nodded, "Quite nostalgic isn't it?"

"Indeed.", I agreed and noticed something that was out of place in this grand hall.

A round tea table laden with a pot and cups along with a platter of sandwiches, chips, cakes, and other snacks.

"Huh. You set a table in the middle of the Great Hall?", I asked.

"I figured you might be mentally tired, so I set up some refreshments with more tea.", Eravon chirped and led me to the table.

I frowned, "But we're in a dream."

Eravon nodded, "Technically you are in a separate realm that is based on your memories that is kind of like a dream."

I asked him, "Are you saying I am in a different place?"

"Your mind is. Your unconscious body is currently being taken to Althea by the Scavengers. The healers are already starting to work their mojo on you.", he explained.

I was surprised, "They started healing me? Does that mean...?"

"Yep. You blacked out a few minutes before the remaining daemons returned to the Tear."

Eravon said and we sat down at the table. He poured me a cup of tea and offered me a sandwich.

When I took a bite from the sandwich, I could feel my mental fatigue slowly disappearing. So this is what Eravon meant by refreshments.

"You managed to kill a D-ranked daemon on your own. Very impressive."

I smiled, and a sense of accomplishment welled in my chest.

I shook my head and dampened that feeling, "But I destroyed my body in the process."

"Well that was to be expected.", Eravon took a bite of his sandwich and leaned back, "You are a beginner E rank after all."

I blinked at him, very confused.

Wait. What?

"Beginner E rank?", I almost choked on my sandwich.

Eravon nodded, "Congratulations on evolving from beginner F rank. That was a massive jump."

"When did that happen?", I asked, still in shock.

"About the time your body awakened Haema.", his eyes widened when he noticed my expression, "Oh my. Don't tell me. Were you underestimating your abilities?"

The look on my face answered for me.

Eravon was suddenly fascinated by the tomato in his sandwich as he held back his laughter. Eventually, a wheeze escaped his mouth and he laughed lightly.

He quickly covered it with a cough, "My apologies."

He gave me a sympathetic smile, "Well. We all have our self-deprecating moments."

Oh, I wish the dome would fall on top of me!

"Anyway!", Eravon's cheerful voice broke me out of my embarrassment.

"Is there anything you would like to know?", he asked as he took a sip from his cup.

I perked up, "Really?"

He nodded, "Why not?"

This is awesome. Perhaps I can learn codes from him. This person taught Merlin and is the greatest warlock in this whole universe.

The only question is. Will he teach me?

"Can you make me stronger?", I asked.

Eravon raised his eyebrows, "How? Only your mind is present here."

"Can you provide me with some Haema codes and mental techniques to improve my ardor control and abilities as a Linker?", I requested.

"Hm.", Eravon thought about my request, "That's not a bad idea."

"But I cannot do it now.", he shook his head.

My hope started to deflate, "Why?"

"Two reasons.", Eravon held up two fingers.

"The first one is that it will take some time for me to find Haema codes that are suitable for the current you."

Okay. That is understandable.

"The second reason.", he pointed behind me. I turned around and noticed that a corner of the Grand Hall was beginning to disintegrate.

"This world is starting to collapse. We will not have time.", He shook his head, "You are quite bad at staying unconscious."

I frowned, "How is that a bad thing?"

"I told you before. We can only meet when you become unconscious during the battle with the daemons.", Eravon reminded me.

Oh yeah. He did mention that the last time.

I frowned, "What is up with that dumb condition?"

Eravon winced, "It's a restriction, after all, I am separating a mind from the body while being in another universe."

I blinked, "Wait. You are not in this universe?"

He winked at me, "I told you. I'm a traveling warlock."

Right. He said that as well. Eravon smiled, "I can provide information with the time we have."

Information. That is crucial. 

So I asked him about something that had been bugging me ever since I received the memories of this world.

"The Incarni. Who are they?"

Eravon tilted his head with amusement, "Don't you already have the information in your brain?"

"I know they are the gods of this world and are associated with the strands but that's all. The Mordred of this world didn't look too much about them.", was my reply.

"I see.", Eravon nodded. He drank some more tea and started speaking.

"Yes. They are gods in this universe."

His blue eyes sparkled and his lip curled into a smile.

"Technically, an Incarnus is the physical manifestation of a strand or sub-strand. For example."

He snapped his fingers and multiple orbs of white light surrounded us. He twirled his finger and the orbs swirled and aggregated together to form a female humanoid form.

"The Incarnus of Lux, the goddess of light is the physical manifestation, or avatar, or incarnation of the the Lux strand with a consciousness."

The humanoid made of light waved its hand at me as Eravon explained. He snapped his finger and the figure scattered into particles of light.

"They are incredibly powerful.", he continued, "They are the apex of ardor beings, in the divine realm of Rank X."

"Like the Crowns?", I asked.

Eravon chuckled, "The Incarni and the Crowns are X-ranked beings but the former is more powerful than the latter."

"Well, except for the High King. The Arthur of this world is the only one on par with the Incarni.", he shrugged.

Whoa. I didn't know my father was this strong. On par with gods? That is bloody impressive.

Would be nice if his behaviour toward his son was better.

Eravon looked at my awed face and smiled. He continued.

"There are two types of Incarni. The major Incarni that are associated with the ten strands like Ignis, Lux, and Chronos, and minor Incarni that are associated with sub-strands like ice, plant, and so on."

"Another thing about the Incarni is that they are immortal."

I blinked, "Immortal? Like you?"

He scoffed, "Well. Not exactly like me. They can be killed."

I frowned, "Really? That doesn't seem quite right."

Eravon rolled his eyes, "Don't get any ideas. Killing an Incarnus requires massive amounts of power. A power which can only be generated by an Incarnus."

My eyes widened in realization, "Oh. So an Incarnus can only be killed by another Incarnus. That does not sound good."

Eravon nodded, "Yep. Things tend to get messy between Incarni, such that some are killed."

"What happens when an Incarnus is killed?"

"They are reborn soon after their death.", the warlock replied, "But the newly reborn Incarnus will not have memories of their previous incarnation."

Eravon continued, "All except the current Incarni, the ones we know are the third or fourth generation. All except for one."

"Who is the exception?", I asked, curious at how an Incarnus stayed alive for so long.

Eravon grabbed another sandwich, "The Incarnus of Lux. She is the only one remaining of the first generation and is the oldest Incarnus."

I whistled, "Now that's a determined lady."

Eravon chuckled as he chewed on the sandwich.

"Indeed Mordred."

"Due to their overwhelming power and other divine stuff, the Incarni are seen as gods and are revered by people."

I raised my eyebrows, "You mean people worship them?"

Eravon shook his head, "The Incarni made it clear that they are not to be worshipped. They are more like the representative or leader of each strand and sub-strand."

"But people need someone to look up to. So different factions are formed around the Incarni. The largest being the Order Of Lux."

"I know them.", information about the Order from the books popped up in my head, "They are a major superpower based in Edith." 

Eravon chuckled, "It's funny how the most well-known faction in Asteris is formed around the Incarnus who is pretty much unknown."

"What do you mean by that?", I cocked my head.

"While everyone knows about the current Incarni, there is little information about the Lux Incarnus.", he replied.

"Even though she is the oldest Incarnus?"

Eravon nodded, "The only thing we know is that the Incarnus is female. Almost every single source of information about her is lost."

He looked wistfully at the dome above us, "It is as if she vanished into thin air. Her followers are still waiting for her return." 

"If you ever see her, say hi to me.", he requested with a smile.

I scoffed, "You're speaking like I will bump into her in the dark."

Eravon shrugged, "Won't hurt to try."

Suddenly the grand hall began to disintegrate at a faster rate around us.

"I'm afraid our time is coming to an end.", Eravon said as he observed the stained glass windows turning into colorful particles.

"Meet you after the next battle. Just don't die.", he said with a sweet smile as if sure that I would black out in the future.

I groaned, "This is going to be painful."

And just like that everything disintegrated around us and I fell into the endless white void with Eravon waving at me from the top with a smile.

"Oh Incarni! I'm starting to hate this routine!"