I folded my arms and nodded slowly.

Freedom of Amber and the magical organizations were the true architects of power, shaping empires and nobility with their influence.

Was it truly a fight for justice? Or was it simply another power struggle disguised as revolution?

Truth to be told, I did not trust Eval at this point. Who knows, maybe he just wanted to take the power in his own hands.

I let out a slow breath and began pacing the small cave, my boots pressing into the dirt floor as I walked back and forth, my mind racing.

“So, why are you on their side?”

The mage smirked at my question. It wasn’t the amused smirk of a man who had been caught in a contradiction but rather the tired, knowing smirk of someone who had already accepted the nature of the world. He leaned back against the cold cave wall and chuckled.

“My thoughts don’t matter, I am a mage of Freedom of Amber. I follow my organization’s orders. That’s all there is to it.”

I narrowed my eyes. “That’s a convenient answer.”

The mage let out a short laugh.

“Perhaps. But that’s the reality. You think most mages in Freedom of Amber or any of the noble-backed organizations care about the grand ideals of power and control? No. Most of us simply follow the system because it benefits us.”

I remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

“The truth is, Marsil, that people don’t like change—not when they’re comfortable. The current system works for those at the top, and those beneath them… well, they’re too afraid of what happens if it all falls apart.”

I considered his words.

It was easy to label Eval as a visionary and his enemies as oppressors, but the world wasn’t so simple.

A shift in power always came at a cost.

“And what about you? Are you comfortable in this system? Does it benefit you?”

The mage hesitated, his smirk fading slightly.

“I survive,” he said at last. “That’s all that matters.”

I shook my head.

“Surviving isn’t the same as living.”

The mage’s gaze darkened for a moment before he sighed.

“Maybe not. But it’s better than dying for someone else’s dream.”

I stopped pacing and looked at him directly.

“So, you think Eval’s dream is foolish?”

He didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he studied me, as if trying to gauge how much I truly understood.

Then, finally, he spoke.

“The majority believes that if Eval succeeds, the world will descend into chaos. A magic civil war.”

His words sent a chill down my spine.

“A magic civil war?” I repeated.

The mage nodded.

“Think about it. Right now, the world operates under a delicate balance. Nobles, mages, and commoners all have their roles. If Eval succeeds in breaking that system, what do you think will happen?”

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“People will resist. The old powers won’t just disappear.”

“Exactly,” he said.

“You think the noble families will simply give up their power? You think the magical organizations will allow themselves to be dismantled? No. They will fight. And when powerful factions fight, the entire world suffers.”

I clenched my fists.

His words weren’t wrong.

Revolutions rarely came without bloodshed.

But was it truly better to accept a broken system simply because change was dangerous?

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“Then what’s the alternative? Just let things stay the way they are?”

The mage gave a bitter smile.

“That’s the question, isn’t it? Stability or destruction? Control or chaos? If Eval wins, the entire world could burn. If he loses, nothing changes. Which do you prefer?”

I didn’t answer immediately.

Because I didn’t know.

I had always seen power struggles from the outside, as a wandering magician trying to carve out my own path.

I looked at the mage, my thoughts heavy.

“You speak as if you’ve already decided the answer.”

He shook his head.

“I’ve decided nothing. I just know that no matter who wins, there will be blood.”

His words lingered in my mind long after they were spoken.

Blood.

Was there truly no path forward without it?

I wondered about the words of Magic Civil War.

“What exactly do you mean by ‘Magic Civil War’? Do tell me about it.”

The mage hesitated for a moment before exhaling sharply, as if resigning himself to telling the story.

“Young mages like you, those who wander outside the reach of major organizations, probably never hear about this in detail,” he said. “But history is clear for those who bother to look.”

He shifted slightly, his hands still tied, and began speaking in past tense, his voice calm but carrying an undertone of something deeper.

“There was a time, nearly one thousand five hundred years ago, when the world was shaken by an event known as the Eclipse Movement.”

The name alone sent a chill through me.

“The Eclipse Movement?”

The mage nodded.

“It was more than just a movement. It was the catalyst for a war unlike any other. A small organization named Eclipse rose to power, much like how Eval Morningstar is gathering his strength now. They claimed to fight for change, for justice, for a new order where magic wasn’t hoarded by the elite, where power belonged to those who earned it rather than those born into it.”

“They were charismatic, dangerous, and driven by a vision,” he continued.

“At first, they were dismissed. The noble houses and magical organizations ignored them, believing them to be nothing more than a small group of radicals. But the Eclipse grew slowly and steadily. They gained followers from every corner of society—mages who were tired of being controlled, warriors who felt betrayed by their lords, commoners who saw an opportunity for something greater.”

The man sighed and shook his head.

“That was their mistake, underestimating them. By the time the world realized what was happening, the Eclipse had become a force too large to simply suppress.”

I leaned in slightly, my curiosity outweighing my caution.

“And then?”

The mage’s expression darkened.

“Then came war. A war so devastating that even now, after one thousand five hundred years, there are scars left behind. Entire regions of the continent were turned into wastelands. Forests burned for months. Mountains were shattered. Rivers dried up or changed course. The magic used in those battles was unlike anything seen before or since.”

I could hardly imagine an entire continent plunged into chaos, with spells powerful enough to change the land itself.

“How many people died?”

I asked.

The mage let out a humorless chuckle.

“The estimates say over five hundred million, but no one truly knows. The death toll was beyond calculation. Cities crumbled, knowledge was lost, and kingdoms fell. And in the end… the Eclipse was defeated.”

I frowned. “If they were so powerful, how did they lose?”

The mage looked at me, his gaze steady. “They were outnumbered. No matter how strong they were, they couldn’t hold against the combined might of every noble house, every magic academy, every knight order, and every government. The world united against them, not because they all agreed, but because they feared what would happen if the Eclipse won. And so, they were crushed, their name turned into nothing more than a warning—a legend to remind people of what happens when you try to overthrow the system.”

A heavy silence followed his words.

I exhaled slowly, absorbing the weight of the story.

And then, the mage smiled just for a brief moment, before his expression turned serious once more.

“What Eval is doing,” he said, “has a name now. It’s called the Morningstar Act. And those who oppose him believe that if he succeeds, it will be the second Eclipse Movement.”

I clenched my fists.

History repeating itself...