Chapter 2
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Episode 1 - Akáshic Library [2]
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10,000 years ago, in the past, it was known as the Age of Darkness, a time when the strongest true wizards existed.
There was no doubt about the power of all these wizards. They were the strongest, much stronger than those of the current Golden Age, which is supposedly the true era of the strongest wizards.
But they are wrong.
Encrid was the only wizard in the history of this world to reach the tenth circle.
A power that elevates a human to transcendence. The abilities of a tenth circle mage were considered absolute.
However, with the war against the beings of the higher dimension, it all ended. The Age of Darkness had to erase all its records.
The most powerful human, Encrid, the wizard of the tenth circle, erased absolutely everything from the Age of Darkness, ushering in a new era:
The Golden Age.
Although wizards are considered strong, they are not true wizards to someone who has reached the tenth circle.
Still, they were quite powerful, maintaining control of the world and surviving. Encrid thought they would get stronger, but it seems he was wrong.
'Well, that's the origin of my past self.'
After dying in the war against beings from the higher dimension, Encrid came to the brink of collapse.
Even a wizard of the tenth circle could die, even though at the time he was considered invincible and absolute. But no, they were completely wrong.
The beings of the higher dimension were stronger than expected, and although the war was won, it claimed the lives of almost everyone, including Encrid, who erased all traces of the Age of Darkness before his death.
Encrid created the Akashic Library and became a disembodied soul, using all the mana of a tenth circle for 10,000 years to remain in this world in his soul form.
He waited for 10,000 years for the successor to his power to appear one day. He was alone for millennia, and the mana that kept his soul in this world gradually diminished.
Now, after 10,000 years, the successor has finally appeared. However, Encrid has little time left before the mana that sustains his soul is completely exhausted.
'Since you have the mana of darkness, it means you are my successor, now you understand why you are my successor.'
"Yes."
The truth was otherwise.
The true successor was the body I now inhabited. This body was not mine originally, but someone else's, someone who, apparently, was destined to inherit Encrid's legacy. Owning it was strange from the beginning. I didn't belong in this world, or even in this reality.
I could not blame the original owner of this body; after all, he was dead. And his death allowed me to take possession. Was it right? Maybe not. But there was no turning back.
'Now I will explain to you what a magician is. Looking at you, I think you're a commoner who wasn't taught about wizards, so I'll explain it to you.'
Wizards.
The word resonated with a mixture of mysticism and power. According to Encrid, in this world, those blessed with mana were called magicians. The evidence of this blessing appeared as a semi-transparent semi-circle near the wrist. When the "Magical Circuit" was completed, the semi-circle became a full circle, marking the beginning of a magician's path as a Magician of the First Circle.
Encrid talked about the magical hierarchy, from the First Circle to the Ninth. No one, he told me, had ever made it beyond the Ninth Circle. Except him. Encrid, the only person who had reached the fabled Tenth Circle.
"And how can I be a wizard?"
My curiosity grew with every word.
The magic. Wizards. I found it all fascinating.
In my previous world, overcoming human limitations was unthinkable. Without an accessible power source, humans were doomed to be weak. I knew this firsthand. I had been someone empty inside, incapable of feeling pain, with abnormal physical strength that, though it stood out among humans, could not overcome the barriers of our nature.
Yet everything Encrid told me challenged that notion. Here, strength and knowledge could grow without limit. And I wanted to know more. To know what it was like to be a wizard. To know what it was like to be stronger than anyone else. Before my death, I would never have imagined such a thing. Now, that desire consumed me.
In my previous life, whenever something piqued my curiosity, I didn't rest until I had explored it fully. Knowing more about wizards and how to become one was another of those curiosities that consumed me completely.
From what Encrid explained, becoming a wizard was a process that took time and required considerable intelligence to understand the fundamentals of magic. It would not be a simple path.
'Being my successor, you have to be a mage anyway, right? Leaving that aside, the first thing is to absorb mana.'
'How do I do that?'
I asked, and Encrid replied calmly.
'For the moment, you must use meditation. Close your eyes and open your consciousness. You will be able to see particles of mana around you.'
Meditation. Just that. If it was that simple, it wouldn't be a problem for me.
One of the basic trainings I had in my previous life was precisely meditation. Every assassin had to remain calm, no matter what the circumstances. As a monarch, as the best assassin of all, meditation had been one of the basics of my training, something I mastered with ease.
'And don't forget one absolute point in this: it's up to you. If you have talent, you can get stronger much faster. For magicians, talent is the only thing that defines how far you can go. Without talent, you will reach a limit where it will be impossible to advance in magic circles.'
Talent. That word gave me an internal chuckle.
In my previous world, who could even come close to my talent?
As the monarch of the world's largest assassin organization, talent was the only thing that mattered to reach the top. And I had been the greatest talent in the entire history of assassins.
"Because no one could compare to my talent."
The mana particles instantly attached themselves to my body. I felt them begin to flow inside me. Slowly, from my wrist a translucent semicircle began to form. In its center, ten small stars shone brightly.
'Already formed the semicircle.... It seems that there was someone in this world even more talented than me.'