Chapter 4: A Possible Answer
Although the matter appeared to be nothing more than a simple transformation spell, the significance behind it was far from simple.
The conversion of one object into another had been studied by countless powerful mages and sages since ancient times—it was, in fact, the origin and ultimate pursuit of alchemy: the art of transmuting 'all things' into 'gold.' Its highest achievement was the creation of the 'Philosopher's Stone,' capable of producing gold and the elixir of life, granting immortality.
Not long ago, Haier Mu had burned his own soul and body, accelerating his particles to their limit to collide with Joshua's form. He had merely simulated the environment of a supernova explosion, producing a large quantity of heavy elements including gold. Yet this transformation spell could turn stone into a white dove, and naturally, a white dove into stone. Having reached this step, it would be no surprise if it could even convert stone into gold.
It seemed ordinary, yet it was close to truth. The pinnacle of alchemy lay within this simple 'conversion' and 'transformation.' Ordinary people might not comprehend such extraordinariness, but the Legendary knew deeply that this was an anomaly far surpassing an Abyss invasion.
Moreover, what was happening now was far more than just a simple 'transformation' spell.
High above the Great Aias Mountains, aboard the airship of Baniel and William, both Joshua—who was contacting Nostradamus—and Barbarossa—who was reaching out to the major mage organizations of the Eastern Plains—once again unexpectedly received a great deal of news, the nature of which was uncertain.
In an unremarkable corner of a mountain village, in an unknown small city, all sorts of events that mages found utterly bizarre were occurring—a youth could slip into shadows and travel between them, a child could fly through the sky without restraint, a girl could summon strange beasts with her mind to accompany her, and a normally silent middle-aged man could transform into a superhuman of immense strength... The earliest incident could be traced back to May 21st, Year 837 of the Falling Stars Era. From that day on, the first known anomaly occurred.
Yet these events caused not a single ripple.
Because to ordinary people, they meant nothing.
To the many commoners living in the Mycroft World who frequently encountered mages and knights, these extraordinary occurrences were simply part of magic—even if all mages agreed they were not magical at all. Coupled with the Great Magic Tide, many had grown accustomed to someone they knew suddenly gaining extraordinary power one day. What seemed utterly baffling to Legendary mages was, to them, just another part of everyday life.
"Slip into shadows? Isn't that a fairy tale? How can one slip into shadows? Slipping into subspace would make more sense, but how could a child possess such power?"
"Flight without any principle? Just naturally floating up?"
"Summoning strange beasts out of thin air... Where does this matter come from? And how does it disappear?"
Every question was enough to make Baniel and William scratch their heads in frustration. Every event could furrow Barbarossa's brow. Faced with these seemingly ordinary yet reality-defying outbursts of supernatural power, the Legendary mages felt an unfamiliar fear—the primal fear of the unknown. They had thought they knew enough, but now Barbarossa and the others sensed a long-forgotten unknown in these events.
But fear was not necessarily a bad thing.
Mages were beings driven by curiosity. They explored beyond mountains and across seas; they gazed at the other side of stars, seeking truth and power... The greater the fear, the greater the curiosity. Precisely because they didn't know why, they had to try, to understand.
In this anomaly that might have swept across the multiverse, Joshua was also lost in thought. Unlike the three Legendary mages, as a warrior who didn't understand magic, he couldn't analyze or solve these matters through magical means. But as a holder of supernatural power, with strength and vision at his level, the distinction between mana and life energy had become nearly imperceptible.
In Joshua's view, these events were neither isolated nor entirely incomprehensible. He had witnessed power that transcended the explanatory scope of ordinary magic before, so while he was shocked, he wasn't as utterly bewildered as others.
His memory drifted back to the past, and the warrior couldn't help but think of one person... Yes, he thought of the Sage again.
Joshua recalled the Sage's memories he had seen long ago—the Sage's childhood, feared by his own parents, and his ability to revive the dead and restore life to the living. Because of these strange events now, the warrior's mind conjured the image of a white-haired, flawless youth who seemed to embody 'perfection' itself, along with his 'miracle' of easily recalling souls and awakening corpses.
"Equally incredible, equally beyond reason... Could there be a connection between the two?"
Joshua knew that the power the Sage held was likely a powerful authority related to 'life energy,' granted by the Steel Serpent, and was different from the various anomalies now unfolding. But who could say that these current abnormalities weren't the scattered authorities of some other powerful being?
The Steel Shards granted by the world possessed such power. The shards Joshua had thrown to Xiao Guang—one could command wind, fire, thunder, and lightning, summon rainstorms and frost, and recreate any natural phenomenon at will; another could awaken matter, bestow life, and create beings like 'Chu Hao,' a Steel Elemental; and a third could control psionic energy, peer into hearts, and manipulate others' wills at its fingertips.
To mages, these powers were also incredibly extraordinary. Though they more or less conformed to the common sense of the Mycroft World and could be explained by magic, who could say that Mycroft World's common sense was the multiverse's common sense, and that Mycroft's magic could explain the entire multiverse? Joshua believed that rather than blindly studying anomalies with no clue as to their cause, it would be better to start researching from the known 'Steel Shard' authorities.
"That's not a bad idea."
Joshua, true to form, acted on his thoughts. He shared some of his conjectures and the Sage's former abilities with the three Legendary mages present. Baniel pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "To be honest, whether it's transformation or slipping into subspace for travel, these aren't 'miracles' that magic cannot achieve. The issue is that those using them aren't powerful mages, but children and youngsters who have never touched magic. That's the only part we can't understand."
"Yes, this situation is indeed somewhat similar to what you call 'authority bestowal'..."
William and Barbarossa had just been discussing whether to spread this news across the entire Eastern Plains. Now William turned around and agreed. "Authority is nothing more than a powerful being creating a ready-made weapon. Those who receive the authority don't need to think about how to make the weapon—they just activate it and use it. The more I think about it, the more similar it seems—there's almost no difference!"
"The only question is where all these 'authorities,' or 'Steel Shards,' come from."
Barbarossa chuckled lightly. This tall, bald mage was usually very stern before his students, maintaining his dignity as the Chief Mage. But when with Baniel and William, who were from the same era and had even adventured together, he couldn't be bothered to keep a straight face. The Elemental Master smiled and speculated, "Maybe some worlds exploded, and the fragments scattered across the multiverse with the Magic Tide? Haha, so many different authorities—who knows how many... how many worlds were destroyed..."
"..."
"..."
His voice grew softer, his tone more serious. Joshua narrowed his eyes. The Legendary figures exchanged glances. In that brief moment, silence descended upon the entire airship experimental cabin.
Thoughts raced far faster than words. Within ten seconds of the warrior suggesting that the current situation might resemble 'authority bestowal,' the three Legendary mages had, through casual conversation, guessed various principles and possibilities. Following these principles and possibilities, they arrived at an answer that made even Legendaries uneasy, a prickling sensation on their backs.
"Is it possible?"
After a moment of silence, Barbarossa turned to Joshua. He asked the warrior, who among those present was most familiar with Steel Force and authorities, "I'm just guessing offhand... Could it really be like this?"
William and Baniel also looked at Joshua, their expressions equally solemn. Facing the gaze of three Legendary mages, Joshua exhaled and said in a deep voice, "I can't be certain... But."
He neither confirmed the possibility nor completely denied Barbarossa's guess. Joshua seemed to be searching for the right words—the Elemental Master's speculation was like a thunderclap, instantly jolting Joshua, who had been taking things lightly, awake. He immediately realized that because he had been in this world too long, in this environment too long, he had overlooked a very terrifying fact... This was something countless players from his past life had discussed, but the game officials had never given a clear answer. Millions of people thought it was just a setting, an inevitable tide of the era accompanying the growth of players' power. But what was the truth behind it?
"But, everyone..."
After a long pause, accompanied by a sigh, Joshua crossed his arms over his chest. He looked up, gazing into the void. In the warrior's eyes, it seemed as if the path of light that had pierced half the multiverse reappeared. He paused, then continued in a low but clear voice, "Does anyone here know what the 'Great Magic Tide' really is?"
"Why does it occur? What is the principle behind it? Where does it come from, what does it cause, and what will it ultimately become?"
"In other words... among those present, who knows where this energy tide, sweeping across the multiverse in a mighty torrent, originates, and why it appears?"
No one answered this question, but everyone understood Joshua's meaning. Barbarossa, Baniel, and William all looked up, gazing into the void. Their eyes pierced through the world, as if trying to cross the endless energy tide, to see its origin, to see the center of the multiverse.
Darkness enveloped all things. Even the light of the Magic Tide was merely a thin, silvery veil. Amidst the shadows spanning all known horizons, faint, imperceptible lights flickered—starlight, the light of worlds.
And no one knew what they had encountered, what had happened, behind this shadow and darkness.
And what, in the end, they had become.