Mage Manual

Ash, rather than simply wielding his sword, appears to be painting. As the sword tip slices through the void, he traces loops of sword circles in ink-streaks, like a constantly closing cage enfolding the Dazzling Star. The Dazzling Star shifts completely into a defensive stance, neither evading nor countering, as she swings billions of Starlight Swords in the most elegant arcs, impeccably shattering all the ink marks.

Starlight and ink spots bloom like flowers, adorning the colorful sea of stars with a riot of blooms. In this moment, Ash realizes that even if he binds all living Mages, he cannot surpass the Dazzling Star in swordsmanship.

For the Dazzling Star is the Mage who has traveled the furthest on the path of swordsmanship, beyond anyone else.

The heights of swordsmanship, the heights of Star Magic, her two arts have both reached the Supreme Realm!

Yet compared to her achievements in swordsmanship, Ash is more surprised by her ability to remain unperturbed and composed.

The Dazzling Star, as the foremost Mage across the ages, half an hour ago had suppressed Ash to the point he couldn’t lift his head; now, being pressured by Ash, she didn’t act recklessly due to pride, but accepted her weaker position instantly, handling Ash’s offensive with caution. To her, it was no less than face-to-face confrontation, yet she did not yield to impulse.

She is a Mage to the extreme of rationality, unaffected by environmental factors, purged of all extraneous flaws through the passage of time, sculpted into a flawless masterpiece.

This makes it easy to understand why she stubbornly believes only she can decide the world’s Fate — because she herself is the Wise King, the Saint, devoid of all humanity, absolutely fair and just as a ’Divine Being’.

Ash even feels that she is beyond being a Mage; Mages are a collection of greed, curiosity, desire, selfishness, the most despicable Profession. The Dazzling Star is like a white lotus blooming from this mire, the terminal Starlight of magical civilization at its peak.

Ash is completely opposite to the Dazzling Star, with even the ’laziness’ trait added beyond ordinary Mages, akin to a mud-rolling reclined beast, filthy yet comfortably dozing.

One pursues perfection, the other clings to correctness; they walk parallel yet disparate paths, both unyielding to meet the end of the journey!

The Dazzling Star dances forward with her sword, her hair cascading like water, not letting the Starlight Sword hinder her thoughts or speech. "The Mage Concept signifies more than merely Mages," she says, "Even if you could bind all beings, you wouldn’t complete the Mage Concept."

The Dazzling Star implies not "As long as I’m here, you can’t complete the Mage Concept," but that even if Ash conquers all Mages, weaving every Mage into one, it is not completing the Mage Concept.

The nature of Mages can be observed from the powers Ash can steal:

Void Wings, Magic Realm, and... Technique Spirit!

Those with Void Wings are not Mages, nor are those with high Magic Realm.

From beginning to end, the only definition of Mage is—

Those using Technique Spirit are called Mages!

Thus, the Mage Concept naturally encompasses all Technique Spirits (including Divine Beings)! To complete the Mage Concept, it is necessary to grasp all Technique Spirits!

This goal is something Ash and they cannot achieve no matter how hard they try. They can forcefully dominate Mages hidden in faraway corners, invade the Void Realm to govern all beings, extend their reach like a fairy tale antagonist to every corner of power, but they cannot collect all Technique Spirits.

Because, while they speak, somewhere unknown in the Void Realm, a brand-new Technique Spirit may be born. Moreover, the Void Realm itself is not fixed; the Dream Stairs and Ruby Mountain can infinitely extend... Technique Spirits are limitless and unknown, how could one gather an unknown entity? Not unlike converting all air to private ownership, merely a fool’s Skydream.

"Completing the Mage Concept demands not merely becoming the ’Unique Mage’, but also mastering the ’Unique Magic’. If there exist Mages not of oneself, and magical powers outside oneself, one cannot fulfill the unity of Mage Concept," the Dazzling Star calmly explains, having contemplated this extensively, her words flowing smoothly and rigorously: "Destruction of the Void Realm is not only the extinction of beings but also the sole path to annihilate Magic. Only when all Magic no longer exists can the last Mage complete the Mage Concept, consolidate Eight-winged, and transcend the end."

"Indeed," Ash sighs: "From the beginning, completing the Mage Concept was an impossible Task."

"So you’ve finally abandoned the fantasy of perfection, merely vying with me for the sole Eight-winged seat?" The Dazzling Star lowers her gaze, "Though unable to save everyone, at least you could rescue those you care about... I won’t relent, but I acknowledge that you do possess the capacity to decide the world’s Fate."

"No, I still haven’t abandoned the quest for a perfect ending."

"Do you still have a trump card?"

"No, everything you see now is all my arrangements, we’ve exerted ourselves fully."

"Then what are you still hoping for?" A trace of perplexity, and even a hint of helpless resentment, flickers across the Dazzling Star’s face: "Are you still expecting the so-called Miracle?"

"Indeed." Seeing the Dazzling Star provoked again by his words, Ash intensifies his assault, preventing her from uttering a word, and laughs lightly: "Of course I understand that we are the strongest existence in Mage civilization, no mightier force shall descend with a Miracle."

"So I’m not praying for miracles from above, but seeking them from below."

Not from above, but from below?

This is the first time the Dazzling Star fails to grasp the profound meaning in Ash’s words, nor does Ash choose to explain. He still uses ’Heart Hunting Sovereignty’ against the Dazzling Star, but the drawn sword circles are increasingly colorful, purple-red, murky black, silver, eerie violet... In the end, he’s able to paint vibrant sword circles ten times more potent than the original, and even though the Dazzling Star can break countless sword circles, the fragmented colors linger, continuously enhancing Ash’s Wonder power.

As the Dazzling Star notices this, she starts moving constantly, appearing both defensively and offensively, yet occasionally launching starlight, targeting not Ash but the Constant Stars in the starry sea!

Each detonated Constant Star bursts instantly with accumulated brilliance across millions of years, washing the entire seventh layer of the Void Realm. Ash’s terrain advantage from the colorful sword circles is thus thoroughly neutralized by the Dazzling Star!

Even though Ash’s Void Wings surpass those of the Dazzling Star, the vast gap in battle experience allows the Dazzling Star to handle Ash’s attacks with ease!

Yet the Dazzling Star vaguely senses that Ash is not in haste to defeat her; he maintains a pace that prevents her from escaping, seemingly awaiting something.

Is he truly waiting for a Miracle?

But in this moment, where is left for him to request from?

As time passes, subtle shifts occur in the flow of the seventh layer of the Void Realm. The Dazzling Star vividly perceives Ash’s location gradually becoming the hub of the seventh layer of the Void Realm... No, it’s practically the center of the Void Realm!

She can see, and can’t see, can sense, and can’t sense, countless colors surpassing the Void Realm’s insignificance to gather at Ash, forming an unimaginable Magic Storm. At this moment, the Divine Domain overlaps with the seventh layer of the Void Realm, billions of Laws twisting and transforming, waiting for Ash to inscribe new truths!

This is a rite, an epic rite of a Mage grasping the world!

Yet the essence of the rite is a process familiar to any Mage, a process every aspiring Mage must experience.

Throughout the entire Void Realm, Ash is perhaps the only Mage who might find freshness in this rite.

"Void Resonance."

Even the Dazzling Star cannot gaze directly at this unprecedented Magic Storm, squinting as she tries hard to focus on Ash’s silhouette, murmuring softly: "Is he... summoning Technique Spirits?"

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