Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

In an unknown corner in the depths of the spirit world, where an ocean churned from the brilliant stars and seven moons cast their pale glow upon its black surface, a powerful Transcendent entity slumbered.

This entity, made entirely of a swirling mass of writhing tentacles, one single colossal eye, and a gaping maw vast enough to swallow a city whole, slept in the depths of this dark ocean.

Within the stomach of this otherworldly abomination, a human figure lay unconscious, his body slowly corroded by acid as fleshy tendrils coiled tightly around his limbs and torso.

Adam saw no way to slay this monster and free himself from its stomach. He was but a mere Mana Vortex Magus, while the abomination that had swallowed him was likely a Transcendent being, an entity three realms beyond his reach.

How could he even hope to defeat such a creature?

There was no way.

No way at all.

And so, as Adam sank into the darkest pits of despair, his flesh slowly being corroded by the gastric acid, he did something he hadn't done in as long as he could remember…

He gave up.

While his physical body was being slowly eaten away inside the abomination's stomach, strangely enough, he found himself… or perhaps, his spirit body… in a blank, white space.

He lay curled in a fetal position, stark naked, his dark eyes hollow… devoid of any light, stripped of any hope. He didn't know where he was. Perhaps this was his spirit sea? Or maybe it was the mysterious space inside the white lotus.

Whatever it was… he did not know, he did not care anymore.

Tears slightly trickle down his face, and he murmured:

"I wonder… if my luck is really that bad? Or did I… bring this upon myself?"

Ever since the Blackshore Incident, nothing had gone his way.

He visited Hannes City and found a terrible secret—one that would endanger the whole planet—hidden underneath the city. Then, he learned of Helene Godfrey's betrayal.

Then, he visited the Town of Constantine and saw the ash tree he had planted long ago, now grown into a magnificent testament to life.

He even met the will of the world…

"Damn you…" Adam's lips quivered. "Where were you when I needed help all this time? Where are you now..."

He traversed the danger-ridden Murky Mountains and reached the Empire, where he received a hero's welcome. And when he finally returned to Ravenfell, he was embraced like a long-lost son coming home from a perilous journey.

It was a homecoming celebration worthy of a king!

He reunited with his beloved sister. And he even found his childhood friends once more. But the joy was short-lived. The Cult had already reached out with its dark claws, threatening to devour everything he held dear.

He was forced to send his sweet sister away, hoping to shield her from danger. Yet, in doing so, he might have put her and her companions into even greater peril.

From that moment on, everything spiralled downhill. It was one misfortune after another, without end.

"I'm tired…"

Adam sobbed silently.

"I have been fighting for nearly a day… I haven't had anything to eat… to drink…"

From clashing with Felix to descending into the spirit world with him. From battling the four-armed monster to facing the formless fog. And now, trapped inside the stomach of a Transcendent entity, slowly being devoured, while the whispers of the Faceless Mask continued to gnaw at his sanity.

"I'm tired… so, so tired…"

The Laughing God continued to whisper inside his mind, forcing Adam to grimace in agony. He covered his ears and continued to sob. But the whispers never ceased. If anything, they seemed to grow louder.

"I'm hurt, and I'm tired, and I wanna go home… And I want to sleep… I don't want to be here… and I think…"

His shoulders trembled incessantly as he continued to sob.

"…Can I let this one go? Can I let it be someone else's problem? Just for once… so I can rest…"

Adam had finally had enough. The burden on his shoulder had crushed him. He could endure no longer.

"Just for a moment… Can't I rest?"

He slowly opened his eyes. Murky and unfocused, they seemed devoid of life.

"No… I can't. But I wish I could… Oh, how I wish I could… more than anything."

Yet, deep within his eyes, a new light bloomed. It swelled brighter with each passing heartbeat, growing blinding and incandescent.

Valerian's frantic screams overlapped with the whispers of the Laughing God. The young dragon was crying—begging—him to wake up.

"I hear you, Val… I hear you," Adam murmured. "I haven't forgotten… my Way of Magic."

And so, within the gargantuan stomach of the Transcendent abomination, Adam slowly opened his eyes. The divine light burning within them flared, casting its holy glow across the grotesque chamber and revealing countless fleshy tendrils, coated with corrosive acid, ensnaring his body whole.

The raven-haired youth wrenched his hands free from the tendrils, then with great difficulty began weaving a complex set of hand seals.

He was looking for a landmass to gain a proper foothold, wasn't he? And now he had found it. He gnashed his teeth so tightly that they started to bleed. His eyes started to bleed profusely, yet his hands never stopped.

Energy surged within him as the tendrils coiled tighter, sensing his escape. But still, he did not yield. He did not give up.

What was a Magus's Way of Magic? It wasn't just a path of power. It was an anchor to their identity.

When a Magus was lost, whether in despair or madness, their Way acted as a lifeline. The principles they built their magic on, the truth they carved into their soul, were like a compass pointing them back to who they are.

Even when the world around them warps, even when their body fails, their Way of Magi remains unshaken.

It whispers: This is who you are, and this is what you stand for.

And by holding onto that, a Magus could pull themselves out of hopelessness, no matter how deep they've sunk.

"Unbruised prosperity… cannot endure a single blow," Adam spat through gritted teeth as the meaty tendrils coiled tightly around his body.

"But I… I have been in constant battle… with misfortune… and have acquired a skin calloused by suffering."

The extremely potent acid inside the abomination's stomach threatened to corrode his life away and absorb him. Yet, his hands never stopped weaving.

"No matter what… life throws my way… I will never yield!"

His flesh corroded at a frightening pace. Tendrils slithered into his ears and nose, clawing their way to his brain. They would not allow him to leave.

"And even if I stumble… I will carry the fight on upon my knees…"

He was nearly swallowed into the stomach walls when, suddenly, a blinding light erupted from his eyes. At last, he had established a connection with his staff in the material world.

And then…

A small portal materialized beneath him, devouring every tendril that dared to get in its way.

As Adam fell through the portal, he whispered in relief:

"This… is my Way of Magic."