The disaster stirred up by Herpo had subsided, yet the volcano's eruption continued. The surging magma roared like crashing waves, engulfing and devouring everything across the land surrounding the mountain.
There were no wails, no cries of grief, only the furious roar of the volcano reverberating through heaven and earth. Were it not for the Divine Power of the Sun God's protection, not a single soul of this fallen civilization would have survived to witness the aftermath of nature's wrath.
The chants that guided departed souls gradually faded as all the priests fell into dazed silence.
"What will become of those of us who remain?"
A priest spoke with a sorrowful look in his eyes, his voice heavy with grief. He prayed to the Sun God of Infinite Radiance for guidance, yet all the god could give was a sigh and a measure of comfort.
"Live on, carrying the regret of those who have passed." The might of the gods could accomplish much, but against the immutable fixed points of history, even they were powerless.
Just as they could not halt the coming of Ragnarok.
At times, knowing was a greater torment than ignorance.
"Father, why hasn't this guy woken up yet?" The Brute Goddess had been circling around glowing Ian, carefully inspecting his condition. She paced around him more than a dozen times before asking this question.
Ian's eyes remained firmly shut. The aura radiating from his body only grew heavier, leaving her increasingly unsettled, and it felt and looked as though a rabbit was being confronted by its natural predator, and an instinctive impulse to flee rose uncontrollably within her.
"He will wake when the time comes." The Sun God gave a perfunctory answer. Perhaps even he could not determine when Ian would awaken, yet he still had to maintain the facade of a father's authority.
The Brute Goddess suspected nothing.
She merely lifted Ian's eyelid. At once, she recoiled, those brilliant eyes shimmered with flickering visions, filled with an oppressive might. Startled, she hastily drew back her hand and stepped away.
"This is utterly uncanny." She muttered under her breath.
But Ian himself remained unaware of what was happening outside. His soul was undergoing a profound transformation, his consciousness fixed on the increasingly vivid patterns within his own mind.
Inside the world of awareness, the once-blurred image gradually grew sharp, as if a thick fog was being parted to reveal the truth concealed beneath.
What emerged was a scene both deep and mysterious, two crimson sparks flared in the darkness like sudden flames from Hell. Their glow was not blinding, but carried a power that seized the very heart.
"What is this?"
Ian gazed at the now-clear image. The crimson sparks twisted and solidified, they were eyes. Cold, profound, brimming with ancient and unknowable essence. As the outline sharpened, a raven slowly took shape.
Its feathers were black as ink, each one shimmering faintly in the gloom as though infused with boundless mystery. Ian's breath quickened. He could feel an enigmatic aura flowing across the pattern, like the weight of primordial authority, like whispers from the dawn of the cosmos.
"So this… is my Legendary Authority?" Ian realized that the paradoxical authority flowing into him originated from the very essence of his awakening legend.
It was a power beyond reason, an overbearing force that embodied seizure and dominion. It now coursed through his thoughts, fusing seamlessly with his soul.
This was why he could perceive the Paradox Authority.
A power that should have belonged to Herpo now streamed forth like an unseen river from the raven emblem, surging through every inch of his flesh and blood, ultimately merging with his soul as though it had always been his.
This sensation of plundered power was both alien and strangely familiar to Ian and it felt as though some ancient law of the universe had chosen him, granting him the supreme privilege to explore taboos and rewrite the rules themselves.
"This is insane… Am I just ridiculously overpowered, or is the Legendary rank itself broken beyond measure?" Ian's emotions surged like storm-tossed waves as he grasped the enormity of what was happening to him.
Of course, Now was not the time to dwell on just how formidable this authority might be. Ian could feel his body, his soul, and even his very consciousness undergoing subtle yet profound changes.
This was, without a doubt, a metamorphosis.
A metamorphosis, being transformed from mundane into a higher realm.
In the midst of this transformation, Ian felt an unprecedented sensation, a strange intertwining of agony and ecstasy surging through his body. It was as though countless tiny needles were piercing him all at once; every single cell in his body seemed both to cheer with joy and to groan under crushing pressure.
Perhaps, though a Legendary Wizard's natural lifespan would not reach a millennium, they still possessed life and constitution far beyond that of ordinary wizards. This moment signified that a Legendary Wizard's body would no longer be their weakness.
"No wonder so many legendary wizards are both martial and magical monsters!" Ian couldn't help but sigh in realization. He could sense it clearly: both his body and his magic power were undergoing a great leap forward in this ascension.
His mind sharpened, and he was able to catch the slightest shifts in his surroundings with ease. Even the motes of dust drifting in the air could be perceived by him, and he could do it without using his sight.
The surge of magic power within him no longer coursed in the old chaotic manner as it did before, but began flowing in an order he had never experienced before. It was as if every strand of magic power in his body had been given life.
They moved in a mysterious rhythm, as though performing a constant, sacred ritual. This birthed within his magic a change akin to willpower, a quality that granted his magic unprecedented amplification, enabling effects beyond imagination.
"A Legendary Wizard and an ordinary wizard, truly, the difference between them is like the gap between a first year student with magic and Dumbledore."
Only at this moment did Ian truly comprehend the weight of the word Legendary Wizard. A legendary wizard transcended the mortal realm because they were no longer, in truth, mere mortals.
The same spell, when cast by a Legendary Wizard or an ordinary wizard, became vastly different in effect.
The existence of a Legendary Wizard already surpassed the limits of common reason. Their strength was no longer bound by ordinary laws, but drew near to that of the lofty gods above.
Though they lacked divinity, their magic power had begun to approximate Divine Power. Thus, what defined a legendary wizard was not only enhanced strength, but also an understanding and mastery over the very rules themselves.
"So that's it."
Ian finally understood why merely increasing one's magic power was not enough to ascend into Legendary Wizard.
The path of Legendary Wizard was not only the accumulation of magic power, but the ceaseless exploration and understanding of the world's very essence. Inevitably, one had to weave themselves into the fabric of the world, leaving behind an indelible mark.
That mark was the so-called story.
At this stage, one would be required to take a step further, and one would reach the divine ladder that Legendary Wizards like Herpo dreamed of ascending.
Of course, perhaps the choice was not singular.
In reality, Ian slowly opened his eyes. The radiance surrounding him gradually withdrew, and with it his heart settled into calm. He knew that he had completed the metamorphosis from being a mortal to a Legendary Wizard.
From this day forth, his imprint would be carved into history.
"Eh? He woke up!" The Brute Goddess darted to Ian's side at once, utterly disregarding personal space as she reached out and pinched his cheek. "You feel the same… Are you really a legendary wizard now?"
"This is my first time witnessing the birth of a legendary wizard." There was a trace of emotion in her voice; as a young goddess, she still had many firsts to enjoy.
"Then count yourself fortunate. I'll be the most handsome Legendary Wizard you'll ever see." Ian glanced toward the Sun God, who was watching him with a gaze both complex and unreadable.
"What do you mean?"The Brute Goddess blinked in surprise.
"Mutation. I've undergone a mutation." Ian did not speak the whole truth, though it wasn't exactly a lie. He stepped toward the cliffside, the last patch of green near the volcano.
The Sun God's Divine Power had shielded this place well, so much so that the people here did not feel the unbearable heat. Otherwise, the eruption's blazing temperatures alone would have roasted them into dried husks.
"To be honest, I don't really understand this situation myself."
Ian stood at the cliff's edge. The wind rushed in from all directions, thick with the acrid scent of sulfur and the scorching ash of the volcano, slapping against his face. His wizard's robes snapped sharply in the storm.
The city at the foot of the mountain was no more. Once-bustling streets and towering buildings had now been completely swallowed by the scorching magma. Rivers of fire snaked and writhed, reducing everything in their path to ashes.
Billowing smoke surged upward, veiling half the sky. Now and then, flames flickered within the black haze, like the eyes of Hell itself peering down upon the mortal realm.
"Do you need me to share my divinity with you, to let you take another step forward?" The Brute Goddess, ever warm-hearted, posed the question. Of course, this was also tied to the contract binding her fate to Ian's.
"I don't think that's necessary." Ian refused without hesitation.
His reply left the Brute Goddess utterly stunned. Any wizard faced with such an opportunity would find his choice incomprehensible. Yet Ian had his reasons.
(End Of This Chapter)
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