Volume 18: Stormy Winds and Heavy Rain
Chapter 1: Dual Origins
Upon receiving news from Mando, Komer grew anxious. Though the messages from Eve and Finitz were encouraging, Komer believed the members of the Tribunal would not be so easily convinced by the opinions of outsiders. Their journey from Mando to Muscat proved this— they would conduct a thorough investigation in the Caucasus as well. These two were no ordinary knights of the Rema Order; they were seasoned investigators with extraordinary sensitivity to dark forces. Once they detected any suspicion, they would pursue it at all costs. By then, it would be difficult to decide what would become of the Caucasus.
Various troubles plagued Komer. Although Eve and Finitz had done their best, he felt they could have done more. He could sense Eve’s deep resistance, but perhaps because his performance in the Caucasus and with Leon had been fairly satisfactory, she reluctantly agreed to this somewhat uncertain plan. Correcting the biases of two high-ranking Tribunal members was important and difficult. It would suffice if they could dispel some of their hostility and approach the Caucasus with a relatively fair mindset. Komer believed he had put in a lot of effort in the Caucasus—erasing what needed to be erased, sending those who needed to leave, and hiding what needed to be hidden. All that remained was to wait for those two to arrive.
Rebri had not left. Although Komer had informed him that Tribunal members were approaching, Rebri seemed uninterested. When Komer told him their names, Rebri’s reaction was strange—one of melancholy, confusion, and lingering thought. Though brief, Komer sensed it keenly. He didn’t understand how Rebri could experience such emotions, but since Rebri clearly didn’t want to answer, Komer wisely stopped asking further. Yet Komer believed Rebri wouldn’t risk his life recklessly. He also trusted Rebri’s strength—since he was so confident, he must have a plan.
Mihajic, Newman, as well as Sorengberg and Vladkov had all left the Caucasus to hunt dragons in the Cordillera Wasteland. Uma, Lomi, and the beautiful ice dragon accompanied them. The evil dragon reappeared in the Baden Golden Mountain Range. Messages from the Great Secret Sect suggested that this was the best opportunity to slay that powerful evil dragon. Even the Great Secret Sect felt it might not be strong enough, so Komer simply sent all those dangerous individuals to the Cordillera Wasteland to experience the primitive atmosphere of the barbarian lands. He believed that after witnessing the power in his hands, the barbarian priests and witches of the Sanjia tribe would be even more loyal in cooperating with him.
Komer didn’t want Lomi to leave, nor did Lomi want to go. But Komer knew that the guys from the Tribunal could easily detect something unusual about Lomi. Although they might not be able to tell from her appearance, her inner magical essence couldn’t escape their detection. So Komer had to reluctantly send Lomi to the Cordillera Wasteland.
Lomi had become a part of Komer’s life. To be precise, she was gradually integrating into it. Especially when Komer realized his position in the Caucasus and Leon was becoming more stable and the threats were fading, he seemed to develop a fondness or indulgence in his past life—in short, he liked beautiful women more and more. Both Lomi and Grace had become Komer’s prey. Lomi’s gentleness and attentiveness, and Grace’s boldness and heat were undoubtedly two extremes. But Lomi could ignore everyone’s opinions and freely accompany Komer to bed, while Grace faced many restrictions. The gazes of her companions forced her to control her behavior, especially since Eve’s attitude had always been the biggest obstacle in Grace’s heart.
Perhaps nothing will go wrong, except that this hurdle is the hardest to overcome, right? Komer thought to himself that he could never avoid it—the people from the Tribunal would surely come into close contact with him. If he tried to evade them, it would only arouse greater suspicion; it was better to confront them head-on, which could also dispel their doubts to the greatest extent. But could his innate magical essence truly evade the detection of the Tribunal’s people? Komer wasn’t entirely sure. He was different from Rebrí—Komer was certain Rebrí’s magical essence stemmed from light magic, but later it had taken a detour and incorporated dark forces. Like him, Rebrí seemed to be exploring how to transform dark magic into light magic, though Komer possessed a powerful dark elemental magic that he could freely convert into light magic, while Rebrí did the opposite.
The simplest, most direct, and most reliable way to identify a magician’s true nature is to detect the essence of their magic (mana). Once the nature of their magical essence is determined, it’s basically possible to figure out which type of magician they are. Generally, magicians can only cast spells that match their inherent magical essence and some other spells similar to that essence. However, when casting large or advanced spells, they usually need to rely on their essential mana. Most magicians can only use spells related to their own essence. Aside from a few advanced magicians or exceptionally talented practitioners who can cast multi-attribute large and advanced spells, even high-level magicians face significant risks when attempting to cast spells outside their own essence.
Rebrí’s essential magic came from light magic, and it could be concealed with slight modifications. The traces of dark magic left on him were not obvious, so it wasn’t difficult to do this. But Komer was different. Although the light magic he displayed appeared more magnificent and grand than anyone else’s around him, only he knew it could deceive ordinary magicians at best—Rebrí couldn’t even be fooled, let alone the Tribunal’s members, whose detection abilities were extraordinary. They could easily uncover his true essence. Once they determined he was one of the dark ones, his doom would be sealed.
Of course, Komer would not sit idly by. In fact, he had long been exploring this issue. To survive under the absolute dominance of the Church of Light, he had to find a way to seek shelter. If he didn’t have absolute certainty of defeating them, he needed to figure out how to deal with them. Light and darkness have never compromised, and Komer never hoped to buy over or influence the people of these two courts. For them, faith is glory, and glory is life. Their worship of the God of Light has penetrated every aspect of their thoughts and bloodline. Nothing can change their faith, not even the arrival of the Pope of the Church of Light.
The only option was deception, which is why Komer devised a cunning plan. Eve and Fenitz’s actions were merely part of it. Now that the first step has succeeded, Eve and Fenitz have initially reduced the enemy’s hostility and prejudice, but the key still lies with him.
Long ago, Komer had pondered a question: whether he could transform the vast amount of magic left to him by Kenifer III. Currently, he could only use a portion of this immense magic, with a large part still flowing freely within his body. However, his mental strength limited his ability to control such vast amounts of magic. Thus, Komer wondered if he could recreate a magical essence within his own body. The magic left by Kenifer III was quite complex. He was undoubtedly a genius among geniuses in the world of magic. Although dark elemental forces dominated, it also contained many elemental magics, even some light magic. The dark magic had gradually formed Komer’s current magical essence, but the other types of magic were also heavily suppressed. Komer had been trying to find a balance, but without a magical essence to rely on, no matter how hard he tried, those other magics would still be suppressed by the dark essence.
For this reason, Komer was pondering whether it might be possible to create another origin beyond the Dark Origin—either a Light Origin or an Origin of elemental magic. This idea was undoubtedly shocking; the coexistence of two origins within one body was something even ordinary people who knew nothing about magic understood to be impossible. Attempting to have two origins in one person’s body, given the limited magical power available, was nothing but playing with fire—immediate conflicts between magical forces would drive the practitioner into a state of madness. There were indeed geniuses who tried, but they disappeared without even passing the first hurdle, so no such records ever existed, as no one would be interested in cases of self-destruction. Kenifer III only managed to achieve coexistence of magic powers, and some great archmages and powerful individuals could do the same as well, though Kenifer III did it better. Yet, to ask them to create two origins would likely be beyond their willingness to try.
However, Komer seemed determined to challenge this. His basis for this came from scrolls and related books obtained from Damorlensk Fortress. These books belonged to Kenifer III, who seemingly also studied this area, though only superficially. Clearly, he did not succeed, but the materials and insights he left behind provided Komer with some directions for exploration—how to resolve the conflicts between balanced magical forces was the key.