After Barter's Ruler led Null to the Wanderer's Guild, they walked through a majestic building that was three stories tall.
At the reception desk, a lone assistant stood waiting with a smile. As soon as she noticed the ruler alongside Null as they viewed the soul soothing craft.
"See if you can glean a little something from this masterpiece. I personally have used it to unlock my causal power. Who knows, maybe it will help you find something within yourself."
"Alright, but how exactly does it work?"
"Just admire it. It's art," Barter's Ruler took a seat on one of the chairs in the lounge and closed his eyes.
'Is that the freaking ruler of the planet!' The young receptionist was enthusiastically immersing herself in her fantasies as she stood at her desk.
'I wonder who that kid is that he just brought in. Could he be an apprentice of some sorts? That must be why he was brought in to see the Soul Soothing Vase!'
Her mind was racing at the thought of something amazing happening during her shift.
'I wonder what's so soothing about this ordinary vase?'
While the ruler meditated and the receptionist fantasized, Null was staring at the precious display item.
It was just an ordinary piece of pottery with no overt qualities to be seen.
Its dull toned color and basic shape left something to be desired, however the more he looked at it, he felt himself falling into a trance.
A hazy mist started to form around him, dimming his surroundings and pulling him inside of an illusion of being on a small boat floating on a murky lake engulfed in a dense fog.
'What the hell! How exactly is this supposed to be soothing for my soul!' Null began to panic as his awareness kicked back in.
As a result of his jostling movement, the boat began rocking heavily; Null soon lost his balance and fell into the murky water.
Splash!
'SOOTHING MY ASS!' Null flailed around in the cold water.
He was also freaking out because he didn't know if there was anything lurking underneath him.
Without hesitation, projected himself with the purple pulse back onto the boat and stood vigilantly.
'Calm down! Calm... calm.'
The sudden outburst of panic went away as fast as it came as Null was suffused in the dreary mist, drifting along the hazy waters.
But no sea monster or the like came to visit his lonely vessel.
'I wonder why the ruler didn't tell me about this.' He thought as plopped his soaked body down onto the wooden seat.
From an outside point of view, Null was entranced by the simple vase.
'It's been twenty minutes since he began admiring the vase. By the way his eyes are closed he must have gained something by now!'
The receptionist's days were mostly full of boredom; the only thing she would do is stand at the receptionists' desk, helping the wanderers with directions and what not.
Many had gathered to view the wonderous vase, but only the ruler had managed to access the secrets within it.
But now that she saw Null and his face lost in thought, she felt something special was going to happen when he awoke from his trance.
'I'm rooting for you little genius.'
She sincerely hoped for something to brag about to her coworkers after witnessing the ruler's new protégé.
Little did she know what was going on with Null and the experience he was going through while within the illusion.
He sat listlessly on the tranquil lake, wondering how he was supposed to gain something from the experience.
He peered closely into the water to see if there was anything he was missing.
Nothing.
The lack of a reflection was certainly an odd touch, but nothing else could be gleaned from the unclear dihydrogen monoxide.
'Is there some sort of trick to this or do I have to sit here until the ride is over?'
The misty fog was so thick he could hardly see past the front of the wooden boat he sat in; it could only hold two people maximum with its size.
'Maybe I can clear the fog. If I do that there might be some kind of island out there I can land on.'
With the plan in mind, Null prepared a large burst of purple pulsation with a wide area-of-affect that slowly pushed the fog away and cleared a dome clear of fog.
'Huh?' A shiver went down Null's spine as the fog was cleared.
'There's definitely something up with this fog. It looks like I'll have to spend some more time clearing it away.'
And so, he did, little by little until there was a considerably larger space that Null could see through.
The more he cleared the more he felt alleviated of some sort of invisible pressure that clogged his soul.
His mind was opened, and he felt nothing but serenity.
'Now this... this I could get used to.' Null lay on the boat in pure bliss.
His mind was easily influenced by the intoxicating feeling like he was actually cleaning a noxious gunk from his brain by way of clearing of the fog.
It got to the point where Null curled himself into a fetal position, the purple pulse was emitted in tune with his heartbeat.
Ba-dump.
Another wave of purple spread throughout the peaceful lake.
Null looked up to the sky that could now be seen; the sky was shining blue but there was no sun or other source of light in the sky.
He got up from and took another look around the place.
'Holy...,' Null slowly realized that he was in stuck place.
The view he saw now was a blue sky all around as if he was actually in the sky.
Neither the boat nor the water was moving; he jumped around and to his surprise, the boat did not capsize from his actions.
He tried looking at the water again, but there was still nothing to be seen still.
It was as if the floor was a mirror, so Null decided to dip a finger in the water, hoping to find some other way of progressing through the illusion.
When his finger touched the water however, he was dumbstruck.