Who would’ve thought that someday I would get to meet a historic legend in the flesh? Ever since I began studying exotic magic schools, I’ve held a great deal of respect for the one known as the Chaos Mage. Arcane and dark magic are difficult in their own way, but neither one has given me as much trouble as chaos magic. Elemental spells like fire and earth are child’s play by comparison. All one has to do is practice the four basic steps: concept, mana flow, emission and activation. A simple chant or catalyst will do most of the work for you. Talent alone was enough to master them.

I first began to see the limits of my abilities when I started researching chaos magic. The other schools all have some sort of natural phenomenon associated with them. They all follow logical principles. Arcane, for example, specializes in altering the fundamental structure of matter. This makes it perfect for things like enhancing the strength and precision of elemental spells or even enhancing my own body. Dark magic specializes in mind alteration, subterfuge and illusion. On the other hand, I can’t make any sense of chaos magic. It has no affinities, no natural phenomenon and no coherent structure that I can perceive. It’s an aberration in an otherwise logical world. Anyone who can understand how it works has my utmost respect. This was my conclusion after the experiment that almost robbed me of an arm.

Now that I’ve met the one who supposedly created it, a different possibility has arisen. Maybe chaos magic was never meant for human use. It was created by demons. It stands to reason that their mana is different just like their bodies are different. If that’s so then chaos magic was made to suit them, which means that humans are incompatible. This explains why chaos magic only became feasible after using the spell called ‘Origin’. Its purpose is to change the human body so as to make it compatible. It also explains why my arm was almost crippled the first time I used chaos magic. The mana flow in my arm became different from the rest of my body, thus causing a conflict. Using it on the whole body was the proper way, although it seems impossible to reverse now. It makes me want to slap myself for overlooking such a simple explanation.

“The Origin manifests differently for each user. It typically has some sort of visual effect. I must say, yours is more beautiful than any I have seen so far.”

At first I didn’t understand what Nashira was referring to, but then I turned my head around and saw two wings composed entirely of mana sticking out of my back. They seem to be formed from millions of transparent, white strands that float in the air. They have no weight at all. Are they some sort of side-effect?

“Is there some way to hide these? If they’re made out of mana, then other mages would surely notice them. I would prefer to avoid that kind of attention.” I ask Nashira since she’s the expert here.

“Indeed, there is a way. Simply channel the mana through conventional means and force it to stay inside the body. This may pose a challenge since your mana is now different from what you’re used to.”

It makes sense. Even if its nature changed, it’s still mana. I should be able to control it with more practice. After bombarding her with questions for a while, it finally dawns on me that this behavior is very impolite. Nashira has been surprisingly patient with me so far. I won’t waste her goodwill.

“I’ve been imposing on someone I just met. Please pardon my rudeness.” I take a small bow using the manners of nobility.

“There is no need. I’m happy to share the knowledge with one who has proven worthy.”

Worthy? I doubt she is that generous. As Selene once said, mages will not give up their secrets easily. Knowledge is power. It is our main resource and our greatest strength. To simply give it away is unthinkable. Could she be expecting something in return?

“For now, let us move into my residence.”

“Residence?”

She points to a hole in the cliff wall that is quite far below our current position. It has a long rock ledge that serves as an entrance and it’s lit up by two mana crystals on the wall.

Nashira disappears from view, leaving behind only traces of mana and a small reverberation in the air. I look down again and see that she appeared at the ledge mentioned before. She turns around gracefully and looks at me. Her eyes are telling me to follow.

“Divine Step…” I whisper to myself.

She did not use a catalyst or a magic circle. This must be one of the spells that I failed to cast back at the academy. I tried to work around the problem and that resulted in the prototype teleportation circle that got me out of Delos. However, things are different now. I should be able to activate it normally, without the aid of any tools. It’s a short distance and the target area is clearly visible. I can do this.

Instead of the usual liquid flow of mana, it now feels like I’ve gained a second set of nerves. They channel energy, mana I would assume, like an artery that carries blood. It’s a peculiar feeling. Even so, my control is still good enough for spellcasting. I purge all unnecessary thoughts and focus on the task at hand.

Analyze the target. Establish coordinates. Divert mana toward the outer layers. Create a field surrounding the body. Now, instantly crush it all into a singularity!

The space surrounding me is distorted into unnatural shapes. My breath freezes up and my ears pop. I get a familiar feeling of being yanked off of my feet. I blink involuntarily. When my eyes open again, I see that my location has changed. Nashira is giving me a knowing smile, like a teacher who is proud of her student’s success. Ah, I miss the academy…

Nashira’s residence is big. There are at least 20 rooms, separated by circular doorways. The walls are plain rock without any decoration. Instead there are tables, metallic containers, crystalline structures with intricate designs and many small objects that look like tools. Being a mage, I understand exactly what I’m looking at. This entire place is a research laboratory. Even if I don’t know what these designs and experiments are, their similarities to my own work are clear.

“Have you been doing magic research by yourself here?” I inquire.

“Yes, I have worked here alone for many years.”

She’s the same as me then. Could this be what brought me here? Enormous amounts of mana are flowing through this facility. The amount of time and effort it must have taken to set it all up… I can’t even imagine.

“Why are you showing me all of this?”

She pauses and makes a reluctant expression. After a moment of hesitation, she says “Isn’t it human courtesy to show a guest around the house?”

“A mage’s work is equal to his life. Do you normally invite strangers in so easily? What if I had evil intentions?”

“My intuition tells me that you have no such intentions. I trust you.” she replies without a hint of doubt or hesitation.

Intuition? How can she trust in something so vague? There must be some other reason why she’s so open, but I can’t imagine what that is. At least it doesn’t look like she wants to harm me. She could have done anything she wanted while I was asleep on that crystal pillar. Instead, she invited me into her home as if we were close friends.

Forget it… My thoughts will swim in circles endlessly at this rate. She has shown me goodwill and my honor demands that I return it. I am her guest so I should act the part. Until then, I will simply stay on guard and watch for suspicious actions. She may try to use me in some way without me being aware. That’s unlikely though. I won’t call it intuition, but my impression of her is definitely good.

The rest of the day goes by quickly. I suppose it doesn’t make sense to speak of day and night in a place like this. There is no sun, only the light generated by mana and those giant crystals on the cliff walls. My host mentions that she doesn’t need sleep, so there are no beds. There are only a few small, round chairs.

“Unfortunately, I have not prepared adequate living space for humans. I was not expecting guests. If you wish, follow this tunnel here until you reach the surface world. Outside is a forest and there are no human settlements nearby. Would that be preferable?” she indicates a way outside.

I consider the offer for a moment and then say “I will go take a look. Thank you for your concern.”

The path to the surface was longer than expected. The long, winding tunnel had no lighting of its own, but that’s not an issue for a mage. Fire magic is an easy solution.

As I reach the surface, a cool breeze brushes past me. The slightly inclined terrain suggests that I am on the side of a mountain or hill. There is nothing but trees and plants around here. The climate doesn’t look very different from Amisos. It’s already night. The moon and stars are shining brightly through the tree branches. A wild wolf howls in the distance.

I sit on the cool grass and begin meditating. Focusing is difficult. Idle thoughts keep appearing. A lot of crazy things happened in the past few days. Being sentenced to death, breaking out of prison, becoming a fugitive, meeting a historic figure in a mysterious underground chasm… Now that I think about it, there could be an entire world down there. I should look into it soon. Leaving that aside, where should I go from here? Am I still inside Amisos kingdom? Is it even worth it to return?

I lost everything. My research is gone. My tools are gone. Everything is gone. Even if I was allowed to return, there is nothing to go back to.

It’s because of them. Those rotten nobles robbed me of everything and killed the only family I had left just to satisfy their filthy greed. Unforgivable…

A sudden urge bursts forth from within. I stand up and scream at the top of my lungs into the cold night air. My voice is amplified by mana, making it echo throughout the forest. Startled animals flee in fear and confusion.

“I will find you and kill you all even if it’s the last thing I do.”