"Countless years ago, I met a wizard who needed specific information to extend his life. I gave him that magic, knowing full well that he could only live for no more than five hundred years. Every hundred years, he would have to lose more and more of his humanity until becoming a living dead."
Serie smiled slightly and said, "But that stupid wizard managed to play with souls. He called this new magic soul alchemy, which involved moving his soul into that of a young human to live a new life."
"So, that's how it happened..." Damian sat down, impacted by the truth of his existence.
"His magic went out of control, and he died. The book that always accompanied him also disappeared. But look at you! Here you are, a thousand years later... Are you that ancient wizard, or just a child he used for the ritual?"
"I wouldn't be surprised to be one of his victims. I had to fight hard just to survive. I recently found out that somehow I merged with the soul of that wizard you mentioned, and now I understand how it happened." Damian said, feeling a bit strange.
Frieren was falling asleep because all of this had made her dizzy. It had been a long time since she had been tired from such a strange conversation.
Now that Damian had recognized this woman as his teacher, he asked her, "So, can you read the map on my back?"
Serie became interested in this. She nodded, and then Damian took off his shirt to show her his back.
Frieren, who was intrigued, walked behind Damian to look at the map that she had studied numerous times without success.
"This is a tale; do you want to hear it?" Serie looked at Frieren, who was more interested in this than Damian himself. Damian nodded.
"The dark mage, that man, lived in a kingdom shrouded in shadows, where magic and darkness danced in an eternal embrace. He was a mage whose thirst for power was insatiable. From a young age, he had felt the call of the occult, the fascination with mysteries that only magic could unveil."
"However, as the years passed, the reality of human mortality became more palpable to him. The idea of being limited by time, of being vulnerable to the passage of years, tormented him. In his heart burned the deepest desire: to achieve immortality and free himself from the chains that bound his spirit."
"To achieve this, the dark mage devised a meticulous plan involving both the years of the future and the past. He knew that the fairies held ancient secrets and possessed the power to grant unimaginable blessings. With a very calculated method, he offered himself as their guardian, promising to protect them in exchange for a favor: to create a fountain of youth that would allow him to escape the yoke of time."
"After sealing the pact with the fairies, the dark mage embarked on a tireless search. He explored ancient tomes and consulted the wisest beings in his quest to unravel the mysteries of immortality. Among his findings, he discovered the existence of soul alchemy magic."
Serie stopped after reaching a certain point.
Damian then understood that the map on his back was the fragmented memories of that dark mage. Also, the knowledge of certain things that had happened.
But what Damian couldn't understand was why that book was talking to him about the future—who was really doing it?
"In the present, there is a dimension merging with ours, bringing about great changes for better or for worse." Serie referred to these words as the continent of Azeroth.
But Damian didn't know that this was coming from another dimension; this would be too much to process if he had to worry about problems from other dimensions.
"How is the world shaped?"
"It seems you understand well with what little you know."
Frieren remembered those men who had visited them but said nothing; there were many things she wanted to discover herself. Finding all the answers now would be very boring.
"So, what is my role as your student?" Damian changed the subject now that he had the opportunity.
"In the coming years, I will teach you how to structure magic. You will slowly learn many things that you now do not know." Serie walked away after saying this.
"I have a region to protect..."
"Can't you come and go?"
"You should visit my city; it is an incredible place with many entertainments."
"Are you implying that living here is boring?"
"No..."
Frieren knew Damian was lying.