A Sorcerer’s Journey

‘Huh?

‘This is…’

As he was flying towards the Demon-Hunter castle, Grimm was captivated from afar by the open-air banquet his neighbor was organizing. He was in utter disbelief.

A blazing bonfire was burning on the lawn in front of the Bright Sorcerer’s castle, with around seven or eight tables filled with varieties of fruits and wine. More than twenty sorcerers and sorceresses were dancing and singing merrily around the bonfire, following the beat of passionate untrammeled music. Genuine laughter from their hearts could be heard.

Every sorcerer was filled with joy, looking at each other radiantly.

In their eyes, their fellow friends around them were like their own real family members.

It felt like the special bond that Chris York and Nina York once had; the kind of closeness that no Dark Sorcerer could ever imagine. The friendship, the trust and the warmth that overflowed between two sorcerers.

“This is… the life of a Bright Sorcerer?” Grimm uttered aloud up in the air, shocked by what he was seeing.

Yes, it was…

Ever since the Fake Faceless Sorcerer had taken over the seagoing vessel that was sailing in the deep ends of the Gem Sea, from the moment he blasted an innocent sailor into pieces simply by pointing a finger at him, it had entirely changed Grimm’s fate. Initially on his way to the Lilith School of Sorcerers to join the Bright Sorcerer faction, he had since then changed course towards the terrifying and ruthless Dark Sorcerers faction of the Black Isotta School of Sorcerers.

Only the fittest survived on the seagoing vessel. Black Isotta newbies had to endure three years of hidden and secluded lives, along with different types of curses and assassinations. In addition, they had to pass the bloody sorcery trial, and also the regional war where they eliminated the apprentices of Bright Sorcerers.

The Dark Sorcerer Academy was slowly training ordinary sorcerer apprentices into killing machines that adapted to various merciless conditions. These killing machines had even lost the essential values human beings possessed; joy and trust.

These Bright Sorcerers on the other hand…

As a Dark Sorcerer, Grimm could not help but to feel a twinge of agony and jealousy deep down in his heart!

Was it not too big of a price to pay to train an idealistic Dark Sorcerer qualified for this sorcerer world?! With the notion of leading a better life as a Dark Sorcerer, to what extent did they have to go to?

They were all human beings living in the same world of sorcerers. Why did these Bright Sorcerers deserve bonded companions and encouragement while Dark Sorcerers were destined to be alone as they had to withstand the pain of loneliness in their hearts.

Why was the Sorcerer Academy that unfair? Why was the sorcerer world so discriminatory? Why were their destinies worlds apart?

In what world would it seem normal that a Dark Sorcerer who always appeared strong and imposing in front of everyone, but in truth had to struggle endlessly behind people like a lonely wretch?

What good did Dark Sorcerers gain, when compared to Bright Sorcerers, by ceaselessly pursuing greater power?

There was no advantage at all!

Dark Sorcerers might look as if they possessed strong individual strengths and were able to obtain more benefits compared to Bright Sorcerers, but all these so-called benefits were nothing but a tool for Dark Sorcerers to pursue power. Dark Sorcerers were just puppets who continuously ensured that they were up to date with the advancement of technology and the latest gadgets.

No matter how strong a Dark Sorcerer might be, that person was just a chess piece under the Sorcerer system.

On the contrary, at least Bright Sorcerers were living life to the fullest. Having one’s own perspective of life, moral compass and value of life, they possessed the joy and pain that uniquely belonged to oneself. They were not simply another puppet monster that always killed for a living.

Grimm was panting heavily and was unable to slow down his rapid breathing.

Suddenly, a shock went through Grimm’s body!

He shook his head vigorously. Under his Ashen Mask, both of his eyes revealed a deep painful sense of self-blame.

What exactly had happened? How could such weak emotions slip out of him like that? This weakness had no use whatsoever!

Be it the memory of the cold winter when he was young, or following Old Ham to work at Zi Jue’s Residence, or his life at the Black Isotta School of Sorcerers afterward, or the fated wars that the sorcerer world had to face. Such weak emotions were deemed as a luxury he could not even dream of having and were utterly useless.

‘I, have the nerve to admire a Bright Sorcerer’s life?’

‘As expected… deep inside me, am I just a puny little guy? A constantly struggling wretch who only yearns for the future and its unyielding destiny.’

Grimm was gritting his teeth as he watched how cheerful those Bright Sorcerers were on the ground. A slight stir of desire surfaced in him, wanting a life of such beautiful scenery and wonderful times. He was conflicted as he clenched his fists, trying to abandon all the feeble feelings stirring deep within his heart.

No!

This group of Bright Sorcerers was also just a group of wretches.

The happy life between bonded companions?

During the Academy Regional War, these Bright Sorcerers helplessly watched as their companions were annihilated one by one. The bonded relationship they had turned into excruciating pain; it was an indescribable pain!

Such aggravating pain, was precisely the pain that Nina York had endured.

However, only through the experience of this pain, deep inside every Bright Sorcerer, one strong belief was formed. That belief was that they had to protect their fellow companions, never letting them leave from their sight. This was to strengthen the sorcerer world by bearing the responsibility that was heavily placed on Dark Sorcerers, to prevent further massive sacrifices that Dark Sorcerers had brought to pass. Hence, was the need to be stronger than ever inevitable?

After the regional war, on the zeppelin that was headed to the Seven Rings Holy Tower, Grimm did not see any anger, pain or vengeance in Julni’s eyes when he met her. What he saw in her gaze was only stoic, calmness and sympathy.

Had the Bright Sorcerers who survived been informed of something after the regional war?

After the war, Bright Sorcerers viewed Dark Sorcerers in a different light. It resulted in them being more mature, abandoning any naive and extreme thoughts by making them realize their own duties. Even the wretched Dark Sorcerers started to feel apologetic and some kind of remorse.

Who was to blame for the wretched fates of Bright and Dark Sorcerers?

The Superior Great Necromancer? The sorcerer world?

The so-called Superior Great Necromancer, was also only a wretch that used extreme ways to pass down the sorcerer civilization and ensure the continuation of the human race. With their wisdom, they had indeed predicted how the later generation would be reviled by their ruthless decisions, and still they did it.

As for the sorcerer world, it was an ultimate wretchedness that was counting its remaining days. Due to the desire to survive, it had to release all of its life’s energy, imploring for a chance to change fate, no matter how improbable.

To whom then should the sorcerer world and the Superior Great Necromancer blame?

The Abyssal civilization? Their fates?

How then would the Endless Worlds be like if the sorcerer world had won against the Abyssal civilization? Would there be a group of people from the Abyssal civilization, who were barely living, lamenting about their fate?

The question was, what was fate?

No!

Sorcerers had never believed in fate because they were logical living things that would never kneel down in submission just to escape obstacles in life.

The sorcerer world would only blame its own weakness, how egotistical it was before, and how cowardly it was still. This was the logical sense sorcerers had. From the interaction and weaving of emotions in the deepest core of Sorcerers’ souls, came the source that formed the sorcerer world, the heart of the world.

Grimm slowly but surely repressed his unsettling emotions, steadying his erratic heart.

‘A wretch? Hmph…’

‘If the sorcerer world is a wretch, then what are those pitiful Soul Slaves from foreign worlds that had been conquered by the sorcerer world?’

‘They don’t even have a chance to be a wretch!’

Grimm’s eyes could not hide the hint of self-deprecation.

The saying that Bright and Dark Sorcerers were wretches was only a manifestation of one’s weakening emotions. For the sake of building a home together with human beings, should it not be one’s own obligation to pay a small price as one of the members in the sorcerer world?

In this world, there would always be someone who sacrificed more than others. Even if others could not fully understand, they would always feel admiration.

It was like the sorcerer world’s competition rules set by the Great Necromancer; common people would never be able to fully comprehend its real intentions.

The reason was because what they saw was only their own tragic fates.

What never crossed their minds was that if such merciless rules did not exist, the so-called fate would disappear as well.

***

A flash burst momentarily in the air and a drunk, unstable Myna appeared on Grimm’s shoulder. It actually had to prop one of its wings on Grimm’s face to stabilize itself so that it would not fall off Grimm’s shoulder.

The Myna shook its head and wondered why it had suddenly appeared there. Then, he saw Grimm’s pale mask.

“Haha! It’s you! I see the little bastard is home. Come and join Lord Ba for a drink. Lord Ba is very happy today, you don’t have to run errands anymore. Hahaha! Now this is how a sorcerer should live. Bright Sorcerer, Dark Sorcerer… after the old bastard’s death, those young bastards actually segregated sorcerers into Bright and Dark Sorcerers. What utter nonsense is that? You also turned into a Dark Sorcerer…”

Grimm stared at the Myna who was fudging around with his Ashen Mask and he instantly knew that it was completely inebriated. With a cold hiss, Grimm grabbed it by its wing and threw the Myna into a dimensional gap.

The Bright Sorcerers who were singing and dancing saw Grimm’s Dark Sorcerer’s outfit and hesitated for a while. They smiled at him, without saying much, they carried on with whatever they were doing. Only Grimm’s neighbor was walking towards him.

“Uh, good day. I’m Angelea,” said the Bright Sorcerer with a smile as he passed him a glass of wine.

Grimm cast a simple sorcerer’s ritual, but his blatant coldness still portrayed him as an unfriendly person, especially with his Ashen Mask on. He accepted the glass of wine and calmly introduced himself, “I’m Grimm.”

“Huh.”

The Bright Sorcerer nodded, pointed to the direction behind him and said, “As you should know, we Bright Sorcerers are like this. We always gather together in merriment, hopefully it doesn’t disturb you. Hmm, your Myna has got quite a character, but we treat it only as a friend. We have no other intentions.”

Grimm nodded his head in acknowledgement as he could see the old Sorcerer’s sincerity.

“Not a problem. Every Demon-Hunter castle has a Mute Enchantment, so this is not even of any disturbance.” He continued on and stated, “As for this Myna, although it belongs to me, it is actually my Origin Soul butler who happens to be my symbiotic partner as well. It’s not my slave. So if you guys are willing to be his friends, by all means, please do so.”

After a brief conversation, Grimm took a look at the sorcerers who were singing and dancing on his neighbor’s lawn. He then went back to his Demon-Hunter castle alone.

The lonely figure and the lively atmosphere were an obvious contrast.

Watching Grimm’s departure and with two wine glasses in his hands, Angelea sighed and said, “Already enjoying loneliness and tasting isolation because of a lack of emotions? Just as what our mentors have told us, Dark Sorcerers are a group of pitiful, boring people. Just another group of killing machines specifically created by the Holy Tower.”

Angelea glanced at the untouched wine glass that was given to Grimm, swiftly picked it up and chugged it down. Following the beat of the music, he swayed his way back to the bonfire. The fire continued to burn brightly, highlighting his happy figure.

In the dark corner, a few female Sub-humans subtly picked up the trash that the bonfire banquet was leaving behind. At the same time, they looked at the joyful sorcerers who were singing and dancing with yearning in their eyes.

However, none of the sorcerers had ever looked at them in the eyes.

The reason was because the sorcerers had filtered their existence automatically. They were like lamp posts or puppets, Sub-humans were non-existent to them.

They were just a bunch of fateless slaves.