Standing in the depths of the Void created by the memory of the Ancient before him, Ezekiel waited for whatever message was left for him. Though he couldn’t stop his hand from clenching as he gazed at the figure that still stood so much larger than he did.

“First of all, I wish to congratulate you for being not only the first Void Mage to reach this level, but also the first human at all to reach what you would call the fifth Tier on your own. Without any aid from the Spirits that were originally created to aid you. Only by doing this have you proven that it is possible for a human to reach the level at which the world will be saved.”

He could instinctively tell that the presence of the Ancient Void within this memory was grand enough to utterly crush him if he was still just a Legendary being. Regardless of whether or not he had one foot in the Mythic Tier.

“You must be wondering why I am telling you this directly, rather than having my Remnants speak to you in my stead. That is simply because they do not have all of this information. As for why I do this at all... simply put, I doubt that any human could reach this level without having questions. Questions that might bring about a result that would be less than ideal.”

Ezekiel narrowed his eyes, now suspicious as to what the Remnant had been doing, if it hadn’t known what this message really was. He made a mental note to interrogate it when this memory was finished.

“For you to have made it this far means that you now stand on the precipice of fulfilling your contract. A delicate point where you have proven that you have lived up to the potential that the pieces of myself saw in you to save the world. Either through destruction, or salvation. Which is all that they would know and have made their own decisions that they would feel are for the best.”

The Ancient Void’s words were confusing to him. His contact was to save the world. How could it be saved through destruction? Was the Remnant choosing its own means of saving the world?

“This might be confusing to you, so I will simply say that, neither humanity, Spirits, nor the Broods or their eventual spawn, are the World.”

Ezekiel felt his heart grow cold as he heard the Ancient Void speak.

A part of him had always known that the terms of his contract were vague, but to hear it laid out like that threw him for a loop. He could feel his jaw drop open in surprise at what he’d just heard.

“To save this world, merely means to ensure that it will continue to develop, to recover, and to grow powerful enough to not be consumed by the forces that exist beyond my boundaries. Beyond the protective sphere created by the winds of energy emitted by the star that the world you call Eldramir orbits.”

“Beyond... the heliosphere?” It took Ezekiel a moment to recall what the Ancient Void was talking about. It was a topic he hadn’t known the inhabitants of Eldramir, even the Ancients, were aware of.

Astrophysics, or whatever the specific field of study was called, wasn't his expertise, and it had been a long time since he’d been reborn, but he could vaguely recall nights filled with deep dives on the internet in his past life. So, while it was difficult for him to find the appropriate words, once he did, new ideas pertaining to his magic formed in his mind.

“These threats stand beyond even the Ancient Spirits, the Broods, and myself.”

Pulled from his musing, Ezekiel latched onto the way the Ancient spoke.

It had referred to itself as separate from the other Ancients. His previous suspicions and assumptions were coming to the forefront of his mind once more.

“Threats like humanity, which were never truly native to Eldramir. To myself, and the world that was my cradle.”

“...What?” Ezekiel’s question echoed through the memory space, but the recording from the Ancient Void... no, the recording from the [Will] or Spirit of Eldramir itself continued.

“I am sure that you must be surprised. But a part of you must have known. To have made it this far, the concept of fighting fire with fire must not be new to you.”

Gritting his teeth, Ezekiel refused to admit that Eldramir was right.

“At first, I was a simple world, with nothing more than the most basic of flora, fauna, and elements calling my body home. Until one day, the [Outsiders] came to me, and their armies attempted to defile my being, and rip me apart for resources. I retaliated, or course, and slew many of their kind with the pure might of my [Presence].”

There was a shift in space as Ezekiel felt the world around him press down as Eldramir spoke that last word. There was a meaning to it that he could only barely grasp. One that he knew was important, but it would elude him for some time.

Simultaneously, the Void he stood in shifted. Colors flashed, and the world around him changed, as a memory from long ago appeared before his eyes.

A memory composed of a massive ship the size of the moon, shooting beams of light deep into Eldramir’s core. With millions of tiny figures, swarming toward a planet that was both familiar, yet not. One that he instinctively knew was nearly ten times greater in size than the current Eldramir.

Yet, although it was so much bigger, and there was so much more, he could see a resemblance in the borders of the continent. As if it had broken off from a much bigger piece.

This planet was being consumed by an army of magic users that were all at least equal in strength to himself. One of the most powerful people on Eldramir right now.

Worse yet, he could sense the weight of the mana from hundreds more. All at least a Tier higher than him.

His stomach heaved, and if he could, he probably would’ve thrown up.

There were powers even greater still, but their presence was being stunted in this memory. The sheer might of these higher beings’ existence was enough to crush him even now.

It was a humbling thing to know that, as he was right now, he was barely even cannon fodder for these [Outsiders].

“The humans fought back, however, and it was only by detonating a piece of myself that I managed to stop them from killing me outright, and simply harvesting my corpse for meager morsels afterwards.”

The once pristine and beautiful planet burst in an inferno of multicolored light. The power of the armies that had tried to harvest Eldramir were destroyed. Not even the strongest of them had been able to survive the blast. One so large that it covered the entirety of their army.

After the light faded away, it was like the planet had been bitten into, like a person might bite into an apple. With a molten core that weakly flickered with heat and light.

“Back then, I was far more than I am now. If we were to go by the scaling that you humans used before my Ancient Spirits’ departure, I would have been at the pinnacle of Tier eight, stronger than the commander of this army. Who had been at the lowest end of the same level.”

If the massive figure that stood before him had a face, Ezekiel knew that it would be smiling at the memory of the human commander dying in a blaze of rainbow light. There was an incredible amount of detail in this part of the memory, and he could tell that Eldramir cherished it a lot.

“Yet even though all their forces were wiped out, in my exhausted, and greatly damaged state, I received a vision. Through the threads of [Karma], I sensed it. More were coming, and this time, I would not have the power to stop them. So, I chose to create guardians instead. Capable of maintaining my recovery as I slept in the hopes of regaining my former power. They would be too weak to defend against the army I had foreseen, but they might be enough to defend against any lesser threats until I woke up.”

The scene shifted once more, and from the broken husk of the original Eldramir, the earth and matter that remained closed in on itself. A new world formed, and the dust and debris that surrounded the planet formed a new moon. The old one had been destroyed in the prior blast.

This was now a fully familiar sight, as Ezekiel saw the Eldramir that he knew.

From this newly formed world, eighteen beings arose from its depths.

Nine Spirits composed of the mana that flowed through the ethereal layers of the world. The breath of Eldramir’s soul. Born to protect that very thing.

Nine Broods composed of the fleshy and physically diverse matter of biological life. Formed from Ichor, the blood of Eldramir. Born to protect its body.

“These defenders were meant to be the ones that would protect me from humanity, and other [Outsiders] until I had recovered my strength once more. I even fell into a slumber once they were created, content that I would be protected. Unaware that humanity had learned from its mistakes.”

It was a subtle thing, but even as the vision of the memory turned hazy while Eldramir slumbered, Ezekiel could make out the many thousands of projectiles that were sent flying toward Eldramir.

They broke through the protective layers of the solar wind shields that had previously required the barriers of the massive ship from before to break through.

These objects snuck past the sleeping soul of the world and landed everywhere, opening themselves up to release their payload.

A substance containing the genetic information of the very race that had tried to destroy the planet itself. It quickly spread across the world, and this time, rather than violently invade, they laid down roots, as if native to this world in the first place.

“I awoke, hundreds of years after the seeds of humanity had landed on this world, to find that I had given birth to the very species that had tried to kill me. A species that only the Broods knew did not belong. For they could tell that your flesh, your blood, was not entirely of me.”

The blood of countless beings was spilled during the war between Ancients and Broods. Yet, as Ezekiel saw the lesser beings that were born of the Broods, the animals that looked like less twisted Umbral Beasts, all had iridescent blood. All except humanity.

“Even now, I do not know what the ultimate purpose of your species infecting me was supposed to be. It did not matter, in the end, for your ties to the [Outsiders] eventually fell apart as multiple generations passed, and your bloodlines developed separate from them.”

Staring at the scenes of war playing out before him, Ezekiel couldn’t help but wonder why the Ancients had helped humanity. They and the Broods were both created by Eldramir, so why would they fight when the Broods knew that humanity didn’t belong?

“Fortunately for humanity, while your flesh and blood were foreign, your souls were not.”

Stolen novel; please report.

Little lights appeared within the chests of the humans that had spread across the world, protected by the Ancient Spirits. A light that had an assortment of colors shifting around within it.

“Hence why my Ancient Spirits could fight my Broods. They were protecting pieces of my soul. Fragmented and insignificant as they were. Something the Broods were not instructed to do. Something that I had never once thought could happen. To see the pieces of my soul turned into the very enemy that had forced me to destroy and lessen my original self should have disgusted me. Yet it did not.”

The faces of the humans that fled from the Broods as the Ancient Spirits defended them were twisted into fear and wonder as they worshiped the Spirits and cursed the Broods.

The sheer variety of expressions, or emotions, that were shown across the species as a whole filled Ezekiel’s vision. Their creativity as they began to figure out how to use the light inside them, as the Ancient Spirits guided them into using the elements that they were composed of, brought a smile to Ezekiel’s face.

“They’re just like me.” He recognized many of the looks that formed on the humans that discovered something new with their magic. It was a look that he had had many times when discovering something new with his Void magic.

“It was enough for me to wonder, were these truly the enemies that had nearly killed me? Ultimately, I decided that no, you were not. However, there was still a tie that bound you to the ones that did. So, while I was unwilling to simply wipe you, and the sparks of your souls that had been born from me, out of existence, I knew that something had to be done. Unfortunately, before I could take action, something happened.”

The memory shifted once more, and the image of the Ancient Radiant Spirit fighting the shapeless ooze of the Chaos Brood appeared. A group of humans was fleeing off to the side but had split into two as the landscape was altered around them.

The ground was glassy in places as a rain of light melted the earth, all while a sea of Ichor grew fleshy tendrils, each one being several kilometers long, that swung at anything and everything. The impacts from these growths were enough to shatter mountains.

At the moment, things were not looking good for either of the grand beings. Both were scarred, and their vitality was flowing away, but while one was split between protecting two groups, the other was not. Which ultimately turned the tide of battle.

Chaos attacked one, and the Ancient Radiant Spirit moved to defend them, getting struck down in the process. Its mana began to fade, just like the Spirits of the modern day, but something that made Ezekiel’s blood turn to ice occurred. The Chaos Brood approached the still fading Ancient.

Flowing over its body, the Chaos Brood consumed the essence of the Ancient Radiant Spirit.

For a moment, Ezekiel couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. He actually stepped back in shock, stumbling over his own feet and falling on his ass.

“What the hell...?” While he had always known that, because they were composed of mana, Spirits were vulnerable to being consumed by Cruor, to see it happening to one of the Ancients was almost too much to handle.

But that just raised more questions. The most obvious of which was why did the Church of Ten still have a Radiant Ancient in their records, and the second, which was much more horrifying, but matched the facts that he had come to obtain during his dealings with the Cult of Light.

Holding his head in his hands, Ezekiel nearly ripped his hair out trying to figure things out.

It was only the fact that Eldramir’s message wasn’t finished that pulled him back.

The image of the Chaos Brood undergoing a strange evolution was next. Its iridescent Ichor shifted to a liquid gold that eroded everything it touched.

“Upon feasting on my first Ancient Radiant, Chaos changed, but was clever, and knew that its new nature would not be accepted, for it was not done by my hand.”

As Eldramir spoke, the golden Chaos Brood changed color back to its original state.

“Knowing that I couldn't allow the Broods to wipe out the rest of my Ancients, I created a new Ancient Radiant. As well as ensured that the Broods were somewhat suppressed. Their very bodies were constantly put under enormous pressure and strain, holding back their abilities by magnitudes. Which led to the stalemate that you would have witnessed prior to our contract being formed.”

Time passed as the new Ancient Radiant fought against the Broods with the other primogenitor Spirits. Eldramir continued to recover, but this time they remained awake. Until an old, yet recognizable, event played out. It was the scene of the Broods being sealed as Eldramir, finally recovered after generations of fighting, descended in a physical form.

“This is what I show all of my potential contractors. In the hopes that they will not be daunted by the image of the Broods. In the hopes that they will have the [Will] to face this madness, and fight.”

More events played out. This time of the Ancients teaching more about the elements to humanity. But as they did, the light of their souls settled into one element over all the others, and while they never had the ability to use them all at once, it became apparent that their affinities settled, and were now reliant on their heritage. Spread far and wide so as to not have any of the elements die out.

Yet, there was a bottleneck that could not be surpassed. Humanity simply lacked the necessary [Understanding] that the Ancients innately had regarding their elements. No matter how hard they trained, no human could break past Tier three.

“Unfortunately, while this war prevented you humans from rising up and fulfilling whatever plan you were sent here to enact, it also meant that I was further weakened. Much of my strength was now being spent to contain half of my children. I knew that something had to be done, as soon as possible. So, I decided that I, and humanity, needed to be forgotten.”

All around the world, an opalescent barrier formed. One that Ezekiel recognized. One that not only [Shrouded] the planet from [Outsiders], but also altered the flow of time so that Eldramir would experience time passing much more slowly than the universe outside.

“With this, even when the greater armies of the [Outsider] humanity came, they could not find me. They searched for thousands of years, from their experience, until they finally gave up and left. Yet, I knew that I, the world, would not be safe once the [Shroud] around me fell. So, I tasked my Ancients with leaving me behind, granted a wisp of my power, but relieved of their memories of me, so that lesser Remnants of myself could send back souls that might help me find an answer to my problem. As well as give humanity a chance to both prove and save themselves from their fate at the Broods hands. All while I once again fell into a slumber. One that I did not know if I would wake from. Due to my essence being spread as thin as it was.”

The sight of the Ancient Spirits leaving, and memories of countless other worlds being sent Relics much like the one he’d been given in his past life flowed before Ezekiel’s eyes. In these worlds, he saw an assortment of magic that he’d never witnessed before.

Technology that was both more, and less, advanced than that of Earth’s. As well as [Understanding], regarding the rules that dictated these worlds, and the rules that dictated Eldramir. These rules determined how the different races upon them could cultivate magic and grow stronger.

Yet, it was the words of Eldramir, saying that this was a chance for humanity to survive, that grabbed his attention.

Eventually, the scenes of different worlds, memories of the souls that had been sent here from other worlds, just like him, faded away.

“For the most part, it will be assumed that you, and any other ‘saviors’ I have contracted will be here to save the world from the Broods and their eventual spawn. This is wrong. Your purpose, the purpose of any and all Void Mages that break through to the Tier equal to my Ancients, is to reinforce the barrier that protects me. That keeps me, Eldramir, the World itself, safe from [Outsiders].”

Once more, Ezekiel stood across from the image figure that had started all of this. His reincarnation, his path of magic, and his place within the world. Bound by a contract that he wasn’t sure he could fulfill.

“Now that you know the truth, we shall go back to where we started. Destruction, or salvation. I don’t care which one you choose. Destroying the seals on the Broods will release the mana used to contain them. This would allow me to recover much of my mana and ensure that the barrier remains intact for millennia to come, but not only that, it would allow me to recover faster, to the point where I might even awaken once more, rather than dreaming endlessly as I am now.”

The thought of doing this passed through Ezekiel’s mind, but he immediately dismissed it. If it was possible for humanity to survive, then he might be willing to do so, even if they ended up being physically altered.

Unfortunately, the effects of Ichor on humanity and the lesser beasts that had developed without it were too damaging, and he knew that whatever was left wouldn’t really be humanity anymore.

Not when they would be enslaved to the [Will] of the Broods. Worse yet, there was no guarantee that the Broods were still loyal to their purpose of protecting Eldramir after all this time sealed away.

It was possible, after such a betrayal in their eyes, that the Broods would be the thing that destroyed Eldramir next.

“The other path, salvation, involves becoming strong enough to reinforce the barrier directly. But to do this, you would need to reach my level prior to my slumber. You would call it Tier seven. Only then, will it be possible to save both me, and humanity, while keeping the Broods locked up.”

Ezekiel couldn’t help but wince at the thought of that. If his premonitions, and the way things were developing on Eldramir right now were any indication, it was likely that the Broods would break free on their own.

The mana from their seals seemed to already be fading. Either into nothingness, or into the [Shroud] around the planet. Ezekiel didn’t know which it was, but it meant that salvation was looking less and less possible at this point.

“Regardless of the choice you make, now that you are aware, know that I hope that you can make the final steps needed to reach the level needed to fulfill your contract. The fact that you have made it this far means that you now [Understand] things about my World that even I did not know.”

He couldn’t help but scoff and roll his eyes at the failed attempt at encouragement.

The fact that Eldramir hadn’t been able to help humanity reach a higher level, or even teach the primitive Void Mages how to use their magic meant that, even as old as it was, Eldramir was shit at teaching. Though, whether or not that was intentional wasn’t something he could figure out right now.

The Ancient Void, Eldramir, seemed intent on forcing humanity to prove itself, even if it did grant the lesser Spirits the ability to bond with Mages to grow stronger.

“I’ll need to think about this more later. There’s no way you’ve really told me everything, but I can’t do much about that right now.” Taking a deep breath, Ezekiel entered a meditative state to settle himself.

Rather than let himself grow angry, he let his body fill with his mana, allowing it to flood his mind as well. While he had let up on it while witnessing the memories, right now, he needed to be calm, and even now he could feel his emotions, his rage, pushing him to start lashing out.

He barely even noticed the world around him consuming him in light once more.

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Ezekiel remained silent; his eyes closed in contemplation after being blinded by the light of his shift from memory to real-time once more. The emptiness of the Void brought him a semblance of comfort as his suppressed emotions churned deep within his soul.

It also allowed him to organize and separate the additional memories of those that had been brought here before him. Their souls having passed through the barrier, just like his, and the memories passed onto him an instant after he had left Eldramir’s message behind.

“That wasn’t very nice of you,” he muttered, the visage of the Remnant before him was unrepentant in his now opened eyes. “Dumping that knowledge on me, right after I had received your maker’s memory, might have broken my mind, if I hadn’t already begun meditating.”

“You would have survived. My actions were not performed with lethal intent, nor is your soul, or mind, so weak as to have collapsed from the sudden influx of knowledge.” The Remnant’s voice was reminiscent of the voice of Eldramir.

Yet, now that he had heard it once more, Ezekiel realized that Eldramir’s voice held a certain [Authority] to it that was respectable, and awe inspiring. This Remnant utterly failed to match it, even though the tone was similar.

It was almost enough to make Ezekiel laugh. The comparison reminded him of a child trying on their parent’s clothes.

“Regardless, now that I have received the message, my reward, if you will, for reaching Tier five and blazing the trail for humanity to improve, I have to ask,” Ezekiel spoke with a calmness, even as his fists clenched in frustration, “What was the point of all this? Even with the knowledge imparted on me, without care for my well-being, what was this supposed to do? How does this change my goal?”

“...It doesn’t. It simply makes you understand what your ultimate goal truly is. In fact, Eldramir could’ve solved these problems long ago, though at a cost to itself that might’ve been even greater, by destroying humanity when it took physical form thousands of years ago.” The Remnant was indifferent as they spoke, but Ezekiel could see it tapping its fingers on its arm at the thought of what it had just said. “However, Eldramir has never enjoyed killing its children, for all that hold the essence of the World are bound to it, much like you are bound to your... Spirit...”

Ezekiel smirked when the Remnant finished speaking. It had been hard, but hiding Shine’s presence, or lack of, in this case had paid off.

“Where is your Spirit!?” the Remnant demanded, its voice caused the Void around them to tremble.

“Right now, I’m asking the questions, and I want to know what you have planned for me, now that your mission has been fulfilled.” Ezekiel decided that he would no longer play nice, and simply give into the demands of the Remnant before him.

While his mana might not be nigh endless, fed by a formation that was thousands of times better than his own when it came to accumulating mana, his strength was no less. At least not in regard to the amount that could be brought to bear in an equal timeframe.

Once he ran out, however, that would be a different story.

However, the next few words from the Remnant threw all hostile intent out the window and replaced it with confusion.

“My intentions are to keep you here, so that you are incapable of freeing the Cruor to fulfill your contract.”

The mana that Ezekiel had been subtly gathering within himself faltered, and he nearly stumbled on nothing as he floated in the Void.

Lost for words, he simply stared at the Remnant, until one word finally left his mouth.

“Huh?”