Mage Manual

Awaiting the miracle.

After an unknown length of time, Sonia suddenly said, "The wind is rising."

No one knew when the Seven Heavens began to stir with a gentle breeze. As time passed, it grew stronger and more vigorous. The colors of the Phase, the colors of the Heavenly Kingdom, the colors of the Technique Spirit, the colors of the Wonder... It blew with every shade, forming rainbows that flowed toward the distant, unattainable sea of Dazzling Stars.

Not only in the Seven Heavens, but they also saw the earth, Ruby Mountain, the Dream Stairs, the Time Continent, the Sea of Knowledge, every corner of the world filled with this magical wind. Billions of rainbows composed of endless colors flowed into the seven layers of the Void Realm like rivers pouring into the sea. At this moment, it seemed the Laws of the Void Realm were utterly nullified, as if the entire Void Realm was unified, with no force able to stop this power from across the world.

*

Void Realm’s seventh layer, the center of the magic storm.

Ash was already submerged in a myriad of colors, sensing the source of each hue. One was the born Technique Spirit of the Fish-Slicing Dragon from the Sea of Knowledge, and another was the Blood Moon Elf Mage... Every second, tens of thousands of thoughts flowed into his mind, but he remained unrattled, organizing these colors as paint for his art.

Though he called it painting, Ash did not know what he was creating. Rather than saying he was painting, it was more like the art was being brought into existence through his hand.

It was a wondrous experience, a manifestation of knowledge in instinctual forms, and rationality executed in an emotional manner. Ash seemed to merge with the world, depicting his feelings with Laws.

This was the Resonance of the Void Realm, he thought.

He saw countless mages on earth surrendering, and many creatures within the Void Realm kneeling.

He saw the All-knowing Weaver flipping through his Mage’s Handbook and the Extreme Master of Blood Moon bubbling down into the Blood Sea.

He saw the Technique Spirits of Ruby Mountain singing and dancing, and the Divine Beings of the Seven Heavens bowing their heads.

All that he observed he obtained, all that he felt became his.

Magic power from all corners of the world gathered in his hands.

Why did Ash’s promotional slogan include the phrase "Connecting the fate of all life with the Mage’s Handbook"? Why could all those under Ash’s rule manifest their own Mage’s Handbook?

Because that wasn’t really their Mage’s Handbook. The Mage’s Handbook only extricates itself after death. The handbooks they manifested were actually copies left with Ash.

When Ash and his companions perfected the Bonds Technique’s technique, the greatest change was leaving the Mage’s Handbook copies with the Bonders. Only such an evident change could deeply make them realize they were a unified whole, could make them feel as if they were a community of shared fate.

The Bonds Technique of the Final Observer had already been perfected, utterly extracted from the mage’s power. But it could go further because the collective of mages was the force driving the world’s progress.

The power named civilization!

As the billions of colors condensed to an extreme, forming a small sphere floating before Ash, he clasped his hands to absorb the sphere and then spread them apart.

A dazzling brilliance far more radiant than a supernova flood over the seventh layer of the Void Realm, and Dazzling Stars were so glaring that they couldn’t open their eyes. When the light subsided and serenity returned to the seventh layer of the Void Realm, she opened her eyes and saw a brand new Divine Being in Ash’s hands.

Clad in a black trench coat, adorned with chains, hood drawn low to obscure its face, holding a net in its left hand and a loop of rope in its right, yet its small stature made it appear charmingly adorable.

Yet upon seeing it, the Technique Spirits of Dazzling Stars trembled without exception; even the Divine Beings looked at it as if confronted by a natural enemy, their expressions terrified, not daring to gaze directly.

"Seven-winged Divine · Bond."

Ash gazed at the Divine Being in his palms: "This is the miracle I anticipated."

"But this time, it’s not the mage’s miracle," he laughed, "but the miracle of civilization!"

Divine Beings fundamentally emerge from the mage civilization reaching a certain level. As mages, either they can only summon a "Divine Being within the domain of civilization," like finding a point within a circle; or they can spend countless time and effort expanding the bounds of civilization, creating new concepts, thus potentially summoning a "Divine Being at the limits of civilization’s edge," which is like finding a point on the edge of the circle.

No matter the case, mages cannot summon a Divine Being outside civilization, nor can they find a point outside the circle. The Silver Lamp cannot leave the Senluo because she belongs outside civilization, and only Senluo can accommodate her existence.

Dazzling Stars were nurturing a Starlight Divine in the seventh layer of the Void Realm, akin to having the idle Void Realm actively research in a specific direction of Star Magic. Ash’s behavior, however, relied on the entire mage civilization to craft concepts for himself.

The Master of the Void Realm reigns over the world with Bonds, connecting all life’s destiny with the Mage’s Handbook!

This is not only a slogan but also a summoning spell for the Divine Being. Every Bonder is akin to Ash’s mining machines, uniting to form an unprecedented computational network, leveraging the power of civilization to bring forth the birth of the Bonded Divine!

Dazzling Stars stared at this seemingly ordinary yet supreme Bonded Divine and suddenly asked, "Do you have the Supreme Source Power to drive the Seven-winged Divine?"

"I didn’t just now, but now I do." Ash smiled, "From the moment the Bonded Divine was summoned, I became the supreme of the Bonds Faction. This magical faction is likely a blend of Mind and Dominion Factions—"

"Cut the chatter and give it a try." She urged.

Ash was surprised by Dazzling Stars’ remark, but soon understood her mood, smilingly replying, "As you wish."

"Bond," he raised the Divine Being high, "In the name of the Master of the Void Realm,"

"Absorb all magic into my hands!"

With a flick of the net and a cast of the rope, two beams of light pierced from the Sea of Knowledge through to the seventh layer of the Void Realm, enveloping myriad colors along the way, instantly merging into Ash’s soul body.

Ash slowly unfolded his Void Wings; they could no longer be seen in their original color, only a splendid white remained. His first six wings were unimaginably vast, fully extended as if covering the entire Void Realm, retracting them brought all beings’ fates to be gently gathered by his feathers.

His supreme tail feather remained a spectrum of colors, while simultaneously the phantom of an eighth wing extended from his back; it was neither white, black, nor colored, yet held the essence of every color.

Though just an eighth-winged phantom, this alone allowed Ash’s colorful tide to sweep across the seventh layer of the Void Realm, dyeing Dazzling Stars’ painstakingly constructed star sea with his hues.

His Magic Realm had entirely surpassed Dazzling Stars.

Dazzling Stars stood amidst the colorful star sea, looking up at Ash enveloping the Void Realm with his wings, as insignificant as a handful of Starlight.

Ash mimed a grip with his hands, the myriad colors melting in his palms, instantly forging into a sword of the utmost splendor.

"I’ve done it, Dazzling Stars." His tone was one of sharing joyous news with a friend.

Dazzling Stars tightly grasped the Sword of Dazzling Star, yet spoke as if congratulating a friend’s achievement: "You did it, Ash."

"Then," Ash took a deep breath, his gaze resolute: "Let it end."

Eight-winged Wonder · Shattered Lake of Colors!

As the Sword’s light descended, the seventh layer of the Void Realm’s every starlight extinguished.