Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Adam's body language showed no signs upon reading the contents of the weathered, yellow parchment.

Yet, Cedric Acadia was able to astutely notice the slight—very slight—change in Adam's eyes. His smile grew deeper.

"So you do know about that mysterious place," he said with a light chuckle. "Well, that makes things easier."

Adam didn't reply. His attention was on the parchment in his hands. It seemed that he could hardly believe that such an item had managed to find its way to him.

The Prince did not take offence, however. Instead, he became quite elated.

If this item already had such an effect on the raven-haired youth, then it would be fairly easy for him to navigate from here on and eventually convince the young man to support him.

Everything in this world has a price, he thought to himself.

Even you, Constantine!

Cedric cleared his throat and went on to explain, "This place… is cursed and forbidden, hidden deep within towering cliffs in a faraway land. The sky above it is always dim, and the sunlight never reaches it.

"A thick, black fog always hangs over the land, and it is said that nothing grows there. No trees, no grass, not even moss. Also, no Magus has ever returned from there. Well… alive, that is."

He paused for a moment, carefully studying Adam. But except for the faint ripples in the youth's dark eyes, Cedric could see nothing else.

Nevertheless, he continued, "For generations, people have believed that a great treasure lay hidden in that forbidden place. Some say it is an ancient artifact from time immemorial, while others claim it was a source of raw, pure mana.

"Whatever it is, it has drawn in hundreds of powerful Magi over the years. However, none of them ever came back. Most vanished without a trace, as if swallowed by the earth. The few that did return came back as corpses, bringing with them fragments of knowledge that served as the foundation for the next generation of adventurers to follow in their footsteps."

Cedric took a sip of tea to wash down his throat. Then, he continued, "Still, the stories lived on. Whispers of what might be there. Of what one might become, if they could claim whatever was hidden in its depths."

The prince pointed at the weathered parchment in Adam's hands and said:

"That map… I was fortunate to acquire it from the corpse of an adventurer who dared to enter that forbidden zone. He was chasing whatever secret lies within, the same secret that keeps pulling fools and Magi into it, year after year."

He paused for a moment before adding, "We found his corpse floating in the sea during our return voyage from Yen-Lu a few years ago. At the time, I only wanted to glimpse the forbidden zone from afar.

"Who would have thought… I'd end up with a map from a Magus who luckily made it out of that place, though, only as a corpse."

Cedric turned to Adam and said, his tone laced with confidence, "So, what do you think, Count Constantine? Incomplete though it may be, it is still a very detailed map of that forbidden zone… the mysterious place that separates Europa from Yenlu, the Dark Valley."

Adam remained silent as he gazed at the crude map on the yellowed parchment. Though he displayed a flat expression on his face, a raging storm was brewing in his heart.

Just a year ago, he had learned about the founder of the Brotherhood, Aldo Wagner, journeying into the Dark Valley.

There, he came across a grotesque abomination that drove him insane.

He was only able to escape that forbidden zone by sheer luck, but even then… he was no longer the same person.

Besides, there was one more thing about the Dark Valley that truly frightened Adam.

He finally turned toward Cedric and asked flatly, "This adventurer, the one whose corpse you found this map on… how old was he?"

The Prince arched an eyebrow. That was a strange first question to ask, considering the immense value of the map. He expected the youth to first question the veracity of this map. But he didn't think anything about it.

"Old, very old," he said. "I still wonder to this day, why would he enter that forbidden zone if he was already one foot in the grave? Perhaps, out of desperation? That's the only conclusion I could come to."

Cedric shook his head slightly, a trace of pity in his eyes. "Perhaps this Magus thought that whatever it was that lay hidden in the depths of Dark Valley would extend his lifespan. How naive."

Adam's heart churned with tumultuous waves. His mind was a complete chaos.

No…

He thought to himself in shock.

This adventurer, he… he didn't enter the Dark Valley as an old man. No! He must've gone in while he was still young. But when he emerged… he was ancient.

The Dark Valley… that place distorts time!

Even the Founder, a Magus of immense power, aged centuries in that forbidden zone. And I suspect he only managed to escape because of his formidable magic.

Still… what awaited him was a fate no worse than death.

He came out broken, old, frail, and barely sane… clutching onto the last scraps of his mind like they were all he had left.

And he died shortly after...

Adam took a deep breath, then placed the parchment on the table. He turned to the Prince and calmly said, "This isn't a treasure map. This is a map to my doom. What makes you think that I would be willing to even go anywhere near the Dark Valley?"

Cedric remained silent for a few moments, his lips gradually curling upward. He leaned back slightly and looked straight into Adam's dark eyes.

"Because," he said calmly, "you're not like the others, Count Constantine. You've never chased safety. You've never been content with limits. The unknown calls to you louder than any crown or kingdom ever could."

He nodded towards the map again. "And deep down, you know that whatever lies within that cursed valley… it's meant to be found by someone like you."

Adam never had any plans to even set foot anywhere near the Dark Valley.

But something about the Prince's last words caused his heart to shudder.

Meant to be found… by someone like me? He thought to himself, shocked.

Just about a year ago, I learned from the founder's journals about the existence of the Dark Valley, and now… a crude map of that forbidden zone found its way to me…

Isn't this too much of a coincidence?

Adam had been paying close attention to the ethereal notion of coincidences, the subtle threads woven into the fabric of fate and destiny.

First, Autumn Godsaint just so happened to leave the city just before calamity was about to befall.

Now, he just so happened to find the map of the Dark Valley.

Coincidence, coincidence, coincidence!

Adam didn't buy it.

He knew of one entity that dabbled in the magic of coincidences...

And he had only recently met it!