Two years passed since the catastrophe Ike and his friends suffered through. After the whole ordeal, nothing was left of the village but ashes. The attackers were thorough in their work, making sure every sign of magus existence vanished along with its people. However, they did not know that four of them survived, watching in horror from afar.

It scarred all of them, especially Ike. After all, he borne sight to his parents being murdered right in front of him. Overlooking the remains of his hometown, something inside him snapped and broke. Before, he was hiding his obsession with death and overall abnormality, only letting minor cracks slip through, but no more. Suddenly he stopped holding those emotions back, alongside a deep disgust for humanity. The only people he remotely cared about were his three friends, the only remaining magus he knew.

Elliot was always a kind person, loyal and never seeking the path of violence. However, even he had yearned for revenge for this act. At times, it seemed as if he was himself unsure what he wanted, as he often looked up to Ike for guidance and leadership.

Ellen and especially Karen were the youngest of the four. At first, they didn't know what had happened. All they could feel was fear, until Ike and Elliot came to their aid. Ellen always looked up to Ike as her best friend, always staying loyal to him and wanting to do everything by his side. Her younger sister, Karen, was much more humble and less talkative, unlike her older sister. She was often fascinated by the sorcery performed by other magus but also by nature itself, following behind her sister most of the time to observe the world around her. Sometimes, Elliot talked with her. She admired his pacifism, resorting to violence only in absolute need. Out of all four, she felt the least desire to take revenge. Rather, she wanted to go back home to her parents, often sobbing in the process. In a way, she acted as the calming aura for the other three.

After the incident, the four decided to blend in with the rest of humans to avoid suspicion. Secretly, they conspired to study the occult and dark arts, especially sorcery. It was only thanks to Elliot and Ike that they could do this undiscovered though, as such material was hardly available legally. Along the way, the orphaned Ike was adopted by a rich couple. Ike was culling and smart, holding back his vicious thoughts of revenge to gain the favour of his adoptive parents. Thanks to their wealth, he was able to support his three friends and ensure they could continue learning and studying for the fated day on which they would exact their vengeance. Ike's vengeance was different however, as he sought the creation of a world with only magus in it rather than the assured destruction of humanity. To this end, he had a ruthless ambition. He spent hours upon hours studying sorcery each day, only setting aside time for crucial needs and to keep up with appearances.

Unfortunately, his adoptive parents died a dozen or so months later. Ike seemed overjoyed though, as they had left him an inheritance for caring for them in their final moments. He spent even more time studying and learning, now with no obstacles in his way to slow him down. He regularly met up with the other three to scour the progress they made themselves, eventually learning with them or even teaching them what he had learned. He learned Elliot was still his equal, doubtlessly studying relentlessly too. This made Ike grin.

After two long years, he finally began setting his plans in motion. He met up with his friends in his manor that he inherited to talk to them about something important. When they came, he sat them down and began talking.

"Friends, two years have passed. Two years since we were sliced up and made to sew our own pieces back together. Our goal is clear, to exact revenge on those who dared commit such an atrocity against us. That is why we've been studying for so long, and I think you're all ready to see what I have in mind," said Ike.

He then took out a book and lay it on the table in front of everyone. Elliot instantly recognized it, as the title was all too familiar: 'Teachings of Magus'. It was one of the few tomes they found when they visited the ancient Magus library, from which Ike read out.

"Ike, is this...?" Said Elliot.

"Yes. This is one of the tomes our ancestors left behind for us to learn from. It was the only thing I managed to save, everything else is gone, thanks to a precaution the elders took. When I tried to go back several months later, it was already too late, so this is it. And yet, I believe it holds the greatest potential," said Ike.

"Why do you believe so, Ike?" asked Ellen.

"You see, there is one absolute unfortunate fact holding us back. The truth is, we are just four magus who stand no chance in accomplishing anything large. Our enemies are far stronger, and we would only inflict a scratch at best in trade for our lives. That is where this tome comes into play, for it holds sorcery far stronger than anything we've ever seen, or anyone for that matter. It's our best and only chance at getting our revenge, friends! Elliot, do you remember this? It was the one line I read to you: 'With enough mana concentrated in one place that can sustain an entire world, a being of immeasurable strength can be summoned,'" said Ike. Elliot momentarily responded.

"Yes. But how is this sorcery supposed to be of any use to us? If such a being exists and its strength is immeasurable, then we'd just be four more flies in the wind," said Elliot.

Ike scoffed.

"We are magus, aren't we? This tome is only the start, the rest falls upon us. We've come this far, so what makes you think we should give up now? Trust me... time will reveal all."

***

Time passed and passed, with the four young magi figuring out how to modify the spell to suit their needs. The tome contained crucial principles on magus sorcery and the importance of mana itself, revealing much more efficient ways on its harnessing, storage, and usage. By no longer being bound by anyone, they delved deep into the dark arts and sorcery of their ancestors, continually gaining on power.

The spell they meant to cast was the most powerful of them all, while also being the most mysterious. If all the world's mana were focused in one place, an ancient being could be summoned. The magus called these beings spirits, much like the folklore creatures haunting old mansions and castles. However, its not clear if a spirit was ever summoned before or if it even exists, as the rest of the knowledge left behind was lost forever.

Elliot began casting suspicions on this one tome, as it conventionally revealed stuff no one ever knew of before. It was hard to confirm his suspicions however, as he had nothing else to base this on. Slowly, they made progress on making this spell possible, somehow breaking the limits of impossibility in the process. After a few months, it almost seemed like they made a breakthrough. They all gathered.

"Friends, we have a cause to celebrate. We've finally done it. We made the spell which will guarantee our triumph. Thank you all for going all the way with me, I appreciate it," said Ike proudly.

"I can't believe it! We're amazing! If this succeeds, the rest will be all but assured!" said Ellen with genuine excitement.

"This is a crucial moment, friends. If this does what we think it'll do, humans will no longer be the apex predator hunting everyone and everything else down. No one else will have to suffer like we have, and that's what we want to assure," said Elliot.

The three of them were obviously filled with pride at their accomplishment, but one of them didn't seem to be.

When the four of them went to celebrate, Karen walked up to Elliot while Ike and Ellen were off by themselves. Elliot was surprised as Karen rarely did this, usually keeping to herself.

"Karen? Is something the matter? You don't look well," asked Elliot with concern.

Karen could barely mutter the words out, eventually succeeding in doing so. Her voice was almost a whisper.

"What you said before... It reminded me of the people who brought torch and sword to our village. Justifying their actions by making us out to be villains who only bring suffering and pain to this world, when we were once just kids playing together in the streets... We didn't do anything to deserve this, even if we had a dark and ugly history flowing through our veins... During the attack, all I wanted was for it to stop... I just wanted everything to go back to normal. And every day, I still pray it would, but it won't," said Karen while sobbing lightly.

Elliot was lost for words, seeing his friend relive their shared traumatic past.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is... p-please don't become like them, Elliot. Please don't let anyone else suffer because of the past. The thought of our families being the cost for another m-massacre... I wouldn't be able to bear it. You said you wanted to assure no one else would suffer like we have, right? Then please... deliver on that promise for me. For everyone who..." Karen tried to finish her sentence, but she couldn't.

Even those few sentences took all her strength to articulate, especially as she never opened to anyone like this before. She hugged Elliot while sobbing, who instinctively put his arms around her.

"It's all right, it's all right. I understand, Karen. I'll think on it, all right?" said Elliot. Karen couldn't respond, but she nodded.

Ike and Ellen saw Karen sob to Elliot but didn't seem to think much of it. Ellen sighed.

"Even in moments like these, she still finds a way to make herself sob. Way to ruin the atmosphere," whispered Ellen to Ike.

Ike remained silent, only looking at Karen momentarily before resuming his conversation with Ellen.

After Karen eventually settled down and the four properly celebrated, Ike took the stand.

"I think it's time. We only have matter to resolve now, and that is the name of our creation. What do you guys think we should call it?" said Ike.

Karen remained silent, but Elliot spoke up.

"Some sort of process perhaps? A formula..." said Elliot, but Ike suddenly lit up.

"I got it! The Spirit Formula!" said Ike loudly.

"That's a brilliant name! We must name it that!" agreed Ellen with the same passion.

Elliot and Karen didn't have any objections, and so the Spirit Formula was born. It was a very refined process from which a spirit was to be created by gathering all the world's mana in a single location, possessing inhuman strength. After this would be done, they would then subdue the spirit and find a way of means to harness its pure power. To prevent anything getting out of control, they also created several countermeasures against this creature.

All was planned out and done, and now they only had to gather all the mana in one place. To do this, Ike created a special talisman which instead of storing mana would draw it to its location based on the strength of its bearers wishes. If the wish were strong enough to move the world, it would in theory draw all the mana in the world to its location, or so Ike speculated.

Shortly after Ike picked out a location, and the final preparations were made. It was time for the Spirit Formula to be put into action, and for history to be written.

***

End of chapter.