Heir of Synthesis: The World Mage

Before making any rash decisions, Priam kept a cool head and began a thorough interrogation of the couple of Pristine Wild-Spirit Primordials.

He needed information, and the most important thing was to make sure there were no slavery seals, tracking marks, surveillance measures, or anything similar embedded in the bodies of this race—something that might trigger an alarm in the black castle if they were suddenly removed from the planet.

”They never bothered to mark us individually,” the man revealed, his voice carrying a mixture of bitterness and resigned indignation. ”To those who leave the black castle, we’re nothing more than numbered livestock in a pasture. Every six months, two inspectors descend into the forest to conduct a census. They carry records containing only basic information, such as whether or not it’s time to take us away.”

”And how do they identify each of you during these inspections?” Meien asked.

”By name. Just asking is enough,” the woman replied, shrugging with deep sadness. ”There’s no way to fool them. Lying about someone’s name to try to save them from the harvest is an instant death sentence.”

Meien clenched her fists. Given the power of those figures, any fluctuation in spiritual energy when someone told a lie would be easily detected. There was simply no way for this race to do anything about it.

”And what happens when a newborn comes into the world?” Meien asked.

”They simply check the baby’s sex, write down the name chosen by the parents, and leave without touching the child,” the man explained.

Priam nodded. To these people, this planet was a perfect prison from which no one had ever escaped and no one ever would. There was no need to put a collar on members of this race.

As he absorbed this information, Priam felt a sense of unease.

On the one hand, the absence of markings made a mass evacuation considerably easier. On the other, the Pure Lotus Sanctuary Sect’s absolute arrogance showed just how confidently they trusted the security of their domain.

After all, breaching the spatial isolation surrounding that planet was theoretically impossible for any being below the Immortal level. Even so, Priam couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that some other secret defense might be guarding the perimeter.

Seeing the overwhelming anxiety and pleading in the couple’s eyes, Priam offered them a gentle, reassuring smile.

”Don’t worry. Within six days—or even less—I’ll get every one of you out of this place. Before that, I need to map the entire planet. Do you have any way to communicate over long distances between tribes?”

The couple shook their heads.

The woman quickly spoke up. ”Our race shares a natural resonance that echoes through the soil and the forest. We can sense the presence and direction of other groups from great distances. If you wish, we can locate every village and every inhabitant, making sure no one gets left behind.”

Priam nodded. That rocky planet was relatively small, measuring approximately one-third the size of Earth. If he focused on the task, he could inspect every location on the planet in a little over three days without attracting any attention.

After the conversation, they left the tent.

As he stepped outside, Priam found the entire population of the small tribe gathered in absolute silence. There were dozens of infants in their parents’ arms, along with children of all ages. Every one of them stared wide-eyed at Priam and Meien, watching their every move as they emerged.

Their multicolored eyes glimmered with a trembling, almost desperate hope.

The sight of those children made Priam’s chest tighten.

Not one of them behaved or gave off the impression of a normal child. There was no laughter, no playing, no running around, not even the slightest murmur.

From their earliest years, they had learned that any noise or spontaneous behavior could attract the attention of the monsters that descended from the skies. Their little bodies remained tense, and their eyes carried the premature apathy of those who had already witnessed tragedy.

Life in that slaughterhouse disguised as a sanctuary was indescribably cruel.

Earlier, the couple of Primordials had revealed that the people from the castle often conducted random raids outside their usual schedule. Exactly fifteen days ago, eight adults and four youths had been forcibly taken from that very tribe.

The executioners had simply separated the parents from their young children, dragging away the adults and a handful of youths without offering any explanation, leaving behind orphaned children shaken by horror.

Everyone in the tribe had witnessed it and vividly remembered the desperate screams. The memory of the abduction still hung over them like a poisonous fog—a fresh wound that was all too common on this planet.

Sensing the anguish shared by everyone around them, Meien squeezed Priam’s hand tightly. She stepped forward and spoke clearly, pouring out an intense emotion she could no longer hold back:

”You can relax now. My brother has come to free you from this nightmare. He’ll take you to a true paradise, where you can live in peace, raise your children without fear, and never have to feel threatened again. Please, just hold on a little longer.”

Priam let out a soft sigh as he watched Meien’s turbulent aura. As they witnessed the missionary’s promise, silent tears streamed down the adults’ faces, while an unprecedented spark of life ignited in the children’s eyes.

...

Without wasting any time, Priam, Meien, and the couple of Primordials set off toward the nearest settlements.

Upon reaching each tribe under the protection of Transcendental Concealment, Priam gathered the leaders and reaffirmed his role as the Goddess’s missionary.

The operation continued day and night without interruption. Priam and Meien visited several tribes in a single day, after which the leaders of each settlement took on the role of messengers.

They spread out through the forests, forming an organic communication network as they summoned and guided all the scattered tribes toward the initial gathering point where Priam had first arrived.

By the end of the first day of exploration, Priam had noticed a fascinating ecological anomaly.

The planet’s natural environment was dense and overflowing with an almost unreal vitality—something that theoretically should never have existed there.

The local sun was extremely weak and emitted a pitiful amount of Yang energy.

The planet’s geological structure and the composition of its internal minerals were even more mediocre than those of planets in the mortal plane. And yet, the forest seemed to belong to a high-level ancestral world, with crystal-clear rivers flowing pure and saturated with essence.

Intrigued, Priam questioned one of the Primordials about the phenomenon.

That’s when he learned about the oral legacy preserved by their race. In addition to historical accounts and the Goddess’s prophecies, their ancestors had passed down a legacy of Magical Techniques from generation to generation.

All Primordials were born with the ability to channel the so-called Miracle of Life Magic Art. Through this technique, their souls acted as catalysts capable of fertilizing the soil and forcing the ecosystem to germinate and flourish.

When they first arrived on that planet millions of years ago, it had been nothing more than an almost barren rocky wasteland. However, in an astonishingly short time, the Primordials had transformed the bare rock into a lush sanctuary.

They possessed the gift of elevating the flora and vitality of any planet to its absolute theoretical limit. If the planet had a more vigorous sun or high-grade minerals deep within its core, the presence of the Primordials would have produced natural treasures of immeasurable value.

Priam was genuinely fascinated by this revelation. Even Meien’s eyes lit up at the thought of such an ability.

...

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

By the end of the fifth day, Priam’s spatial lineage had been fully regenerated and was ready to be used again.

There was no reason to wait any longer.

Priam and Meien gathered at the convergence point in the heart of the forest. Before them, scattered silently among the vegetation, stood approximately 300,000 Pristine Wild-Spirits and just over 2,000 Primordials—the entire population of the planet gathered in a single place.

During those days, Priam had asked about the routines of the people from the black castle and discovered that their last mass departure had taken place four months earlier. No one had any other relevant information, since none of them could even get close to the place.

With the population gathered and his lineage restored, Priam declared the beginning of the final phase.

He took a deep breath and turned around, gazing at the silhouette of the black castle rising on the distant horizon.

At that moment, a cold, devilish smile curled across his lips.