Infinite Rebirths as Mages – Now We Seek the Truth Behind Our Feud

Past | England | Library of the Mage Circle | Chamber of the Librarian

The chamber stretches high— a vault of knowledge. Each towering shelf bears the word "Classified", etched in gold. The books shimmer faintly, each glowing with magical runes. In the center, a wide oak table anchors the room.

Johnny, younger and bright-eyed, sits with a thick tome spread before him— its cover etched with star constellations. His blue eyes drift lazily across lines of celestial theory.

He mutters under his breath, voice low with frustration.

"I hope someday I can use everything freely… gravitation, arrows from the sky, a celestial bow." His gaze darkens slightly. "That power is so intriguing. But the price…"

The door opens.

Celeste enters. She looks the same— ageless. Her presence is steady, her eyes sharp.

"Bored again?" she asks, a slight grin tugging at her lips.

Johnny doesn't even turn. "Yes."

Celeste sighs as she approaches. "Your boredom is also my boredom, you know."

"Hey!" He shoots her a look, half offended, half amused.

"You want a fight that challenges your skills." she says, eyes locking on his.

He exhales, half-laughing. "Yeah. This era's too peaceful for battle mages."

Celeste leans against the edge of the table. "If you make it to sixty, I'll fight you. Life or death."

Johnny's eyes widen. "No thanks. You'd kill me without trying. I mean, the legendary Celes—"

"Hey." she snaps, smirking. "That's my real name, Joha…"

He smirks back. "And that was mine."

He rises and walks to the window. Outside, the wind brushes the courtyard in gentle arcs. His voice softens.

"My avatar, Celeste… demands a sacrifice every time I summon it."

She nods quietly. "That's the price of bearing a celestial avatar."

Johnny chuckles. "Before I die, I want a fight that's massive. Explosions, gravitational magic, celestial arrows— just absolute magical chaos. I want to bully my enemy to death."

Celeste's brow lifts. "That's evil, my friend."

He shrugs. "But you get it."

She steps beside him. "You want—"

Together, they say it, grinning like old conspirators:

"Personal gratification."

Their laughter echoes through the vaulted room, soft and genuine.

Then, just as quickly, Celeste turns serious.

"I hope you get what you're looking for."

Johnny's smile fades into something softer. "Sure."

20 Years Later

??? | Magic Realm | Scotland

A quiet village rests within the folds of an enchanted mountain. Its buildings are few and ancient, carved stone faces watching silently from the mountain's surface. A single fountain marks the center, its waters stilled by the tension hanging in the air.

Lucil stands in front of it, draped in a red jacket, black pants, and scuffed boots. Two swords cross his back. His expression is distant— half serious, half worn. His crimson scarf flutters in the light breeze.

Across from him stands Johnny, now older.

"So this is where the Rose Mage hides." Johnny says flatly. "After killing my comrade."

Lucil doesn't blink. "I'm tired. All this killing, again and again."

Johnny scowls. "Silver was right. You're annoying. Take this seriously."

Lucil yawns. "This time I'm seventeen. That's new." He scratches the side of his head, glancing toward the distant mountains. "You know, after he dies, I usually die too. Sometimes after a couple of days, sometimes weeks. My longest was a year. But maybe—" his gaze sharpens, "— maybe you're worth my attention in this life."

Johnny raises his hand. "Celestial—Bow."

The sky flashes above, deep blue.

Lucil's eyes shimmer dark red. "Red World—Blood Break."

He draws the swords from his back into his hands, and the wind howls through the empty streets.

Aftermath

The village lies in ruins, reduced to smoking rubble. Craters pit the cobblestones. Only the fountain remains, cracked and gushing water.

Johnny stands— barely. His chest is torn open, eyes burned away. Across from him, Lucil wobbles, soaked in blood. His skull is gashed open, one arm gone, body trembling from sheer exhaustion.

Johnny crumples to his knees.

He doesn't even flinch when Lucil's sword presses coldly against his throat.

"Quite impressive." Lucil mutters, voice low and breathless. "But you lacked something." He meets Johnny's blind eyes. "You weren't ready to sacrifice more. That's why I found an opening."

Johnny smiles faintly. "You broke my domain. That's… impressive."

"You were setting a low price." Lucil replies. "If you want to kill— be ready to die."

Lucil steps back, blood dripping from his sword. "My true name is…" His voice fades, the name drowned by the sound of distant wind.

Johnny's smile lingers. "It was fun. And I'm proud to be killed by you."

Lucil yawns again.

He lifts the blade, pressing it gently to his own throat. "Johnny was your name, wasn't it? Or Johanza… it was truly an honor." He sighs, as if remembering something long gone. "I wish I could summon my dragon but yeah— Silver killed her in this world. She'll reset. That's why I don't have time. Otherwise, I'd say… try your next shot."

Johnny's breath catches. "Your avatar is dead… and you're still alive?"

Lucil's voice is soft now. "The world of magic is different but I'll tell you a secret." His hand reaches toward Johnny. "Be ready to die. Also— be ready to kill. The moment you underestimate your enemy, you won't be the one to die… your comrade will."

Johnny's throat tightens.

Lucil rests his palm gently on Johnny's chest. "But I saw how you fight. Someday, you'll find someone you can unleash your full strength against. It'll be worth it."

"What do you mean?" Johnny asks.

Lucil smiles one last time.

"Red Sun—"

He slashes his own throat. His veins glow an eerie, haunting red.

"Transfer Network."

In a storm of rose petals, his body dissolves and vanishes.

Johnny stumbles back. His vision shifts. Symbols appear in the air, patterns of mana and threads of energy stretching across space.

Below his feet, petals whirl across the scorched earth.

"I won't forget you, Lucil." Johnny whispers. "You and Silver… fight that curse." He chuckles— cracked, but warm. "But yeah— it was fun. Next time I'll face someone strong…" He raises his hand, as if already summoning the stars.

"And I'll give them everything I've got."

Present | Celestial Garden Realm

Johnny's laughter twists through the broken night, sharp and malicious. "Time's up, young man."

Akai braces, drawing a ragged breath. I need my sword— without it, I'm dead. Something feels… different. His fingers tighten on the hilt.

"Gravitas—Rules of Nature!" Johnny's voice cracks like thunder.

Akai answers at once. "Chord Sin Novus—Ancia—" Power floods his body; black veins writhe beneath his skin, his eyes flare red within ink-dark sclera. A second blade— pure shadow— forms in his off hand.

"Chord Sin—Ancias!"

The twin katana fuse into a single massive sword of swirling black and crimson, particles spiralling from the edge like molten ash.

Around them, shattered library walls rise into the air— shelves, stone, and steel drawn up as if by unseen strings. A deep female voice resonates through the void:

Celestial Being: "What is your offer, wielder?"

Johnny grins. "My life, if you'll help me."

Celestial Being: "Granted, my wielder."

His irises bloom scarlet; a storm of rose-petals bursts around him.

"Rose Blossom—Tact Six." Scarlet roses erupt in mid-air, weaving into a vast mana lattice.

"Every strand of mana matters." Johnny murmurs, eyes gleaming. "Thank you, Rose Mage— your network will serve nicely."

The levitating library wall hurtles toward Akai like a homing battering ram. He leaps, but the construct curves after him and slams him skyward. Ribs crack; blood sprays.

"I don't accept this!" Akai roars, fighting the wall that pins him.

Johnny snaps his fingers. Rose-petals whirl into a crimson cyclone. "Blossom."

The petals bloom all into roses and levitate.

Blood trickles from Johnny's eyes, but his smile widens. "I will kill you, mage-samurai."

He draws, and light bends. The arrow he loosens is faster than lightning— followed by jagged masonry and petals hardening into blades, all screaming toward Akai in a deadly crimson wave.

Akai jumps along the floating rubble, blade carving a brutal path. He lands on one stone slab, springs to the next, and slices everything Johnny hurled at him.

Stone— shattered.

Rose-crystal— cleaved.

Stone again— powdered beneath his edge.

More roses— reduced to crimson haze.

A final wall thunders toward him like a falling fortress. Akai meets it mid-air, fingers digging into fractured masonry. Blood streams down his arms as he heaves— and flings the whole wall aside in a roar of pain.

"I'll show you my true name." he snarls, eyes burning red-on-black. "I am Chiryu!"

Johnny's bleeding smile widens. "Lucil's magic hurts like sin but it has its uses. All right, Chiryu…"

With a snap of his fingers the realm trembles. "Gravitas—Entropy!"

Broken stones whirl together into a spear the size of a building. Rose petals flood the air like living shrapnel.

Chiryu answers in the same breath.

"Chiryu—Apōrat!"

He spins, sword first, a black-and-crimson drill that meets the oncoming missile head-on, splintering it stone by stone until nothing remains.

A single rose petal flutters before his face.

Johnny's bowstring hums. "Celestial Spiral—Rose Switch."

The petal withers— and Johnny materializes beside Chiryu, firing point-blank. The arrow burns a hole through Chiryu's left arm, sears across his face, and sets his left eye ablaze. He staggers, yet refuses to yield, counter-slashing in a lethal arc.

The blade passes cleanly through Johnny's torso— yet draws no blood. Johnny stands unmarked.

"I once fought a man who weaponized roses." he says, voice triumphant. "He was Hell itself but I learned a few tricks of his."

He lands lightly on the fractured tiles below. Chiryu follows, cutting down the shower of sharp stones, sword raised.

Blood seeps from every pore in Johnny's skin, yet his grin never falters. "Come, Chiryu. I'll give you my best— shot."

Blood sluices down Akai's ruined arm, soaking the red-black blade.

"I called my sword 'Unity' as an excuse." Akai growls, voice hoarse. "Truth is, I love the fight. After I kill you, Johanza, I'll wipe out every mage in your Circle— until my father controls everything."

He lifts the Sword, crimson light veining his skin. "Chord Novus — Utias!"

A claw of living blood forms over his hand. His face turns ghost-pale.

Johanza— Johnny— spreads his arms. "Gravitas — Explodum."

The broken academy trembles. Slabs of stone rip free, swirl skyward, and fuse into a storm of jagged missiles.

Johnny's eyes burn rose-red. "Thank you, Chiryu. I've never had this much fun. Avatar—Artificia!"

A woman's voice answers from the ether as Johnny draws his bow.

The missiles scream toward Akai.

He ducks the first, slides beneath the second— each impact a thunderclap. Rose petals drift in the shockwaves; his reflexes sharpen in their wake. He times the rhythm— three seconds per stone— and uses each explosion to launch himself skyward, blade flashing.

Johnny laughs— and the cadence collapses. Stones now detonate every heartbeat.

"Chord Sin — Carthage!" Akai roars.

A blood-forged shield blossoms mid-air. His lips darken to blue. His eyes no longer glow from exhaustion. He plows through the blasts, cleaves the final missile in half, and sights his target.

Another burst of speed— sword aimed at Johnny's throat.

Steel carves only empty air.

Johnny stands three steps back, smile widening. "You fixated on defense and fell for my illusion."

Akai whips around. A single rose petal floats at his flank.

"Rose Switch."

"Impossible—" Akai gasps.

Johnny's voice softens. "I once knew a swordsman stronger than you. He couldn't face me at full strength, sadly. All this… feels nostalgic. It's been a good life."

Akai lunges. "Father— NO!"

Johnny shoots the last arrow.

Light devours the realm. The impact shreds marble, air, and flesh alike. Akai and Johnny disintegrate within the same burning cascade.

When the glare fades, nothing remains but an endless field of silent roses, swaying in a wind that no longer carries the sound of the living.