Success.
At long last, Aion had completed the process of initiating himself into Celestial Motion Art.
After answering Fire’s question, Aion sat there with a dazed expression.
【Fire: ...So instead of following my teachings exactly, you altered them to suit that pathetic body of yours?】
“...Yes.”
Aion admitted it honestly.
“The sensation you described—of a hand, or another body part... I had never felt anything like that at my level. So....”
【Fire: Well done.】
It was unexpected praise.
Normally, Fire would have raised his voice first and told him not to act on his own. Yet now, he acknowledged Aion without hesitation.
【Fire: For a moment, I forgot the gap between you and me. My mistake. If anything, it made for a good lesson.】
【Earth: Heh heh heh.... The old man is admitting a mistake? What a rare sight.】
【Fire: Shut up! More importantly, look! I told you from the beginning that Celestial Motion Art was not particularly difficult to learn!】
【Water: That was not entirely wrong, then. Though I had my doubts.】
【Fire: Tch... Good thing it has been proven now.】
As the Ultimate Points continued their noisy chatter, a calm voice interrupted them.
【Arcana: Aion, have you checked Yggdrasil’s message?】
A message from Yggdrasil likely meant it concerned the reward for completing his task.
“Ah, right.”
【Arcana: With the rise in your Mana Manipulation and Celestial Motion Art levels, you should naturally feel a difference. Check it immediately.】
Aion looked down at his hand.
I just succeeded in using Celestial Motion Art, but... can I really do it the same way again?
He stared at the new iron sphere on the desk.
I feel like I might be able to lift the iron sphere now...
He took a deep breath and focused at once.
...!
...It was different!
Before, simply recognizing the sphere’s presence through mana had made him break out in a cold sweat. Now, his will extended naturally, as easily as breathing.
Flick—
With a light gesture from Aion, the heavy iron sphere slowly rose.
Float—
“Ah...!”
Even he could not help but marvel.
He could not feel its weight at all. A feather and an iron sphere felt exactly the same... It was astonishing.
【Earth: Oh? Not bad.】
【Fire: ...Yes. You are finally starting to resemble a mage.】
Encouraged, Aion tried to lift the iron sphere a little higher.
Thoom—
But then—
Crackle—!
“...?”
With a sharp sound of rupture, cracks began spreading over the once-pristine sphere.
Crunch—!
In an instant, the iron sphere became a crumpled lump of scrap and dropped onto the desk with a thud.
“...This again.”
Embarrassed, Aion cleared his throat. He had destroyed an iron sphere once before, and now he had done it again. There was not much he could say.
“I still cannot control my strength.”
【Fire: That is to be expected.】
Fire’s voice continued calmly.
【Fire: It is a characteristic of Celestial Motion Art. That is simply the nature of this magic.】
“...Really?”
【Fire: The less skilled you are with Celestial Motion Art, the harder it is to regulate its output. Especially when it comes to destruction.】
Fire continued his explanation.
【Fire: The deeper you delve into it, the more this magic teaches you the principles of gentleness.】
“So I was breaking everything because I am still inexperienced.”
【Fire: No. You need not think of it that way.】
There was amusement in Fire’s voice.
【Fire: It means you can see that much farther now. In any case, have you not gained one respectable spell that others cannot even imitate?】
A respectable spell.
Not merely the power to move objects, but the power to exert physical force.
Aion looked down at the crumpled iron sphere and clenched his fist.
A heavy pulse throbbed somewhere in his chest.
...My magic.
It had seemed impossible.
To become a mage after starting so late—without talent that overwhelmed everyone else, or rigorous education from childhood.
Yet here he was, carving out a realm of his own that no one else could even imitate.
***
After returning to his dormitory, Aion went straight out onto the terrace.
The night air was cold, but it was not enough to cool the heat burning in his chest.
Leaning against the railing, Aion stretched a hand toward the night sky.
His mana was nearly depleted, but he repeatedly clenched and opened his hand in empty air, determined not to forget the sensation from earlier.
My magic... Magic that belongs only to me.
The more he thought those words, the more his heart tingled. Watching him, Fire let out a snort of laughter.
【Fire: Are you that happy?】
“...”
【Fire: Your mouth is about to split in half, brat.】
Aion did not bother hiding his expression.
“You know how badly I wanted to become a mage.”
【Fire: Heh heh.... You still have a long way to go, brat. Do not get carried away over crushing a single iron ball.】
“Still, someday I will become one. Like the real mages.”
Gazing at the stars in the night sky, Aion added quietly,“...Old man.”
【Fire: What?】
Thinking back, one strange event had followed another from the very beginning.
Souls suddenly being swallowed, Yggdrasil’s system appearing out of nowhere.
Everything had begun as though he had been shoved into it without preparation.
And yet, somehow...
He had made it this far.
“...It is thanks to you.”
【Fire: Do not misunderstand. I am your future self. My goodwill is not solely for your sake.】
“Right. I suppose not. ...But I have never thought of myself as your past.”
【Fire: ...What?】
For once, Fire was left speechless.
“I do not care if you all think of me as your past. But... I think I received kindness from you. That is all.”
【Fire: ...You sure talk well. Did your intelligence increase along with your eloquence?】
A brief silence passed. The night wind tousled Aion’s hair as it swept by.
Whooosh—
【Fire: ...Sometimes, I used to imagine it.】
Fire spoke in an even tone.
“What did you imagine?”
【Fire: Things I would want to say if I met my past self... Something like that. The sort of thing people dissatisfied with their reality often imagine.】
Deep regret colored Fire’s voice.
【Fire: I dismissed it as worthless fantasy, but humans cannot help themselves, it seems.】
Aion tightened his grip on the railing.
“Then now that you have gone back to the past, why not say what you wanted to say?”
【Fire: All right.】
After a brief pause, Fire spoke in a low, weighty voice.
【Fire: Aion, you will undoubtedly become an exceptional mage.】
“...”
【Fire: That was something I wished someone had said to my past self.】
It was not a simple encouragement.
Those were the words an old mage, who had met his end unable to prevent destruction, had wanted to hear his entire life.
Aion accepted them exactly as they were.
“How should I put it...”
Talking with his future self felt different from before.
“Today feels a little strange.”
Acknowledgment so certain that he had never heard it once in his life. Feeling awkward, Aion changed the subject.
“Old man. Instead of that, do you have any regrets?”
【Fire: Regrets?】
“Something that might happen to me in the future. If I knew beforehand... could I not stop it?”
Fire gave a bitter laugh at Aion’s question.
【Fire: Heh heh... Even when someone tells you the answer, life does not always allow you to choose correctly.】
“...I see.”
【Fire: Regrets... I have many. It will be a rather dark story. Do you truly want to hear it?】
“My whole story has already been laid bare. I would like to hear about you too, if possible.”
【Fire: ...That is true.】
Fire seemed to fall into thought, then suddenly asked an odd question.
【Fire: Brat, what do you think I look like?】
“You are Aion too, so you should look exactly like me.”
【Fire: No.】
“...No?”
Fire answered firmly.
【Fire: You and I are different.】
“...?”
【Fire: There is a large burn scar on my face. Not only my face—my entire left arm is covered in scars. One eye is blind, and the fused skin is ugly enough to disgust anyone.】
Aion could not speak.
The confident, eccentric old man known as Fire’s Ultimate Point had such a gruesome appearance....
【Fire: I was once caught in a massive fire.】
“Then those injuries came from that incident.”
【Fire: Yes. It was such a large fire that surviving alone was a miracle.】
“Is that your regret? Being caught in that fire and suffering such terrible burns?”
【Fire: No. This is the path I have walked. I accepted this unsightly appearance as part of myself long ago.】
Fire’s voice sank.
【Fire: What I regret... is everyone else I could not save from that fire.】
“...”
【Fire: I was weak. The person I was back then. I could not properly cast a single spell despite calling myself a mage.】
For a moment, he fell silent.
Stinging smoke, blazing flames, and screams.
It was as though Fire were remembering all of them.
【Fire: After the fire began, I ran while already having inhaled far too much smoke, holding onto my fading consciousness. And then I heard it.】
“...What?”
【Fire: Someone... was screaming. Calling for help. Begging to be saved.】
Aion swallowed hard.
【Fire: There was a large door. Rubble had blocked it, so it could never be opened from inside. And I could clearly hear voices coming from beyond it. But I....】
“...Old man.”
【Fire: I pretended not to hear them. I ran away. I rationalized it by telling myself that someone would save them—that someone more capable than a weakling like me would come. Someone like a hero.】
Even now, remembering that moment, Fire’s voice trembled with unease.
Though it had happened so long ago.
“What happened to those people?”
Aion asked carefully. After a short silence, Fire answered dryly.
【Fire: The hero... came a little too late for them.】
“...”
Only heavy silence filled the terrace. Earth’s Ultimate Point, Arcana, and Lightning were all listening, but none of them spoke.
As the atmosphere sank too deeply, Fire suddenly shouted as if scolding him.
【Fire: Ah, damn it! Brat, this is why I told you not to bring up such gloomy topics! Why did you have to push me into it?!】
“...I did not know it would be this dark.”
【Fire: Shut up! Get inside and go to sleep already!】
Aion felt a little relieved.
The Ultimate Points were his future selves. He had been confused for so long about how he should treat them.
But perhaps they too had simply been weak mages in their own ways.
That was what he thought.
***
A familiar face flickered before Aion’s eyes.
—Aion. Please, I leave what comes next to you.
Do not go.
You....
...KABOOOM!
The consciousness that had sunk deep into sleep was forcibly dragged upward by a faint discomfort.
“Cough....”
Aion jolted awake in bed.
“Haah... It was only a dream.”
It had all been a dream.
Feeling hollow, Aion closed his eyes again and tried to fall asleep.
But it was hot.
Even after kicking off the blanket, the heat would not subside. Breathing felt strangely difficult.
Had the air become stale because he slept with the window shut?
“...Cough.”
A dry cough escaped him.
His throat felt rough. It felt as though something acrid and foul were seeping into his lungs.
Sensing that something was wrong, Aion immediately opened his eyes.
Even in his half-asleep state, he sniffed the air.
...The smell of something burning?
Was it his imagination?
But the smell was far too strong for that.
It was not the ordinary scent of something singed.
It was the smell of a massive inferno.
Then, suddenly—
Thoom—
A faint vibration traveled through the springs of his bed.
Outside the window, it was still night.
A pitch-black view.
Wait...
An alarm went off in his mind.
This heat, this smell, and this vibration.
His instincts were sending a terrifyingly clear warning.
Then the Ultimate Points screamed in his head.
【Water: You...!! Wake up! Now!】
【Life: You are in danger!! You have to run!】
The ringing in his head felt as though it would split his skull.
“Damn it!”
Whooosh...!
Smoke seeped in through the gap beneath the door.
In an instant, flames rose on every side beyond the window.
The view outside was no longer black.
It was red.
Boom—!
A fierce scarlet light flooded into the room, illuminating it like daylight—or rather, like hell.
“What the...?!”
Aion sprang up and threw on his clothes.
The heat was intense enough to sting his skin. Before he could even grasp the situation, urgent voices rang out.
【Water: Damn you! Why did you not tell us?!】
【Earth: You bastard! You dare deceive us?!】
The Ultimate Points’ fury.
The urgency in their voices, unlike anything he had heard before, sent a chill down Aion’s spine.
What... What in the world...?
“...Old man? What is happening....”
Then Fire answered in an icy voice.
【Fire: ...Do you remember what I once asked Arcana here?】
What Fire had asked Arcana’s Ultimate Point.
—Should I tell this boy about the things I experienced? About the information I know?
He had certainly asked Arcana that.
Whether it was truly right to tell him about events that would occur in the future.
“Do not tell me....”
【Fire: Because no one spoke of what would happen here, I realized then that I was the only one who had lived through this event.】
Fire’s voice trembled slightly.
【Fire: Earlier, I told you about the terrible thing I experienced.】
Aion remembered.
They had talked about it only before he went to sleep.
【Fire: The fire I experienced was later recorded in history as the Great Fire of Hazel Hall at Lumenia Dormitory.】
Lumenia Dormitory’s Hazel Hall.
That was the name of the dormitory building Aion was currently in.
【Fire: It was a horrific disaster that killed seventeen people and injured countless others. A fire unlike any Exion had ever known.】
“...!”
【Fire: And the day that incident occurred was....】
Aion thought he knew what Fire was about to say.
【Fire: ...Today.】
The instant those words fell—
KABOOOOOM!
With an enormous roar, the entire dormitory building shook.
The windows shattered, and the blazing firestorm pouring in through them invaded the room.
Whoooosh...!
Amid the chaos of screams and explosions, a red system window appeared before Aion.
Even in this dreadful moment, Yggdrasil’s notification calmly made its presence known.
Ding!
***
[!] A new task has been assigned.
[!] You stand at a crossroads of fate.