Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 1748  A Reason To Fight (Part 1)

What Raze was looking at right now was clearly a prerecorded video message, a high-fidelity magical projection explicitly meant for new members who had just joined the inner ranks of the Noble Guild. Whether this specific recording had been made a long time ago for the veteran members of the Noble Guild who had joined before the current conflict, or if it was newly minted for those who had joined recently, it was hard to say. Honestly, it wasn’t something that Raze was too bothered to learn about.

His priority was survival. Raze needed to find an exit, and he was fully ready to turn on his heel and head back out the exact same door he had just come in through, especially since he couldn’t find any physical items or hidden passages in the metallic room itself.

He had his hand hovering over the heavy door handle, ready to plunge back into the spatial labyrinth, until a few particular words echoed from the projection that made him freeze. It was a phrase that immediately sparked his curiosity.

“There is a profound reason why we mages must get stronger,” the projected image of Idore said, his voice echoing with a manufactured, paternal warmth. “There is a reason why we must relentlessly continue to grow our power. Otherwise, all of Alterian is doomed. And we—the Noble Guild—are the only ones that can save it.”

“Save it… save Alterian?” Raze whispered to himself, his hand slowly dropping from the door handle as he turned back around to face the center of the room.

Of course, the cynical, pragmatic part of him immediately thought that this video was most likely just an elaborate brainwashing scheme. It was a classic, textbook way to control the masses and manipulate the guild members into genuinely believing that they were doing something worthwhile. It gave them a righteous purpose to cling to.

Not everyone could be a power-hungry sociopath like Idore, and not everyone would simply wish to be in a militant group solely in order to sit at the top and ruthlessly control Alterian. True loyalty required a cause. Although it might have been the case now that there were so many frightened mages who felt that they absolutely needed to join the Noble Guild—fearing that if they didn’t, they would be on the losing side, which might have ultimately resulted in their execution—that wasn’t always the case for the true believers.

As Raze stared at the projection, pieces of his past began to click together. He remembered encountering zealous mages from the Noble Guild entering the dimensional rifts from other planets. He remembered crossing paths with those who clearly had met up with Pagna warriors before. On top of that, he recalled many of the enemy mages saying strange, fanatical things during their skirmishes, almost as if they truly, deeply believed that they were fighting a holy war and doing these terrible things for a much greater cause.

The curiosity was fully getting the better of Raze now. Despite the ticking clock of his exhaustion and the spatial trap he was in, he decided to stay just for a moment longer to hear the rest of the video out. He needed to understand the lie his enemies were being fed.

‘I doubt there’s some type of subliminal magic spell at work here through the audio or visual feeds,’ Raze thought, his analytical mind kicking in. ‘But even if there was, I think my mental fortitude would be strong enough to fight against it.’ As Raze thought this, he carefully looked around the metallic panels, his eyes scanning the floors and walls. He couldn’t see any direct, glowing magic circles or runic arrays in the room designed to compel the mind. It was just a simple recording.

“The opening of the dimensional rifts was a massive breakthrough for us mages,” Idore’s projection continued, his tone shifting to that of a wise historian. “The vital resources that we heavily rely on in our daily lives—the beast crystals that power our cities, our tools, and our very magic—were finally able to be safely exported across from the other dimensions. It ushered in an age of prosperity.”

The image of Idore faded slightly, replaced by floating, illusory visuals of strange, alien landscapes.

“With each new dimension we bravely entered, we found the crumbling remnants of lost civilizations, but we never found another civilization that was currently alive and thriving. There were savage beasts, mindless creatures, and dangerous flora, but that was the extent of it. We thought we were alone in the multiverse.”

The visuals shifted again, the bright colors darkening into something much grittier.

“However, we eventually ended up finding another civilization that is out there. A world teeming with life. Those known as the people of Pagna.”

The video then started to drastically change its tone. The footage itself showed the inside of one of the bustling martial arts clans. Based on the specific architecture, the clothing of the disciples, and the tiering of the inner courtyards, Raze knew the place rather well. He had walked those exact steps.

“It is a world filled with incredibly cruel people, who proudly refer to themselves as ‘warriors’,” Idore narrated, his voice dripping with carefully calculated disgust. “They carry different powers from ours—a brute, physical energy—and they possess great, terrifying strength. But they are a fractured, primitive society that can’t even work peacefully amongst each other.”

The video went on to show a rapid montage of horrors. It showed heavily chained slaves being whipped in mines. It showed high-tiered, arrogant warriors brutally killing regular, unarmed citizens in the streets for simply looking at them the wrong way or disrespecting their clan.

Raze narrowed his eyes, wondering exactly where and how this clandestine footage had been taken, and who had risked their lives to record it.

Regardless of its origin, it certainly was a highly edited, masterfully cut video that painted all of Pagna in a distinctly barbaric, evil light. It was only one side of the story, weaponized to inspire fear and disgust.

Raze scoffed quietly. If he had taken the time to record and show all the evil doings of certain corrupt individuals, nobles, and dark factions within Alterian, there would be a limitless amount of horrific content to display. Slums, magical experimentation on the poor, brutal assassinations—Alterian was just as bloody.

But if Idore showed this cherry-picked footage to a naive race of sheltered mages who had never witnessed the true complexities of Pagna before, they would instantly think of it as the absolute, undeniable truth. And considering the esteemed, authoritative position that the Grand Magus was in, why would any ordinary citizen ever assume he would lie to them?

As the violent video continued to play, Idore continued to talk over the sounds of clashing swords and screams.

“The warriors of Pagna are inherently violent, and they violently take over anything that is in their path or that doesn’t perfectly agree with their archaic ways. On several tragic occasions, our peaceful exploration teams have met with them, and the precious lives of our mages have been lost to their unprovoked bloodlust.”

The image of Idore returned to the screen, looking gravely serious.

“Diplomatic communication and peaceful coexistence seem to not be something that can ever be agreed upon with these savages. This is a race of violent beings that only wish to show how physically strong they are, and they view us as the perfect guinea pigs for their martial arts. They hunt us for sport.”

Idore leaned forward, delivering the final, terrifying hook.

“As the days go by, there are more and more frequent occurrences and border clashes between the two of our worlds. Make no mistake: someday very soon, the Pagna warriors will unite and descend upon Alterian to conquer us. And we, the Noble Guild, are the only ones with the strength, the discipline, and the magic that can beat them.”

The screen slowly faded to black, leaving the metallic room in silence.

Raze stood perfectly still. He understood completely now. He saw exactly why some of the mages felt like they were righteous saviors, and how this masterfully crafted video made the Pagna warriors the ultimate, existential enemy. It was the perfect motivation to build an army.

But as the recording ended, there was a massive, lingering question burning in Raze’s mind.

‘Okay, so the mages and the lower ranks of the Noble Guild truly believe that Pagna are the enemies because Idore said so, and he provided some highly edited proof that backs up these terrifying claims…’ Raze thought, his brow furrowing as he looked at the blank panels. ‘But why? What does Idore personally have to get out of this fabricated war? What is his real endgame?’

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