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596. Dark Kamar Taj
🕑 Added 2024-04-08 19:54:33 +0000 UTCAfter learning about the future and the limited time available, Edward knew it would be impossible to train countless new sorcerers using the same system as back home. Although the Tier System is powerful, it also takes time and a lot of resources. So, he opted for a better solution.
The Sorcerers in this world focus more on skills. If someone is talented or skilled enough and has the right resources (i.e., dimension or energy), they can achieve Tier 10 feats or even higher. So, he created a Mana Dimension for these Sorcerers to tap into unlimitedly. With this method, it will only take him a few decades to cultivate skilled Sorcerers with Tier 6,7,8, and maybe Tier 10 once Steven Strange joins in.
“One last thing,” said Edward, and his voice brought everyone back to their senses. These sorcerers could not keep the smile from their faces; that dimension and its power were truly intoxicating. Edward raised his hand to show a small orange orb: “This is a soul orb with the ability to increase the strength of your soul and accelerate all your mystical skills or abilities. Everyone will receive 10 of them, but you must buy them afterward. I recommend you do so.
“Everyone is dismissed except for Kaecilius. You follow me.”
The sorcerers slowly left, leaving only Kaecilius and Edward in the room. “What can I do for you?” Edward did not answer but looked at him intently for a few seconds: “I believe a man is at his strongest when he has suffered tremendous loss but cannot let go of it.”
Kaecilius frowned but remained quiet.
“I once was such a man after losing his parents. So, I delved into magic, or the mystic art, to find answers,” continued Edward, which made Kaecilius’s eyes deepen. “In one dimension, I found a system of Alchemy where they had developed homunculus. Although they were deformed rampaging monsters, their research was valuable. After improving upon it, I could not create any human body with the right genetic material.”
Edward waved his hand to manifest two drops of blood. “Can you guess whose genetic material those are?” Kaecilius’ body trembled; he wanted to say something, but the words could not escape his mouth. Edward directed the blood to the ground, where a magic circle appeared.
It then released electric impulses to signal the transmutation process, and after a few seconds, two bodies lay in the group: a woman and a young boy. Kaecilius almost fell to the ground as he looked at his wife and son — the two people he had spent years pawning after, wishing to see one last time — even if he gave his soul.
“Once I could reconstruct my parent’s body, it was only an issue of the soul. Where did it go after their death? Was it possible to summon back to the world of the living? Or would I need to create a soul? If so, what about their memories? What should I do about that? Luckily, fate was on my side, and I succeeded in summoning their soul from the Afterlife.”
Edward pointed in the air, and two phantoms appeared from a tear in the void. Kaecilius was already in tears as he recognized these souls, but Edward was calm, almost cold, and indifferent.
“The last step was simpler than the second: a perfect fusion between the soul and the new body.” The souls entered the body, and Kaecilius rushed to them.
“Kae?” said Adria, and Kaecilius’ eyes became red. How long had he heard her call him that?
“Father!”
“Cillian!”
“Cillian, is that you?” asked Adria. They had lost their child way before she died from the illness. She could not believe she would meet him again.
Bang!
Adria and Cillian’s bodies suddenly dropped on the floor, becoming unresponsive. Then, their souls flew out of their bodies to disappear into the void. Their newly created bodies also disintegrated into particles.
“No!” roared Kaecilius. “Bring them back.” He rushed toward Edward, but with one look, a terrifying pressure forced him to kneel. “This is what I’m talking about — that fire in your soul to do anything for your loved one.” Edward looked at him, his eyes still terrifyingly calm.
“What price are you willing to pay to see them again?”
“Everything,” said Kaecilius, his head bowed and tears streaming down his shirt. “I’ll give you everything.”
“That is not as valuable as you think, but that’s a start.” Edward pointed his finger at his temple to place a mark on the depth of his soul.
“Master, what is your command?” asked Kaecilius, who slowly wiped the tears from his face and looked Edward in the eyes.
“Despite their choices, the Sorcerers at Kamar Taj are still restricted by their morality. When push comes to shove, 95% of them would be unable to make the cruel choices, let alone do some dirty jobs. So, I need someone or a group that serves as our shadows — our dark side.
“You must leave Kamar Taj and recruit people like you: desperate people with that same fire in their soul. Your task will be to do the dirty things these sorcerers are unwilling to do. Can you do it?”
“I can.”
“Excellent,” nodded Edward. “The mark I gave you contained information on establishing your group, including how to establish a connection to the Gate of Truth. I also created a Dark Mana Dimension for you guys, but I should warn you Dark Mana will influence your mind and temperament; that’s why I ask you to choose people like yourself since you usually have high willpower. However, just in case, I also left a method of increasing Willpower for every member free of charge. Okay, leave before sunset tonight.”
“I understand. But master, my–”
“You haven’t gained my trust or proven your worth enough for me to save them,” Edward responded casually.
“I won’t let you down.” Kacilius stood up and walked out with a look of great determination. The void next to Edward broke apart, and the Ancient One walked out of the mirror dimension.
“Was that really necessary?”
“It is.”
She sighed. “Kaecilius would have offered his servitude as long as you saved his family.”
“Like I said to him, I need that fire in his soul,” explained Edward. “If I revived his family now, that fire would be gone, and he would only serve me as an obligation or cause if he had no other choice. Now, he’s doing it for a greater purpose, and in my experience, such people make the fiercest soldiers.”
The Ancient One was quiet. What Edward did was extremely cruel and immoral, but this is far from the worst thing she had seen when she saw the future. In one of the infinite possibilities she saw, the Demon God of Fertility, Belial, successfully invaded Earth by using millions of pregnant women all over the world to give birth to demonic spans.
Once she successfully killed all the sorcerers and the Avengers, she turned the entire planet into a fertility machine to produce more demons and soldiers and increase her power. The future was bleak, and in too many timelines, Earth failed the fusion with another universe and was wiped out, or some other powerful entities invaded and killed or imprisoned every life.
“I said I won’t intervene, and I’ll keep my word,” said the Ancient One before leaving.
