And Elsa was holding a teapot.
The teapot had a rather long spout, looking somewhat like a watering can and somewhat like an Arabian oil lamp.
She held it up, pouring Honey Water into the Believers' cups one by one.
A few drops occasionally spilled onto her long dress, and tender shoots sprouted from it.
Elliot's eyes lit up.
"The Honey Water distributed to everyone, the tender shoots growing from her body-this should correspond to the vitality aspect of the [Honey] path!"
Looking back now, the first Card should have corresponded to the sweetness and fruit aspects of [Honey].
Elliot suddenly recalled that among the Ascension Cards Maeve had chosen, one depicted her monstrous self wearing a formal gown and dining elegantly.
Elsa should have been on that dining table. There was even a connection between them.
Sure enough, [Honey] and [Blood] had a relationship of eating and being eaten.
The second Card, meanwhile, corresponded to "pleasure."
Elliot picked up the third without hesitation.
"This should be something like a 'vitality ascension' option. It really does suit Elsa. She happens to have a Talent that produces honey, too. This Ascension should improve the honey's effects-a perfect fit!"
The Difference Engine swallowed Elsa's original Card, shredded and discarded it, then printed a new Card.
The Brass Dial turned, assembling a line of text.
[You have selected the Ascension direction: motherly ascension]
Elliot froze.
"Kind Mother?"
Thinking it over, it did make sense: feeding children honey like a loving mother.
Elliot felt nothing was amiss, so he put the Card back onto the Difference Engine and watched its surface continually extend, retract, and transform, returning to the point-allocation interface.
This was what he had been waiting for. Successfully advancing to middle rank meant he could allocate points again. Who knew