I created my own system

"Remember what?"

He placed a finger against my forehead. And in that instant, images flashed—

A battlefield. A burning temple. A young man kneeling, weeping while holding someone in his arms.

And a single word echoing in the flames: "NO"

Then everything vanished.

I was back at the shrine.

The man was gone.

And the sphere… had left behind another fragment.

Golden. Warm. And pulsing to my heartbeat.

.

.

.

The pov of one of the Apollo inside the ruins of Mahika.

"Are you ready young mage I am about to tell you the tragic story of our teacher, whom we hold the greatest of this sanctuary"

The spirit said, though his eyes were lonely, his voice was determined to speak.

"Apollo Lionheart, more known to us as Elias, was the greatest mage to ever grace this empire. Not only is he versed in magic but also in the sword. He combined those two and created a new technique currently known as magic swordsmanship, though the ones made here are a bit different from the ones currently being used in the empire. But its creation cemented his contribution to the empire. However, in my opinion, it wasn't the spells and techniques that made him great, but the students he taught that gave life to the knowledge you have right now. However, despite all his achievements, I think his and our downfall all started when our great teacher brought a kid in one of his travels. According to him, this kid was an orphan from a place destroyed by a breakout. He eliminated every demon there, but unfortunately, he could only save one child who managed to get away due to his parents buying him time to run. That orphan boy was later named, Dominos. I think that tragic past was the reason none of us really thought he could do such experiments."

"Experiments?"

"Yes, we don't know when it began, but suddenly we found him obsessing over demons, how they are created, and how their anatomy works. He proposed that the demonification process was merely a transformation, not a complete erasure of the being's consciousness. He theorized that remnants of the creature's original mind might still linger beneath the monstrous form, buried beneath layers of chaos and pain. To him, demons were just misunderstood beings, victims of nature's cruel trick. It was worth researching for some of us even helped him, but then from demons he switched to a magical beast"

Arevano's figure quivered as if remembering something horrifying.

"You know his question started with innocence, 'Do demons truly lose their minds?' That question seems so ordinary to us. But back then it was probably the fuse that sparked his obsession. he grasped his face for a moment as he stopped talking, then he looked at me.

"His experiments on them began. He created test subjects by imprisoning weakened magical beasts and forcing them to undergo corruption to watch the change. He mapped their brainwaves. He cataloged their screams, every change from how their behavior morphed into a new one, until their flesh was no longer the same as before. He wrote records titled: "Cognitive Response in Early-Stage Demonic Conversion" and "Behavioral Patterns Post-Corruption."

"We should have stopped him but some of us were blinded by the results he was showing"

"Wait how about Elias? Don't tell me he didn't do anything?"

I asked, feeling that if it's him, he would do something.

"He interfered with the research, even when it was showing results it was later stopped by his command"

I couldn't help but know the next outcome of this story.

"It wasn't long until that terrible day arrived. I still remember it. That mage experimented with something. He created a living fusion of multiple corrupted beasts, its heart bound by spells he modified on his own. That grotesque appearance of a demon pulsing with stolen blood. At first, we thought it came out of the forest that we are protecting, but it turns out to be a creation of madness and obsession. He thought he could control it, had caged it, and manipulate it to his hardest—until the cage snapped.

It broke free.

It roared upon its freedom and the sky that was bright and beautiful was soon devoured with darkness and corruption. It is the air polluting everything it touches. Soon, the plants slowly withered, some even turned venomous, and man-eating monsters that attacked mindlessly. The magical beasts quietly sleeping at their place were trapped in corruption and became demons as well. The turn of events was too fast for even the most powerful mages to be left shocked upon seeing the situation. The entire temple was turned upside down with the roar of death coming at us. I saw it all, lad, how my home was slowly being torn apart right in front of me. The ancient marble cracked, the runes we drew bled red, crying for help, and the protective enchantments became haywire. Screams echoed through once-sacred halls. Firestorms and black tendrils consumed archives older than kingdoms.

And in the midst of all this

Dominos, who became the prime student of Elias, ignited the fire that completely engulfed us.

He was loved by many of us, cherished by his talent, and respected for his dedication.

No one knew he would cause our death, but as he saw us fall one by one

He didn't run.

He stood in the center of the chaos, drenched in blood, a broken staff in hand, whispering to himself:

'This is necessary... all progress comes with loss...' He kept repeating that like a broken record. I felt pain as if he were treating this catastrophe as a mere part of his experiments. That we all became part of his test subjects, a tool for his desire.

But then you know, lad, when all hope is gone, he arrives, our teacher, a Celestial mage of unparalleled power. He finally came after he visited the capital. All the remaining mages felt happy; finally, there was hope. With a wave of his staff, he defeated the beast that attacked the remaining mages. But then it was too late to save them since the corruption had reached their body and poisoned them. For a mage, corruption is dangerous; it won't even turn them into a devil, but instead kill them completely. However, despite their impending deaths, there wasn't any regret, only a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction for doing what needed to be done. We are, after all, the ones who vow to protect the empire.

I too felt happy but then I witnessed the remaining moments of the previous brilliant star of our temple

"My student"

Elias found him there. The man who once praised Dominos' cleverness now stood with eyes darkened by rage and grief.

"What are you doing!? You're creating madness, Dominos!"

"Teacher… listen, I can explain—"

"Enough! Stop everything. Now!"

But Dominos wouldn't. Couldn't. He wanted his teacher to see. To understand. To be proud.

That moment broke them both.

With a final command, the Celestial mage summoned a purging flame in an attempt to sterilize the remaining corruption that continued to spread through the temple. The demon was still alive, spreading more of his calamity. But not before the Demon released one final pulse of miasma, the corruption drew like a curse to those who were still breathing.

And Dominos inhaled it.

His limbs gave out. Darkness clawed into his veins, drowning his thoughts. His body fell forward—but his gaze never left his teacher. Even with death closing in, his expression was one of longing.

"Teacher... I'll prove you wrong..."

The celestial mage caught him before he hit the ground, a mix of fury and sorrow carved into his face.

"You little idiot… even in death, you're still obsessed."

And just like that, Dominos—prodigy, heretic, dreamer, fool—was gone.

Or so the world believed"

Arevano then looked at me, and I knew that look. He was not looking at me as Apollo but as Elias.

"Lad, if your words are true, then perhaps Dominos found a way to keep himself from forgetting. He was, after all, a trusted student of Elias. I am certain he revealed a secret that might have helped him live up until no"

"A secret?"

"Yes, our teacher trusted him too much, I think that is also the reason why Dominos was very confident he could pull off the experiment he had in mind"

[If it's a secret, could it be...]

"The fragments yes, it's probably it"

While Jeremiah and I converse Arevano spoke again.

"Lad, you do know whom I was referring to, right? The one whom you have been telling me about. The reincarnator in your stories"

I nodded understanding what he meant.

"Yes, his Nero"

Arevano nodded then spoke the information he got from one of the passing souls of his comrade before they passed into the river.

"Dominos some say his soul was consumed in that black pulse. Others claim the fragments of his magic survived, scattered like ash across the ley lines. A few whisper that Dominos still exists—trapped in the fragments of corrupted power he once sought to master.

Whatever the truth, one thing is clear:

The Temple of Magic, my home, Mahika was never rebuilt.

And the name Dominos was struck from every record… except the memories of those he scarred"