CHAPTER 119: | LIFE OF A MAGUS
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? YEAR 1323 | S.T PETER | MATRIA— IN THE DEPTHS OF A CATACOMB ?
This year was a particular one, a year I am fond of.
It was the very moment when I, Lionel, became the apostle of His Excellency, the one hailed as the Truthseeker, a being who's always two steps ahead of his enemies.
I, too, born as a mannered Frenchman, was a person of great intellect.
I didn't encounter a failure in all the things I wished to commit.
So who was he, the being whose sole existence was to reach ascendance, to do anything but be played by the tune I played in this grand scheme of things?
He, who was just one of the many candidates of this reality, wasn't comparable to the Divine Emperor, nor the False Dragon, nor even the Master of the Sacred Vow who controlled the Magus Society in the Matria world.
These three figures were monsters in their own right, especially the one hailed as the Divine Emperor.
Even I, who had become the apostle of the Truthseeker, wouldn't dare to clash with him in this moment.
Because I would be foolish enough to contend against him when he literally sliced one of the Five Evil Emperors of the Matria world in half in a flash that didn't even last a single second.
It was a shock for me, who had witnessed it.
But luckily, the Divine Emperor stayed true to his character, as per the book, or else I wouldn't be existing right now.
I stopped my inner monologue as I shifted my focus to the woman shouting in a muffled voice.
She was chained at all her limbs, bound to the metallic table just below me.
I smiled, then strapped a glove onto my other hand in a practiced manner.
The slippery texture of the gloves was still the same as ever, an exquisite feeling I couldn't forget no matter how many times I wore it.
"Mmffhh! Hmmmh!"
It felt even more exquisite accompanied by her muffled voice, like the muse of an angel singing right through my ears with their heavenly voice.
I lowered my chin, then met her droopy eyes, and I could see tears welling in her beautiful eyelids.
Then, it dripped gently in a stream down to her cheeks.
Trickle... Trickle!
The tears dripping down her cheeks were eerily touching.
I couldn't help but smile at her trembling form.
Thud... Thud!
How frantic.
Even in this moment, I still felt compassion for a fellow humanoid.
It was amusing that I could still be compassionate even in this very moment where I had long ago discarded my humanity.
It was weird that there was still some guilt left in me, bubbling in my chest, it was the proof of my humanity, but ironically, it was also a proof of my fading humanity.
I took out a small portable mirror and gazed at my reflection.
My jet-black hair gleamed with a silky sheen, matching the smooth darkness of my eyebrows and lashes, while my right eye glimmered in a deep, earthy brown.
I was satisfied with my current appearance, except for my left pupil that was entirely pitch black.
It was an eerie addition, but also a must for me to gain enlightenment at a rapid pace by using this very eye to peer into the story of the countless 'destined sons of heaven' and steal their own enlightenment to make it mine.
I peered through her pupils, filled with despair, and into her history, the story that made her who she was, the Daughter of Heaven Emilia, the bearer of the underworld fire, the hellfire that many feared.
I unknowingly smiled, then frowned before I clenched my teeth until blood ruptured in my gums as my body went still for a moment.
But before I could recover myself, tears had already welled in my eyelids, and I smiled at how wonderful a person's story could be.
Her life was full of ups and downs.
She was born as the daughter of a fallen noble.
Her father along with her mother died from an accident when she was but a child, leaving her and her sister alone in this dangerous world, which was pretty classic, if I may say.
Let's continue her story since it, too, would intrigue you, because even I who had read thousands of stories was amused by her own tale.
After the two of them were left alone in the streets with no close relatives to raise them, Emilia herself, who was no more than eleven years old, had no choice but to daringly sell herself to thugs in the streets for nothing more than a few measly coins to feed her younger sister.
It was her only choice so that they could survive in this lawless world.
They've grown after years had passed, with her sister Emilie becoming a flower in the empire that they've resided in.
Of course, where there's a beauty, suitors would follow suit, as nobles in every corner of the empire who heard of her sister's beauty proposed one after another.
But unfortunately, all of them were rejected by her sister, since she now stood right beside me, watching her sister laying on the metallic table, being operated on live without any anesthesia, while remaining stoic.
Splash!
I frowned at this situation since her spleen had exploded, covering her dear sister's face with blood.
But her sister merely shifted her gaze as her amber pupils observed the structure inside her and jotted them down in a scroll, even when blood exploded from time to time, covering her face.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Sister Emilia, please endure this pain..."
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? YEAR 1123 | DIVINITY CALENDER — MARA WORLD ?
It was the era of peace after the death of the evil god, but that peace soon died as thousands of rifts began to emerge in the world that connected to another world yet to be known to them.
He, the Divine Emperor, shook his head at the revelation before him.
What he saw above his tiny kingdom was nothing else but a rift that connected to another domain of an emperor of the other world, one unlike the normal rifts that could be found all over the world.
He took a sip from his cup, savoring the flavor of the tea poured by his wife, Claudia, whose beauty was unparalleled to all.
His relaxed expression tensed as he felt a sudden gush of mana seeping out from the rift.
Haaaa...
He sighed at this revelation.
It seemed that another task had come to this poor emperor.
It was the aura nearly similar to that of an emperor leading a small platoon of sovereigns to invade his kingdom.
It would take a couple more seconds before those impudent invaders would arrive in this world and wreak havoc upon his kingdom.
"How troublesome..."
He was already surrounded by billions of petitions all over the world, and now these invaders would add more if he let them wreak havoc.
Sylvia was annoyed at this fact.
---
[The world had issued a quest.]
[You who had taken the mantle of an Emperor is obliged to defend the world you're affiliated with. I, the will of the world, issues a quest.]
[Objectives]
? [Emperor 0/1]
? [Champion 0/1]
? [Sovereign 0/37]
? [Overlord 0/1,000]
? [King 0/100,000]
? [Lord 0/10,000,000]
---
He couldn't help but frown at the objectives.
It was something that he hated due to its inhumane nature.
He knew that people from the other side wished to live in peace, and so did his own.
But every time a calamity came, he, the Divine Emperor, would be left with no choice but to slaughter the lives of millions, whether they be innocent or not.
His sole reason was to not lose, to ensure his people's safety, especially his wife's.
He closed his eyes, then sighed yet again as he placed his tea cup in its rightful place before he stood from his seat in an eerily calm manner.
His wife, Claudia, knowing his intentions, closed her eyes and gripped his sleeves as she stared at him.
"Truly... is this baseless killing necessary for the world to safely evolve?"
He, too, as the Divine Emperor and one who knew where the archive of truth was located, knew that this incessant killing wasn't necessary for the world's evolution, but it was a necessity to gain more records.
He stared at his wife in a calm manner but didn't answer her question, for there wasn't a need for her to know and worry about it.
Claudia, noticing her husband's intent, let go of her grip and sighed.
"Then go..."
In response, Sylvia merely stood undisturbed.
He watched the elites of his kingdom fight toe-to-toe with the invaders in the vast distance.
Silver light flashed in and out of existence as he watched them move at the speed of sound, their swords blurring from reality to fiction as they cut through flesh and blood.
Even though there were no casualties right now, Sylvia knew that casualties would rise the more he delayed.
Sylvia clenched his teeth, then firmly held Claudia's hands still gripping his sleeves.
But Claudia didn't let go, stubbornly holding her grip as she shouted.
"What if you die?! At least... take some troops with you."
Her shouts rang in his ears, but he ignored them as he heard the beats of the Istan drums ringing across the sky.
Then he saw them, the seven domain lords he had assigned.
Sylvia smiled, then nodded as he heard their chants.
[GLORY TO THE DIVINE EMPEROR!]
He listened to their chants for some time until Claudia shouted again.
"Then bring me along!"
Sylvia, taken aback by her stubbornness, shook his head as he gently pushed Claudia away from him with worry visible in his face.
"No... you're far too weak."
Tears welled in Claudia's eyes as her screams echoed out of the room and into the hallways.
Maids hurried to leave, preoccupied with their tasks, but one could see the grim expressions on their faces.
Their Emperor, Sylvia the Divine Emperor, had yet again taken his righteous stance.
He was going to invade the enemy plains all alone, without any help, since they knew that their Emperor worried about them too much.
And even when the royal treasury was empty, the Emperor would find ways to donate to the poor and unfortunate in his kingdom.
As he alone was the Divine One, the very being who is purity incarnate, an archangel from the heavens above.
They knew the reason for their queen's cry, and they didn't want to eavesdrop on their Emperor's affairs.
As they knew that there was no need.
Some called him stupid, naive, and idiotic, but he, the Divine Emperor, didn't care and continued to do what the world needed, to provide help, to quell the tension of clashing Emperors that could destroy a continent, to build a utopia, even if it was small.
Sylvia's kingdom was a utopia itself compared to the kingdoms or empires of the other Emperors.
As he was far too kind, far too generous, uncaring of what would happen to him.
Claudia's cries could be heard as she shouted.
"Why! Just why do you shoulder everything on your shoulders! Just why!"
Sylvia closed his eyes, pondering the reason why he was doing all of this just for the sake of strangers he didn't know.
Why was he doing it?
Just why?
Was it because he was nothing more than the child of a prostitute?
Thrown into the rubbish when he was born, mocked and bullied for being born a mongrel?
Was it because of his unfortunate past that he did this so others wouldn't have to suffer under his rule?
Was his reason this shallow?
Just because of his unfortunate past, had he become kind, wanting to create a utopia for all?
Even if it was limited to his kingdom?
No.
He didn't do it because of those, as he saw that as a form of hypocrisy.
To help other people just to satisfy his desire was hypocrisy itself.
Sylvia didn't do it because of those.
He did it because he could.
Because he could.
Because he could try and change the world.
Because he was blessed with this strength that he had acquired, that he had worked for.
Because he could create a utopia!
Because he could!
That's why he did all of this, because he could, and not because of such petty reasons that would satisfy his ego or himself to help others.
He muttered with finality, his gaze firm as a mountain itself.
"Claudia... I did all of this because I could. And my decision to enter the rift... is because I can conquer it and return alive."
Silence was deafening.
Claudia's sobbing and shouts stopped as she glanced at Sylvia.
As she knew that this man before her was still the same Sylvia that she knew, the very being who embarrassingly shouted that he would create a utopia in this world.
They were both orphans, but now they were the king and queen of this utopia, and Sylvia was firm in his decision.
So she could do nothing but smile as she gazed at Sylvia's back and muttered softly.
"Please return to me safely... my radiance."
Sylvia closed his eyes as he took a whiff of Claudia's scent.
He opened them, his silver irises gleaming with divinity.
His silk like silver hair fluttered from the gust of the wind.
A smile formed on his pink lips as he muttered.
"May the radiance of the Primordials bless those who suffer."
Time stopped for but a moment as his body turned into a streak of light, vanishing from existence.
Then the grotesque being above the portal glanced up at the sky as streaks of light flashed into existence.
Space itself was ripped apart as Sylvia's sword, made of primordial light, erased the very fabric of reality that the world had created.
Crash!
Citizens below glanced at the sky as droplets of blood rained from above, as their Emperor, Sylvia, had now acted.
All of them bowed and prayed for his safety for minutes as the form of their Emperor entered the rift.
Sylvia glanced at the world before him.
He could feel the natural energies of this world were quite strange.
He could feel the power of corruption, of chaos, that could taint his very being if he stayed here for too long.
His voice echoed as he shouted with zeal.
"Emperor of this vast land...! I, Sylvia, the Divine Emperor, challenge you to a duel!"
The beings from below were as grotesque as the being he had slain earlier, but he held no disgust for them, as he knew that these beings lived their lives just like humans.
Even if their appearance was different, he accepted them as beings living their virtuous life.
Minutes passed as he waited.
Sylvia sighed as no response came.
He closed his eyes as divine light exploded from his body, purifying the putrid air and the corruption from the world as he shouted.
"Show yourself, O Emperor... as I, Sylvia, shall spare these beings if I remain victorious."
Then a streak of light flashed as a smile formed on Sylvia's face as he declared.
"Emperor of these Abominations... thank you for gracing me with your magnanimous presence."
The Emperor of these Abominations, Garish the Abominable Emperor, trembled in fear as he gulped.
This being before him was far too much for him, a lower Emperor at Stage 3. Really, too much.
But what could he do?
If he fled, his status granted by the dimensional record would be revoked, and he feared his death.
But he couldn't run, as he knew this being before him would kill him.
Sylvia's existence flashed in and out of existence as a divine light slashed the sky in half.
The being before him was cut into numerous pieces in a matter of seconds as he glanced at the rapidly closing rift.
He sighed.
"The world has no mercy... so sorry."
