(A/N - I don't know what I ate that day or what was going in my head but last chapter was a terrible mistake. I know my forte isn't 1st POV, but trying to write TBATE works in 3rd POV is akin to telling me to update daily or following a schedule. This simply means we are back to 1st POV for this very particular book. Apologies for the inconvenience caused.)
(Re-reading the last chapter made me feel like I was drunk while writing lmao)
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Agrona Vritra's POV
Ever since my banishment to the continent of Alacrya on some false made-up charges of being intimate with a lesser, I made it a goal to flip the tables on all the Asuras in Epheotus and more than that, I wished to bring the high and mighty Indrath Clan to their knees.
The sole reason for my banishment was that I knew a secret about the Indrath Clan which even made the leader of the clan take actions against me. Having knowledge of that secret would mean that I was a thorn on his way that needs to be removed. Excommunicating was the best way to remove someone on your way without even getting one's hands dirty. Also having the majority of other Asura clans on his side played in his favor.
If you don't have power, you value up to nothing.
Since then I begin plotting numerous plans to gather and harness power. Enough power to make the high and mighty Kezees Indrath tremble.
The first step was to raise a powerful army. The lesser species always held a fascination in my mind. Despite their limited lifespans, they were sometimes capable of being more intelligent and versatile than the Asuras and the now-exterminated Ancient Mages were a proof of that. Taking over the continent as their High Sovereign, I began experimenting on the humans with Vritra blood and tried whether the humans could manifest and utilize Vritra Arts or not. Under my rule, I also worked on improving technology of the continent, solely for the sake of my own plans.
There were some initial failures like it happens in every experiment but slowly success could be seen little by little. Those that manifested their Vritra abilities and were able to use them were called Vritra-blooded humans. Alacryans had a unique magic system of their own and it was well-advanced despite having an unequal ratio when it comes to awakening.
Then at some point, we discovered the existence of Relictombs, a dungeon though not a dungeon in the proper sense of the word but more of a completely different space, constructed and left behind by the Ancient Mages.
If it is something left behind by the Ancient Mages, then it must contain some relics which they did not want to get in the hands of the Indrath Clan that had wiped them out. Hiding them in a completely different space where we Asuras are unable to enter would be the best course of action.
A group of humans called the Ascenders were assigned to clearing the Reictombs and that is how I discovered the existence of another edict of Aether called Fate.
Fate was a truly mysterious force that guided all life and existence. The omnipotent power it wielded was beyond anyone's control and it can only be influenced by some margin but never controlled.
Perhaps the knowledge of Fate was another of the many reasons why the Indrath Clan who were the sole users of Aether among the Asuras and boasted of being capable to use it, went on and exterminated all the Ancient Mages who had better mastery of Aether than those lizards.
Having got the knowledge of Fate, I learned that there were different worlds other than our own and by using Aether and with my understanding of the Fate edict, it was possible to reincarnate warriors from those worlds. Warriors who had died in their worlds but their souls are yet to depart for the afterlife.
Two such worlds caught my eyes. One was where tragedy and sadness always followed a group of three friends named Grey, Nico and Cecilia. Powerful and yet broken individuals in their own manner. One simply pursued power for the sake of revenge and was blind to everything else, with the other two following him for the sake of their friendship and the real tragedy beginning from that point.
The girl Cecilia was actually called the Legacy and was the strongest among the three. Grey was a fighter who fought with his techniques and Nico was a tinkerer. From what I inferred in order to reincarnate Cecilia and have her under my command, the first necessity would be to reincarnate Nico and Grey both. They were the necessary anchors to bring in Cecilia into this world.
Another world that caught my attention was a world filled with magic similar to ours and books containing spells were required to use magic in that world. The magic of that world was simply more advanced than the magic system of all three continents combined. Even the Asuras would have a hard time facing these mages. They pursued only one element and the elements were unique to their users.
Some wielded Time, some wielded Space or Gravity, some wielded Light and some wielded Dark. There was also one powerful woman who could alter a person's fate with mere threads. Using complex magical abilities that would even require us Asuras to gain deep insight into our own arts like a child's play, they could become a formidable foe for the Indrath Clan as well.
Investigating deeper I found out the existence of a completely different species other than humans, elves and dwarves and those were the devils. They were beings on a different level. I needed to get at least one of them on my side.
With that in mind, I moved on with my first attempt at bringing the first warrior from that world into ours. The one I chose for this trial run was hailed as the strongest elf who wielded the power of swords. I was able to bring his soul into this realm but unfortunately, it didn't end up where I wanted it to be and instead went somewhere in the continent of Dicathen, another continent of lessers.
At the very least the trial run was a success and I concluded that it was possible to bring in warriors from other worlds with the aid of artifacts and knowledge of Fate edict left behind by the Ancient Mages. Next, I proceeded to reincarnate the strongest human who was at the same level as that of the elf and it was a grand success.
Lumiere Silvamillion Clover ended right where I wanted him, in the palm of my hands.
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Licht Eralith's POV
What did she mean by Deities?
Does their existence hold any sort of meaning? Having seen people controlling time itself, someone that had powers to interlink dreams with reality resulting in making a different world of their own and having fought a being whose mere words could bring in calamities in the world, the thought of Gods or deities existing never crossed my mind. If somewhere out there already controls a person's birth and death then is there any need for a God?
Wouldn't their existence be futile?
"I never really gave it much of a thought." I answered after a brief pause. "Do they really exist? And what do deities have to do with my question?"
"It has everything to do with what you asked." Grandma got up to pour tea into two cups before keeping them down on the table. Taking her seat, she pushed one of the cups towards me while taking a sip from her own cup. "What I'm about to tell you is something you would be knowing eventually as a member of the Royal Family. And I think it is about time you know about this.."
"So this information is only known to members of the Royal Family?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow. Just what sort of top secret information was it that needed to be kept within the Royal Families.
"More like the ones who are next in line to rule over their respective kingdoms. It is necessary for them to know the secrets and history of the three kingdoms and the Lances." The Diviner clarified.
"Lances?" This was my first time hearing about such a term. "What's that?"
"Lances are what you call the Royal Family's most powerful weapon in the form of White Core mages.." Grandma answered. "They are the Royal Family's strongest sword and shield."
From all the books I had read in the palace library, there hadn't been any mentions of White Core mages in them. Those who attained Silver Stage were mentioned such as Grandfather but there wasn't even a single word about the White Core mages that Grandma speaks of. Which only confirmed her previous claim about this information being kept with the Royal Family.
The facts are still vague to connect the dots so I will have to be patient and let Grandma finish her tale.
Another thing that piqued my curiosity was the question of how the Royal Family members who aren't White Core mages themselves are able to keep White Core mages under control? Grandfather Virion himself is a Mid-Silver Core mage and even adding his Shadow Panther Beast Will, it would take ten of him to keep one White Core at bay. It was something he had told me back when I asked about various Core stages after having awakened. For a High-Silver mage, it would take at least six or seven of them for one White Core.
'Right now I am at Light Yellow, just how many of me would it need to fight against a White Core when it would take five of me to stand toe-to-toe with Grandfather.' Several thoughts ran in my head. 'How would the old me fare against them?'
"You must be wondering how the Royal Families who aren't White Core themselves are able to keep White Core mages in check, am I right?" Grandma spoke, taking my silence as a confirmation to continue. "And as to why their existence is kept a secret."
"I am sure you must have noticed the huge painting in the main hall of the palace." Grandma inquired.
My mind instantly went back to the huge painting depicting some kind of deity handing something over to people of all the races. It always caught my eyes whenever I went into the main hall.
"Yes, what of it?"
"Every one of the three royal palaces has this painting depicting that a deity-like being handing off some kind of objects to the people of the three races to overcome the mana beasts and put an end to the Beast Era." She continued.
"Beast Era?" The peculiar name got my attention.
"I am getting to that." Grandma answered. Placing her cup down on the table, she resumed.
"You have read about the war between three races and the recent war between the human and elves, but compared to those two wars, this continent was much more chaotic and dangerous in the ancient times. The three races were nomadic back then, always on the run from mana beasts. The humans, elves and dwarves all traveled separately due to clashes in appearance and culture but whenever any of the three races met, we were on fairly good terms. We exchanged information and traded raw resources that we picked up along the way. This series of turbulent times when Mana Beasts were rampant and ruled the continent is now known as Beast Era."
From her narration, it was evident that the three races were more united back in the ancient times unlike right now.
"Why didn't we use magic to drive the beasts away like we do now?" I asked. Everything in her tale made sense except this. "Or was it that we couldn't utilize magic?"
"You catch on quick." Grandma complimented.
This revelation caught me off. Never had I imagined that there would be elves or dwarves who were unable to use magic. It was too surreal for me to believe right away. If this really is the case then the limitation put on certain elements for certain races, are those all because of this history? Is it lack of knowledge of mana that elves cannot utilize fire or ice and humans cannot use plants or magma?
Perhaps the answer to this never-ending curiosity of mine lies at the end of this tale.
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