Rain poured endlessly over Modernia while dark thunderclouds covered the sky completely that morning barely looked like morning anymore.
The wind roared against the cliffs overlooking the violent ocean below, carrying cold mist upwards as waves crashed against rock with enough force to shake the earth beneath them. Floating instruments above distant graves swayed gently in the storm.
Veneri stood near the edge of the cliff completely motionless while allowing the rain to drench him without resistance. He had deliberately dismissed every protective barrier. Some part of him believed that if he was going to destroy pieces of himself, then he deserved to feel every uncomfortable part of the process without shelter.
Water soaked through his clothes while the wind struck his skin yet he made no effort to stop it. Behind him, Melody stood silently beneath her massive leaf while watching him with a seriousness Adelasta had never seen from her before.
Veneri slowly looked down at his hands while rainwater dripped from his fingertips in slow streams. He didn't feel the raindrops and for once he wished he did. He had already accepted that cleansing had to happen because without it he would never reach the Tenth Star.
Acceptance however, did not make anything easier. Knowing something was necessary did not mystically remove emotional pain. Right now, he felt like someone standing in front of a fire, fully aware he had to step into it while still fearing the burns.
"This still hurts. I understand why this has to happen but I hate every part of this."
Melody lowered her gaze before answering.
"It is supposed to hurt. Nobody destroys years of effort without suffering. What you are sacrificing is not only power but also memories, emotions and pieces of yourself that helped shape who you became."
Veneri laughed weakly.
"That somehow makes me feel dramatically worse. You are really bad at comforting people."
"I know. Unfortunately, honesty matters more right now than comfort."
For a while, neither of them spoke as rain continued falling heavily around them. Thunder echoed across the sky while the ocean below churned violently enough to resemble an endless battlefield.
Veneri quietly stared at the horizon as though trying to prepare himself mentally for what was about to happen. Eventually, he sighed.
"Alright. I should begin with Castless Magecraft."
Adelasta quietly watched the memory unfold while something uncomfortable settled in her chest. Out of everything he possessed, she knew Castless Magecraft mattered deeply to him because it represented freedom more than power. It was instinctive, creative and entirely his own. Nobody had taught him and he built from suffering and experimentation.
Veneri slowly raised one hand while faint sapphire energy shimmered weakly against his fingers. Castless Magecraft had always been one of his greatest strengths because unlike other mages, he could manipulate energy and sapphire without relying on runes, chants or Mystic Circles.
He remembered learning how to shape sapphire through instinct during those brutal three years spent on the Fallen Bridge, where every mistake meant suffering and every success meant survival. He remembered the pride he felt after becoming a Mystical Forger, finally understanding that perhaps he truly had talent for something extraordinary.
The memories came one after another. Permafrost's Grasp. The Obsidian Runic Spire. The impossible cold that nearly killed him. The moment sapphire saved his life. The countless techniques he developed.
The moments he trained Phaenora and helped her understand sapphire manipulation while she laughed whenever she accidentally made mistakes.
Every memory hurt because all of it had to disappear.
Veneri slowly extended his hand and began drawing a rune in the air before him. The symbol shimmered as Soul Energy pulsed through it, carrying the authority to destroy foundations themselves. The Rune of Destruction floated before him silently while thunder cracked loudly overhead, illuminating the storm for brief moments.
Rain struck the glowing rune endlessly as though trying to extinguish something that could not be extinguished. Veneri stared at it quietly for several moments and closed his eyes.
"Goodbye."
The rune activated. Pain hit him instantly.
Veneri gasped violently before collapsing to his knees as agony consumed his entire body with terrifying intensity. It felt as though invisible hands had reached directly into his soul and begun tearing pieces away without mercy while every memory connected to Castless Magecraft screamed against destruction. Lightning struck nearby so violently that the cliff trembled beneath him while blood immediately spilled from his eyes, nose and mouth.
The pain was unbearable. It felt like losing an arm that nobody else could see. It felt like part of his identity was being ripped away while he remained fully conscious through every horrifying second.
Eventually, the pain stopped.
Veneri remained kneeling while breathing unevenly. His blood mixed with rainwater beneath him. Slowly, he looked down at his hand while trying to recall the countless sapphire techniques he spent years mastering. Nothing came.
He remembered Castless Magecraft existed.
He remembered training it but every technique, every instinct and every understanding had vanished completely.
"It's gone. I can't remember any of it."
Melody stayed silent because there was nothing comforting she could say. The worst part was that there was still more.
Veneri slowly forced himself back onto his feet while his body continued trembling. Rainwater dripped endlessly from his hair while blood slowly washed away across the cliffside beneath him. He looked exhausted already yet his expression slowly got more serious because stopping now would only make everything meaningless.
"Rune Manipulation is next."
Rune Manipulation was old. It reminded him of being ten years old and desperately wanting approval from his father while trying his best to draw Xinoraci symbols correctly. He remembered Dilasyus standing calmly beside him while correcting mistakes patiently and teaching him the language of runes piece by piece until his hands hurt from practice.
He remembered exhaustion, frustration, pride and the happiness he felt after finally drawing every Xinoraci letter successfully for the first time.
Back then, mysticism felt exciting. He was just learning how to use it and it was fun. Back then, things felt simpler. He was just a young boy who wanted to make his First Mystic Circle and be the mage he always saw in animations back on Earth.
Veneri laughed weakly while staring at nothing.
"I really loved runes. Everything I built eventually came back to Rune Manipulation. My Mystic Circles depended on them. My survival depended on them. My victories depended on them."
Without runes, he would have died. The cathedral battle in Frozen Ruins, the statue fight, the impossible moments where only Rune Manipulation saved him, even the Control Mystic Circle could not have existed without runes.
He clenched his shaking hands. Veneri slowly recreated the Rune of Destruction. For what he knew, would be the final time he would do so. The Rune of Destruction was the first letter of the Xinoraci alphabet. It was the first rune he drew. It was also the first rune he spoke.
Now it would be the last rune he would ever draw.
The rain intensified. Thunder shook the sky. He stared at the rune silently and lowered his gaze. The rune activated. Pain consumed him again. This time, it was far worse.
Veneri collapsed violently onto the cliff side as blood spilled from his mouth and eyes while his body trembled uncontrollably against soaked stone. It felt as though someone had ripped language itself out of his mind while every memory connected to Rune Manipulation shattered violently into pieces too small to recover. Xinoraci disappeared piece by piece while its understanding vanished alongside it.
He remembered learning runes but could not remember the symbols. He remembered Xinoraci but could no longer read it. He remembered practicing with his father Dilasyus but could not remember what he learned.
The pain became unbearable enough that he screamed until his voice turned raw.
Body Reconstruction desperately fought to repair the damage as blood continued spilling across the stone beneath him. Without it, his body might have collapsed entirely under the strain. Cleansing was not only spiritual but also brutally physical. Every sacrifice demanded payment and today, the payment was suffering.
Eventually and slowly, the pain faded.
Veneri forced himself upright while breathing heavily, soaked in rain and blood while his body shook from exhaustion. He raised his hand instinctively, wanting to draw even the simplest rune out of habit. Nothing came.
He could not even remember what the Rune of Destruction looked like anymore. Xinoraci was gone. All his experience of Rune Manipulation was gone. Everything as gone. It was now time for the hardest part.
Mystic Circles.
Years of research, suffering and invention had to be destroyed and leave only one behind.