Heir of Synthesis: The World Mage

Dandara’s scream shattered the stillness of time, echoing through the mind of every Mage present.

Before everyone’s eyes, the crimson beam of immeasurable force collided directly with Priam’s chest.

The impact was horrifying. The Heavenly Battle Armor shattered into golden dust, and the flesh of his chest gave way with a sickening crack. Priam vomited blood uncontrollably, but against all expectations, his eyes remained wide open—lucid and blazing despite the excruciating pain.

The crimson light did not dissipate. It remained embedded in his insides, as if it were a physical, pulsating spear.

The battlefield froze in catatonic horror. What the hell was that?!

Before anyone could even process what was happening, the spear of light began to retract at a brutal speed, dragging Priam’s body backward. Completely paralyzed by the beam’s overwhelming force, he couldn’t resist.

Within mere seconds, Priam’s figure was swallowed by the rift.

*SLAM!*

The rift in the fabric of space closed with a sharp, absolute snap.

It was as if none of it had ever happened.

It had happened far too quickly. The portal to the Central Realm seemed to have been forcibly opened ahead of schedule for the sole purpose of snatching Priam away from the battlefield.

With his disappearance, the suffocating pressure instantly dissipated, returning control of their bodies to the thousands of paralyzed figures.

A frigid, deathly silence descended upon the mountain.

Despair began to take root in the hearts of the two thousand soldiers of Priam’s faction.

”HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!”

Garand’s hysterical laughter shattered the trance, echoing through the valley with poisonous mockery.

”Did you see that?! The laws of this world would never tolerate a force like that! He dared to reach the level of a Sage and was eradicated by the world’s own will! Your leader has been reduced to dust! HAHAHAHA!”

Garand’s words acted like poison in everyone’s minds.

The Mages swallowed hard. They immediately understood that this wasn’t some delusion. Priam’s strength had unquestionably reached the level of a Sage—and the Central Elder had previously warned them that the laws of this world forbade beings of that magnitude from existing here.

Priam was still a Mage Master, but his overwhelming power could very well have triggered an expulsion reaction.

Could it be... he really...

However, the seed of fear didn’t have time to take root.

”SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU SON OF A BITCH!”

Dandara’s roar wasn’t merely a shout; it was a tonal explosion that shook the air itself and caused the rocky ground to crack apart.

The instant her voice thundered across the battlefield, the atmosphere changed drastically.

Dandara’s posture took on a primordial ferocity. Her pupils transformed into an incandescent blood-red, and every pore of her skin began spewing a dark-purple, viscous, terrifying Miasma.

It wasn’t the rotten corruption of the Sorcerers; any Mage could easily distinguish that pure, natural energy.

The air around her froze. The presence emanating from her body expanded at a terrifying rate. Everyone in the faction stared at the woman in stunned disbelief: the crushing weight she now radiated was something they had previously felt only from Priam himself.

Dandara stepped into the void and rose into the heavens.

Bathed in that suffocating aura, she looked down upon the enemy armies from above like a true goddess of the underworld.

”You insignificant worm!” Dandara pointed at Garand, her voice resounding like thunder and making the blood of her allies boil. ”Boss simply went ahead! He’s going to complete the mission’s objective, and he’s waiting for us inside!”

She swept her gaze across her troops, her red eyes blazing with fanatical fire.

”Listen carefully! Boss left this battlefield in our hands, trusting that we’re capable of cleaning up the trash! All of you... pay attention! We’re going to finish off every single one of these bastards and fling open the gates to the Central Realm with their blood!”

*WOOOOOOSH!*

Dandara’s purple Miasma exploded in a shockwave that swept across the valley, suppressing and freezing even the Sorcerers’ corruption.

She held nothing back. She released all of her strength at once.

Previously, Priam had asked her to restrain her power, acting only as vice-leader and tactical commander. She was the faction’s hidden trump card, reserved for when chaos broke out.

He had trusted her completely. And now, the time had finally come for her to live up to that trust.

Inside her soul, a mysterious rune pulsed—the true source of that Miasma. Dandara was still mastering its secrets, but she had already discovered that by fusing this energy with her Cursed Forest Elf bloodline, she could manifest indestructible black wood.

Furthermore, the Miasma possessed a highly corrosive nature, affecting the bodies, minds, and souls of her enemies. She could use it to shred defenses or create defensive domains that swallowed and disoriented her opponents.

That rune also possessed one final trump card: the ability to fully ignite itself, releasing its entire reserve at once and granting her an overwhelming burst of power. The duration would be short, but it would make Dandara several times stronger.

It was all or nothing. She ignited the rune and burned every drop of her potential.

The transition from doubt to battle frenzy was instantaneous. Seeing Dandara take complete control with such an indomitable presence ignited a spark of madness in the heart of every soldier, reaching even the allied Impure Beasts and Calamity Beasts.

The generals’ eyes widened as an electric shiver ran through them. The two thousand soldiers and allied hordes raised their weapons and unleashed a devastating roar in unison:

”BOSS IS WAITING FOR US! KIIIIILL!”

Without Priam at the forefront, Dandara rose like the new sun of that faction.

She was their vice-leader, and now she was taking his place, just as she always should have.

There was no room left for retreat, fear, or mercy.

They would win on their own.

***

Priam felt a visceral, unbearable pain spreading through every inch of his existence.

At that moment, he found himself inside a crimson, distorted space, devoid of sky or earth.

That beam of light had appeared out of nowhere, and although he had sensed it moments before the rift opened, his body simply hadn’t responded in time for him to dodge.

Now, he had been dragged into that strange abyss.

The moment the rift behind him sealed completely...

”?”

Priam felt time come to an absolute stop.

All the searing pain in his chest vanished like smoke in the wind. However, he also found himself unable to move a single muscle. Only his senses remained active, registering the anomaly.

’I’m sorry about this...’

Suddenly, a mechanically neutral voice—neither high nor low—resonated directly inside his mind. It sounded synthetic, completely devoid of emotion, making it impossible to even identify a gender.

’Who are you?!’ Priam immediately questioned in his thoughts, confused and stunned by the situation.

’I am the coordinator of this world. The existence you call Heaven’s Will.’

Priam became even more perplexed. As far as he knew, the Heaven’s Will of this world was supposed to be imprisoned in the central region, waiting for the expedition to reach its conclusion.

’I’m using the connection and energy of the three relics in your possession to communicate with you,’ the voice explained with restrained urgency. ’I don’t have much time, so I’ll get straight to the point. I know exactly who you are. You’re not a simple Mage, but someone who came from a distant world, sent here for a purpose beyond measure.’

The voice paused for the briefest moment before continuing:

’Focusing on the situation of my realm: when we were invaded in the past, we managed to resist thanks to the Goddess’s support. However, the murderous will of the six Sovereigns infected the structural pillars of the world.’

’In desperation, I completely sealed the power of those pillars, but the virus had already taken root. Because of that, I was forced to alter the fundamental laws of the world, preventing any existence above a certain level from manifesting. If anything beyond that limit appeared, all the remaining power of the world would burn up in a chain reaction to destroy it. The wills of the Sovereigns knew this; that’s why they couldn’t use their full strength, because they would destroy exactly what they wanted to take.’

’In the end, the wills of the six Sovereigns agreed to restrict their power to the maximum limit allowed. They chose the longer path: gradually weakening the seal while sending pawns to interfere with the natives. At some point, the Mages would reach the already-weakened core seal and destroy everything at once.’

Heaven’s Will sighed, a hissing, ethereal sound.

’I explained all this because I know who you... are, and I know you’re the only one capable of helping us. However, saving this world completely has become impossible. This world is doomed, like an old body suffering from a terminal illness. Nothing can make it return to what it once was. Even so, the essence of my world cannot be exterminated. As Heaven’s Will, I cannot allow them to erase our legacy. That’s why...’

The voice hesitated for a fraction of a second. At first, it had carried no emotion whatsoever, but everything was changing, and now it radiated melancholy and desperation.

’...I deliberately used the connection between the three relics and you to make the wills of the six Sovereigns identify you as the greatest threat in existence.’

Priam’s soul trembled in absolute shock.

’WHAT?!’

’Don’t worry,’ the voice hurriedly replied. ’The power they possess is bound by the maximum limit permitted by the laws. Besides, inside this central region, the connection between the six wills and their original bodies has been temporarily severed. If you defeat them here, they’ll never know what happened.’

’Are you insane?!’ Priam shot back, incredulous.

The ’maximum limit permitted’ clearly meant facing six manifestations whose power was a single millimeter away from the level of a Sage! They were wills originating from supreme Sovereigns! He could barely defeat one of them alone—let alone six at once!

’Please... you’re my last hope,’ the voice pleaded, stripped of any pride.

’I guarantee that if you manage to defeat them, I’ll reward you appropriately. And beyond material rewards... I’ve spent all this time using the energy I had left to connect with the Heaven’s Wills of other worlds. Little by little, I managed to gather crucial information to help you with your main mission.’

Priam swallowed hard. The anger in his mind halted for a second.

’Just like the Goddess at the beginning, you probably know almost nothing about your own origins, right? I don’t know the minute details, but I can give you a clear direction. I know where you came from and the fundamental history behind everything...’

The voice began to falter, becoming increasingly distant and faint.

’Unfortunately, my time is up. That’s all... good luck.’

The instant the voice fell silent, the stoppage of time shattered into a thousand pieces, and reality began roaring around Priam at full force once again.