After Kokomi left.
Ellin fixed her gaze on the Delusion on the table.
Elemental Energy was harmful to mortals.
During the Serenitea Pot quest, someone had suffered ill health and constant bad luck after wearing an accessory containing Elemental Energy.
That was precisely why Visions could not be handed out to mortals indiscriminately.
Only those with powerful wishes or firm resolve could draw a god's gaze and obtain a Vision.
And only those with powerful wishes or firm resolve could withstand Elemental Energy flowing through their bodies.
Thus, giving an ordinary person a Vision would do them harm rather than good.
If that was true even of a genuine Vision, it was all the more true of a Delusion.
Ordinary mortals already could not withstand the flow of Elemental Energy, and Delusions were made from Archon Residue. When mortals used a Delusion, they suffered the combined corrosion of Archon Residue and Elemental Energy.
The harder they pushed a Delusion, the greater the corrosion they suffered, and the faster they died.
Vision holders, however, were already accustomed to Elemental Energy, so they suffered far less harm when using a Delusion.
Holding the Delusion and carefully sensing it, Ellin narrowed her eyes.
The instant she activated it, wisps of Dendro Elemental Energy flowed toward her. As for the trace of corrosion from the Archon Residue, it had no effect on her whatsoever.
After sensing it for just a moment, she understood the difference between a Delusion and a Vision.
Aside from containing Archon Residue, a Delusion also had far less potential than a Vision. Even at full power, the Elemental Energy it summoned fell far short of what a Vision could provide.
Still, a Delusion was an imitation of a Vision, and it retained some abilities similar to those of a Vision.