Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

For wizards focused on seeking truth from the outside world, even mind magic is built upon the analysis of rules and orders.

No wizard would suddenly become strong due to a burst of willpower during a battle. This is the fundamental difference from the later debates of idealism and materialism, and has three points of similarity.

This is why spellcasters must find a feasible path and establish a general framework, using the feedback from laws to prove that their direction is correct. Only then can they merge the crystallization of their wisdom and inspiration with the divine, completing the final transformation through sublimation.

One advances on the right path, while the other can skip classes and make them up later. This is the difference between spellcasters and war professionals.

Perhaps in the future, spellcasters will find ways to bypass this condition, but currently, none exist.

The correct direction, deemed initially acceptable by the rules... this is what the elder lacks, yet it's something Erwin never even considered.

He only hopes to reach his teacher's level, and that alone is enough.

Filled with joy, the middle-aged wizard felt that all his previous efforts were indeed worthwhile... but at that moment, seeing his student's joyous expression, the elder suddenly asked:

"Erwin."

"Teacher?"

"You've always obeyed my commands, listening to me without question. This is why I was willing to give you promises, remember?"

"I remember." The middle-aged wizard nodded.

"Yes... remembering is good."

"But after all these years... have you completed everything I asked you to?"

"Of course."

Without hesitation, the strong soul recalled his past, and the middle-aged man was certain that he'd never done anything to displease the teacher up to this day.

"Is that so..."

Nodding slightly, the elder neither affirmed nor denied it. He simply started talking about something unrelated.

"Erwin, do you know, as a wizard, it's not only Medea who likes to use crystal balls to divine the future like a Goddess."

"I also like prophecies, but I rarely use tools; instead, I directly observe the changes in the celestial phenomena."

"The myriad stars harbor countless secrets; their movement reveals the world's rules... until that day, shortly after discovering the deity who accidentally entered the Mystery Lock, a mortal named Heracles arrived in Silver Moon City."

"The church gave him the Star Shuttle I refined in my early years, which made me notice this exceptionally talented young man. But it was that meeting that filled me with sudden unease."

Speaking slowly, the elder's voice was very calm.

"But teacher, you once said that the omens of spellcasters aren't necessarily good, and could potentially be the source of disaster."

After hesitating for a moment, unsure why the teacher brought this up, the middle-aged man cautiously responded.

"Some dangers might not exist initially, but precisely because of inexplicable omens, people develop unnecessary vigilance, which eventually invites great calamity. This is something we should take to heart..."

"Yes, that's what I taught you, Erwin. This is the terrifying aspect of fate; I am naturally aware of it."

"So after that day, I did nothing but observe the stars every night."

With a faint voice, the elder recalled that night.

"I tried to find answers in the stars, or perhaps comfort."

"But later, you also know, on a certain night not long after, the heavens brightened, and white day stars appeared, with a spectacular sight of a red star crossing the Sun."

"A large fire star, originally wandering deep in the starry sky, shattered into pieces near the Sun, its remnants turning from red to brown, accompanied by the falling fire descending upon the mortal realm... this was an ominous sign, a disaster of revelation. Unfortunately, the deity we had imprisoned happened to be Astraeus, the father of stars."

"Teacher, I..."

"Listen to me!"

His voice suddenly raised, the elder interrupted decisively.

Walking in the air above the ruins of the city, his breathing was heavy.

"I don't know what this celestial phenomenon means—whether it's a portent of fate, indicating my destruction, or a reminder from Him, warning me of impending disaster?"

"No one can clearly explain this, not even the Goddess of the Magic Net herself, who once said that fate never explains to the observer; it only reveals a glimpse inadvertently, then mocks and plays with you when you cannot help but pursue it!"

"So, with no clear answer, I had to find it myself, to search myself... and eventually, I arrived at the beginning of everything, the underground palace where the deity was imprisoned."

"After all these years... Erwin, tell me," turning to the middle-aged man, the elder asked word by word, "why did I take such a huge risk to imprison a deity beneath Silver Moon City, under the eyes of the church and other deities? Is it because I enjoy dancing on the edge of a knife?"

"No... it's not that."

Not knowing where things went wrong, the middle-aged wizard felt a bit frantic and could only rack his brains to think: "During the Typhon disaster, you were not yet a demigod, and your mind couldn't observe the complete twelve-layer structure of the Magic Net... without the Mystery Lock's help, the Artificial Magic Net at that time couldn't have contained a True God... and with the God of Sun patrolling the sky daily, we couldn't guarantee to hide from his gaze every time..."

Finally finding a reason, the middle-aged wizard's mood stabilized a bit.