Lucien's hand moved quickly across the notebook.
Then Alanthuriel raised a second finger.
"The process does not end there."
Lucien looked up at once.
Alanthuriel's ancient gaze remained fixed on him.
"The Empty Vessel is but the opening key," the Abyssal One said. "It grants you passage where your true body would be denied. It allowed the first tempering to begin. Yet if you stop there, your forging shall remain incomplete."
Lucien frowned.
Alanthuriel continued.
"The Abyss is not mindless. It is so absolute that all falsehood is stripped away. It knew what belonged and what did not. If you used a proxy to temper yourself, and never present your true self to that same annihilation, then the result shall be shallow."
Lucien's eyes narrowed.
"So the Abyss can tell the difference..."
