"Well now I have to know," Grey said.
To the side, Thi Lan and Amunet were hearing everything that was being said. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to know what the two were talking about when they mentioned "Prometheus" and "Atlas", but as much as they teased Grey, they knew their own limits about certain things.
It only made sense that there was some sort of secret related to just why it was Grey was improving so quickly. Plus, they had seen him fight to subdue the rod just now, and something told them it shouldn’t have been nearly as easy as Grey had made it seem.
They couldn’t see the stats of that rod, but they were sure that it was stronger than any treasure they had ever personally laid eyes on.
"It goes by many names," the angel lady said slowly, "rebirth, reincarnation, underworld waters. The river Styx, others. There’s some variation of it, and if you use those monikers, I’m sure you can think of a million other names it could possibly have, and each one of those are true."
Grey raised an eyebrow. Did these waters help you come back to life or something? He could already kind of do that.
"What you experience is not the same." The angel lady said calmly. Then, she looked at Thi Lan and Amunet. "If you could give us a moment."
The two didn’t hesitate to make some distance. The angel lady seemed to have already expected this and turned to Grey.
"You do not experience true rebirth. Your spirit is sent back in time. These are not the same things. Technically speaking, while you have memories of your deaths, you have never truly died. If your soul gives way, you will die. That is how those chosen by Prometheus die. That is how Prometheus died. That is how you will likely die in the future."
"Well don’t butter me up too much," Grey said sarcastically.
But he didn’t actually care that much. He had already guessed that something like this was the case. If this power made you invincible, then it would never have to be passed on in the first place.
And from what Grey could tell, he had already run into several weaknesses. Whether it was the soul damage from experiencing too many rebirths in a row, or the fact that there were lingering memories that made certain people more aggressive against him.
Grey could easily imagine a situation where someone whose soul was just as sensitive as his own might even feel like something was off if they faced off against him enough times. In fact, they might even start improving as much as he did, negating the use of his rebirths.
Either way, these were things that Grey already knew. But given the odds he was stacked up against, he had no choice but to rely on Prometheus. What else could he do? Just accept his death?
Still, none of that truly explained what the water did.
"But—" he was about to ask when the angel lady cut him off.
"What phase have you taken Prometheus to?"
Grey raised an eyebrow. "Three."
There was a hint of surprise in the woman’s eyes. "Phase III already? You are in the Proving Class, though..."
She looked at Grey skeptically as though she didn’t quite believe him.
"I’m in the Established Class..." Grey said.
"No. You are in the Proving Class. Your Class will always be dictated by what Class Prometheus is in."
Grey’s lip twitched. "But Prometheus doesn’t even have a Class designation on my screen."
"That’s because you haven’t made him a proper Vessel. You’ve put him in that Mechanical Jaw Lineage mech. Which helps it to be stronger, but actually holds Prometheus back a great deal."
Grey was speechless. If the mech he gave Prometheus now wasn’t good enough, then what was holding it back was the Sync Rate.
"... What Sync Rate do I need?" Grey asked.
"100%, obviously."
"You can’t be serious. I’ll be Proving Class forever, then."
The woman chuckled. "Maybe. That’s not too uncommon for Titanframes. One’s Class is only one pillar of strength. Some Races can be in the Dominion Class and still be as weak as a rotted stick. Some Races can be in the Proving Class and yet be as powerful as Gods. I’m sure you’ve already experienced this."
Grey’s eyes narrowed. "Why does it feel like you’re really trying to avoid telling me what this water is?"
The angel lady gave him a sad smile. "Why do you think my mind was so corrupted? If not for Prometheus’ aura, unless my husband finally returned, I may have never regained my proper consciousness.
"This isn’t a water that just anyone could touch.
"The ball of chaos I was holding originated from myself. It was my attempt to expel the corruption from my body. Using this water is like dousing yourself in the pits of hell, plummeting into its depths, and trying to come out dry. It is impossible. The more you drink, the more corrupted your soul will be—"
"Listen, lady, you’re doing a lot of talking and a lot of warning, but not a lot of explaining. What. Is. It. And. What. Does. It. Do?"
The angel lady gave Grey a deep look.
"... The waters are designed as a reset. When you are on the verge of death or on your last breaths, it will yank you back. But only once it is drunk at the last moment, and it will wait until your heart truly stops beating to pull you back as well. It will force you to experience a true death, and only then will it revive you.
"However, when it is taken when you are not on the verge of death, it places your body in what can be called a ’rebirth cycle’, where it is the most primed for evolution and change. The trouble is that the direction of said evolution is directly dictated by what lingering potential or negativity there might be in the body. As easily as it can make you more powerful, it can also revert you to a far worse state."