Array of Black Fire

 

The Array of Black Fire (sometimes just called the Array) is a special inscription made by overlaying an Equilibrium Trigger onto a Reverse Trigger. In order for the Array to activate, it must be properly drawn with a specific ink (which comes only from a flower grown in Agrideī). But even if you have this ink (usually contained within a Cosmic Pen), that does not necessarily mean that the Array of Black Fire will activate. The air itself must also contain a traceable presence of gaseous Carmotium, an otherwise-harmless gas that exists in the air of Agrideī. When a person steps onto the inscription, the Array of Black Fire reacts with the Carmotium to activate in a burst of ethereal fire. These black flames do not physically injure a person or anything nearby, but they instead burn away at the connection between a person's body and soul. 

Even if the Array of Black Fire fails to break that connection, it exhausts the target and depletes their energy. Practically no one can survive having an Array of Black Fire used upon them twice within an hour. Furthermore, if a person is exhausted, weak, or injured, the Array will certainly kill them. Most people cannot even withstand it once. 

If the Array of Black Fire does successfully break the bond between a body and soul, then the target suffers a fate worse than death. While their body is uninjured, the black fire burns their soul and transforms it into quintessence, which then floods into the person(s) who drew the Array. This will happen even if the person who drew the Array is far away. If two people drew half of the Array, then that quintessence will be cut in half. The Array of Black Fire is the only way to acquire quintessence.

Because the Array of Black Fire requires a special inscription, a certain ink, and a rare gaseous element, it went unknown for most of human history. After its discovery in Agrideī, murderers quickly took to roaming the plains and killing anyone they could find. They often refer to these murders as "sacrificing" someone on an Array of Black Fire.

In A World without Misery, Hatasuko often recharges his quintessence when an Array appears on the ground beneath his feet. Because he is touched by the darkness, he has a near-infinite pool of lost souls to pull from. Whenever a lost soul chooses to sacrifice itself, it forces the Array to materialize without Hatasuko needing to draw the inscription.

See also:

Astrodeus

Astrodeus Powers

Carmotium

Cosmic Pen

Equilibrium Trigger

Quintessence