Myths Reawakened

“Director Planck.” Sidney looked at the white-bearded old man in surprise. “Why are you here... Did you follow me?!”

“I didn’t follow you. I came for your master, Marshall. He’s hiding in your mind, Sidney.” Planck shook his head and stepped forward slowly. “Do you remember? In my office, you came to me for help. Marshall betrayed his faith and declared himself Lord of the Void. He’s fallen and become an evil god. You wanted to personally sever the sinful relationship.”

“That did happen...”

Sidney looked confused. His mind was disturbed, and his memory had severely deteriorated. However, he didn’t think that way. Eyes locked onto Wayne, he said with a twisted expression, “Thank you for the kind offer, but it’s no longer needed. Marshall promised me that as long as I sacrifice this bastard to him, he’ll never bother me again.”

Wayne frowned. The situation was more complex than he’d thought. The Lord of the Void was a fallen legendary mage who, before abandoning his humanity, was Sidney’s master, Marshall. The unfortunate student sought the help of Director Planck to escape his master’s insistent harassment. Thus, Planck had been tracking the Lord of the Void and ended up finding Sidney, already parasitized by his master.

Having connected the dots, Wayne retreated behind Planck. The name Planck sounded very quantum mechanical[1]—definitely a big deal.

Planck glanced at Wayne curiously. “Why is your master so obsessed with this young man, Sidney? What’s special about him?”

“Nothing, and I don’t care.” Sidney’s face twisted with pain. “Director Planck, I’m one of the attending physicians at Red Leaf Asylum, while he’s just a mage apprentice. For the sake of the asylum, please hand him over to me.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that!” Planck firmly rejected. After accepting Sidney’s request for help, Planck attended the gathering at the Great Cemetery and spent the rest of his time tracking the Lord of the Void.

The void universe was vast and dangerous. Not even legendary mages dared to linger. Thus, his method of pursuing the Lord of the Void was to wait for him to show himself. With the help of several old friends, Planck finally spotted his target this morning. He hadn’t immediately made a move, partly to give Sidney a chance and partly to see what exactly the Lord of the Void was looking for.

Planck was surprised to find that the Lord of the Void’s target was a mage apprentice. Why would he care about an apprentice? Was he mad?

Well, he was.

But that wasn’t the point. Planck believed that the Lord of the Void had regained some rationality and thus hadn’t dissipated like other legendary mages. His obsession with the mage apprentice, even going so far as to return to the Chosen Land, had to mean that the apprentice was more than what met the eye.

Interesting. He’d heard that the Church of Heavenly Father was also secretly searching for something.

With that in mind, he gave Wayne a kind, friendly smile and said, “Let me introduce myself. I’m Planck, the director of the Red Leaf Asylum. With me here tonight, young man, no one will hurt you.”

“I’m Wayne. Thank you, Director. I’ll be counting on you.”

Wayne took several steps back. The old man was smiling at him strangely. It was a friendly smile, and he couldn’t put a finger on why it unnerved him, but... He looked lascivious, was how he would put it. The way Planck’s lips and eyes curved made it look like he wanted Wayne’s body.

Considering this was the Kingdom of Windsor, Wayne decided to stay away from Planck just to be safe.

“He’s only a mage apprentice, Planck! I’m an attending physician at the asylum and a Gold-rank mage. I may very well become the High Reverend of the Church of Nature!” Sidney said with great annoyance. The answer to the question should be self-evident, yet Planck gave the wrong answer.

“Sidney, calm yourself,” Planck advised. “Your mind belongs only to you. You can sever your connection to Marshall.”

“Don’t speak nonsense. At least I’m more rational than you. I know the right choice to make.”

Sidney only became more furious. A voice in his head kept reminding him that once he severed himself from his past, his mind and mana would become greatly diminished, and without power, he would be worthless and could never realize his dreams.

“Sidney, you’re going mad and becoming just like Marshall.”

“Shut up, you senile old man. I should be saying that to you. Look at you and your crazy appearance. You’re the mad one here.” Sidney roared, hearing contempt and mockery in Planck’s voice.

The roar became sonic waves that stirred up the wandering wind elements and created a downpour of rain. However, the rain wasn’t heavy. The drizzle vanished against the ripples Planck generated upon impact.

Planck didn’t counterattack, seemingly waiting for something. Sidney interpreted that as dismissal and became even more furious. His roars gradually turned inhuman as his body swelled and expanded. Two white arms burst through his suit from his back. He doubled over and threw up a large mass of white foamy flesh.

The flesh divided and merged before dividing and merging again. Veiny tentacles spread and covered the sewer walls, surging toward Planck like a flood of violent waves.

“Marshall, you’re finally showing yourself.”

This was what Planck had been waiting for. His eyes blazed with black light as a dark mental space slowly spread from beneath his feet.

Sidney had flaws, yes. He craved power and was overly ambitious, but which mage in the world wasn’t? No one was perfect; they all had their desires. Planck believed that Sidney could still be saved. No matter what, he had served the Red Leaf Asylum for many years, contributing effort if not achievement.

Planck’s life field expanded. The legendary mage manipulated the void with his thought, projecting a unique three-dimensional space. It replaced the sewer, tethered to the Chosen Land yet isolated by Planck’s mind.

In this space, the Lord of the Void could not hide his mind and thoughts. The humanoid tentacle monster latched onto Sidney, covering Sidney’s eyes with both hands as the tentacles wrapped around and controlled Sidney’s limbs. It bent down to whisper into his ear.

Sensing Planck’s gaze, the Lord of the Void looked up, his chaotically placed facial features cackling maliciously. “My student, he envies your talent and worries that you’ll take over as the director one day. What an ugly soul!”

Sidney growled, his sanity rapidly declining. His flesh gradually became one with the humanoid tentacle monster, and the teeth in his mouth transformed into white tendrils.

Suddenly, holy light flooded the dark space, dispelling the oppressive darkness and injecting power and hope. Planck was like a human lightbulb. His radiance morphed into an intangible hand and dragged the humanoid tentacle monster off Sidney’s torso.

The Lord of the Void’s facial features stretched as his tentacles refused to let go of his student. Where the flesh had merged, repulsive white flesh gushed out.

Seeing that he was about to be peeled off, the Lord of the Void unleashed his life field.

The two unique spaces and the two completely different darknesses collided. The resulting sound left Wayne dizzy and nauseous. His mouth secreted saliva, and his teeth felt a sharp ache. His head rang constantly, making him see double images. From the point where the two darkness collided, he saw a massive outpouring of four elements.

It was a massive amount!

A lot, a lot!

Although not as vast as the elemental space’s supply, there were enough elements to fill Wayne’s life essence. Like domesticated pets returning home, the elements went from entangling wildly to going in clear processions to find their way back to their master. Wayne was practically salivating over them. His old friends were locked in the basement, tormented and tortured. Someone had to step up to save them.

But he couldn’t!

If he claimed a loot at this critical moment in the battle, even if Planck won, he would be held accountable afterward. Wayne could already picture how it would go by putting himself in Planck’s shoes:

Planck, rubbing his hands together like a fly and grinning like an evil god, would say, “You rascal, pretending not to be a naughty boy? Come. Let Grandpa examine you.”

After a brief stalemate, Planck drove the lord of the Void out of Sidney’s body. The humanoid tentacle monster perched in his own space, one eye watching his student while the other watched Wayne.

“Marshall, your life has merged with the void,” Planck said sternly. “The Chosen Land isn’t a realm you should tread in. Go back. Here, you’re no match for me.”

The director of the asylum could be quite authoritative when he wasn’t acting like a fool. And he didn’t only have his presence. He also had a plethora of items to use—ring, medal, holy grail, cross, key, necklace... The magical items orbited him, each radiating an aura.

Wayne gaped. Where did the old man come from? How did he even develop such an unorthodox style?

You’ve got so many faiths. How do you even juggle all of them?

What if you get distracted one day and sing praises about the Goddess of Nature before the Goddess of Death? Won’t you drop dead?

“Hahaha, my life hasn’t merged with any place. Quite the contrary, I’ve found the true meaning of life.” The Lord of the Void shook his body, smugly calling himself the perfect form. “The mortal shell limited my thoughts. My current body was crafted with life magic. It’s the primordial life form and the essence of the universe.”

Planck shook his head, not wanting to argue with a madman. He raised his left hand and conjured a spear of crimson crystals, hurling it with all his might to pierce the Lord of the Void’s head.

Before the Lord of the Void could retaliate, Planck threw a lasso of sunlight with the right hand hidden beneath his white robe, grabbing the Lord of the Void’s neck and pulling him to his feet.

Darkness surged. Wayne’s vision blurred, and he was back in the familiar sewer. He looked around and couldn’t find the dark spaces, but in the cracks formed from the collision, he discovered an endless stream of four elements.

Gulp! ×2

He gulped, wanting nothing but to rescue his old friends from the battlefield immediately, but considering the two legendary mages were still around, he decisively made his escape.

Run first. Anything else could wait. This wasn’t the time to take advantage.

After taking two steps, he realized something was wrong. Why were there two gulping sounds? Who else was swallowing?

Sidney.

The Gold-rank mage had lain motionless like a dead dog in the dark space, but immediately picked himself up upon returning to the sewer. He was now staring at the ownerless four elements, pondering whether to make a grab.

Ultimately, his fear overcame his greed. Like Wayne, he dared not act rashly.

Seeing Sidney awaken, Wayne wasn’t going to linger. He gripped his pistol and ran toward the far end of the sewer. Sidney shot him a derisive glance before saying in disdain, “What’s the point of running away? Even if you run out of Londan, you can’t escape their sight.”

As he spoke, Sidney suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach. His insides churned like a stormy sea, as if something was crawling up his esophagus to his throat. Face twisted, he hurriedly reached into his mouth to induce vomiting.

Pain shot through his fingertips. His mouth was wet, and his two fingers had been bitten bloody.

“Sidney, my promise still stands. Sacrifice him to me, and I’ll never seek you out again.”

The Lord of the Void’s voice spoke through Sidney’s mouth. Under the voice’s temptation, he forgot his hatred and fear for his master, obeying the command to chase after Wayne.

The Lord of the Void urged him on. To get Wayne, he had split his consciousness into two parts; one to hold off Planck, while the other to remain hidden in Sidney’s body.

The part holding off Planck was obviously a lost cause. To avoid arousing Planck’s suspicion, the Lord of the Void had used a substantial chunk of his consciousness to buy time. It was a devastating loss that made him feel like a part of his chest was carved out. He told himself that it was okay, that he had secured a strategic victory and avoided an unnecessary fight. Now, he just had to capture Wayne and make him into an elemental space. Then all his sacrifices would be worthwhile.

Under the Lord of the Void’s urging, Sidney moved like the wind. Though he was incredibly fast, his mind suffered an irreversible corruption. It turned his eyes white and made his mouth spew tentacles of white foam. It would take a medical miracle to cure him.

This was inevitable. The Lord of the Void had spared nothing for his strategy, not going easy even on himself. Sidney had never been anything but a tool to him. Why would he care about a tool’s well-being?

Sidney, with his damaged mind, had forgotten what a mage’s repertoire was and chased Wayne on foot. Wayne, thanks to the warning from his supernatural sense, ran faster than a rabbit.

His vitality and constitution far exceeded those of ordinary people. He was strong, fast, and had great stamina. With Sidney forgetting how to use magic, the distance between them gradually widened.

Finally, under the Lord of the Void’s scolding, Sidney abandoned his humanity. Great masses of white tentacles erupted from his body, and he crawled after Wayne in a posture so bizarre that even the cryptids would call him creepy.

The sound of tentacles scraping against walls drew closer. He whirled around to fire several shots before continuing to run. This time, no life barrier appeared. The bullets pierced the jelly-like white flesh directly.

No shield! It takes damage!

Catching the detail keenly, he waved his hand to conjure earth walls and flames as obstacles, trying to drain the tentacle monster’s health bar through chip damage. Though it was a good idea, as the Lord of the Void gradually took over Sidney’s body, his terrifying mind bred more and more white flesh. Within a few seconds, Wayne’s enemy was no longer the same man.

White flesh flooded through the sewer, surrounding Wayne from multiple angles. Facing dangers on all fronts, he had no choice but to give up on escaping. Earlier, Planck had interrupted his transformation. This time, he’d show the Lord of the Void what true terror looked like.

Death Knight, time to take over!

1. A reference to Max Planck, a theoretical physicist who played a big role in the development of quantum physics. ☜