Mage Manual

"We are not children, but decision makers guiding this world forward, supervisors managing all beings, responsible adults for bestowing Miracles to fulfill wishes... There is no entity stronger than us, no one will see your tears, no one will hear your cries, and no one will descend with a Miracle to help you achieve a perfect ending!"

"Not knowing what is right, not knowing what is the cost, hiding self-righteously in a Fortress called ’belief’, believing that as long as the Mage works hard, all wishes can be realized, believing that Miracles will give everyone a happy ending..."

"Ash Heath," Dazzling Star said word by word, "You not only underestimate me, but also this world... The world and I, have never been so gentle."

"Trust me, Dazzling Star." Ash smiled and said, "No one understands this better than I do. Whether it’s you or the world, I’ve confronted them many times."

"I don’t deny that in some ways, I am indeed like a child... But isn’t that what a Mage is? Wanting to fulfill all wishes, greedy, whimsical like a child... Including you, Dazzling Star, you are even less mature than Filly."

"What?" Dazzling Star almost wanted to laugh, not even having the thought of refuting but wanted to hear Ash continue.

"There is no Mage who is not greedy, I always wonder what exactly you want." Ash said, "Is it the pursuit of the ultimate in Magic like Vishi? But you are not keen on power, for you, Magic is just a necessary tool. So, do you want to completely take the world into your own hands? Yet, as the first Divine Lord for many years, you have never established absolute authority to conquer the Seven Heavens, for you, power is just icing on the cake."

"Could it be that you are truly as indifferent as you appear? That is even more impossible, only an emotional Mage can persist for thousands of years with an unswerving desire, truly emotionless and desireless people would have long fallen into self-destruction due to confusion and boredom."

"Until you became angry at me for ’not being strong enough’, I finally realized what you truly seek within."

Ash flashed a slight smile at the corner of his lips, calmly said:

"Mission is your ultimate pursuit in life."

Dazzling Star’s expression remained unchanged, yet the Starry Sky slowly began to flow.

"You believe yourself to be the only one qualified to decide the Fate of the world, you have the duty to guide civilization on the right path, you won’t hand this world over to the incompetent."

Ash said, "I don’t know if you are a born Saint or developed this sense of mission over years as a Divine Lord ruling the world... But you certainly take this as your life’s pursuit. Strength and power are not your desires, you simply need to have them to have ’decision-making authority’."

"That’s why you got angry because I wasn’t strong enough, because I’m the only Mage in thousands of years qualified to contend with you for decision-making rights. You’re certainly not hoping for me to defeat you, you just need my failure or submission to prove your correctness... Just like the villain always triumphantly explaining his plan to the protagonist, you’re also waiting for an opportunity to shatter my will with your worldview."

Dazzling Star sneered, "You think I need your recognition? Did Filly give you this illusion?"

"Even without Filly, you would still need my recognition, Dazzling Star." Ash had no shame at all, "You may be a great Mage with a heart as steadfast as iron, but great doesn’t mean not vain. Someone like you, who hides all emotions as if concealing mountain-whirling waves inside, craves the recognition of equals. Because of abstinence, the desire is fervent."

"In fact, I also admit you have the qualification to decide the Fate of the world. Among all the Mages I know, only one person can surpass you, and all others including myself do not have the capacity to burden the world."

"Who can surpass me?" Dazzling Star immediately asked, "Sword Maiden? Silver Lamp? You can’t possibly mean Vishi, right?"

"That person is the future me, Final Observer." Ash consoled, "But don’t be discouraged, Dazzling Star, Final Observer is from a truly annihilated future, a Convergence Master who buried sixty-three worlds, and created the Bonds System capable of overthrowing Mage civilization, a Supreme of Fate, being on par with him is enough to prove you are indeed an unparalleled Mage throughout history."

Dazzling Star fell silent, wanting to lash out at Ash’s shamelessness, yet on the other hand, she had to admit that the Final Observer she had never met truly wasn’t someone she could currently match — just the ’Bonds System’ alone made her understand the vast gap between herself and the Observer, she even benefited from it.

Ash watched Dazzling Star’s micro expressions with interest, chuckled: "You are indeed still very naive, just getting discouraged because a temporarily unsurpassable goal appeared."

"Those boring provocations of yours, I’m already tired of hearing them." Although Dazzling Star said this, she still didn’t activate Source Power, she wanted to hear what nonsense this man would say.

Perhaps it’s because from this point onwards, she will never hear anyone’s voice again.

"I wasn’t randomly saying you’re less mature than Filly." Ash said, "Your sense of mission must also be built on emotion, there is no mission without emotion, plus I’ve fought alongside you in Hell, I’m well aware that you actually dearly love this world you’ve watched over for thousands of years."