Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 2117: Like a Mirror

A palace fit for a giant stood atop a cliff overlooking a vast expanse of water.

Towering marble columns rose toward the sky, supporting enormous arches and balconies that overlooked the sea. Massive white walls supported the structure, their surfaces polished until they gleamed beneath the sunlight.

The entire structure had been built from pristine white marble, giving the palace an almost otherworldly appearance. Grand staircases descended from the palace into the sprawling courtyard, while fountains and statues decorated the gardens.

Everything about the place spoke of immense wealth, power, and history. This was the seat of power of House Fortuna in Providentia. The palace had stood since the Fourth Epoch. It was steeped in prestige and antiquity.

In the courtyard, beneath the shade of a tangerine tree, Genevieve sat quietly reading a book. It had been a year since she’d arrived in this world.

Surprisingly, there were a lot more family members residing in the palace than she had anticipated. But considering how long-lived high-ranking Magi and Paladins were, it made sense.

A woman whom she had assumed to be her elder cousin sister turned out to be from her great-grandfather’s generation. It was rather awkward.

Almost everyone looked far younger than their actual age, making it nearly impossible to tell who was older and who was younger. People she initially assumed to be her peers turned out to be her aunts, uncles, or even grandparents.

Genevieve quickly learned that judging someone’s age by their appearance was almost meaningless.

Her favourite place in the palace was the library. It was even more majestic than the one where she grew up—the Citadel of Knowledge. And she had access to almost every section of the library.

She learned that her House practiced a very mysterious and esoteric form of magic, one that had been passed down from their ancient ancestor.

It was a strange art that dealt with things few other Magi could truly understand:

Fortune, misfortune, fate, and miracles.

It was said to influence the unseen threads that connected events, nudging chance itself toward one outcome or another.

Few outside House Fortuna truly understood how their magic worked. Some even questioned whether it was truly magic at all.

And that was why their ancestor had been known as the Angel of Miracle.

All of it belonged to the School of Divination.

It was awkward at first for Genevieve to completely shift her focus from one school to another. After all, she had grown up focusing on the School of Enchantment—her mother’s specialty.

For years, her spells, her training, and even the way she approached combat had been shaped around it. Now, she was making the School of Divination her primary focus, with Enchantment becoming her secondary.

The transition was not easy. Although classified under the same spiritual aspect of arcana, the two schools required entirely different approaches to magic.

Genevieve had spent years learning to manipulate the mind and senses. She was accustomed to spells that produced immediate and tangible effects.

Divination was different. Much of its magic was subtle. Indirect.

At her current rank, there were no offensive spells. Most of what she could learn involved support and prediction. It was powerful in ways that were difficult to appreciate during ordinary training, but it left Genevieve feeling somewhat helpless whenever she tried to approach magic as she had before.

She had to learn a completely different way of thinking.

Rather than relying on direct attacks, Genevieve began practicing by summoning the Longevity Cranes and learning how to fight alongside them. She learned to coordinate her movements with theirs, guide them toward openings, and use Divination to enhance their chance of success.

It was strange at first. Yet slowly, she began to understand the subtlety of the art. And whenever she grew frustrated with the limitations of Divination, there was always Vesper.

Genevieve scratched the Shadow’s little pointed ears. ”How do you like our new home, my little friend?”

Vesper lay on Genevieve’s lap, enjoying her gentle scratches. His large, beady eyes were full of affection and protectiveness.

”Kree! Kree!”

”You are so adorable,” Genevieve said with a chuckle as she tickled her Shadow’s round tummy, eliciting cute-sounding giggles from him.

Training with Vesper gave her another way to develop her combat abilities while she adjusted to her new path. Little by little, what had once felt unfamiliar began to feel natural.

Suddenly, Vesper’s ears perked up and his innocent round eyes contracted to vertical slits like a predator. He quickly got on his short, pudgy legs, head snapping toward a shadow circling on the ground.

”Kree! Kree! Kree!” Drooling from the corner of his mouth, Vesper pounced on the little shadow on the ground.

An enraged voice echoed from the skies. ”Begone, you dull creature!”

But Vesper kept chasing the shadow in circles, eyes hungry and excited. ”Kree! Kree!”

”Genevieve, tell it to stop!” the voice shrieked.

”Vesper,” Genevieve called out in exasperation.

”Kree?” The little gremlin turned to her, eyes blinking innocently. He patted his round tummy as though suggesting it was time for a meal.

Genevieve shook her head. ”Remember what I said? Cranes are friends. Not food.”

”Kree...” Vesper’s shoulders slouched, and he walked toward her with depressing steps. Then he plopped down on her lap once again.

Genevieve’s heart melted, and she gently stroked the little fellow’s back. ”Don’t worry. We’ll be going out soon.”

A red-crowned crane landed in the shade of the tangerine tree, eyeing Vesper warily.

Genevieve turned to the messenger crane, eyes bright. ”Is it from Adam?”

The crane let out a shout of indignation.

”Genevieve! Genevieve! Oh, Genevieve! What do you see in that brute?”

It shook his head with immense disappointment, then began pruning its feathers.

Genevieve chuckled in amusement. For some reason, her cranes and Adam just did not get along with one another. And Vesper was outright terrified of him.

”Adam is like a mirror,” she said as she unfurled the letter from the crane’s feet. ”He reflects whatever people show him. If they are kind, he will be kind. If they are polite, he will be polite. And if they are rude...”

She smiled faintly. ”He will be far worse.”

The crane made a face, as though remembering all the times Adam had bullied him.

Genevieve began reading the letter, her cerulean eyes filled with fondness. Soon, surprise flickered in them.

”So he’s finally ventured into the dungeons,” she murmured.

”That’s right,” the messenger crane said. ”No more correspondence for the time being. He said he’ll write to you as soon as he comes out.”

Genevieve nodded after a moment of thought. She turned to the crane and smiled. ”Thank you for your hard work.”

The crane looked at her deeply, then sighed. ”You are too good for him.”

With that said, it flapped its wings and took flight.

Genevieve watched as the crane flew beyond the barriers of the palace and then plunged into the spirit world.

She thought, smiling:

No...

He’s the one too good for me.