The Poet Level relic [Griffith's Rhapsody] was a coin made of metal, yet it displayed a strange purple color. It was the same size as a normal 1 crown gold coin. One side was stamped with the number "1" and countless blurred human faces, while the other bore only a simple sentence—
[Inspiration is the most precious miracle.]
The coin's property was simple. Tossing it did not consume the coin itself; instead, at the cost of permanently sacrificing one's own memory, it granted an artist a burst of inspiration related to art. Painters, musicians, writers, and others could all use it. Even Ring Arcanists who used it purely for themselves could gain inspiration related to spellcasting.
Its simple property was both its advantage and disadvantage. The consequences of losing control were not the large-scale erasure of memories, but the large-scale granting of all intelligent life nearby with all manner of mad inspiration.
In a world with supernatural powers, that was extremely dangerous.
Its property perfectly embodied the "transaction" aspect of currency. Since the coin could be used repeatedly and the cost of each use was low, many artists were very fond of this relic.
Wei Ge's friend had obtained the coin after hearing the story of a genius painter who had lost so many memories that, though only in his thirties, he behaved as though he had dementia.
"This thing is like an illegal drug. I know many artists enjoy taking illegal drugs to find inspiration amid hallucinations that are both real and unreal. The relic itself is not addictive; the addiction comes from within people's hearts."
Wei Ge spoke those philosophical words over dinner, then handed the coin to Shade. Dorothy, who could now also be called an "artist," had plenty of thoughts on the matter as well. Miss