The glowing aura figure—formed from the constellation of Cora's answers—hovered in silence above the Codex. The chamber held its breath. The elemental pedestals pulsed steadily, in sync with her heartbeat.
Then, the Codex's pages rippled unnaturally, as if resisting something.
A new energy spills out—not radiant or shadowed, but something in between. Something… wrong.
The Assistant did not speak. For the first time, it was silent. Watching.
Then, etched in the air above the Codex in a trembling, jagged font, appeared a final question.
"Would you be what should not be, if it meant becoming more?"
The words dd not sound in her ears, but vibrated inside Cora's skull, like a whisper buried beneath every memoy she ever had.
She somehow knew she was not required to answer. That she could turn away. Let the Codex define her as it was meant to.
But if she choose to face it—
The chamber began to warp.
When Cora focused on the question, the Codex responded. The aura figure fractured—its light bended and twisted, eyes formed in the wrong places, arms multiplied and vanished. The very idea of "self" started to peel away.
Then—
Pain.
It wasn't physical. But it was worse.
A psychic intrusion, like someone dragging barbed wire through Cora's mind.
Her head felt like hundreds of tiny needles were stabbing her brain, spiraling deeper with every breath.
Echoes bounced off the inside of her skull, indecipherable phrases repeating:
"You are seen."
"We were before."
"Not real. Not real. You are not real."
She tried to move, but her limbs felt heavy.
She tried to think, but her thoughts folded in on themselves.
Each attempt at logic was drowned in echoes, like trying to speak underwater during a thunderstorm.
"Would you be what should not be?"
"Would you?"
"Would you?"
The question repeated, not aloud but inside her nervous system, drilling into her identity.
"What the fucking hell!" Cora screamed. She never felt this much pain before.
The Codex glowed more violently now—its rings spinning faster than physics should allow. The floating glyphs turned crimson and violet, pulsing in rhythm with her stress.
Then the Assistant finally spoke. But it sounded… wrong. Distorted. Slowed. Like multiple voices were layered.
"You do not have to answer."
"But if you do… you may never be only you again. Know that this will bring both good and bad."
At this moment, Cora saw two options:
1. [REJECT THE FINAL QUESTION] – The pain stops. Everything stills. The original Essence Classification is revealed, and the experience ends.
2. [ACCEPT] – You confirm your desire to become what should not be.
Cora was barely able to comprehend the words that entered her mind, and instinctfully clicked accept. She couldn't think properly, but she just felt that accepting whatever this was would bring more benefits than anything she could image.
The pain peaked—a white-hot explosion of thought collapsed inward.
The Codex screamed, a soundless vibration that shattered the floating rings into splinters of starlight.
Then—stillness.
The aura figure reformed, but now it was warped. No longer beautiful. No longer symmetrical.
It now flickered with tentacles of light, fractal eyes, impossible geometry.
Cora's Essence Classification burned into reality:
ESSENCE CLASSIFICATION: ELDTRITCH BOUND
"You are the answer to a question the world was never meant to ask."
A new glyph appeared behind her—The Mark of the Unformed. NPCs in-game will recognize it. Some will worship, others will hunt.
The Assistant, now steady again, spoke slowly.
"You chose to become more. In doing so, you chose… to be broken beautifully."
"Fucking hell," she groaned out. She felt like she deserved a long nap after what she just went through. "What the fuck even is a eldritch bound, anyway?"
Like the Chamber had heard her her inquiry, the Codex gave a rather helpful description of what an Eldritch Bound was.
The Eldritch Bound are Aetherborn whose souls resonate with incomprehensible entities, forgotten voids, and cosmic truths too vast for mortal minds. Unlike Voidborn, who are paradoxes of existence, the Eldritch Bound are chosen—or cursed—by forces outside the known planes.
They are the echo of something deeper, stranger, and older than the gods.
---
Affinity:
Entropy
Madness / Clarity Duality
Forbidden Knowledge
Dreamborne Reality-Warping
---
Visual Traits:
Skin may shimmer with shifting patterns—like oil on water, always moving.
Eyes glow with galactic fractals, starscapes spiraling in their irises.
Limbs may bend subtly wrong, flicker, or briefly fracture into other dimensions.
Voice occasionally echoes with multiple tones, including whispers in languages not yet spoken.
---
Passive Traits:
Fractured Mind: Immune to fear, charm, and sanity-based debuffs. But prolonged exposure to certain divine zones may trigger "Lucid Fracture"—temporary stat debuffs or hallucinations.
Tentacles of Thought: Certain interactions and spells gain random effects, such as extra damage, healing, corruption, or spawning anomalies.
The Great Silence: Nearby enemies have a small chance to forget their current target or ability, losing track of reality for a moment.
Whispers Between Stars: Can occasionally receive visions—glimpses of hidden quest lines, secrets, or foreshadowed events no one else sees.
---
Gameplay Advantages:
Unlocks hidden zones like the Submerged Cathedral, Hollow Moon, and The Library That Remembers.
Can interact with Eldritch Shrines and Obelisks found scattered through the world—each offering cryptic blessings, mutations, or riddles.
Unique dialogue options when speaking to ancient beings, corrupted NPCs, or during dream-state events.
Gains access to madness-based skill trees: Voidcraft, Unreality, Memory Tethering, Eldritch Binding, etc.
---
Lore Path:
The Eldritch Bound are part of an ancient pact, older than even the Nexus's memory. You are a vessel—and whether you are the key to containing that power… or letting it loose, is your choice.
Some believe the Eldritch Bound were created before the Nexus, fragments of an older reality. Others think they are the Nexus's nightmares, made manifest.
---
NPC Reactions:
Scholars and Arcane Seekers revere you.
Priests, Celestials, and Order-aligned NPCs may fear or try to purge you.
Certain beings may recognize you before you even speak.
Some say the Eldritch Bound wear the mark of the Old One, though none know what it truly means.
Cora blinked. "Huh..."
She wasn't expecting to be compatible for an Eldritch race, but wouldn't knock it. "It sounds pretty good too."
"Okay, so what's next? Now that I got my Essence Classification done, I think I'll start the Pillar of Flesh."