Gyuho's back was slightly hunched as he wiped the soot off of his face, the ashes falling down onto the pink Hawaiian shirt underneath his open suit jacket. He pointed his canine eyes at Bie, before speaking up in a whisper when he was no longer distracted.
"Hey. Name's Gyuho, you looked pretty cool out there. Congrats." He aimed his head to his front as he finished talking, seemingly having spoken his piece. Bie didn't mind the abruptness though, as he had become accustomed to more gruff mannerisms during his stay with Amitha. No, the weird one was Wanxi, who had broken away from her meditation and occasionally snuck glances at him as the green Guide spoke to them.
"...the first-place winner may pick three rewards, the second placer two, and you, Gyuho, receive one. We're going to have to ramp up your training..." While she began ranting at the boy who was obviously ignoring her, the surroundings became hushed as Atiche made his way onto the stage, surprising Gyuho's nagging teacher as she spine erected in a straight line.
"You do not have to be so shocked, miss Tali. I would like to request that I would be the one to supply Bie with his rewards, if you do not mind." The swoops of burnished brass hair that curved towards his serene smile made the mood tense instead, of the calm way he held himself. Tali nodded quickly, while Atiche took Bie's hand and stepped directly out of the pavilion, reappearing in one of the many halls of Caderia's Cathedral.
"I hope you had fun?" Atiche's wide eyes studied Bie's satisfied expression, inwardly pumping his arm at his quick thinking in involving him in the tournament. He was looking for an excuse to give Bie some of the things he felt the boy lacked, and his victory had given him just the reason he needed. He held up three fingers as Bie nodded, while they proceeded down the hall.
"That is good, indeed. So, you have three things that you must choose...or, since you do not know much, I can choose them for you."
"I got what I wanted, so you're free to pick mister Atiche." Bie didn't spare much thought as he answered, as it was true that he generally had no idea what it was he needed. He observed the carved eyes on the walls while Atiche clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze quickening.
"Excellent. I will help you absorb Sacham's Fingers, a Trace of Tam, and I ask you to pick from whatever potion sticks out to you." He stopped and knocked against the wall as a passageway revealed itself, opening itself into what appeared to be a storage room. Atiche pulled out a box that was had multiple chains on it, a vial where a black block blinked a pair of red irises and similarly black sclera, and twelve bottles that Bie could swear where peeking at him.
The chains heaved before falling off the box, and Atiche removed a placid hand that only had the index, the middle, and the ring finger affixed to it. Waving one of his gloved hands over the fingers, they promptly severed off and dropped into his waiting hand.
"Please sit down. I will inject the Trace of Tam first, which will allow you to receive Sacham's Fingers properly." Bie followed his earnest request and crossed his legs together, his back facing Atiche as the young man removed the black block as it squirmed in his grip.
Atiche then let his hands flash as hundreds of signs were made in a single second, his movements an imperceptible blur that seemed to distort time itself. It would've caused a sonic boom if it were not for the silence that hung over his hands, as the faint outline of a quaint silver crown shimmered on his head.
The block stopped resisting, though a mouth that made up half of its body opened its jaws as Atiche pushed it into Bie's back, blackened blood staining the floor as the Trace of Tam dissolved into his blood. If Bie was focusing on his Inner World, he would've noticed that the Bridge of the Smile of the Mountain seemed to cavort in joy, cheerfully clacking its teeth together as a dark energy entwined itself with both his body and soul.
His ligaments hardened considerably as they became more flexible. His body had overflown from the confines of the F realm, forcibly expanding his potential points even though he hadn't broken through to the Wondering Ladder.
The flesh recovered as a black scrawl of words appeared on the outside of his similarly black heart. It was the beginning of the formation of the Ink Heart, the organ that would coordinate his Ink expenditure and control to be able to learn magic and techniques. The next thing Bie would need to establish it were Sacham's Fingers due to it's affinity with the undead, which Atiche had already prepared.
"Please eat this, it'll be good for you." A white glove emerged from his blind spot, carrying the pale and blackening fingers. Bie's body seemed to lean forward as the fingers were brought to his face, and the itch in the back of his head began rebelling with a renewed fervor against his mental resistance, almost as if it was trying to indicate that what lay before him was most certainly good stuff.
Bie did not stand on ceremony and picked it up before placing it in his mouth. From there, the fingers escaped the confines of their solid form and became sparkling streams that rushed through his veins, before the energy curled around his heart and intensified the black scrawls that were engraving themselves on the muscle. His soul reached out and formed a direct connection with the scrawls, which then subsequently appeared on the well that held Bie's Ink in his Inner World.
There was one last ingredient required for the Ink Heart to be completed, which was the introduction and the baptizing of a Component in the new host's Sconce. Atiche brought the bottles before Bie before explaining to him what a Component was, making sure he understood exactly what he was choosing.
"Components are, as the name suggests, the required catalyst for magic or similar techniques. They rest inside your Inner World and replenish over time, and may sometimes gain sentience as a result of being near your soul. Please choose one that seems like it pertains to you, as it will be your focal point for some time, until you can work on and contain others."
In front of him laid the twelve bottles, each containing either elements or what seemed to be vague concepts that interchanged as they flowed within the confines of the bottle. His eyes were drawn by the grey bottle that had orbs of light that flickered in and out of existence, noticing their similarity with the orbs in the bridge of the Smile of the Mountain.
His digits turned the cap before the Component was sucked in by the imprint of the smile that suddenly showed up behind him, tendrils of Ink seeping past the constraints of his body pushing the Component towards his body.
The Component was quickly absorbed and appeared in his Inner World, making its way to the light band with the fireplace as the center before touching a healing sign without even having to be coerced by Atiche. A serene feeling arose from it as it melded with Bie's Inner World, becoming a gaseous cluster of orbs that made its way into the sky and dispersed.
And now, small speckles of spherical lights shimmered in the previously empty black atmosphere.