Sovereign of the Ashes

In a remote area somewhere between Sky City and the Magic Empire, an ordinary magic tower and a cluster of thatched cottages stood beneath the endless azure sky.

High overhead, a pure white and a pale red orb of light swirled together as if they were playing.

“The Magus Alliance just delivered this,” the white orb said.

A cube materialized within its pristine glow.

“Huh? Let me see,” the red orb said.

These two orbs were the Wisdom Light and the Fire Seed Source, both well known throughout Magus World.

Of the two, the white orb—Wisdom Light—was far more renowned, for it was a civilizational treasure.

The red orb—Fire Seed Source—was only a world-class secret treasure and therefore far less famous than the Wisdom Light.

Strangely enough, when the two little ones played, the Fire Seed Source was usually the more dominant one. The Wisdom Light always gave it anything it demanded, and the two never quarreled.

These two orbs were not merely treasures, but artificial lifeforms crafted by humans.

While Michaelis Bell of the Gallant Federation poured his heart into creating intelligent robots, the Magus Civilization had long since surpassed him in the field of life creation.

“What does the Magus Alliance want with you?” the Fire Seed Source asked, playing with the Magic Cube in its hand.

Both of them could tell that the cube had sentience.

In terms of capability and intelligence, if the Wisdom Light was like an adult and the Fire Seed Source a young adult, then the cube was not even a child. It was merely an infant, capable only of basic reflexes and recognizing its master.

For now, it still recognized Sein as that master.

Viktor, the soul-level mechanic of the Magus World, had been courteous enough to leave Sein’s imprint on the cube intact.

After all, someone of Master Viktor’s stature would not covet a junior’s treasure—especially one that was unfinished.

“They want me to try awakening it and strengthening it. Perhaps it might prove useful in the Clash of Civilizations,” the Wisdom Light replied.

“Give it a try then. If you succeed, I’ll take it as my subordinate,” the Fire Seed Source replied, tossing the cube back.

The Wisdom Light said nothing. After pushing the cube into its body, it erupted into a brilliant radiance that engulfed the space around them.

***

Having finished his experiments, Sein arrived at his divine tower academy that day, but he did not reveal his status as a tower master.

With his aura restraint technique and the Faceless Mask’s concealment, Sein could slip past even the Gallant Federation’s fleets. It was only natural that low-level mages and initiates could not sense his presence.

The regional academy war, hosted jointly with several other divine towers along the southern coast, had already drawn to a close.

The Divine Tower of Ashes’ initiates had performed well.

Today, Sein had come to the academy to observe the lessons conducted by the lower-ranking mages and to assess the learning abilities of the initiates.

What surprised him was that while many initiates were still discussing the recently concluded regional war and the rising stars among their peers, most of their attention was on the ongoing conflict between the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation.

Since when did the Clash of Civilizations have anything to do with these youngsters?

Then again, as the only divine tower in Ashenreach and a popular destination for spellcasters from the surrounding regions, its initiates had far greater access to information than most mages and initiates elsewhere.

Even without direct reports from the tower, snippets from the daily conversations of teaching staff were enough for these youngsters to catch wind of the Clash of Civilizations.

The war between the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation was a conflict that engulfed both sides entirely, affecting countless lesser lifeforms.

Even the lowliest creatures had both the right and the duty to take part.

Sein watched as the youngsters spoke freely in the public classrooms, each one imagining their future exploits on the battlefield once they reached Rank One.

A wave of emotions washed over him.

He recalled his own desperate breakout from the Gallant Federation’s heartland and the scenes he had witnessed on the warfront.

Even a Rank Four mage like himself had nearly perished in that conflict. How much more perilous would it be for those of lower rank?

The Gallant Federation was no pushover, and the Magus Civilization’s frontline legions had suffered heavy casualties.

These youngsters were still far too green.

Yet it was precisely their youth that let Sein feel the full force of their vigor and vitality.

Unlike the initiates, who were eager and excited about the war, Sein noticed that most of the full-fledged mages in the Divine Tower of Ashes carried themselves with remarkable composure.

Perhaps it was due to Ashenreach’s harsher environment compared to other regions, but mages who reached Rank One or higher tended to possess stronger mental fortitude and relatively greater combat experience.

Those who had fought in interplanar wars, in particular, knew well that war was nothing as wonderful as these youngsters imagined.

Only naive initiates would underestimate the Clash of Civilizations.

They had no idea it was an entirely different beast compared to the Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy Wars they had experienced before.

After surveying the state of his divine tower academy, Sein went underground to receive updates from the Goddess of Wealth and the Dark Elf Queen regarding the Divine Tower of Ashes’ more shady operations.

Under Sein’s command, the Divine Tower of Ashes had flourished over the years.

If needed, it could deploy over two thousand full-fledged mages. Sein would also command an army of about two million enslaved creatures, along with nearly half a million dark creatures.

The two million enslaved creatures came primarily from the Pyreling World, a plan that produced high-quality slaves.

Over the years, Aurelia had served as Sein’s representative for all business tied to the Pyreling World.

With the onset of the Clash of Civilizations, the price of slaves within the Magus Alliance had steadily risen.

By now, the cost of acquiring them was nearly double what it had been centuries ago, and triple what it was a millennium earlier—not to mention the price of the elite ones!

Sein’s decision to work with friends like Grimm and Angreas in developing the Pyreling World proved to be a great investment in the long run.

The two million enslaved creatures were elite cannon fodder, accumulated through Aurelia’s tireless efforts.

He preferred quality over quantity.

As for the half-million dark creatures, the underground around Ashenreach had gradually stabilized since the founding of the Divine Tower of Ashes, allowing the creatures of that region to thrive.

Now, nearly half a million of them stood united under the command of the Dark Elf Queen.

It was also said that a hybrid sub-dragon species with the Abyssal Dragon’s blood had migrated to Ashenreach’s border.