“Seraphims?” I asked in confusion looking into Mordian’s golden eyes for answers.
Mordian nodded as his eyes took a subtle turn, and began to burn with something akin to anger, barely suppressed at the very edge. “Yes, the Seraphims, a squad of elite demons having the strongest martial prowess and minds amongst the whole of the demonic army. Among the hierarchy of the demons, there are seven such demons whom are the most heinous and sinister of them all, whom are even feared by their own kind and considered only weaker than the demon king—Agares.”
‘So the demon king's name is Agares.’ I made a mental note of my oldest enemy, attentively acknowledging each word Mordian said as a contemplative frown creased my brows. This was the first time I had learned his name.
Unbeknownst, I realized I’d clenched my hands into tight fists as the loathsome image of Agares surfaced inside my head. I still perfectly remembered the pair of crimson eyes burning malevolently and oozing as much dread possible looking at me with an expression of amusement as he wrought destruction upon my people and world. That insufferable bastard. Malice laced my thoughts, and Mordian seemed to have noticed my behaviour, but didn’t say anything back.
“And those seven are referred to as the: Septham Seraphims. The strongest demons given the highest authority amongst Agares’s army. And Ashmedai is the leader of the Seraphims and the appointed commander of the demon king’s army.” I stirred my mind away from my malic laced thoughts as Mordian finished his explanation and settled.
He gazed down at me for a moment before he shifted his head, drawing a slow breath and continued. “The armies of demons that attacked and ravaged my home land and massacred my people were led by the Seraphims at their forefront as their generals and strongest military power. Out of all the Seraphims, I’ve only crossed paths with three of them, the first being Ashmedai.” Suddenly Mordian’s tone changed slightly as I felt a boiling fury growing at the tip of each word he exclaimed; like his words alone could pierce through someone. His eyes growing emotionless and detached on the mention of the demon’s name as his demeanour grew sharp and fiery; calloused.
“The second was a demon named: ‘Visseyit’. Out of all the demons I'd faced in my life, he was a particularly strong demon even more so than Ashmedai in the stature of raw strength, his ability to fight and resilience for battle was similar to a pantheon warrior, whom are natural born fighters, thriving for a greater challenge and conquering battle after battle. He was able to fight a squadron of veteran dragons all on his own and still come out with his life intact—and moreover, a battle of that magnitude between us ultimately levelled the world—, but not unscathed—because they have their regenerative capacity. And the last Seraph I encountered was ‘Lilith Nezera’ the high lord of the Nezera family, which is a renowned family amongst the demons and holding the highest authority among the demons, except the Noros family.”
I frowned listening to Mordian as I tried to picture such demons who were able to go toe to toe with literal dragons, and other ash’ari.
I chimed in from the side and asked about these hierarchical rankings amongst the demons and Mordian explained briefly from the lowest to the highest rank among them.
Which went from: elder, high elder, lord and high lord.
Then did I perhaps cross paths with any of the Seraphims in my past life?” I thought with my lips pursed as I held my chin and lowered my head in question.
It could very much be possible, but...I wasn’t aware of such a ranking or legion existing amongst the demons. And these seven demons were supposedly only weaker than Agares himself and were able to fight against several veteran ash’ari at once, then what level of strength could they have achieved? Could they be as strong as someone on the
A fact hard to accept, but the truth.
It could be possible, but if I were to face them in my current state I couldn’t hope to live to see the next day’s sun.
If they were on the
My frown twisted as my contemplation went on.
“And each of these Seraphims have strength equal to the ‘Transcendence stage’, a power which is the pinnacle of all strength, a living being can reach or hope to reach in a single life time—even among the ancestors of the ash’ari there are only some who have reached the transcendence stage or rumoured to have gone beyond it—but that is only a rumour. But reaching such a power is not meant for everyone, and many fail to do so if not prepared or not possessing the potential, or considering the risk—even if they’re from a race of the ash’ari.” Mordian said with a solemn expression as he finished his explanation and looked over at me.
I thought for a moment over his words then asked. “You also mentioned in our first conversation, about me being on the ‘enlightenment stage’, and now you mentioned this transcendence stage? What are these so-called stages? Do you ash’ari have a different concept of ranks amongst yourself when you make an advancement in your stature and understanding of mana?” I asked with a questioning expression, slightly excited for answers from the dragon. All of this was a new experience for me and the more I learned, the more curious I grew for the answers that I’d always wanted.
“Then do you humans have a different concept and names for each ascending stage of mana?” Mordian asked suddenly, his tone intrigued, but not showing it on the face. His facade was perfect and even I was having a hard time telling apart his expressions.
I nodded in affirmation and spoke. “Yeah. We humans use a ranking based concept which starts from: the threshold of the
“A ‘hunter’?” Mordian asked with a questioning tone as his eyes peered down at me.
I slowly explained to him about the system which we humans had developed over the course of almost a century, and had created this hunter concept when earth was officially exposed to the supernatural aspects of mana in order for us to adopt to the fast changes occurring around us.
Be it physical or environmental. The humans and their surroundings changed.
Mordian listened with an understanding expression of deep pondering as if he was placing the information I was giving him into the archives of his mind and making sense of them through his vast knowledge. After a moment of consideration, I finally decided and went over the fact that when the first cataclysm had arrived, we humans awakened and learned to use mana and obtained a status window through some unknown phenomenon which allowed us to see our skills and our ranking and the overall idea of our profession which we could best excel in.
“And when all of this happened we also obtained these things called: Skills. Which is kind of like an ability which is channelled through the use of mana in the form of skill‐books or scrolls or other objects, which contained a certain ability compatible with an attribute of mana, and once learned, a hunter could exercise that power and bring out its potential through training that skill, opening variations of that skill and learning to diversify its use.
As I explained, I noticed Mordian’s dragonic face turning into a deep frown as he looked at me with a perplexed expression of astound and something akin to sarcastic surprise lacing his eyes which made me feel awkward as I continued and averted my gaze from him from time to time to choose the right words to explain this to him in the best possible way to sound rhetorical and coherent. But even I was staring to feel kind of absurd to myself as I continued.
‘Seriously, hearing such things from a human might sound absurd to a dragon like him, who has lived long enough to see the end of the world like the dinosaurs.’ I grunted inwardly as I reached near the end of my explanation.
But honestly, even I understood little about how these skills came to be in my world, even if they did somehow. All I knew about was how they operated and worked with a certain criteria of the person who wielded a skill.
Depending on their compatibility with it and also their creativity.
“This concept you explained about these status windows and skills chiefly look distinct to only the humans, because among the ash’ari or the other races, such a thing isn’t found common or might as well be absurd if told by someone—but acknowledging the fact that there are many intricacies in this world is right. And the fact that there is so much we still don’t understand out there. But these skills you mentioned and how their general workability is, is similar to a technique cultivated for years through the use of their mana, but also different.”
“It could very much be a way to colonize years worth of effort and learning something, but like you said, it also takes time for a person to get used to the effect of a skill and learn to understand ways in which it can be operated with the best efficiency.” Mordian added with a breath.
“Exactly. But it also depends on a person’s natural affinity toward mana, or how they perceive it, because everyone has a different understanding of the mana around them.” I chimed in.
“Then do you have these ‘skills’?” Mordian asked, curiosity growing at the tip of his tongue as his eyes followed me up and down.
“Yes, I have a few of them.” I said back as Mordian’s eyes grew more intrigued on my words.
“Show me then," he said, his tone slightly impatient.
I grew wary of his words as I took a slight step back, but Mordian shook his head as he spoke.
“There is no need for you to be so wary. I’m merely just curious about these skills you mentioned, and how they might be different from the techniques created through years of hard cultivation. You know now, its a dragon's natural thirst for knowledge, and still, I can’t harm you in any way,” Mordian said, pointing toward the heavy chains scattered around him in the cavern as he moved his scaly arm and a low jangling noise reverberated, “I’m the one being held by these shackles, and these chains work as a suppresser to hold me back, so my mana is almost entirely sealed—with the exception of a little bit which sustains my body—so I can’t possibly do a lot in my current condition to harm you. So rest assured.” Mordian added his last words with a sober amusement to lighten the mood, but it surely didn’t for me.
‘So, the dragon finally shows his true colours.’ I said inwardly as I gave Mordian a side eye with a skeptical furrow of my brows.
I quickly composed myself and went into thought.
Which skill of mine should I show him, but without exposing too much information over them.
Ruler’s Authority and Acausality were already out of the question, because the former gave me a more dispassionate and cognitive perception and awareness of the things around me and the things which I needed to brainstorm through were laid out in front of me like a chessboard, through which I can look at things through a lens of detachment and objectified reasoning, and make the most right and worthwhile decisions which were devoid of any emotion obstructing my mind, which can bring forth the best results.
And the case with the latter wasn't any better. Because Acausality granted me influence over time, through which I could separate myself from the bounds of time and leave the physical realm. But the only problem with exposing Acausality was that, Mordian was from the race of the dragons whom supposedly understood time better than anyone—in the past his ancestors did—and the way Mordian had acted before when I’d struck the question over the edict of time, it might not be a good thing if I exposed this skill right now.
Given time, I will let him know. Because, I might be able to gain some insight into this edict, with his help. But I didn’t fully trust Mordian, I knew, either did he trust me fully.
After I'd decided, I turned to look back at Mordian and stared him right in his eyes.
Without a second wasted, I channelled Leap and saw the interconnecting web appear around me as the information was transmitted into my mind.
I felt the all too familiar sensation of my mana being drawn, as I felt my figure vanish into the paths with a flash of hollow lighting left in my wake.
I travelled through the pathways, as they ushered me forward and I felt the egnamtic energy of the paths wrap around me as the tingling sparks of lightning coiled and surged over my skin and the space in front of me opened up and guided me forward as information bloomed into my mind without any restrictions or interference. The transmission was smooth.
I reappeared right behind Mordian as my hair stood from the jolt of static which eased from around me as Mordian quickly whirled and with an astound expression over his face looked down at me.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Instant teleportation...” Mordian’s voice was barely a whisper but I still heard it through his heavy and low pitched tone. “That flash of lightning felt behind, when you vanished from your position and appeared behind me. Is this skill related to the edict of space?”
I broke a slight grin as I saw a mixture of surprise and pure curiosity bleed from Mordian’s solemn face. Feeling kind of amused seeing the dragon like that.
It was a silly feeling, but it left me kind of refreshed and comfortable.
“You’re close, but its technically not teleportation, it is every close to real teleportation, but its not exactly. I use a conduit—which is the space, the pathways around me to push myself through the space around me, ” I added as his face grew confused and contemplative. “This skill’s name is: Leap, and it allows me to move through the boundaries of space around me to make a path to travel between two separate locations.”
I pursed my lips in thought as I held my chin. “In a more easier sense, it creates a gate like connection through which I can bypass to two different locations at any time when I stimulate the skill with my mana. But that depends on the location and my own insight into the aspect of space. Well there are a few factors at play, but I've made significant improvement on my own, since my past—I mean in my time since acquiring the skill in a dungeon and using it.” I quickly corrected my final words as I almost slipped on the most important piece of information.
Mordian just nodded in acknowledgement as his eyes displayed understanding based on my explanation.
“Interesting. Truly peculiar.” He said, his tone took a scholarly vibe as he looked back at me. As if he was hanging on my each word.
“Now, can you tell me more about what those ascending stages of mana are?” I asked, growing impatient as we had grown more side-tracked from the main topic of the mana’s stages.
“Oh yes, certainly.” Mordian said. “Like you mentioned earlier that you humans have built a different ranking system, we ash’ari had also built our own to distinguish the different stages of mana, when someone broke through to a higher stage in their understanding and control and purification of mana. And aside from the humans, all the other races use this ranking concept built by the ash’ari.”
I covered my steps back to my previous location where I was standing before, as I looked at Mordian's towering form, shrouded in glittering and shiny obsidian scales which reflected the light of the crystals.
“The stages are divided into eight categories, they go from lowest to highest. First when a person gains the perception of the mana around them when they’re at a certain age, their natural biological heritage awakens and they learn to feel the mana around them in the form of an element, in a purer state, without the understanding of its attributes or the differences of the different elements."
I nodded in understanding as Mordian went on.
“These stages start from the: Tempering Stage. A rank achieved after an individual’s mana begins to bloom and they start the process of purification of the ambient mana and construction of their mana channels. And then as they move further into this process of purification, the stages they go through are: the ‘Intermediate stage’, the ‘Mastery stage’, and the ‘Profound Mastery stage’. Keep in mind that these are the basic stages which an individual has to go through in order to reach the higher stages of mana.” Mordian trailed off as he shifted in his position, sending the chain jangling around him.
“And once an individual breaks through the borderline of the profound mastery stage, their body begins to assimilate with the ambient mana around them faster and more efficiently as their perception of mana grows more sharp, sequentially, giving a person the ability to exert enough dominance and controls over the ambient mana in the atmosphere, allowing them to perform the act of flying. And this stage was named: the ‘Enlightenment stage.”
Well that was true. Flying was only a matter of exerting enough raw strength and control over the mana in the atmosphere to allow your body to flow through the mana around you.
“You also said that I was currently on the enlightenment stage, right.” I chimed from the side as Mordian nodded back at me.
“Yes, the purified amount of mana inside your body and moving through your channels is equal to a mage on the enlightenment stage, who is on the second layer of the supposed stage, which, as per is the intervening stage of the rank.” Mordian said firmly, as I nodded along, understanding the suggested topic.
“Then about the last three stages?” I asked with a questioning expression.
“I was getting to that.” He said. “After a person goes through the process of purifying their mana to a certain degree, their body starts to assimilate with the mana itself. Having a dominant control over mana. This stage is called: the ‘stage of the mystics—Mystic stage. And beyond that is the stage which a person achieves when their body starts to evolve and break free of its physical constraints and limitations, assimilating perfectly with the mana and becoming something more and stronger than before. This stage was named the: “Integration stage.”
“Then, by the way, the demons and their respective ranking is distinguished from the colour of their eyes, a grey-eyed demon would be on the integration stage.” I added in our conversation as Mordian nodded back.
I followed along his line of sight, as he looked at the chain which was wrapped around his underbelly and back, and attached to the ceiling. Mordian scowled before composing himself and looking back at me. “All of the dragon are on the mystic stage since the moment we were in our mother’s womb and born. Because our biology is different from the other races, such as the elves or the humans. Because mana is the conduit which keeps us alive, and without it our bodies would just begin to eat itself to sustain our life. And since the moment we are in the womb, our bodies start to absorb the mana around us through our mother’s help. And for that reason, the amount of infants which surface the pregnancy are low, until the mana develops their organs and body.”
“The same is the case with the other ash’ari.” Mordian added right away.
"Like how we need oxygen in order to survive, you guys need mana to sustain your physique before it begins to devour itself in a desperate action to keep you alive, but ultimately killing you from the inside out. In a state similar to starvation." I said as I came to a conclusion of my own, as Mordian nodded back.
“Then what about the other ash’ari? Are they also born being a mystic stage?” I asked out of curiosity, as the wheels of my mind turned.
“No, this trait is only found amongst the dragons. It maybe because of our superior physique or something along those lines. But when we are just infants, the mana which lingers in our body and creates our body is an important part of us."
“I see..” I nodded at his answer.
“Then what about the ‘transcendence stage?” I asked Mordian as I tried to go through the entirety of the information which I’d obtained from the dragon, and link this with the other pieces of information, trying to fully complete the puzzle.
Mordian frowned slightly, considering his words as if contemplating over my question. “Very little is know about this final stage of mana, but upon reaching this stage—which only the most talented among the ash’ari were able to reach in their long life times, my own father included—it is said that once having reached this stage, the body perfectly syncs and assimilates with the mana and a person becomes one with it, some even said that they become mana itself if the understanding doesn’t get flawed and the break through is successful and perfect—which most fail. Having absolute authority over all the mana ambient in the atmosphere,” Mordian halted suddenly, biting back on his words and gave me a thoughtful glance as his golden eyes peered through me, “reaching this stage is considered an extraordinary and abnormal task which none can achieve even if they were ash’ari and a rare talent. So most stop on the integration stage and their mana just keeps on purifying to strengthen their physique as they focus on honing their other abilities, except for ascending."
“The ultimate form an individual can achieve in their long and ardours journey of wielding and understanding mana.” Mordian gave me a slight grin which didn’t quite suit him. “Some said that its similar to bringing your own death upon yourself if trying to achieve this stage. But the ash’ari couldn’t, because they grew arrogant and rudimentary in their understanding. Their knowledge, at some point became flawed in some way, which held them back from achieving this power. And even in the old scriptures and tapestries left behind by the ash’arian ancestors, they were able to reach the transcendence stage, many of them, but the method of achieving this power was lost.”
“I don’t know how the demonic energy—which is a separate and powerful element, having a different adhered system than mana—works for the demons, but it came into our existence that most demons stop ascending in strength after reaching a level of strength equal to an individual on the integration stage—perhaps they hit their limit of purifying their demonic energy, maybe. The colour of their eyes does change to crimson, indicating their final evolution, but their strength not so much as an individual on the transcendence stage—but it does give them a boost. So as far as I know, only the Seraphims are the only demons whom are on the transcendence stage, including Agares—with the exception of a few from the other ash’ari races. Aside from them, there should be none.” Mordian eased after his long explanation as he took a deep breath and relaxed in his position.
After a moment of silence, I considered a question among the many thoughts occupying my mind following our conversation before finally asking Mordian.
“Then does that mean you—dragons and the other ash’ari—need to actively and constantly purify the mana inside your body to keep yourself alive? Like the beating of your heart or pulling in oxygen through your lungs? Wouldn’t that put you in a bind when you have to recover your mana when you run out and have to go into a meditative state to gather the mana from the atmosphere?”
Upon my question, I saw Mordian’s lips parting as I saw the slightest hint of a wry smile over his sharp majestic features. His obsidian scales shimmering under the bright illumination as he stirred.
I frowned looking at him as my brows furrowed further. Like he said, if the mana is what sustains them, then if their reserves run dry, wouldn’t they need to recover their mana, and worse if during battle? I guess wielding superior power came with its own risks.
“That is true. We do need to process the mana inside our bodies and circulate it constantly in order to keep ourselves alive.” Mordian firmly explained. “But like you mentioned, instead of going into a meditative position to gather the mana around us would be a waste of time and much effort, to tackle such situations, we have developed a spell which allows us to constantly absorb the mana around us without concentrating on the amount or the process of purification. It is automatically filtered.”
My face turned flummoxed over his words. A spell to allow a person to absorb the pure mana around them without even concentrating over the amount absorbed or the purification.
If such a thing was possible, then a mage or hunter wouldn’t have to worry about concentrating when gathering the mana round them—being in a vulnerable state—or using mana recovery potions, which consumed time and even a second wasted in a battle can cost severely.
“But this skill is only exclusive to the ash’ari, made based on our biology and physical traits, in the way our metabolism works. Let me rephrase what I said, this skill does need active concentration when learning but once learned an individual grows comfortable and can use it any time through the slightest bit of concentration—even walking, fighting or resting, it’s only a matter of learning how. To influence the atmospheric mana to be absorbed into your body naturally without trying to actually process it, or rather tricking the mana to enter through your veins or channels. But similarly you could say, that due to our bodies natural ability to pull the mana inside it to sustain itself by rotating the mana constantly and keeping our cells and muscles charged with it, its a technique we naturally learn since a young age.”
My face fell for a moment as Mordian explained. He noticed my crestfallen expression and gave me a pitying look as he understood my reasoning.
And here I was thinking I could learn this skill. If I could’ve, it would’ve become a great addition to my skill-set and also aided me in my spellcasting.
“But it can be learned depending a person’s aptitude and understanding toward mana, even if they’re not an ash’ari. All that is needed is to diversify their mind to the many possibilities that can be unlocked through mana.” Mordian added right at the end. “And I guess, someone on the enlightenment stage could learn with their control and purification of mana.”
My face slightly lit up as I looked at Mordian and concentrated my gaze around Mordian’s body and focused and saw the mana actively moving inside him.
But the thing which struck more than the information from Mordian was how the mana was moving around him. Through Mind’s Eye I witnessed the mana around us was proactively moving and getting pulled towards Mordian's body without even him focusing his attention toward it—he was in a resting position—, as if the mana was heading the call of his subconscious thoughts as it was pulled into his body and then refined through his veins.
The process looked similar to him just flexing a muscle without even having to consciously think about it, like an instinct. It was something as natural as him just breathing, without even having to concentrate on each breath or the amount of oxygen he inhaled with each inhale of his lungs.
So this was the spell Mordian had mentioned. I acknowledged. I took a breath in excitement as I looked around me. Atmospheric mana shone everywhere around us, with the specific elements closely aligned to where the mana lingered, such as the earth-attribute mana clinging to the ground and stone walls or the wind-attribute mana whirling and swaying with the movement of the slight breeze.
In anyway, these mana particles were always somehow in motion, and then there was the demonic energy which was much less dense, only a thin curtain of crimson particles flowing in the atmosphere in the small gaps which were left by the mana, moving in an irregular pattern of its own. Forming some kind of interplay to not disrupt the flow of each other, which I found quite interesting and peculiar.
“It might be too much to ask, but can you teach me this technique, Mordian?” I asked, already considering rejection as I stood on my toes in anticipation for his answer.
Even if he'd rejected me, I could still try asking. Better than regretting it later.
“You want me to teach you mana rotation?” He asked without permeable as he looked down at me cynically, eyes narrowed into slits and face frowning, looking skeptical and doubtful.
“I could, but like I said before, its a challenge when learning this technique if not an ash’ari. Not the elves, dwarves or the even the orcs were able to learn this spell when we had volunteered to teach, due to its complexity. They were all in the end, unable to achieve the desired results. As disappointing as it was, it was only right and the end was quite expected.”
“That depends on my willingness to achieve the final result. I am willing to do anything to grow stronger. And to prevent the destruction of my world, I need to grow stronger, and this technique could be helpful in my journey.” I firmly said, looking determinedly in Mordian’s blazing golden eyes, not backing away an inch.
I wasn’t going to stay reserved anymore. And because Mordian had gone through a similar experience as me, I think he could understand what I was trying to say. The powerlessness of not being able to do something, anything, and watching as everything is taken away from you.
The moment you think everything is in the palm of your hand and safe, it just escapes through the small openings like flowing sand, soon disappearing.
“Please teach me. I want to learn.” I said taking a slight bow to show my sincerity.
Right now even if the system gave me the okay to go back to the pervious trial, I would just be miserably defeated again.
‘Grow stronger and come challenge me again,’ the final fleeting words of the Guardian repeated inside my mind, which I’d barely heard before my mind had blanked and I fell into the dark void.
Mordian sighed as he considered for a moment, his brows furrowed as he took a good minute to consider as I held my breath. He stirred and then finally spoke. “Well, I guess I can teach you. I don’t have anything to do myself and being trapped in here has honestly made me fed up because there isn’t anything stimulating to be found here, and even my mana is sealed which places me in a bind and the curse holding me back,” my eyes drifted to Mordian's heart on the sudden mention as I saw the demonic energy haven taken a firm hold, “so in order to repay you for indulging me for long, I guess it can work as a payment.
“Fair enough?” Mordian raised a brow as he gave me a wry smile.
I unbent and smiled at Mordian as he straightened, sending the heavy and huge chains jangling around the cavern as he took a more serious position.
"Then, let’s begin your training.”