"Is this man joking?"

"He's not joking. He's an absolute mad."

"What kind of whoreson blasphemer dares to claim to be the Illustrious Father of Camelot’s Wizards, who passed thousands of years ago!"

The man who claimed to be Lailoken, known to some as the fabled Merlin, had expected condescending responses when he uttered those fateful words. But he remained adamant. His confidence did not waver. He knew who he was, and he would not be cowed by the scepticism of those those quick to label him a narcissist with an identity crisis.

Moreover, the response also came from three juveniles in the back row of the mages. The faces of the two girls from Trinketshore village were contorted, just like the rest of the Magisterium.

"Alicia, do you believe that?" said Nadine. Alicia sure did not believe that. "That man calls himself Lailoken!"

But somehow the Big Yin considered all matters related to Merlin's name insignificant. "Aren't there many noo who have the name Merlin or Lailoken? What's sae special aboot him compared tae the others?" he asked.

Alicia was taken aback, regarding Gilmore's face in disbelief. Nadine rebuked him, "Are you deaf or what? Didn't you hear him mention his nicknames one by one earlier?"

As Alicia remained transfixed, a vibration emanated from her backpack pocket. She looked down at her waist bag. "Orb? What's wrong?"

Orb hummed a loud warning, though not loud enough for the monks up ahead to discern. And whatever echoes the Arcane ball conveyed only heightened the disquiet within the Crimsonmane lass.

In the midst of this, the curious Bartholomew approached the Grand Magus. Of all the wizards in Magisterium, their leader seemed the quietest. Perhaps it was equitable, given it was a norm for a Grand Magus to have extensive knowledge of connections in the world of thaumaturgy. Nonetheless, if he was the only one privy to Merlin's continued existence, it was equitable as well, for the suspicion growing amongst his colleagues. "You seem 'familiar' to him. Do you know this madman? Why don't any of us know but you?"

Haddock's lips answered, but his head did not turn. "It's a long story, Barthie."

Alicia's sudden cry from behind startled the entire assembly. "Everyone, beware! The one claiming to be 'Merlin' has dark magic!"

The whole souls were streaked. Restrained tongues lashed out, cursing aloud at the monks in ancient attire. Merlin, the illustrious patriarch of Camelot's magic, could not possibly have dallied the most accursed power in the world of thaumaturgy. He was even willing to betray his own people—bartering his soul to Roma and Camelot—just so that he would not let his hands finger that seductive power.

The impatient mass of wizards raised their wildly tightened wands. Eager they were to spit out magical essences, directing them at the ungodly monks, especially in the face of the blasphemous "First Grand Magus".

Forming connections with the black mages, let alone asking for their services without the organisation's knowledge, was forbidden within the Magisterium. Even if circumstances forced such actions and life hung in balance, surely everyone would have known. This rule applied to the Grand Magus as well. How could Bartholomew not be incensed when this careless and incompetent Grand Magus had a secret acquaintance of a Khaos worshiper, and nobody knew what had transpired behind that relationship?

“You know him!” Bartholomew's grip tightened on the Grand Magus' mighty coat. “What’s the state of your relationship? Speak! Don’t tell me you’re conspiring with them!”

Haddock tugged at his coat roughly, too. “Barthie, under the general circumstance, I don’t object to you babbling all the time. But can you please don’t do that now? You’re quite annoying.” Haddock then turned and urged at the raging wizards. “My brethren! Order! Order! Lower your wands, and hold your magic fire! Diplomacy, brethren. Diplomacy!”

A voice from the crowd rebuked him. “Grand Magus, have you lost your mind? We don’t engage diplomacy with practitioners of Khaos magic!”

The crowd clamoured, echoing their previous impromptu vote.

“Alright, all of you, Quiet!” Haddock’s orders sealed their mouths straightaway. “You shall attack when I say ‘attack’! Do not forget who your leader is! Prove you don’t behave like the black mages!”

Merlin and his companions remained still, watching as the mob of suit-clad barbarians was quelled by a tamer named Lachlan Haddock. The irony, when Haddock was was the one eager to make a fool of his adversary first. “People say you’re an incompetent Grand Magus. But I have to admit, at some point, you were an authoritative shepherd.” Merlin expressed his admiration.

“Don’t start,” responded Haddock. “You’d better start telling me what you’re here for so I can reject it outright.”

Merlin meant his intentions without a single moment wasted. “We want to take away your national treasure lady.”

The wizards were seething with anger, their wands ready, but Haddock once again had to rein in their fury. “That girl, just dealt with another kidnapper," he voiced everyone's objections. "You joke, surely, to claim you and your crowd, the new contender!”

“That’s why we come here.” Merlin paused for effect. “We provide what you can’t give her. Protection, security, and teaching on how to control her unique powers. Not much, but enough.”

“A training, you say? What do you know about her and the power she wields?”

“I am a thousand years of Arcane’s knowledge more knowledgeable than you. I know the origins of that Arcane source, Your Honourable Grand Magus. I witnessed its presence in the ancient land of Camelot with my own eyes.”

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

“More of your fanciful tosh. You do not know what that young lady has gone through.”

“Like what, Grand Magus, having a Necromancer terrorise an entire city just to control her as a corpse? Or a band of mages carrying out organised attacks on her and her family? Trust me, the conclusion is beyond the realm. Over time, many will rise to hunt her and her magic sphere. Your city is not safe for her, Grand Magus. Neither is your sky palace.”

“And your nest burrow in the middle of Shenzhou and Danhar battlefield is safer than our castle?”

Merlin casually replied, “Indeed,” without further explanation.

Haddock's irritation was evident on his face. He turned to his comrades in arms and chuckled, but no one seemed to share in his amusement. If Haddock were to throw the bearded middle-aged man and his followers into the sky, their reactions would surely give his comrades a good laugh. He turned back to Merlin, feet tapping on the floor.

“You know we can’t just cede Arcane wielder to a black magician.”

Had Merlin ever blinked? His gaze remained fixed on Haddock like a frozen figure. “Dark magic has nothing to do with anything at all.”

“Almost all magi who attacked her prior to this have black magic, Sir ‘Merlin’.”

“Not my problem. My ‘tiger’ colleague didn’t use any. Humans have wrought havoc on Earth throughout history, with or without the Khaos. I could have said that I’m different. Oh, of course, such simple words are too difficult for a group of rigid wizards like you to digest.”

“Just say it. You want to control Arcane might through that girl, don’t you?” Haddock confronted him. “To be honest, even if we are best friends, giving the Arcane mage to you not only deprives us of our most valuable asset in warding off Khaos magic, but also arouses Chixian Shenzhou’s suspicions of the Magisterium’s actions. The great war against the immortals of the east, again? No, thank you, dear. I won’t bet on that.”

“Oh, I see." Merlin offered his hand. "What a profoundly human act. Concerning oneself only with immediate dangers rather than the potential apocalypse in the long term. Know I care not for power or mere political intervention, Your Honourable Grand Magus. The survival of the world now takes precedence."

Alicia was so lost in thought that she forgot to consider whether interrupting the conversation between the two mage faction leaders was a wise decision. "So that Kagatse ninja! He's your errand man?" she blurted out.

“Shh, Alicia! Dinnae speak to yon rocket!” Gilmore rebuked her in a whisper.

Of course, all eyes, including those of the two leaders, now rested upon Alicia. Merlin then shifted to the side, out of the Grand Magus's line of sight. Expedient he was, he refrained his feet from advancing so as not to infuriate the already stifling atmosphere.

“The lass finally speaks. Pray, what is your name, hen?” Merlin asked dearly. The girl demurred. “The shinobi of Kagatse is my colleague. I apologise for the unpleasant encounter. However, I promise you I am not a black mage. I have come to aid you in readying for the destiny that looms.”

Merlin's narrowed stare discomforted the bespectacled girl. “What are you doing? S-stop looking at me like that!” the nervous Alicia scolded him. It felt as though Merlin had explored the contents of Alicia's mind with a simple soulful glance.

“You don't know?” Merlin concluded his scrutiny. “The Grand Magus hasn’t told you anything yet? About your Arcane orb? The significance of the mark on your hand?"

“The mark on my hand?” Alicia glanced down at her gloved hands, which had never been unveiled to the world. “H-how did you know?”

Haddock quickly confronted the abbot. “Okay, that’s enough. You'd better leave–”

“I’m not finished,” Merlin interrupted, then pounded on Alicia in the back row, “You, young lady, are one of the six anomalies that will change the face of the world, for better or worse!”

“Gentlemen, banish them!” ordered Haddock as the wizards started pushing the abbot by force. Finally, the waiting of the Western magi had paid off. The dissident monks impeded their advance, and a jostling match ensued. Merlin, thinking the matter had passed, persisted in addressing her.

“You and the others were prophesied centuries ago. You, young girl, are the Child of Miracles!”

Merlin's words left Alicia increasingly perplexed. Although she had suspected that she would not have been given such power for no reason, trepidation seized her nonetheless. The wizards and sorcerers persisted in their physical struggle. The sorcerers, only sixteen in number, still managed to withstand the repulsion of the Magisterium's mages, a number more than doubled. As long as Merlin did not declare war, they had done enough to let their leader get his message across before they were all knocked down from the sky abyss.

Alicia was still frozen by the old sorcerer's scream. The Magisterium mages kept resisting them with all their might, albeit the superior physical strength of the sorcerers stumbled them upon. Merlin's exclamation continued in the midst of the shoving and jostling. “If one of you dies, then the world's fate is at stake, especially if that poor person is you, young lady! You, are one of the most essential Children! The sacred might you carry is most important! Losing you will make the survival of men impossible! You and the others must be ready when that day comes—the day when the world will be embraced by Khaos himself!”

“Don’t listen to this lunatic, Alicia!” Haddock exclaimed.

“You must come with us,” uttered the First Grand Magus again. “I will train you how to use Arcane. We shall locate the others and tutor them likewise. This is not an offer. You will come with us voluntarily, or we will drag you by force! We will not hesitate to teach you by force, until you understand your duty!”

Nadine and Gilmore swiftly protected their best friend, inviting her to back away.

That’s too much of a burden! Alicia thought. Yesterday she was a girl from a village, forsaken by the world. Now she was the one who had to clean up the world’s mess herself. She saw her hands. Both trembled. Her wild mind, exploring all possibilities beyond her understanding, returned. It had been a tough day, really. Her head spun. She could have been palsied from the mere thought of the impossible fate script, not from exhaustion after controlling Arcane!

“The world is on the verge of collapse!” Merlin could not just stop babbling for the sake of anything! His followers' feet began to slither; they were pushed back towards the door. “You’ve seen the signs. How long are you going to stall, holding that girl from her destiny?”

“You have no right to force her. Begone, ‘Merlin’!” Haddock challenged the abbot.

Merlin ignored the behest. He waited for Alica to give her own answer.

The girl knew he would not act until she answered. “You rambled about fighting Khaos, yet you are a connoisseur of its power yourself! I dinnae believe ye!” Alicia straight exclaimed. “You only want me and my might like the others. I won’t fall into the same hole!”

A petty grin crept upon Merlin’s face.

“I see. Oh, well…”

Merlin turned and slowly extended his arms. Those in the room felt a slight jolt before realising that their surroundings were starting to shift. The concrete walls appeared to move back and forth. The towering pillars swirled. The frames of the great wizards intersected and separated. Doors and windows folded. An extraordinary phenomenon indeed, when the entire castle, even the floorings, moved to form regular fractal geometric patterns that blended together. An infinite kaleidoscope The fierce wizards were not as fierce as before, daunted by the constant landscape changes in their visual perception. They recoiled right away.

The Wizards did not need Haddock’s cue. They already knew things had turned dire! On the other hand, each monk drew out various kinds of weapons from the void—bows and arrows, long staffs, and discs. Whereas the unarmed ones performed complex hand gestures, summoning a pair of radiant orange circles to cling to their palms. Eldritch’s magic circle, summoned from another dimension!

Merlin and his companions were determined to break through the sorcerers' lines and reach Alicia Crimsonmane. Meanwhile, the Magisterium of Arcane Plane did not offer any insignificant resistance. The inevitable battle began, with Haddock and the Magisterium mages joining forces against Lailoken's group of sorcerers! []